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. 

An Odyssey of some Rats during Covid-19

The Coronavirus currently has a strong impact on international mail services. The Postal Monitor on Postcrossing lists at the moment 116 countries where Germany does not send mail to and 32 countries which have suspended all their international mail operations. This includes for example India, which means that at least 1billion people around the World can not send any international mail. For people swapping postcards or the few who might still be reliant upon the normal mail this is for sure horrible, also because if a mail line is not suspended it does not mean that the mail arrives in the normal time, but in comparision with the people who died, lost their jobs or suffered otherwise this for sure is just a small problem. An even minor problem is the impact on the issuing of new stamps around the World, but for a philatelist still of interest. While some countries like Austria, Germany or the USA just go on like usual, others like Ireland, Italy or Spain postponed all stamps for the moment. On the other side the current situation also makes a "good" theme for stamps and a small thematic collection. At least three countries (Iran, Switzerland, Vietnam) so far issued stamps about Covid-19, some others (e.g. Brazil, Isle of Man) already announced issues and more will most likely follow in the next months. Although these will make interesting mementos of this current crisis and I will try to get as many of them as possible (already got Vietnam, Isle of Man will follow), the following set will be my personal philatelic memento of Covid-19.

2020 is the Year of the Rat and like usual I tried to collect as many related stamps as possible. As of mid March I actually already got all the ones I was looking for. My favourite of these sets of this year (if not my favourite stamp set of all of this year) is definitely the one from Macao followed by France, Singapore and Vietnam. One of the stamps from Macao I already got on 24th January on a matching card and with First Day Special Postmark, which had been sent on the 5th January (see it here). The crucial point however is, as I like this set very much, I also ordered it in mint condition from the online shop of Macao Post also on 5th January. Actually I hoped to post the card and the mint set together, but the virus seems to did not like that idea. While they got their money like usual, I never heard something again and already thought my order got lost. An order from Australia, where I also ordered Year of the Rat stamps at around the same time, namely already arrived on 23rd January. I checked the website of Macao Post a few times to see whether they might have maybe stopped working, but the only thing they wrote was that the label stamp for the Year of the Rat was (and still is) postponed. Buying stamps online sometimes has a risk especially in times like that and I actually did not planned to do anything about it, but on 16th March I got an e-mail stating that my order would now be sent out, which I could not believe in the first moment. Last Wednesday, on 22nd April, however I was very happy to finally have my order in my hands. Comparing it with an older order from Macao Post it now actually took just one week longer than usual. While I can completely understand that these days international mail takes longer to arrive and also that postal services might stop to handle orders, I am actually just a little bit sad that they just do so without any notice. Would a small information or a little sorry would be too much after an order is held back for over to two months?

This I think is a quite stark mail story for the current situation, but there are so many more. To keep a postal diary of this situation I created here on this blog the label *Covid-19, which I will attach to all posts testifying to whatever I now think to be memorable of this situation when I will take another look there later on. This will include super long travels, stamps and cards about cancelled events or about the virus itself or maybe just some cards I was happy to receive whether they might be the only ones in some weeks or just have some nice messages. The first few posts already got the label beginning in early March with my first mention of the coronavirus in a post about Milan. The decrease of incoming mail also gives me the chance to do something I wanted to do for some time but never did. I will from now on change the form of my posts a bit. I will break their rigid form and will include more things of my personal interest. Also I will most likely split big incomings of single days over some days to only have just one post a day and thus post less things on more days.

This is the souvenir sheet for this issue. Apart from these two I also bought a set about the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, which you can see here.

USA: New York City

On 17th March I got four postcards: one from the USA and three from Germany.

The card from the USA shows New York City. New York City is a city on the East Coast of the USA in the State of New York. It is the largest city of the USA, an important financial centre, a global city and the seat of many international concerns and organisations such as the United Nations. Furthermore it is a centre of art, commerce, creativity, education, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environmental sustainability, fashion, media, research, politics, sports, technology and tourism and has been described as Capital of the World or as The City that Never Sleeps. In recent days however the city has been petrified by the coronavirus and large event are cancelled or postponed. It is currently the worst-affected part of the USA, which itself has the most confirmed active cases in the World and ranks third in the number of total deaths from the virus.

Stamps:
Year of the Pig (issued 17-01-2019)
Year of the Rat (issued 11-01-2020)
The stamp was printed with gold foil.
with First Day Special Postmark
label

Thank You very much Yue!

Malaysia: Architecture

Last Saturday I got four postcards: one from Malaysia, two from Spain and one from Italy.

The card from Malaysia shows a medley of Malaysian architecture from colonial buildings to skyscrapers.

Stamp:
Calligraphy in Malaysia (from set of three) (issued 06-02-2020)
This is Malaysia's Year of the Rat stamp.

Thank You very much Matthew!

Taiwan: Pingzhen Meet-up

Last Thursday I got three postcards: one from Taiwan, one from Spain and one from Thailand.

The card from Taiwan is about the Postcrossing Meet-up in Pingzhen in December 2019. It was turned into a maxicard with one of Taiwan's two Year of the Rat stamps (issued 03-12-2019).

It is an official card: TW-2911926

The card was signed during the Meet-up.
Stamp:
Chinese Fruit Engravings (from set of two) (issued 15-07-1999)
with the same special postmark as on the front side

Thank You very much Komimi!

Thailand: Mice

Last Thursday I got three postcards: one from Thailand, one from Taiwan and one from Spain.

The card from Thailand shows an illustration of mice.

With related stamps:
Year of the Mouse (issued 02-01-2020)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Kwanjira!

