Date of Issue
: 30 October 2020
Santa
conducting a festive carol-singing choir of island birds. Accompanying
the carol-singing choir is an enthusiastic band of percussionists, led by
Rudolph playing his Malaysian kompang.
Dehradun December 2020 Vol. XIII
Issue No. 156
Readers are requested to send reports of philatelic
activities in their area for publication. Short write ups by the readers about
their journals, societies, publications and philatelic requirements can be sent
for inclusion in this bulletin to the editor: j.jyoti9@gmail.com
Note- This bulletin is only for circulation among a limited
group of philatelists without any commercial purpose. The bulletin will be sent
to the readers only on request. Those who wish to receive it regularly please
reply giving the name of your city / country with the subject SUBSCRIBE RAINBOW
Dear Reader,
I
am happy to release December 2020 issue of Rainbow Stamp News. With this issue
Rainbow completes 13 years of successful publication without a break and now
enters into the 14th year. Thanks to all its esteemed Readers and
Contributors for their contribution over the years. The year 2020 was poorly
affected with Pandemic of COVID -19 and
the situation is still quite bad all over the world. This issue expresses its
gratitude through a special philatelic column to all first line Corona
warriors who are continuously working and giving their services to fight this
pandemic. The festive time of Christmas is coming ….find some very special Christmas stamps in this issue and Have a great time
! Stay Safe and Healthy !
This is all for this month. More in the next issue…
Happy Collecting ! Merry
Christmas !
Contents
§ From the Desk of Naresh Agrawal
§ Recent Indian Issues
§ In The News
§ Thematic Watch
§ Philately Promoter of the Month
§ Beginners’ Section
§ Specialized Section
§ New Issues from Other Countries
§ Philatelic Library
§ Philatelic Clubs and Society
§ Blogs & Websites on Philately
§ Current Philatelic Magazines & Newsletters
LET VIRTUAL
EXHIBITING BE FULLY VIRTUAL
Philatelic practices are changing fast as new fields in
philately are being explored, new ways
of exhibiting are being introduced and
insisted upon for implementation, new type of material are being included in
exhibits and are appreciated. Yes, philately
is changing its direction and practices. The latest one is the introduction and implementation of Virtual Exhibiting. There have been a
successful conduct of a few Virtual
Philatelic Exhibitions in the recent past as an outcome of COVID 19 as
physical exhibiting was not possible.
Yes, this kept the momentum of philately
moving. Rather during this period philately actually prospered.
It is really pleasing to see that the Digital Exhibitions held during last few months have been quite successful as in
these exhibitions the physical exhibits said to have been displayed digitally.
We all witnessed very high quality exhibits with ease sitting at home with no time constraints
and also with the facility of zooming in and out. That’s the way we all visited
these virtual shows. No doubt the best way to exhibit and to watch the exhibits.
Well, every competitive exhibition is
studded with the spirit of competitiveness amongst the philatelists to
get best of the award. Jury of course is the key body to decide on the quality
and standard of the exhibit within set rules and regulations applied for that particular exhibition and
to give suitable award. These virtual exhibitions were supposed to
display the scans of physical exhibits of any participant or say competitor. And
most of the participant or exhibitors
followed this rule too. But, it is a matter of great displeasure that a few of
the exhibitors displayed digitally prepared exhibition sheets or some material
which in fact was either not available with them physically or had not been put
on sheets physically. That means that was a total virtual exhibit. No scans of
physical exhibiting. Further, computer operations skills and software like
Coral Draw, Photoshop etc. could help giving different look to the exhibit which otherwise
could not be obtained with scans of physical exhibits. Such exhibits certainly
got appreciation from jury reflected through higher awards given to them.
Is it not injustice with many? Is it genuine and acceptable practice? Should it be allowed in competitive
exhibitions? I am disappointed to say that
such exhibits were allowed in the shows
though the matter had been brought in to the notice of Jury as well as
organizers. May be it is the beginning
of such exhibiting as well as adjudging. But according to me, this is
detrimental to the development of philately. There is of course a group of
philatelists who does not bother and appreciate such exhibiting but I don’t.
