Stamp Order from Jersey

On 8th April I got my stamp order from Jersey.

My main reason to order was the magnificient set about Ghost Stories, which you can see on my stamp blog, but I also used the chance to buy the stamps about the Year of the Tiger, Ox and Rat. 

South Korea: Busan

On 3rd August I got a postcard from South Korea. 

The card shows a view of Busan. Busan is the second largest city in South Korea and a centre of economy, culture and education. Its port is the busiest in Korea and the sixth-busiest in the World and the surrounding economic zone is South Korea's largest industrial area. As Busan was one of the few areas in Korea that remained under the control of South Korea throughout the Korean War, for some time it served as a temporary capital of the Republic of Korea. Since 2014 is Busan part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as City of Film. Talking about films, you might know the movie Train to Busan or remember the Black Panther scenes set in this city. 

I had swapped for this card in late 2020, but due to mail suspensions it was just sent out in late July 2021. Both South Korean Year of the Ox stamps (issued 01-12-2020) were used here and once again this is a very nice set.

Thank You very much Jina!

Postcrossing Stamps from Guernsey

On 15th June I got my stamp order from Guernsey.

I think you can probably guess which stamps I had ordered from Guernsey in June, the Postcrossing stamps of course! The three stamps (issued 10-06-2021) show three local animals sending mail. As little easter egg the mail is actually addressed to the administrators of Postcrossing. I especially like the crab, which was also used on the sujet of the First Day Cover.

This time I decided to buy the mint stamps as well, as I had shortly before reorganized my stamp albums and created an extra section for Postcrossing stamps. As I had not bought the older Postcrossing stamps earlier in mint condition, I bought them this time. In comparision it is interesting to see that not only the size of the stamp sets and thus the prize increased from issue to issue but also the size of the actual stamps.

Usually I do not get them for my collection, but as I was born in the Year of the Ox, I decided to buy Guernsey's Chinese New Year stamps (issued 26-01-2021) as well. 

For sure I also ordered the stamped and postmarked postcards, but there was a mistake and I got the maxicards instead. The confusion was soon resolved and already on 21st June I got the postcards I had ordered. 

USA: New York City

On 26th May I got two postcards from the USA.

One of them shows an aerial view of New York City.

The card was sent with the US Year of the Ox stamp (issued 02-02-2021) and its First Day Special Postmark. The other stamp shows Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold (issued 05-11-1988), an aviation pioneer and general officer.

Thank You very much Yue!

Singapore: Gardens by the Bay

On 17th May I got a postcard from Singapore. 

It shows the Gardens by the Bay. The Gardens by the Bay are one of Singapore's most famous landmarks and are built on 101 hectares of reclaimed land. It consists of 3 waterfront gardens and showcases a great diversity of flora and fauna from around the World. There are also 2 cool conservatories called Flower Dome and Cloud Forest. This card in particular shows some of the 18 Supertrees at night. These Supertrees are between 25m and 50m high and have many functions such as planting, shading and working as environmental engines for the gardens. The Gardens by the Bay are very high on the list of places I want to visit one day.

The whole Singaporean set about the Year of the Ox (issued 08-01-2021) was used on this card.

Thank You very much Jun!

USA: Niagara Falls

Last Tuesday I got a postcard from the USA.

It shows the Niagara Falls. The Niagra Falls is a group of three waterfalls on the border between Canada and the USA. It is famed for its beauty and is a valuable source of hydroelectric power. In all my years of collecting postcards this is just my second card of this famous spectacle of nature. The first one I received from Canada in August 2013.

Three great stamps were used on the card. First of all there is this year's Year of the Ox stamp (issued 02-02-2021). I really like this stamp with the shining crown and the nice blue, although I have heard that there are complaints that the stamp does not use the traditional colours of red and golden. The other two stamps celebrate former Chinese New Years, the Year of the Rat in 2008 (issued 09-01-2008) and even nicer the Year of the Ox in 2009 (issued 08-01-2009). Great to have these two stamps together on one card! Suitably they were cancelled in Buffalo with an Earth Day postmark. 

Thank You very much Audrey!

Poland: Floriańska Street in Kraków

Last Thursday I got a postcard from Poland.

It shows the Floriańska Street in Kraków. Floriańska Street is a street in Kraków's Old Town running from the Saint Florian's Gate to the Market Square. The view on this card faces towards the Market Square and Saint Mary's Church can be seen in the background. Many shops as well as monuments are located on this street. The most famous of them might be the former house of famous painter Jan Matejko. This card is such a nice reminder of My Trip to Kraków back in 2019, when I passed this street multiple times.

Three interesting stamps were used on the card. On the right is Poland's Year of the Ox stamp (issued 26-02-2021). After the Year of the Rat this is already the second Polish stamp about Chinese New Year. Like last year's issue it is round. The stamp in the middle is from a set of three about Dinosaurs (issued 25-11-2020). Shown on this one is the predatory dinosaur Dilophosaurus. The other two stamps show Scelidosaurus and Coelophysis. This set was apparently rather popular among collectors, as it is already sold out in the Polish Post's online shop and as a second set was already announced for 2022. The last stamp commemorates the 5th anniversary of the Territorial Defence Force (issued 14-02-2021), the fifth military branch of the Polish Armed Forces made up of professional and part-time volunteer soldiers. The two stamps on the right were cancelled with a special Postcrossing postmark from Wrocław. Throughout the year two different Postcrossing postmarks are used in the city. This one shows bees, while the other one shows storks.

