Mongolian 1978 Union of Mongolian Writers Commemorative

The 50th anniversary of the Union of Mongolian Writers commemorative stamp.

From the land of Genghis Khan comes this stamp from late 1978 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Union of Mongolian Writers.

Established in 1929, the UMW is Mongolia's oldest writer's association. According to their website, they have over 800 members as well as their own writers' publications, annual poetry and fiction readings, programs for visiting foreign authors, a writers' museum, and much, much more. Ever since their creation, the UMW has been a crucial organization for promoting Mongolian authors at home and abroad and for promoting foreign literature in Mongolia.

As for the stamp above, the artwork says it all! Through pen and paper (and in our own time, word processing programs and text editors) it's possible to bring back to life the world of Genghis Khan and transform our own modern-day world into writing.

A very meaningful stamp which commemorates not just the anniversary of the UMW, but writing and reading in general!

Two Mexican Stamps

Two Mexican stamps issued in 1977.

Here are two new stamps I added to my collection this week: a couple of Mexican stamps from 1977-78.

The stamp on the left is a special airmail issue from that year commemorating 40 years of Mexico's Federal Board of Conciliation and Arbitration. This board is Mexico's equivalent of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service government agencies in the US and Canada, who also intervene in labor disputes. This stamp was issued in a $1.60 peso denomination.

A side view of the airmail stamp.

The stamp on the right is a special anti-tuberculosis seal issued in Mexico during 1977. These stamps are issued yearly by Mexico's National Committee Against Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases (C.N.LT., or Comité Nacional de Lucha contra la Tuberculosis Mexico). In 1977, the subject for the seals that year were cactii from around the world. The artwork on this particular stamp is of a sea urchin cactus and, like all other anti-tuberculosis issues, it features the Cross of Lorraine international anti-tuberculosis logo in the corner. This stamp was a 20 centavos issue and was issued on New Year's Day 1977.

Links:
-http://tbsealsmexico.org/english.htm (English homepage of the CNLT and of the Mexican anti-tuberculosis seals.)

1962 Romanian Cruiser Aurora and Lenin Commemorative

Romanian stamp commemorating 45 years of the uprising on the Russian cruiser "Aurora".

One of the most dramatic incidents in Russia's October Revolution was the uprising abroad the Navy cruiser Aurora. It was aboard this ship that, on October 17th, 1917, a number of the crew joined the Bolsheviks, led a mutiny, and took control of the ship. They then fired the shot that signalled the attack on the Winter Palace in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) and supposedly even joined the attacking Bolshevik forces! This attack was one of the last episodes of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Forty-five years later, the Romanian postal authorities issued a special commemorative honoring the uprising aboard the Aurora. The stamp features a super-imposed Lenin and a Soviet flag pointing upwards. In the background is the Aurora itself.

This stamp was a fitting tribute to the Aurora and the October Revolution in general by Poșta Română during the period of time when Romania was under Communist rule and an ally of the Soviet Union. 

Japanese National Sports Festival Commemoratives

Two stamps commemorating Japan's 13th National Sports Festival held in 1958.

During the 1950s and 60s, two 5-yen stamps were issued in Japan every year during the month of October. These two stamps commemorated the National Sports Festival, which is held throughout the year and reaches its conclusion in October.

The National Sports Festival - or the Kokutai (国体) games as they are often called - is one of Japan's biggest yearly sporting competitions. These games pit teams from each prefecture against each other in a variety of sports, such as basketball, weightlifting, water sports, hockey, and more. Each competition is seasonal. Winter games are played during the winter, summer games during the summer, and fall games during the fall. The fall games held in September-October are the most crucial and determine which cities win the Emperor and Empress Cups.

One of the 12th National Sports Festival commemoratives from 1957.

The two commemoratives were usually issued around the time when the fall games were reaching or had reached their conclusion. They typically depicted athletes or gymnasts at play and scenes which would have typically been seen at the games.

While the pairs from the 1950s were very memorable in their own right, some of the last stamps issued in the mid to late 1960s featured some very striking and colorful artwork and were printed using the rotogravure process.