Estonia: House in a Mushroom

On Tuesday I got five postcards: one from Estonia, three from Germany and one from Italy.

The card from Estonia shows a house in a mushroom.

Stamp:
Year of the Rat (issued 25-01-2020)

Thank You very much Polina!

cover from Canada

On Friday I got not only two postcards but also two covers including one from Canada.

Stamp:

Year of the Rat (from set of two) (issued 17-01-2020)

with a special postmark about the Atlantic Charter showing USS Augusta

Thank You very much Erik!

Lunar New Year Sheets from the Åland Islands

On Friday I got my stamp order from the Åland Islands.

From Åland I ordered the souvenir sheets about the Year of the Mouse (issued 24-10-2019), the Year of the Dog (issued 10-11-2017) and the Year of the Rooster (issued 11-11-2016).

France: Nantes

On Tuesday I got seven postcards: two from France, four from Belgium and one from Italy.

One of the cards from France shows various views of Nantes. Nantes is a city in the region of Pays de la Loire. It is the sixth-largest city in France and is known for its quality of life. In 2013 it received the European Green Capital Award. Historically Nantes is known for the Edict of Nantes signed in 1598, which legalised the Protestantism in France. In the 18th century it was an important port for the French Atlantic slave trade.

With a nice stamp:
Year of the Rat (from set of two) (issued 20-01-2020)
with a special postmark from the philatelic shop in Nantes

On the same day I also got a cover with the second Year of the Rat stamp and a special postmark from the philatelic shop in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Thank You very much William!

Singapore: Year of the Rat

Last Thursday I got two postcards: one from Singapore and one from Japan.

The card from Singapore is a maxicard about the Year of the Rat. The stamp is from a set of two and was issued on 8th January 2020.

On the backside are two matching postmarks.
With a matching stamp:
Year of the Rat - Label (issued 08-01-2020)
Evening in Singapore (from set of six) (issued 08-03-2018)
with a special postmark from the General Post Office

Thank You very much Jelene!

Belarus: Postman

On 6th February I got a postcard from Belarus.

It shows a Postman from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the second half of the 18th century.

Stamp:
Year of the Rat (issued 17-01-2020)
The stamp is printed with gold foil.

Thank You very much Igor!

Year of the Rat FDC from Serbia

Last Wednesday I got not only four postcards but also two covers including one from Serbia.

Stamps:

Year of the Rat (from set of two) (issued 24-01-2020)

Actually both stamps were used, but as you can see, one got lost on the journey.

with First Day Special Postmark

Zica Monastery (issued 07-11-2019)

Thank You very much Yue for arranging this one for me!

Poland: Szczecin

Last Tuesday I got two postcards: one from Poland and one from Japan.

The card from Poland shows cranes in Szczecin. Szczecin is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is located near the Baltic Sea and the German border and is a major seaport. Also it is Poland's seventh-largest city. Between 1630 and 1720 the city was a part of Sweden and as such it was since 1648 even the capital of Swedish Pomerania. In 1720 it was acquired by Prussia and then the German Empire. Following World War II Szczecin became part of Poland in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. 

Stamps:
75 years Liberation of Auschwitz (issued 27-01-2020)
Year of the Rat (issued 27-01-2020)

Thank You very much Kasia!

Slovenia: Lendava

Last Monday I got a postcard from Slovenia.

It shows various views of Lendava. Lendava is the easternmost municipality in Slovenia in the region of Prekmurje. It is the centre of the Hungarian minority in Slovenia.

Stamps:
New Year (issued 09-11-2018)
Year of the Rat (issued 31-01-2020)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Mateja!

Year of the Rat FDC from Uruguay

Last Monday I got not only a postcard but also a cover from Uruguay.

With a nice stamp:

Year of the Rat (issued 20-01-2020)

with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Yue!

China: Year of the Rat

On 29th January I got two postcards: one from China and one from Japan.

The card from China is a maxicard about the Year of the Rat. The stamp is from a set of two and was issued on 5th January 2020.

With matching stamps:
Science and Technology Innovation (two from set of five) (issued 01-11-2019)
Year of the Rat (whole set) (issued 05-01-2020)

Thank You very much Ningxin!

When I recently ordered stamps from Australia, I also bought a special folder which includes the sheets of the Chinese rat stamps in mint condition.

Kyrgyzstan: Year of the Rat

On 27th January I got five postcards: one from Kyrgyzstan, three from Austria and one from the Philippines.

The card from Kyrgyzstan is a maxicard. The stamp is about the Year of the Rat and was issued on 2nd December 2019.

The stamp on the front side was used as postage. On the back side are just two labels.

Thank You very much Yue!

Philippines: Vigan

On 24th January I got six postcards: two from the Philippines, one from Russia, one from Hong Kong, one from Macau and one from Australia.

One of the cards from the Philippines shows a street view of Vigan. Vigan is the capital of the province of Ilocos Sur on Luzon. It was established in the 16th century and is the best-preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia. Its architecture reflects the coming together of cultural elements from the Philippines, China and Europa. Since 1999 is the Historic City of Vigan on the UNESCO World Heritage List and in 2015 it was also recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities.

Stamps:
Year of the Rat (whole set) (issued 13-12-2019)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Mitch!

Australia: Year of the Rat

On 24th January I got six postcards: one from Australia, two from the Philippines, one from Russia, one from Hong Kong and one from Macau.

The card from Australia is about the Year of the Rat.

The card is prepaid and was cancelled with a special Year of the Rat postmark.

Thank You very much Jenny!

One day before I got this card I also got my stamp order from Australia, which included the three Australian stamps about the Year of the Rat in mint condition.