Stories of Stamps and Covers

Post card from Mt. Qomolangma (Everest) base camp

2010-06-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

I visited Tibet in May 2010, and we stopped by the Mt. Qomolangma base camp for a short while to admire the beautiful snow capped mountain. There is a post service station at the base camp area, hence I sent a post card home to get the post mark from such special place.
The summit of Mount Everest was the special route of the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay. There are two post marks on this card. The red post mark is to commemorate such event, which is named "Beijing Olympics Torch Relay Qomolangma Leg". The blue one marked 'Tingri province of Tibet, EBC post office service point'.

Malaysia - Celebrate the Millennium Series II

2009-12-17T20:15:00.000-08:00

I try to learn more about the stamps by checking on the ones I come across. While search for more details, I get lots of fun doing that , and learn more 'stories' about them.

While helping with some mails for an organization, I picked a few that interest me at first sight. So, I will update here the information I found.

Above is the stamp I cut from one of the envelop, which has the words "Millennium 18/20" on it. I found that this is a 2nd series issue by Malaysia, called "Celebrate the Millennium Series II". It is issued on 1st January 2000.

The full set of the issue as below:

a) Set of 10 stamps each with value of 30sen.

b) the miniature sheet with stamp of RM1 of value, and the background bears the map of Malaysia.

ATM stamps from Singapore

2009-12-17T19:38:00.000-08:00

While helping to open letters at an office, found a couple of unique stamps. On further checking, these are the ATM stamps from Singapore. If I interpreted them correctly, the S511 & S101 are the ATM machines that printed the issues. If anyone knows better about these, feel free to let me know, I will be gald to learn more about them. This is the first time I seen the real ATM stamps.

Energy Efficient Buildings

2009-09-11T05:21:00.000-07:00

Malaysia has issued a set of 3 stamps on 09-Sep-2009. Received a letter with one of the issued stamp with a very nice postmark, especially the date which is printed as '09.09.09'.

The full set comprised of 3 stamps with buildings as below:-
30-sen stamp : Green Energy Office at the Green Energy Centre
50-sen stamp: Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry's Low Energy Office
RM1 stamp: Energy Commission's Diamond Building

Cover from Thailand

2009-04-09T23:15:00.001-07:00

A friend received this cover with nice stamps from Thailand and gave it to me because she knows I'm interested in collecting stamps and covers.

Giant Panda - China stamps

2008-12-22T22:55:00.001-08:00

The following are some of the panda stamps I have, which were issued by China:

1) T.106M Giant Panda (Souvenir Sheet)
Technical details:-
Scott No: 1987
Serial number: T106M
Date of issue: May 24, 1985
Size of S/S: 74*80mm
Stamp of S/S: 40*60mm
Perforation: 11.5
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

On the right hand side are the 4 chinese words: 拯危继绝, which means to rescue the panda from the danger of extinction.

2) N57-62 Giant Panda (set of 6)
Technical details:-
Scott No: 1108-13
Serial number: N57-62
Values in set: 6
Date of issue: January 15, 1973
Denomination: 93 fen
Designer: Wu Zuoren, Xu Yanbo
Size of stamps: 30*40mm for N57, N58, N61, N62;40*30mm for N59, N60
Perforation:11.5*11 for N57, N58, N61, N62;11*11.5 for N59, N60
Sheet composition: 50(10*5) for N57, N58, N61, N62;50(5*10) for N59, N60
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

Metric Conversion : Stamp from Australia

2008-10-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

The above is from a set of 4 stamps issued by Australia in 1973, for metric conversion process on Mass, Temperature, Length and Volume. I only have the above 3 stamps in my collection, the complete set should also include the following.

China stamp, #2001-3: Clowns in Beijing Opera

2008-10-24T05:22:00.000-07:00

One of the roles of Bejing Opera is called Chou or 丑，which is Clown or Comedy Actor.

For more explanation of the roles, please check from page below:
http://www.chinapage.com/xwang/roles.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_opera#Chou

The following set made up of six stamps:
Scott No: 3085-90
Serial number: 2001-3
Values in set: 6
Denomination: 6.80 yuan
Date of issue: 15 February 2001
Designer: Li Qingfa and Jiang Weijie
Size: 30*40 mm
Perforation: 12*11.5
Sheet composition: 20
Printing process: gravure
Printer: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing House

The stamps depict the different characters from different stories:-
SN:(6-1), Title: Tang Qin
SN:(6-2), Title: Liu Lihua
SN:(6-3), Title: Gao Lishi
SN:(6-4), Title: Jiang Gan
SN:(6-5), Title: Yang Xiangwu
SN:(6-6), Title: Shi Qian

Registered cover from Hong Kong

2008-08-27T00:58:00.000-07:00

The stamps on the cover are from 2 different issues.
The stamp in the middle is from the following sheetlet which is issued on 3-August-2007: "Stamp Sheetlet to Commemorate Hongkong Post's Participation in BANGKOK 2007"