Thank You very much Ola!

Philippines: Carabao

On 26th March I got two postcards: one from the Philippines and one from Austria.

The card from the Philippines shows an illustration of a Carabao. The Carabao is a domestic swamp-type water buffalo native to the Philippines. It can also be found in Guam and Malaysia and has a special cultural significance in all three territories. The illustration is by Doodle ni Maria.

The Philippine Year of the Ox stamps (issued 28-12-2020) were used on the card. The ox shown especially on the right stamp looks rather similar to the Carabao. The postmark used on the stamps is really minimalistic showing just the date. 

Thank You very much Jill!

Year of the Ox from Australia, China and Macau

Like I had said before, on 11th March I got my stamp order from Macau.

The mint Year of the Ox stamps I have already shown you, but I have also ordered this special FDC with bears not only the set from Macau but also the two stamps from China (issued 05-01-2021). 

As I like the Chinese stamps very much, I later also ordered this special folder from Australia, which includes not only the Australian stamps but also mint sheets of the Chinese stamps. This folder is so huge that it does not fit in my scanner, so I had to take photos instead. On the photo you can also nicely see the shining effect of the Australian stamps. 

Australia: Year of the Ox

On 10th March I got three postcards: one from Australia, one from Austria and one from Italy.

The card from Australia is the official Year of the Ox card of the Australian Post.

The card is prepaid, but...

... was added with one of the three Year of the Ox stamps (issued 08-01-2021) and got cancelled with a nice special postmark from Melbourne's Chinatown, the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the Western World and the oldest Chinatown in the Southern Hemisphere. I really like these stamps. They are embossed and shine if they are held against the light.

Thank You very much Jingdan!

Just in like in Macau I also ordered these stamps directly from Australian Post in mint condition. Also like Macau Australia changed the design of the Chinese New Year stamps, as actually last year a different design was announced for the following years. Unfortunately I do not know why.

cover from France

On 25th February I got two covers including one from France.

The two French Year of the Ox stamps (issued 08-02-2021) were used on the cover and got cancelled with the special postmark from the philatelic shop in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Thank You very much William!

Estonia: Põltsamaa Museum

On 20th February I got three postcards: one from Estonia, one from Germany and one from Belarus.

The card from Estonia shows Põltsamaa Museum. Põltsamaa Museum is located in Põltsamaa Castle, which dates back to a defensive crusader castle of the Livonian Order from the late 13th century. Over the course of the centuries the castle often changed hands. For example it was the official residence of Magnus of Holstein, the titular King of Livonia between 1570 and 1578.

The Estonian Year of the Ox stamp (issued 12-02-2021) was used on the card.

Thank You very much Carmen!

Belarus: Reinhold von Bissing

On 20th February I got three postcards: one from Belarus, one from Estonia and one from Germany.

The card from Belarus shows Reinhold von Bissing, who was postmaster of Vilnius in the 17th century.

The Belarusian Year of the Ox stamp (issued 08-02-2021) was used on this card and got cancelled with the new permanent special Postcrossing postmark from Minsk. 

Thank You very much Igor!

Macau: Year of the Ox

On 17th February I got three postcards: one from Macau, one from Austria and my first card from Gabon.

The card from Macau is a Year of the Ox card.

Like usual Macau Post also issued this year a set of "normal" stamps about the Chinese New Year and a label stamp. The label stamp about this Year of the Ox (issued 20-01-2021) was used on the card and got cancelled with the First Day Special Postmark. To note that this year the label stamp was issued on time, while last year it had been postponed multiple times due to Covid-19. A second stamp was used to cover the postage for a card to Germany.

Two cachets were applied to the card as well. One of them promotes the fight against Covid-19.

Thank You very much Jerry!

As I did not expect to find someone to swap with in Macau, I ordered the "normal" Year of the Ox stamps in early January. They finally arrived here on 11th March. Actually it was said last year that a new series was started with the Year of the Rat, but these stamps are completely different. I really wonder why they changed the plans.

Hong Kong: Year of the Ox Meet-up

On 13th February I got three postcards: two from Hong Kong and one from Taiwan.

The first card from Hong Kong is a Postcrossing Meet-up Card about the Year of the Ox. I guess it depicts a Chinese legend, but I do not know its name. Maybe someone does? Similar meet-ups were held in other cities in Mainland China. On the backside the card lists Jinan, Xian, Yngkou, Yangzhou, Chenzhou, Wenzhou, Gongguan, Taiyuan, Chongqing, Ningbo and Zhongshan. 

The card was signed during the meet-up. One of Hong Kong's four Year of the Ox stamps (issued 28-01-2021) was used and got cancelled with a nice postmark of ox and rat. 

The second card from Hong Kong is a different card about the same meet-up. 

A different Year of the Ox stamp was used and got cancelled with a different special postmark.

Thank You very much Kayee!