Stamp in a form of a bicycle wheel

 

 

Date of Issue : 19 February 2015

125 Years of Bicycles in Iceland - Self-adhesive stamp

Stamp in a form of a bicycle wheel – an extraordinary issue by Iceland Post

Here is an an extraordinary stamp issued by Iceland Post celebrating 125 years of bicycles in Iceland. Postphil believe that issuing a special stamp is a nice way to mark the occasion and celebrate this environmentally friendly means of transport.

The first reports of the use of bicycles in Iceland appeared in the magazine Fjallkonan in 1887. The article dealt with the abilities of women and indicated that they might even excel men. The first bicycles known to have been imported to Iceland were seen in 1890. Knud Zimsen, later mayor of Reykjavik, had a Velocipede bicycle which was a popular type at the time.

At the time, bicycles were owned only by a few and caught the eye in the midst of the horse traffic. The first decades of the 20th century saw a considerable increase in cycling. In 1920, nearly 900 bikes were in use in Iceland. Following the oil crisis in the Seventies, cycling became more popular the world over.

Bicycles have never been as popular as they are today with general increase of interest in the benefits of physical exercise, be it cycling, jogging or walking. Since 2003, the Sports and Olympic Federation has supported the campaign “Bike to Work”. The main objective is to raise awareness of cycling as a healthy, environmentally friendly and efficient means of transport.

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World’s first valentine’s Day stamp with music video

 

Slovak Post has  released on the 30^th of January, a special stamp celebrating St. Valentine’s Day. It is first music video-stamp in the world issued for Valentine’s Day.

The motif of a Valentine postage stamp was selected on the grounds of an opinion survey of the general public, interconnected with the publisher’s intention to address especially the young teenage generation, who prefer the virtual world of electronic media, by issuing a stamp with a personalized coupon.

Taking into account the postage stamp was designed in the form of an illustrated QR code with a link to a video clip about love. The QR (Quick Response) code was originally developed by the Japanese company Denso-Wave in 1994 to monitor manufacturing processes in the automobile industry. As the company published code specification without claiming patent protection, the QR code became freely available to different types of both commercial and non-commercial activities all over the world.

The principle of QR code usage is based on reading a code via a mobile device by means of freely downloadable software (QR code reader) designed to decode text information included in a code, which takes the form, for example, of a web address. However, a QR code on a postage stamp is not a novelty of the world. Two Valentine postage stamps with QR codes and individual perforations in the shape of a heart were issued by Taiwan in 2011 with the text messages “Happy Valentine’s Day” and “I Love You!”.

The new Slovak postage stamp incorporates all current achievements of QR code postage stamps. It is not only in the shape of a heart, i.e. an illustrated QR code, but can also be identified as the first music video-stamp in the world issued for Valentine’s Day, as the QR code comprises a link to the video from the mega concert of the band Elán in Prague on September 20, 2003 with sequence of the song “Čakám Ťa láska” (I am Waiting for You, My Love) from their debut album “Ôsmy svetadiel” (The Eighth Continent). The classical postage stamp has thus become not only an interactive expression of love between the two in love but it is for all who would like to express their love in an untraditional way.

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Musical Stamp in form of Vinyl Disc

 

Record souvenir sheet from Switzerland

Date of Issue : 4 September 2014

Here is  a unique Souvenir sheet in form of  gramophone record from Switzerland.Swiss Post introduced a new series of original stamps that have form and function of vinyl discs.

A piece of music has been imprinted on the “record” part of the souvenir sheet using a special coating. When you take the circular, ready-for-postage stamp off the souvenir sheet and place it on your record player, it plays a brass band version of the Swiss national anthem.

Even if the stamp, which is suitable for franking, is detached from the souvenir sheet, a specially engraved soundtrack still allows the miniature sheet to be played on a record player which is set to 33 rpm.

 

Stamp on Gazzetta di Mantova – one of World’s oldest newspapers

 

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Date of Issue : 1 September 2014

Italian Post released a commemorative postage stamp to mark the 350th anniversary of the foundation of the Gazzetta di Mantova, the oldest surviving Italian newspaper.Gazzetta di Mantova is a local daily newspaper, published in Mantova, Italy. It was established in 1664 making it one of World’s oldest newspapers still existing.

The 70 cent stamp recording the printing of the Mantua organ’s first issue in 1664, since when it has played a major role in the life of the historic Lombardy city and today belongs to the Espresso-repubblica group of publications.The stamp depicts the oldest copy extant of the newspaper, conserved in the state archive of Modena, and its current masthead.

New Postal stationeries (postcards) from Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic  two new stationeries(postcards) featuring animals will be available soon. One postcard is featuring a butterfly and two kingfishers. The other one is featuring the butterfly Lesser Purple Emperor(Apatura ilia).

Courtesy : Wolfgang Beyer, Vice Chairman of the German Philatelic Collector Group ARGE ZOOLOGIE. E-Mail: Wolfgang.beyer1@aol.de . &  Wolfgang Hoelzl

Club News

BILASAPEX – 2014 – District level   stamp Exhibition

12-14 September 2014

A three days District Level Philatelic exhibition will be held at Bilaspur C. G. from 12th Sept. to 14th. September 2014. Following philatelic items are proposed to  be released during the exhibition.
3 Special Covers

1) Malhar Chattisgarh's Archaeological Gems
2) Kendai Water Fall
3) Bilaspur Railway Station 1989

4 Stamp Booklets

 

1) Chafara (Red Frangipani) Achanakmar
2) Bison -Wild Life of Achanakmar Tiger Reserve
3) Gandhi with Child
4) Mother Teresa

 

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