Digital exhibiting should purely and
totally be display of actual scans of physical exhibit sheets and not even a single stamp pasted /
included digitally.
One must appreciate that there are every chances of
fraudulent display or display of fake material or the material which the
exhibitor does not possess physically. This should not be encouraged. Let this
be checked and stopped at this beginning stage. May I suggest one thing ,if
philatelists love digital images let the exhibit be fully digital. No physical
exhibit. Let every stamp, every material, every text be digital means copied
digitally from different sites, places and
fixed on digital sheets and displayed. No need to go for physical
accumulation, collection and preparation of physical exhibits. This is cheaper
also. No fraud……nothing wrong. Believe me this will also be a nice practice.
Purely, Totally and completely digitalization of philatelic exhibiting. Let’s
not think about from where the images
are to be copied but the only concern is digital display. Or else, it should
be pure scans of physical exhibits.
But if the rules of virtual exhibition state the
display of pure scans of physical exhibits then it must be followed strictly. The
rule should be that if any exhibitor is found violating the rule; he or she should
be debarred.. rather panelized for not allowing participation in future
exhibitions for stipulated period.
Finally, I would re-iterate that either there should be full Virtual exhibition with nothing physical or it be Physical -Virtual exhibition with scans of the physical exhibit displayed. There is nothing bad in full virtual exhibition. This will certainly help promotion of philately as even this will call for search, research, preparation of exhibits, refine skill of the exhibitor etc. Let’s see what the big philatelic federations like FIP, FIAP think upon it. This is true that sooner or later, the way digital exhibiting is coming up, some new set of rules and regulations are bound to be formed but very carefully.
Naresh Agrawal : email - nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in
Recent Indian Issues
4 December 2020 : Shri I.K. Gujaral (Former Prime Minister of India ) – Rs 5
24 October 2020 : 75 Years of United Nations- Rs 5
My stamp
Customized My
Stamp on Lucknow University Centenary Celebration was released by the Prime Minister
on 25 November 2020.
New Special Covers
20 November 2020 : Valley of Words : The Savoy, Mussoorie
25
November 2020 : 100 Years of Lucknow University Centennial Celebrations, Lucknow
26 November
2020 : 70th Anniversary – Constitution Day, Bangalore
26 November
2020 : Train Carried Special Cover
3 December
2020 : Anantapur Sub Post Office
New Maximum cards issued by India Post (Goa Region, Maharashtra Circle)
In The News
Crypto Stamps by UNPA
The Secretary-General identified five guiding principles to support this strategy:
Protect and promote global values.
Foster inclusion and transparency.
Work in partnership.
Build on existing capabilities and mandates.
Be humble and continue to learn.
EUROPA 2021 Theme
The theme for Europa 2021 stamps is endangered National Wildlife. Swedish Post will issue above stamp on 14 January 2021.
Winners of National Level Dhai Akhar Letter Writing Campaign conducted in 2019-20 on the theme : "Dear Bapu You are Immortal "
lnland Letter Card (Above 18 Years)
NE
Postal Circle with association of our Society is organising the first virtual
regional level philatelic exhibition, NEPEX 2021. The tentative event date is
January 15-18 and is open to competitive classes for all collectors of North
East Circle (doesn't include Assam) and members of NEPS only. I will list out
our members who need to renew their annual membership shortly and advice
everyone to start with their exhibits for the event.
Chandigarh philatelist in 'India Book of Records' for Postage Stamp Art
The
name of Chandigarh philatelist, Mr. Vipan Kumar Thakur has been included in INDIA
BOOK OF RECORDS for ‘Maximum Portraits made using Postage
Stamps’. He has made 50 portraits on A4 size sheets, using Postage Stamps of
different countries like India, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Denmark and
England etc. This type of artwork is known as ‘Postage Stamp Art’. Many
people follow it.