A 17th games commemorative from 1962.

These stamps were an excellent way to pay tribute to the athletes who gave their all at the games that year, no matter whether they won or lost!

Links:
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Sports_Festival_of_Japan (The National Sports Festival at Wikipedia.)

Polish 1966 Dinosaur Commemoratives

Two stamps from the Polish 1966 Dinosaur and Prehistoric Vertebrates series.

Today I'd like to share two early stamps from my collection that I acquired as a boy:

In 1966, Poczta Polska (Poland's postal service) issued one of the year's most vivid and collectable set of commemoratives: The Dinosauar and Prehistoric Vertebrate set! This set consists of nine commemoratives that were released on March 5th of that year and these stamps feature some amazing artwork of dinos and other "less-than-prehistoric" mammals that have left us, such as the wooly mammoth and the Machairodus, or the European sabre-toothed tiger.

These stamps were issued in denominations ranging from 20 groszy to 7.10 złotys.

For you dino lovers out there or collectors of dinosaur stamps, this commemorative set is a must-have for your own stamp collection (if you don't have it already)!

Hungarian 1964 Anniversaries and Events Commemoratives

Two stamps from the 1964 Hungarian "Anniversaries and Events" set honoring the National Forestry Service and the Aggtelek National Park. The Aggtelek stamp (right) features the stalactite formation known as "Sesak Szifon" found in one of the caves.

If you bought any type of international stamp packets in the late 20th century, chances are you have some of these stamps in your collection since they were (and still are?) very common. Chances are also good that you've been curious about the meanings of these stamps and have possibly been spent years or even decades trying to decipher them! If this is the case, look no further! In today's blog entry, we'll take a look at the meanings behind these stamps, and a little about the Hungarian-language inscriptions.

Throughout 1964, Magyar Posta (the Hungarian postal service) released a set of commemoratives commemorating birth and death anniversaries of various Hungarian and international figures, as well as national events that took place that year.

The people honored on these stamps include various noteworthy people from Hungarian history, such as the 100th anniversary of the death of Hungarian writer András Fáy. Also commemorated are the anniversaries of births of famous international figures such as Shakspeare, Karl Marx, and Galileo. In addition are two stamps dedicated to sporting figures. These stamps feature eponymous figures of a bowler and two runners. 

A stamp honoring the Albia Regia Days.

Also featured in this set are stamps commemorating events of national significance held in Hungary that year, such as the stamp (right) honoring the Alba Regia Days held in the Hungarian city of Székesfehérvár (also known as Alba Regia) and a stamp commemorating the Budapest Fair. Sporting events such as the 1964 Tennis Exhibition in Budapest and the 9th European Women's Basketball Championship were also commemorated in this series.

Celebrating 30 years of Hungary's aluminum industry.

Two other stamps in this set commemorated the 600th anniversary of the founding of the city of Cegléd and 30 years of Hungary's aluminm industry (right).

Like some of the other Hungarian commemoratives from the 1950s-60s, this set comes in a wide variety of shapes! Square, triangular, and diamond-shaped stamps are all used in this set.

Now about the inscriptions on the stamps. On the sides of all of the stamps are the words Évfordulók- események, which translate to "Anniversaries-Events" in English. The descriptions of the people and events vary depending on the person or event, as well as the stamp artwork. The stamps were issued in 60 fillér, 1, and 2 forint denominations and were issued through March-November 1964.

Stamps from the set commemorating the 100th anniversary of the deaths of Hungarian playright Imre Madach, Andras Fay, and  a stamp commemorating Hungarian revolutionary Ervin Szabo (1877-1918).

This is a fairly large set of commemoratives that covered a wide spectrum of people, places, and topics, and is definitely among the most recognizable of all Hungarian stamps!

For more about this set, be sure to have a look at the following site:

-http://colnect.com/en/stamps/list/page/1/country/6955-Hungary/series/55038-Anniversaries-Events/year/1964 (The 1964 Anniversaries and Events set in its entirety.)

