Israel ATM FDC on "Common Bottlenose Dolphin"

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Israel

Common Bottlenose Dolphin ATM

Date of Issue : 17 April 2012

Another very very nice ATM FDC from Israel. Thank You so much to my friend !

Sri Lanka Postcard - Colombo Town Hall

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Bilhete Postal

Sri Lanka

A Sri Lankan view postcard showing the Colombo Town Hall. Thank You very much to my friend !

El Salvador Postcard - San Vicente Tower

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Bilhete Postal

El Salvador

A nice El Salvador postcard showing the San Vicente Tower. I also like the stamp on the card. Thank You very much !

Israel FDC on "High Priest's Breastplate (2)"

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Israel

High Priest's Breastplate (2)

Date of Issue : 17 April 2012

(Top FDC)
Dan: Leshem – Zircon (Red – yellow). Zircon is a zirconium silicate mineral and its colour comes from trace element impurities. The possible location of mineral deposit was Upper Egypt.

Naftali: Ahlamah – Amethyst (Red Wine). Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz, silicon dioxide, containing iron impurities, which give it its colour. The possible location of mineral deposit was Nubian Desert.

(2nd FDC)
Issachar: Sapir - Lazurite (Dark Blue). Lazurite is a feldspathoid mineral and a member of the sodalite group, with sulphate, sulphur and chlorine. Sapphires were not known in the Middle East at the time. The possible location of mineral deposit was Sar-e-Sang deposits, Badkhshan, Afghanistan.

Zevulun: Yahalom – Quartz (White). Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust and is composed of silicon and oxygen. Diamond was not known in ancient times. The possible location of mineral deposits was Upper Egypt or Sinai.

Indonesia FDC on "50th Anniversary of Asia-Pacific Postal Union"

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Indonesia


50th Anniversary of Asia-Pacific Postal Union

Date of Issue : 1 April 2012

Asian-Pacific Postal Union (APPU) began as the Philippines government invited 18 countries for a roundtable in Manila on 10 - 23 January 1961. Among the countries invited were Afghanistan, Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China,India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The roundtable drew up the Asian-Oceanic Postal Convention that was to come into force on 1 April 1962. On that date, a regional postal union was established with Manila as its headquarters and Mr. Palomar, Postamster General of the Philippines elected as the first Director. Later, the headquarters was relocated to Bangkok in 2002.

Affiliated to the Universal Postal Union, a specialised agency of the United Nations, today APPU is an inter-governmental body of 32 countries namely: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Lao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nuru, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samao, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

Latvia FDC on "100th Anniversary of Riga Zoo"

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Latvia

100th Anniversary of Riga Zoo

Date of Issue : 14 April 2012

The stamp with a face value of LVL 0.35, intended for mailing a regular letter within Latvia, features a lion. The Lion Pit was one of the first exhibits in Riga Zoo when it was founded in 1912. The current Lions' House was built in 1938, funded by Riga City. This animal is sometimes considered to be the symbol of Riga - golden lions holding a shield are also depicted in the current coat of arms of Riga, which was designed in 1925.

The stamp with a face value of LVL 0.55, intended for mailing a regular letter within the European Union, depicts a kiang. The kiangs of Riga Zoo, which have been part of its collection since 1957. Up to now, more than 100 kiang foals have been born in Riga Zoo. The zoo's group of kiangs now lives in the base Cīruļi outside the city.

Finally, the stamp with a face value of LVL 0.60, intended for mailing a regular letter to any country outside the European Union, displays a tree frog. The European tree frog was included in the stamp series because of the project initiated in 1988 by the specialists of Riga Zoo for the restoration of this amphibian species in Latvia.

Estonia FDC on "West-Harju Folk Costumes"

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Estonia

West-Harju Folk Costumes

Date of Issue : 14 April 2012

0.45 Euro : Hageri
1.00 Euro : Nissi

The stamps feature women of Hageri and Nissi Parishes in late 19th century dress. In that period, most Harju County men already wore city clothes. Checkered skirts, as well as dresses and jackets, then made their way into women’s attire. The main headgear throughout North Estonia was the pot hat that came in various colours. Girls’ headdress used to be wreaths and in Hageri they were sometimes made of strips of fabric of different colours. Kerchiefs were frequently worn, sometimes several of them one over the other. The Hageri woman and girl are wearing large purchased woollen kerchiefs, and besides, the woman is wearing a silk kerchief over her pot hat. Married women still observed the tradition of wearing an apron, which could have been of light white fabric, and in case of the Nissi woman it is decorated with embroidered lace and cord rucks. The Nissi woman is wearing a black lamb wool cardigan, although also jackets of novel design were worn at the time, and she has a sleigh rap over her forearm.