The ones on the left and right of the above are 2 different stamps from a definitive set of Hong Kong Skyline issued in 1997. The set made up of 16 of them as below:-

Cover and stamps from Mongolia

2008-07-22T22:52:00.000-07:00

Received a letter with stamps from Mongolia:

A very nice envelope and stamps. The stamp on the left is issued in year 2007, for Year of the Pig.
The one in the middle is issued in 2000 (1 July). Aspects of Buddha. T 577 and similar vert designs. Multicoloured. P 12. It is in blocks of 10:
2847 550t. Yamantaka
2848 550t. Mahakala
2849 550t. Inscr “Esura”
2850 550t. Begze
2851 550t. Shridevi
2852 550t. Vajrapani
2853 550t. Kubera
2854 550t. Siti Mahakala
2855 550t. Yama
2856 550t. Inscr “Sritzaturtuka”
The one shown above in the middle is the 10th stamp of the mentioned block, with inscription "Sritzaturtuka". I did some search in the web but couldn't find much details of this issue.

For the stamp on the right most I also couldn't locate much details. If anyone can provide any details of the above nice stamps, do feel free to leave your comments. Thanks.

China - 2008 Olympics

2008-07-06T00:14:00.001-07:00

This is a second set of the same issue I put up earlier:-
Serial number: 2007-22
Date of issue: August 8th, 2007

The Beijing 2008 Olympics moscots are made of some of China's popular animals ie. the panda, Tibet Antelope, swallow, fish, and the Olympic Flame. Their name are makde up of Chinese characters which express the phrase "Welcome to Beijing", which is Beijing(北京) Huan(欢) Ying(迎) Ni(你) in Chinese.

The mascots are thus called in two-syllable name as Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini.

Of course there are more to what these moscots means. Please refer to the following:
http://en.beijing2008.cn/spirit/beijing2008/graphic/n214068254.shtml

Envelope - Chinese Tea art

2008-07-05T23:03:00.001-07:00

This is an interesting envelope, with information about Chinese tea drinking and some of the utensils used. This is from a tea house which I received sometime ago. The front of the envelope has a drawing of the tea port, and the back has more drawings and further details.

China stamp : Wild Camels

2008-06-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

This set of stamp is titled "Wild Camel". The set of two stamps are issued on 20-Feb-1993. It's a set of two, with face value of 0.60 & 1.20 yuan respectvely.

The wild camel, is also known as two-humped wild camel, which is the ancestor of domestic camels. They live is desert and can subsist on coarse and sparse food. The wild camel is now listed under the 1st category of the State Protected Species in China.

China Stamps: Olympics and Ancient Sports

2008-03-19T07:02:00.000-07:00

1) China has issued quite a number of sets of stamp for the coming 2008 Olympics. I have recently acquired the following which were issued in 2007.

The Games of The XXIX Olympiad - Olympic Sports(II)
Serial number: 2007-22
Values in set: 6
Date of issue: August 8th, 2007
Denomination: 720 fen
Designer: Ma Gang
Size of stamps: 30 * 40 mm
Perforation: 13.5 * 13
Size of sheet: 216 * 156 mm
Sheet composition: 20 for Sheet I;12 (2 sets) for Sheet II
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

This set of stamps depicting the six games, i.e. Diving, shooting, athletics, volleyball, BMX, and Weightlifting

2) Incidentally, I also have a set of stamps which depicts olden sports in China issued more than 20 years ago: Sports of Ancient China

The 4 stamps:- 4-1 Bow and arrow
4-2 weiqi
4-3 chuiwan (ball hitting) 捶丸 , an ancient Chinese ball and club game.
4-4 cuju (ball-kicking) 蹴鞠 , an ancient Chinese sport similar to today’s football (soccer).

Technical details:-
Scott No: 2070-73
Serial number: T113
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: December 20, 1986
Denomination: 76 fen
Designers: Zhou Jingxin
Size of stamps:Value 1, 4 : 30*40mm;Value 2, 3: 40*30mm
Perforation:Value 1, 4: 11.5*11;Value 2, 3: 11*11.5
Sheet composition:Value 1, 4: 50(10*5);Value 2, 3: 50(5*10)
Print: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

The 2006 Hong Kong Definitive Stamps

2008-02-08T00:31:00.000-08:00

Recently received a letter from Hong Kong, decided to find out more about the definitive stamp set currently in used for my own knowledge.