1967 Bulgarian Nikola Kofardzhiev Stamp

A 1967 Bulgarian stamp dedicated to Nikola Kofardzhiev (1904-1931).

In 1967, Bulgaria Posts released a commemorative stamp dedicated to one of its "anti-fascist heroes": Nikola Kofardzhiev.

According to the 1986 edition of the Biographical Dictionary of the Comintern, Kofardzhiev was a Communist leader and revolutionary who lived in Bulgaria during the 1920s. He was a barber who was also a leader of the national young communist movement, as well as an early member of the Bulgarian Communist Party's Central Committee. He took part in the attempted 1923 Communist insurrection in Bulgaria which ultimately proved to be a failure. However, he didn't flee like many of his contemporaries and stayed in the country to organize and lead the Party. From 1928-1930, Kofardzhiev was also one of Bulgaria's representatives to the Comintern Executive Committee in Moscow under an alias. After returning home, he became head of the BCP's Party Secretary and found himself in opposition to a clique that had split the Party. In October 1931. Kofardzhiev was killed by Sofia police after returning from consultations in Moscow on how to deal with this split. Along with other young Communist leaders in Bulgaria, Kofardzhiev was gvien a bad rap in the history of the Party for "leftist deviation".

This stamp was issued in a 1 stotinka denomination and, according to Colnect.com, was part of an issue titled Anti-fascist Heroes.

Korea's King Sejong Stamps

A statue of King Sejong in Seoul's Yeouido Park.

One of Korea's national heroes is the Joseon-era King Sejong (1397-1450). Under the rule of King Sejong, many scientific advancements were made, legal and political reforms were enacted, the Japanese pirates that plagued Korea were neutralized, and the Manchu armies were kept at bay by Joseon military forces. Most importantly of all, King Sejong himself is credited with creating the Korean alphabet known as Hangul (한글). This system of 24 letters made the ordinary people of Korea literate and remains the default alphabet of Korea to this very day. In effect, King Sejong took many of the priviledges of the upper classes - in particular the ability to read and write - and handed them down to the rest of the country's population. He has remained a hero to the Korean people to this very day.

King Sejong also enjoys a special distinction that very few other monarchs worldwide can enjoy: He is one of five linguistic scholars worldwide to be depicted on national currency. His likeness has adorned the ₩10,000 won bill since 1962, making him one of Korea's most instantly recognizable historical figures.

It's no small wonder then that he has been the subject of a number of stamp issues in South Korea since the ROK was established after World War II! Since 1948, Korea Post has issued several different commemoratives of King Sejong and the Hangul alphabet.

A King Sejong stamp from 1956.

The first King Sejong definitive stamp was issued at the end of 1956. This stamp is a 40-won stamp that depicts a seated Sejong on the face. In July 1957, this stamp was printed in a shade of red rather than the original purple.

The King Sejong definitive of 1961-62.

Five years later, another definitive was issued commemorating King Sejong and his greatest achievement, the Hangul alphabet. This 3-won stamp features a close-up of King Sejong surrounded by all 24 Hangul letters. In 1966, this stamp was re-issued in red and had the official English name of South Korea - "Republic of Korea" - listed above the Korean name of Korean Post.

In 1993, Korea Post would issue another King Sejong stamp. This 710-won definitive was printed in full color and featured the famous painting of Sejong. Behind him is Hunminjeongeum (훈민정음), the document that listed the Hangul alphabet and explained its usage to the people. Another version of this stamp, a  red 910 won stamp, was issued a year later. Both of these stamps commemorated scientific achievements during the early years of the Joseon Dynasty and reflected the increase in postage rates that took effect in 1993.

In 2000, a King Sejong stamp similar to the ones above would be issued as part of the fifth issue of the Millineum Series issued by Korea Post commemorating important figures from Korean history and their achievements. However, this one also featured the section from Hunminjeongeum titled  "Pictorial Vowels Representing the Eight Divination Signs" interspersed with the rest of the artwork.