Slovakia FDC on "Ján Koniarek (1878 – 1952), Joint Issue with Serbia"

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Slovakia

Ján Koniarek (1878 – 1952), Joint Issue with Serbia

Date of Issue : 13 April 2012

An important Slovak sculptor of the first half of the 20th century and the founder of Slovak modern sculpture. He was born in 1878 in Voderady (near Trnava). He actively participated in exhibition events of Serbia. He focuses mostly on reliefs and portraits (Portrait of a father, 1905; Last breath, 1906; Head of John the Baptist, 1906 – 1912), as well as portraits of important Serbian celebrities (poets and writers: Dragutin Iljič, Jovan Dučič, Milorad Pavlovič-Krpa; painter Uroš Predič). In 1924 he relocated to Trnava where he stayed until his death. From 1978 the gallery in Trnava carries his name – Gallery of Ján Koniarek in Trnava where a permanent exposition of his works is located (2002).

China FDC on "Modern Chinese Musicians (I)"

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China


Modern Chinese Musicians (I)

Date of Issue : 15 April 2012

(Top FDC)
4-1 : Xiao Youmei (蕭友梅)
Xiao Youmei (1884 - 1940), a native of Guangdong Province, was a music educator and composer. In his early years, he went to study music in Japan and Germany. He established Shanghai National Conservatory of Music. Xiao created nearly 100 songs, two cantatas, orchestral music, piano music, cello music and others. His representative works include the art song "Ask?", and songs like " A Patriotic Song In Memory of the May Fourth Movement" and "A Song for National Revolution".

(2nd FDC)
4-2 : Liu Tianhua (劉天華)
Liu Tianhua (1895 - 1932), born in Jiangsu Province, was a composer, folk-music performer and music educator. He absorbed western music techniques, as well as reforming the techniques of playing such folk music instruments as erhu, and incorporating the techniques into teaching and playing. He composed such erhu pieces as "Soliloquy of a Convalescent", "Beautiful Evening", "Bird Song in a Desolate Mountain", and "Toward Brightness".

(3rd FDC)
4-3 : He Luting (賀綠汀)
He Luting (1903 - 1999), a native of Hunan Province, was a composer and music theorist. He once studied at Shanghai National Music School. After 1949, he was appointed director of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He composed songs for more than 20 Chinese films and dramas such as "Crossroads" and "Street Angel", and created popular songs like "The Wandering Songstress" and "Four Seasons Song". His renowned "Song of Guerrilla Fighters" during the anti-Japanese war period, the art song "On the Jialing River" and other film music became modern Chinese music classics.

(4th FDC)
4-4 : Ma Sicong (馬思聰)
Ma Sicong (1912 - 1987), born in Guangdong Province, was a modern Chinese composer and violinist. His "Nostalgia" created in 1937 became one of the 20th-century music classics. He served successfully as conductor for Taiwan Symphonic Band, headmaster of China Music School in Shanghai, and head of China Music Institute in Hong Kong. His "Song of Chinese Young Pioneers" was sung across the nation. He was reputed as the King of Violinists in China.

Portugal FDC on "Guimaraes 2012 - European Capital of Culture"

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Portugal

Guimarães 2012 - Capital Europeia da Cultura

Guimaraes 2012 - European Capital of Culture

Date of Issue : 10 April 2012

€0,32 : Largo da Oliveira
€0,47 : Cultural Vila Flor
€0,68 : Festas Nicolinas
€0,80 : Pousada de St.a Marinha da Costa

The project of the European Capitals of Culture was launched at the beginning of the 1980s by the Greek and French ministers of culture, Melina Mercouri and Jack Lang, respectively. Held for the first time in 1985 (Athens) it now involves two cities from different countries each year.