This is one of the set of 16 definitive stamps which is the third set of definitive stamps issued by Hong Kong Post since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

For more details of this set of stamp, please refer to:
http://www.hongkongpoststamps.com/eng/stamps/definitive_stamps/2006/introduction.htm

Non-denominated Postage Stamps from Taiwan

2007-12-07T23:25:00.000-08:00

Bought some stamps and covers from an exhibition. Interestingly found one cover with 'Non-denominated Postage stamps'. This is issued by Taiwan on July 20, 1991:

Postcard #14 from Germany

2007-11-24T06:20:00.000-08:00

This postcard is received from Germany, with a view of the place called Marien Platz, at the center of Munich.

Postcard #13 from York, England

2007-11-10T01:29:00.000-08:00

This postcard is received from England, the picture is about the town called York, in north eastern English. It seems this town has a lot of historic buildings and museums, and hence is popular with tourists.

Postcard #12 from Germany

2007-11-10T01:21:00.000-08:00

This is postcard with pictures of the town Lübeck, at the north of Germany, neat the Baltic Sea.

Postcards #10 & #11 from France

2007-11-10T01:10:00.000-08:00

Received the following 2 postcards from France through Postcrossing.

Postcard #10, picture of Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Postcard #11, pictures on Thionville, a town in north-east of France, close to Luxemburg.

Hong Kong Classic Series No. 10 issued in 1997

2007-09-29T20:47:00.001-07:00

30 Jun 1997 Classic Series No. 10 $5 Stamp Sheetlet
97年 6月30日經典系列第十號五元郵票小型張

Malaysia Registered package with Thomas/Uber cup championship stamps

2007-09-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

The registered package has used the series of stamps that was issued in year 2000 for the Thomas Cup & Uber Cup bandminton championship. The set comes with 5 stamps:

30s Thomas Cup player.

30s Flags of participating countries and Thomas Cup.

30s Badminton Association of Malaysia Bee logo.

30s Flags of participating countries and Uber Cup.

30s Uber Cup player.

China Folk House

2007-08-13T01:58:00.000-07:00

This is from a set of 14 stamps issued in 1986, named 'Folk House'.
Scott No: 2049-62
Serial number: R23
Values in set: 14
Date of issue: April 1, 1986

The stamp below is the 13th of the set, titled Fujian Folk House:

More details and full set stamp graphics can be found here:
http://www.xabusiness.com/china-stamps-1986/r23.htm
http://gzzdf.blog.sohu.com/16762055.html

FDC - China : 1993-5 Weiqi

2007-07-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

Scott No: 2436-37
Serial number: 1993-5
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: April 30, 1993
Designers: Qian Zhongping
Size: 30*40mm
Perforation: 12
Sheet composition: 50
Printing process: offset

KLIA Maximum Card - 1988

2007-07-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

This is maximum card created with stamp issued on 27-Jun-1998, for Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) located at Sepang, Malaysia.

Postcard #9 : Mongolia

2007-06-23T23:15:00.000-07:00

World Vision personalised stamp from Mongolia

2007-06-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

Below are some stamps received for letters from Mongolia. These are personalised stamps of World Vision, an organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.

Stamps of Mongolia

2007-06-23T06:32:00.000-07:00

Some stamps from Mongolia ................

Postcard #8 from France

2007-05-09T05:28:00.000-07:00

Postcard #7 from France

2007-05-09T05:21:00.000-07:00

Postcard #6 from Japan

2007-05-09T04:57:00.000-07:00

Postcard #5 from Portugal

2007-04-04T04:30:00.000-07:00

A very nice postcard in black & white....

Cover from Singapore

2007-03-31T06:07:00.000-07:00

China - Registered cover

2007-03-29T05:50:00.000-07:00

Registered airmail cover from China. The 2 stamps (in green & red) with paper cutting figures on top right corner are not real stamps, but are printed on the envelope.

Postcard #4 from Germany

2007-03-28T04:50:00.000-07:00

Another nice posrcard from Germany, somehow the stamps didn't get cancelled.

Postcard #3 from Finland

2007-03-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

Another nice postcard from Finland with snow scenery, and postmark from Helsinki.

Postcard #2 from Finland

2007-03-22T05:09:00.000-07:00

Received the above postcard today from Finland! There is also a very nice stamp at the back, which is in shiny silver color. But after scanning, the color somehow becomes golden and didn't turn out as clear or look as good as the original, so I decided not to put it up.

Postcard #1 from Germany & nice stamps

2007-03-20T05:07:00.000-07:00

Received a postcard from Germany today with picture of an interesting town which would be good to visit someday. And the sharp postmark and the nice stamps are additional surprise! The stamp on the right has embossed white stars.

China 1954 - Regular Issue with Design of Tian An Men (6th Print)

2007-03-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

Regular Issue with Design of Tian An Men (6th Print)
Scott No: 206-213
Serial number: R7
Values in set: 8
Date of issue: April 16, 1954

Recently acquired 7 of these stamps, still missing the one with 1600 fen.

Postmark from Mongolia

2007-03-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

Postmark from Malaysia

2007-03-17T07:52:00.000-07:00