In 2008, a set of commemoratives were issued that pertain to King Sejong. However, these do not feature the king himself, but the South Korean station in Antarctica that was named after him! This set features artwork depicting the station and station personnel riding around on snowmobiles amid penguins and forbidding cliffs of ice. It was released in commemoration of the station's 20th anniversary.

King Sejong is one of Korea's greatest kings who not only changed Korean history forever, but also left his mark on Korean philatelic history!

(King Sejong statue image copyright: InSapphoWeTrust via Wikimedia Commons.)

1955 Brazilian Padre Bento Stamp

A Brazilian "Padre Bento" postage tax stamp circa 1955.

In my post about the Buda Castle commemorative, I discussed a mammoth stamp that you just might have in your collection. Now here's a stamp you may have in your collection that just might be one of the smallest!

In 1955, Correios Brasil (the Brazilian postal service) issued a series of postal tax stamps commemorating one of Brazil's national heroes: Father Bento Dias Pacheco, or "Padre Bento". Padre Bento was a priest who initially served the slaves in the Itu district around the city of São Paulo, but later on would dedicate his life to serving people suffering with Hansen's disease, or leprosy. He lived in a leper's colony at Finca de Piedade and helped the people there with their daily needs. He dressed and cleansed their wounds and helped those who could no longer see or walk. For forty-two years Padre Bento put the welfare of these people before his own and dedicated his every waking hour to them. He served the patients at Finca de Piedade until his dying day in 1911.

Father Bento Dias Pacheco. (Wikimedia Commons)

In Brazil, he is remembered as a hero and a role model. He is buried at the Igreja do Senhor do Horto e São Lázaro church in the Itu neighborhood named Padre Bento in his honor. For the past decade a campaign for the Vatican to beatify and canonize Padre Bento as a saint has been underway in Brazil, where he is remembered as a man who answered his calling and dared to go where other people feared to tread.

This stamp features a portrait of Padre Bento and the inscription Preservacao da crianca contra o mal de Hansen ("[Protecting] the [children] against the evil of Hansen's Disease). This series is a multi-colored set issued in 10 centavos denominations. In 1963, this series (Scott # RA10) was re-issued, but with the inscription Correios do Brasil in a different font.

This stamp may be small, but it tells the story of an amazing man who is not very well-known outside of Brazil!

Links:
-http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bento_Dias_Pacheco (Entry in Portugese Wikipedia about Bento Dias Pacheco.)

1986 Hungarian Recapture of Buda Castle Stamp

The Hungarian stamp from 1986 depicting the recapture of Buda Castle.

I think anyone who is lucky enough to own this stanp will agree that this is one of the largest stamps, if not the largest, to grace the pages of their stamp album! However, it's a stamp that's not only humongous in size, but rich with Hungarian history and art.

This 4-forint stamp, which was issued by the Hungarian postal service in September 1986, commemorates the 300th anniversary of the recapture of Buda Castle from the Ottoman Turks by the Holy League in 1686. Featured on the stamp face is Hungarian artist Gyula Benczúr's (1844-1920) famous painting from 1896 titled Budavár visszavétele, or The Recapture of Buda Castle in 1686 in English.

This stamp was also significant in that a year later, UNESCO would designate Buda Castle a Budapest World Heritage Site.

This stamp definitely has a special place in the collection of anyone who collects Hungarian stamps!

1961 "Paraguay en Marcha" Stamps

The "Paraguay en Marcha" stamp series from 1961.

In 1961, the Parguayan postal service issued a set of stamps depicting technological and industrial progress across the nation at the time when Paraguay was ruled by Gen. Alfredo Stroessner and the Colorado Party. This issue, titled "Paraguay en Marcha" ("Progress in Paraguay"), featured a barge hauling logs and a radio tower. These stamps were issued in 90 céntimos as well as 1, 2, and 5 guaraní denominations.

