Wednesday 27 January 2016

School Speech on Philately


Today, at school, I gave a speech on the topic "Philately - The King Of Hobbies". Keep in mind that most of my peers do not know about stamp-collecting :) Given below is an extract from my speech.

"I am a philatelist. Philately is about collecting stamps - this hobby is referred to as the King of Hobbies.

Postage marks & stamps indicate pre-payment of money to transfer packages. The very early stamps were not made of paper but were in fact wax seals.

The 1st modern paper stamp was introduced in the UK in the year 1840. The 1st post office in India was setup in the year 1688 in Bombay followed by Calcutta and then Madras.

Philately as a hobby allows us to learn about different countries, their history, novel printing methods etc. 

The highlight of my collection is a set of stamps that capture the evolution of flight. It shows the history of flight starting from balloons to gliders, powered flight and finally space travel. I also collect unique stamps. Some are unique because of the shape, like triangles, circles and hexagons. Others are different because of the material - Gold & Silver foils, ceramic, leather & wood. Some are known for the special printing like phosphorescence, holograms, CDs and fragrances.

My notes on stamps can be viewed on my blog @ philateli.blogspot.in
My offer of cards and stamps for swaps can be viewed at http://icanoffer.blogspot.in/"

After my speech, some of my friends asked me how I got interested in philately and where in the internet they can find more information.

Saturday 23 January 2016

Antonov O K - Pioneer of Russian Aviation

The multifaceted Antonov O K is a pioneer of Russian Aviation. Antonov is interested in aviation since his childhood and spent most of his time making paper gliders.  His painting skills came handy in designing aircrafts.

He designed 52 Gliders and 22 airplane types and he is the man behind Guinness record holder AN 225.

Antonov was born on February, 1906. In 2006 for his 100th Anniversary, Russia post issued a miniature sheet with his picture and the aircraft designed by him. I got these through a private swap from Olga of Russia.  Thanks Olga.




Saturday 16 January 2016

A cover from Macedonia


The Republic of Macedonia is located in the Balkan peninsula in Southern Europe. Until 8th September 1991 Macedonia was a part of Yugoslavia after which it gained it's independence. The capital of Macedonia is Skopje.  As a result of a dispute between Greece over the use of the name Macedonia it changed its provisional description to "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)". The current president of Macedonia is Gjorge Ivanov.

Below is the scan of the cover I received. Thanks Anita for sending a nice cover for our swap.  One more to my Around the world card/cover collection.


Friday 15 January 2016

EuroVision stamp: Austria

In the recent 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, the Austrian band Makemakes took part with the song" I am Yours". "I am Yours" by The Makemakes won the contest after gaining majority from the audience. This was Austria's 48th appearance in the Eurovision contest.

The Eurovision contest was held for the 60th time in 2015.
Following it's victory in 2014, Austria was the venue for the 2015 contest and so issued a stamp on 24th April 2015 showing the logo of 2015's Euro Vision Song Contest. The stamp shows the logo for the 2015 contest entitled "The Sphere". The speciality is the type of printing- offset printing on silver foil.
This beautiful cover with the Eurovision stamp came all the way from Austria into my letter box. Thanks  Danubia for the fabulous cover.


Joint issue stamps: India - Singapore


On November 24th 2015, Singapore Prime Minister Mr. Lee Hsien Loong along with Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi jointly issued 2 stamps ( issued by both Sing Post and India Post - a joint issue) one featuring Istana (The Singapore President's house) and the other featuring the Rashtrapati Bhavan (The Indian President's house) on Mr. Modi's official visit in Singapore marking the 50th anniversary establishment of diplomatic relations between Singapore and India.

Recently I received a beautiful cover from Singapore from my friend  Lee Shiou Ming. She has used the stamps beautifully on cover in such a way that on the left hand corner is the India's version of Rashtrapati Bhavan and Istana and in the right hand corner Singapore's version but the order is the other way around- Istana first and then Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Thanks a Ton, Shiou Ming for such a wonderful cover.


Odd World - Croatia

My Croatian collection of Odd/Unique stamps


Odd World - Slovenia


My Slovene collection of Odd/Unique stamps

Odd world - Thailand


My Thailand collection of Odd/Unique stamps

Silk stamps

World's longest stamp on cover
2017, 70th Anniversary of the Accession of the throne of King Bhumibo 

Sheetlet
Foil Stamps

Gold Foil, circle stamps 
Heptagonal Foil Embossed stamps
12th August, 2016 - Her Majesty Queen's 7th cycle Birth Anniversary

Issued in 2011

 Gold, Silver and Bronze foil Embossed


Embossed, hand perforation in the middle

Gold Foil
2017 National Day
2017 65th Anniversary of King Vagiralongkorn
(Gold foil letters)

Embossed

Embossed and partial UV coating

50th Anniversary of Thai Airways, embossed and UV coating on Airplanes, Issued in 2010
DC 6, DC 10, Boeing 747-400, Airbus A340-600


Circular shaped stamps
120th Anniversary of the state railway, Thailand

Glitters








Odd World - Korea


My Korean collection of Odd/Unique stamps

Odd shape MS

Dinosaur perforation*

South Korea - A must to see destinations for Koreans
Chuwangsan Park - Stone powder effect, Issued on 24/05/2018


Gold Foil

Thursday 14 January 2016

Odd World - USA



  My American collection of Odd/Unique stamps
                        
                          Phosphorous coating 

                                                   Odd shape

3D

Hologram





Scratch and sniff stamps

Foil
Orange foil stamps
2018, Dragons




Glow stamps
The below stamps are part of 10 stamps issued by USPS under Bioluminescent Life.  Though these stamps do not glow in the dark, they are highly reflective under white light and imparts a sense of movement and light because of rainbow holographic material.  




Circle stamps and special coating at selected place to give Touch and Feel effect



                   
              
                                                                              

             
                                       




Round shaped stamp

Round shaped stamp

Gold foil stamp


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