In 2012, Guimaraes is chosen as a European Capital of Culture (the other is Maribor, a city in Slovenia).The Guimaraes 2012 programme was organized in two main areas: creative art (art and architecture, performing arts, cinema and the audiovisual, music) and city and citizens (thought, city, community, public space), supported by an overall educational service. Furthermore, a programme managed by the local associations was created.

Dominican Republic Postcard

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Bilhete Postal

Dominican Republic

Very nice postcard showing the political map of Dominican Republic. The stamp is also very beautiful. Thank You very much to my friend !

China FDC on "50th Anniversary of the Asian-Pacific Postal Union"

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China


50th Anniversary of the Asian-Pacific Postal Union

Date of Issue : 1 April 2012

The Asian-Pacific Postal Union (APPU) was founded on 1 April 1962, by the name Asian-Oceanic Postal Union, and adopted its current name in March 1981. APPU is an inter-governmental organization of 32 postal administrations in the Asia-Pacific region.

The APPU Executive Council meets annually in each of the member countries in turn. In 1987 and 2003, China hosted APPU Executive Council annual conferences in Beijing and Boao (Hainan Province), respectively.

It is the first parallelogram stamp in China. Very special ! Thank You so much to my friend !

Guyana Postcard - Kaieteur Falls

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Bilhete Postal

Guyana

A very nice postcard from Guyana showing the Kaieteur Falls. Kaieteur Falls was discovered by Charles Barrington on 29 April 1870. The falls is 741ft high and is situated on the Potaro River. Thank You very much to my friend !

Russia FDC on "Centennial of the Birth of Marina Raskova"

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Russia

Centennial of the Birth of Marina Raskova

Date of Issue : 21 March 2012

Marina Raskova (March 28, 1912 - January 4, 1943) was a famous Soviet navigator. She later became one of over 800,000 women in the military service, founding three female air regiments which would eventually fly over 30,000 sorties in World War II. Raskova was among the first women awarded with the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

The stamp features a portrait of Raskova against route of fly, compass, slide rule, and navigation protractor.

Singapore Cover - World Water Day

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Singapore

A very nice Singaporean cover with the autograph of the designer of the "Reservoirs of Singapore" stamps, Mr Don Low. The 50cents stamp affixed on the cover features the Bedok Reservoir and is one of the "Reservoirs of Singapore" stamps. Thank you very much to my friend !

Israel FDC on "Symbols of Peace - Joint Issue Israel China"

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Israel

Symbols of Peace - Joint Issue Israel China

Date of Issue : 20 March 2012

2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and China.

The Israeli stamp features a white dove – the “dove of peace” and the Chinese stamp features a waxwing – the “bird of peace”. Each stamp also features an element from each country’s national flag: a Star of David and a five-pointed star.

A white dove bearing an olive branch is one of the most recognized symbols of peace. This symbol stems from the biblical story of Noah and the Ark featured in the book of Genesis, when Noah sends the dove to find land after the flood. The dove, which returned to the ark bearing an olive branch, symbolized that the flood was over and that peace had come to the world.

Legend has it that in ancient times a crow rescued the Chinese emperor. As a token of his gratitude for restoring his safety and saving his life, the emperor turned the crow into the “bird of peace”, now known as the “waxwing”. This bird represents the Chinese people as a people who strive for peace, hope, serenity and prosperity.

China FDC on "Peace Bird and Peace Dove"

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China


Peace Bird and Peace Dove (China - Israel Joint Issue)

Date of Issue : 20 March 2012

2-1 (pink background): Peace Bird
Legend has it that in ancient times a crow rescued the Chinese emperor. As a token of his gratitude for restoring his safety and saving his life, the emperor turned the crow into the “bird of peace”, now known as the “waxwing”. This bird represents the Chinese people as a people who strive for peace, hope, serenity and prosperity

2-2 (light blue background): Peace Dove
A white dove bearing an olive branch is one of the most recognized symbols of peace. This symbol stems from the biblical story of Noah and the Ark featured in the book of Genesis, when Noah sends the dove to find land after the flood. The dove, which returned to the ark bearing an olive branch, symbolized that the flood was over and that peace had come to the world.

Each stamp also features an element from each country’s national flag: a Star of David and a five-pointed star.

2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and China.