Romanian Space Stamps

During the height of the Soviet space program in the 1960s, countries throughout the Communist bloc issued stamps commemorating the achievements of the Soviet Union in space. One of these countries was Romania. Throughout the decades of Communist rule, Romania issued a number of stamps and stamp series that commemorated nearly every aspect of the Soviet space program. Satellites, unmanned rocket launches, manned space flights and the cosmonauts that made history were all commemorated on Romanian stamp issues during the Space Race. That space stamp tradition has continued well into the Romania of today. Also, some of Romania's stamps commemorate the contributions Romania itself gave to space travel and exploration. These stamps not only celebrate the lives and achiements of Romania's space pioneers, but also tell the world a little about their fascinating stories!

During the 1950s and early 1960s, Romania issued numerous stamp issues and commemoratives commemorating the Sputnik and Luna missions. When Yuri Gagarin made his historic flight in 1961 and became the first man in space, commemoratives were issued a mere week later celebrating the milestone.

A series of stamps from 1963 commemorating the Vostok 5 & 6 missions, which took place - and concluded - on June 19th of that year.

In June of 1963, the Soviet Union made space history not once but twice. On the 21st of June, Valery Bykovski returned to Earth in Vostok 5 and Valentina Tereshkova blasted off in Vostok 6. Bykovsky set the endurance record for the time by spending 5 days in orbit around the earth (and returned to Earth on the same day Valentina blasted off into space) while Tereshkova was the first woman in space. These were two historical milestones for the Soviet space program and both were made on the same day! They were both honored by the Romanian postal service not long afterwards in the stamps above.

Two Romanian spcae stamps from 1965-66.

Of course the spacecraft themselves were commemorated in Romanian postage stamps! On the left are stamps from two separate series: The "Satellite" series of 1965 and the "Space" series of 1966. These series honored the various spacecraft and space missions carried out worldwide during those years, including the USSR's Venera ("Venus"), Voskhod, and Luna ("Moon") missions, France's FR-1 launch, and America's Gemini missions.

The stamp on the left commemorates the Soviet Venera-3 mission to Venus, which was the USSR's first attempt to land a probe on the surface of Venus. The mission was ultimately a failure, but it was commemorated on stamps worldwide, including this one.

Also in 1965, NASA's successfully launched the Intelsat-1, or "Early Bird" satellite. This was the first commercial communications satellite and was noteworthy, among other things, for broadcasting the Gemini 6 splashdown and Our World, the very first satellite TV special. The stamp on the right comes from the "Satellites" series of 1966 and commemorates this historic satellite launch.

This series is noteworthy in that it stayed "neutral" in the Space Race and honored the achievements made in space by both East and West.

Two stamps from 1982 commemorating Romania's "founding fathers of space".

In 1982, the Romanian postal service issued two stamps commemorating its own "founding fathers" of space travel: Henri Coandă and Hermann Oberth. Both of these men are national heroes and without them, space flights may never have become a possibility.

Coandă was a pioneer of aerodynamics and an inventor who, among other things,  is said by some to have invented the world's first jet in 1910. Coandă's achievements have been a source of pride for the Romanian people over the years. So much so that a commemorative stamps has been issued in Romania honoring his achievements as recently as 2010!

Hermann Oberth was one of the pioneers of rocket propulsion in the 20th century. He came to Germany as a young man in the 1910s and a decade later, became involved with the Verein für Raumschiffahrt (or "The Spaceflight Society" in English), which also included fellow space pioneers Wernher Von Braun (who he also mentored) and Capt.Walter Dornberger among its ranks. However, Oberth remained in Romania throughout the 1920s and 1930s. In 1938, he relocated to Germany and worked in Hitler's rocket program during World War II. In the 1960s, he came to the US and worked for Von Braun at NASA and helped develop the Saturn-V rocket. Oberth made many other achievements in space travel during his lifetime and all of these achievements led to him being honored on postage stamps back home in Romania.

A Romanian airmail stamp from 1963 dedicated to Laika. This stamp features artwork used on an earlier stamp from 1959 .

There is one Soviet space pioneer whose flight into space was initially celebrated across the Communist bloc and has since been commemorated all around the world. That pioneer is Laika, the first dog into space and the first creature to orbit the earth.

In 1957, the Soviet space authorities wanted to test the effects of space flight on a living creature. For these tests they selected Laika, a stray dog from the streets of Moscow, to be placed on board Sputnik-2 and put into orbit around the earth until it re-entered Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated. Sadly enough, Laika would ultimately die during this mission and it wasn't known until 2002 that she died six hours into the mission from overheating and stress.

Over the years, postage stamps have been issued around the world commemorating her flight and her ultimate sacrifice. Romania has issued a number over the years, including the one above.

During the 1970s-80s, many more space stamps were issued in Romania. These included stamps commemorating the flight of Romania's first cosmonaut. When Dumitru Prunariu blasted off into space aboard Soyuz-40 in 1981, it was cause for celebration across the country...as well as a cause for issuing a special commemorative!

There have been other space stamps issued by the Romanian postal service since the glory days of the Space Race. These have honored the achievements made by the men and women from all around the globe who have given their all - and sometimes their lives - to explore the realms of space. They include those men and women from Romania itself who have made their own entries into the annals of space and flight history, but have remained largely unknown in the West.

Sources:
-http://www.spaceandastronomystamps.com/rou.xhtml (A listing of all Romanian space stamps issued from 1957 to 2011.)

Italian 1967 Resistance on the Piave Commemorative Stamp

One of the most decisive and historic battles in the Italian theater of World War I was the Battle of the Piave River in 1918. During the course of the previous autumn, Italian forces had suffered some major setbacks at the Battles of Caporetto and Longarone. They were driven out of modern-day Slovenia by Austro-Hungarian and German forces and were now facing an invasion at their own doorstep.

On June 15th, 1918, that invasion by Austro-Hungarian Forces (with German approval) finally took place. The Italians set up a defensive line along the Piave River in northeast Italy and, with a little help from Mother Nature and an Allied offensive along the Asiago Plateau, held down the invaders. On the 23rd of June, the Austro-Hungarian forces retreated. When the battle was over, 60,000 of their soldiers had died and nearly 80,000 Italian soldiers were killed or wounded. This battle was also the beginning of the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. To this day the Battle of the Piave River is still held dear in Italian memory and is even commemorated in a popular folk song.

On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the battle in 1968, Poste Italiane released a special stamp commemorating this battle. The Resistenza sul Piave ("Resistance on [the] Piave") stamp of 1967 is a very solemn one. On the face of this 50 lire stamp we can see a lone Italian soldier standing on the banks of the river and watching the sunrise amidst all the devastation of war.

This stamp is a very powerful tribute to those that fought and died in that bloody battle fought nearly a century ago....

1964 Bulgarian Coup/Partisan Power Commemorative Stamp

One of the most dramatic events in Europe during the final days of World War II was the Bulgarian coup d' état of 1944. This coup, which was supported by the USSR (which had just invaded the northeast of the country), is not very well-known in the West. 

For those who aren't familiar with the events of this coup, here they are in a nutshell: At the end of August, the Axis government of Bulgaria, facing an imminent Soviet invasion, switched its allegiance to the Allies. On the 5th of September, Moscow declared war on Bulgaria and invaded the northeast of the country. Over the course of the next two days, unrest broke out across the country. On the 9th of September, a nationwide uprising largely led by Communist groups, partisans and workers broke out against both the Bulgarian monarchy and the national government. As a result of the coup, the monarchy and government were swept from power and the Red Army halted its advance in northeast Bulgaria since there was no need to topple the government by force.

Twenty years after the coup, Bulgarian Posts issued a 20-year commemorative of this turning point in Bulgarian history, as well as 20 years of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. This stamp features a World War II-era partisan in a Red Army-type uniform brandishing a PPsH submachine gun and standing guard over a scene of modern Bulgaria. On the left of the stamp we see the flag of the Bulgarian Communist Party and the date of the coup - or the Socialist Revolution of 9 September as it was commonly known prior to 1989.

This stamp commemorates an event not widely known outside of Bulgaria itself and is a shining example of the dramatic stamps issued by Bulgaria Posts during the days of Communist rule.

Philippines 1964 Agricultural Land Reform Commemorative Stamps

A 6 sentimo 1964 Philippine agricultural reform stamp with a 5s overprint.

In 1963, Philippines president Diosdado Macapagal signed into effect the Agricultural Land Reform Code. This bill made sweeping reforms to the nation's agricultural system and made farmers a lot less beholden to the traditional landlord system that had existed for centuries. Rather than paying the landlord a percentage of their annual harvest for lease to the landlords, they could now pay a fixed annual rental fee. Among the provisions under the new bill, farmers were given the option to purchase their land and establish their own farms, were protected by national labor laws, were protected from illegal interest rate hikes, and poor famers were given assistance from the newly-established Land Bank of the Philippines to purchase their land if they could not afford to purchase it from the revenue generated by their harvests. This bill has remained one of President Macapagal's greatest achievements and been amended several times over the past few decades.

A year later, the Bureau of Posts (forerunner to the modern-day Philpost) released an issue of three stamps commemorating Macapagal's achievement. This issue features artwork depicting Macapagal signing the bill into effect and a farmer's hand breaking free from the chains that bound him. It was featured in a series of 3, 6, and 30 sentimo stamps. All feature the same artwork, but are printed in different colors. The 3s stamp is green, the 6s stamp blue, and the 30s stamp is red.

All in all this is a very symbolic stamp issue commemorating a great milestone in Filipino history.

Links:
-http://www.philippinestamps.net/RP1964.htm#RP1964

Psy Postage Stamps Coming to Korea!

For those of you who collect Korean stamps, you probably don't want to miss a new series of stamps coming to South Korea on March 18th. This series features none other than the internationally-famous Korean rap sensation himself, Psy! This series honors Psy for his 2012 worldwide phenomenal dance hit "Gangnam Style" and is licensed through his agency, YG Entertainment. This marks the first time a stamp series issued has been issued honoring a YG performer.

The stamps are known, appropriately enough, as "Psy stamps" and feature Psy in his many iconic poses and dances. They can be found at post offices across Seoul, as well as at YG's own e-shop and through the Korean stamp and art retailer Postar.

For more about the series, check out the links below:

-http://www.allkpop.com/2013/02/psy-to-celebrate-surpassing-of-1-3-billion-views-with-the-release-of-his-own-postage-stamps   (Blog post from All K-pop about the stamps.)
-http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/1551300/psy-fronts-korean-cosmetics-brand-appears-on-postage-stamps (Article from Billboard about the "Psy marketing sensation" in Korea...specifically these stamps and his line of cosmetics for young men that's becoming a hit in the Korean marketplace.)

1967 Portugese Fatima Stamp

On 13 May 1917, three shepherd children in Fátima, Portugal received an apparition from the Blessed Virgin Mary in which she appeared brighter than the sun. Over the course of the next six months, She made six further appearances over the next six months in which She instructed the children to perform acts of penance and selfless acts to save the souls of sinners. She also revealed three secrets to the children, which were revealed to the world over time. Also, Fátima itself became a place of pilgrimage, which it remains to this very day.

Fifty years after the apparitions, the Portugese postal service released a set of fiftieth-anniversary commemoratives of the Fátima apparitions. These commemoratives depict images of Mary, her Acension into Heaven, the Sanctuary of Fátima, and in the stamp above, the doves of the Holy Spirit bringing the crown of Mary upon the Capela Das Aparições ("Chapel of Apparitions") at Fátima.

Link:
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Fátima

Yugoslav Red Cross Stamps

The first Yugoslav Red Cross (JCK) stamp from 1933.

During the third week of September, 1933, the government of the former Yugoslavia issued a special stamp to be used on all correspondence and packages throughout the week. The stamp was a special week-long postal tax to collect money from the public for the Jugoslavija Crveni Križ, or the Yugoslav Red Cross. All the money used by the public to buy stamp booklets that week was donated to the JCK.

This first Red Cross stamp was the beginning of a stamp tradition that continued throughout much of Yugoslavia's existence and still continues today in modern-day Serbia!

After seeing the success of this innovative way of collecting funds for the JCK a decade earlier, the Yugoslav government-in-exile issued Red Cross stamps throughout the World War II years when Yugoslavia was under Nazi occupation. The Red Cross stamps would continue to be issued yearly on Solidarity Week throughout the decades of Socialist rule and were issued well into Yugoslavia's dying days in 2002-03. 

Throughout the decades they were issued in Yugoslavia, subjects of the Red Cross stamps varied. The first stamp from 1933 was a tax stamp with the Red Cross emblem on the face. Many issued during the Communist and Socialist years commemorated the Red Cross's fight against diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria. Others commemorated various other national health charities and organizations along with the Red Cross and featured their logos as well. And others simply featured the natural scenery of Yugoslavia along with the logo of the Red Cross.

Various Yugoslav Red Cross stamps from the 1950s-60s.

Many Yugoslav Red Cross stamps issued in the days prior to 1990 featured not only the standard Red Cross emblem, but those of the Red Crescent and The Red Lion and Sun as well.

One popular Red Cross stamp theme was the massive earthquake of 1963 that devastated the city of Skopje (capital of modern-day Macedonia). Stamps were issued well into the 1980s depicting the Skopje train station clock permanently stuck at 5:17 pm (the moment the quake struck) and the devastation around it. The Yugoslav authorities didn't want people to forget why it was so important to collect funds for the Red Cross every year.....

Today Solidarity Week is still held every year in Serbia and Red Cross stamps are still issued every year just as they have been for most of the past 80 years. Some of the newer stamps feature similar artwork and themes to those of the past, but newer designs featuring more modern images have been featured.

(Image credits for 1933 tax stamp: A. Sdobnikov/Wikimedia Commons.)

Hungarian New Year's 1963 Stamps

Hungarian New Year stamps from 1963.

To commemorate the New Year in 1963, the Hungarian Post issued a very interesting set of stamps: A special New Year's semi-postal featuring New Year's revellers, various plants and decorations. Also featured prominently on these stamps are New Year's greetings in four different languages (English, French, German, and Russian). While most foreigners are unfamiliar with the imagery in these stamps, these are some very ancient New Year's customs practiced by most Hungarians.

In most of the stamps in this set, four-leaf clovers and horseshoes are featured prominently on their faces. In Hungarian culture, the four-leaf culture resembles the Cross and is considered a powerful good-luck charm that can also ward off evil. Since horses have been a part of Hungarian culture for centuries and are considered to be creatures with great magical powers (as well as iron, which in itself is regarded as a "lucky metal"), the horseshoe is also considered a good luck charm. It's only natural that the artist chose to include these traditional Hungarian good-luck symbols in this stamp series!

In the middle stamp above, we can see a child dressed in a black outfit and carrying a long wire brush over his shoulder. This child is a chimney sweep. In many of the central and eastern European countries - including Hungary - running into a chimney sweep on New Year's Day is considered a very auspicious omen. As a matter of fact, in olden times, people in Hungary would run out into the streets of their city and village and touch the buttons of the chimney sweep for good luck as he went by on his bicycle on New Year's Day! This stamp commemorates that tradition very well....and makes those of us outside of Hungary very curious about this tradition, as well as all the others depicted in these stamps!

All in all there are a total of eight stamps in this set ranging from 20 to 2,50 forints.

This is certainly one of the most unique stamp sets to be issued by the Hungarian Post, and one filled with plenty of traditional Hungarian symbolism, culture, and lore!

For more about Hungarian New Year's traditions, check out the sites below:
-http://magyarnews.org/photos/File326.pdf (Article from Magyar News about Hungarian New Year's traditions.)
-http://www.luckymojo.com/chimneysweep.html (Page from the Lucky W Amulet Archive about the tradition of the chimney sweep in Europe.)
-http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1916&dat=19811114&id=f-cgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=L24FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1158,3079801 (Article from Norwalk, CT's newspaper The Hour about Hungarian-American chimney sweeps....and how the chimney sweep has a very important role to play on New Year's Day in Hungary.)

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