Postage Stamp Art
First of all
image is decided and then it is drawn on one sheet of A4 size. For example, if
one wants to prepare a portrait depicting a Cat, then it is drawn on a sheet
and we cut its outlining. It becomes a stencil of Cat image. We draw from this
stencil, image of Cat on another sheet of paper. On this sheet Postage stamps
are pasted using very light gum covering/hiding the whole image of Cat. After
that on the sheet first sheet is pasted and a beautiful image of Cat appears on
joining these two sheets.
He also runs a blog namely ‘simplephilatelicclub.blogspot.com’ and have posted few of portraits under the label ‘Postage Stamp Art’.
Mr Vipan Kumar Thakur may be contacted at email: philavpnthakur@rediffmail.com Ph . 9530715151
Champion Book of World Records
Mr Hardik Bhammar from Balangir, Odisha enters Champion Book of World Records with his record claims The Largest Collection of Butterfly related items ( Butterfly Moths) numbering 3968, It includes Postage Stamps, Postal Covers, Coins and Paper Money, Match Box and Labels, Cigar Brands, Tea Cards etc.
Exhibitions
- COVID 19/ CORONA Updates
Due to the state of emergency everywhere, the following news may
be noted :
News for Exhibitions as on 9th May 2020.
1. London 2020 - Postponed to 19 - 26 February 2022
2. Taipei 2020 ( now Taipei 2021) - Postponed to 4 to 8 June,
2021
3. Bulgaria 2020 - Cancelled
5. New Zealand 2020 - Cancelled
6. UAE 2020, Dubai - Cancelled
7. The PHILANIPPON 2021, a FIP
World Stamp Championship Exhibition with about 2,000 frames, is scheduled to be
held in Yokohama, Japan during 25 to 30 August 2021. It will include the FIP
World Stamp Championship Class, Traditional, Postal History, Postal Stationery,
Aerophilately, Thematic, Youth, Modern (1980 to date), One Frame, Open and
Literature Classes. It will not include Astrophilately, Maximaphily and Revenue
Classes.
8. Cape Town 2021 has been postponed, now to be held from 9th –
13th November 2021.
9.
IBRA 2021 International Stamp exhibition and stamp Fair IBRA 2021to be
held in Essen, Germany from 6-9 May 2021 is now postponed to year 2023 due to
Covid 19 Pandemic..
Commissioner for PHILANIPPON 2021,
FIP World Stamp Championship Exhibition
Mr. Surendra Kotadia has been appointed as Indian National
Commissioner for the PHILANIPPON 2021, FIP World Stamp Championship Exhibition
to be held in Japan from 25th to 30th August 2021.
Philanippon 2021 will have the following competitive classes:
Championship Class, Traditional, Postal History, Postal Stationery,
Aerophilately, Thematic, Modern, Open, Youth, One Frame, Literature.
Contact information:
Mr. Surendra A. Kotadia
M/s. Dimple Drums & Barrels Ltd.,1119, Maker Chamber No. V,221, Jamnalal
Bajaj Road, Nariman Point,MUMBAI - 400 021
Email: surendrakotadia@gmail.com Phone:
+ 91 22 2202 4130 / 2202 4131/ 2284 3244 Mob : + 91 98199 03789
Commissioner for CAPE TOWN 2021
Philatelic Exhibition
Mr. Shakil Ahmed has been appointed as Indian National Commissioner for the Cape Town 2021, FIP Specialized World Stamp Exhibition to be held at Cape Town, South Africa from 9th to 13th November 2021.
Exhibition Classes: Traditional, Postal History, Aerophilately, Postal
Stationery, Revenue, Thematic, Open, Modern Philately, One Frame, Philatelic
Literature and Picture Postcards only)
Contact information:
Shakil Ahmed
Dargah Bazar, Balakrishna Road,P. O. Buxi
Bazar,CUTTACK-753001,
ODISHA
Email: ahmedshakil99@gmail.com M): +91-9437225760 / +91-7008025663
Commissioner
for TAIPEI 2021 Philatelic Exhibition
Mr. Rajan Jayakar has been
appointed as Indian National Commissioner for the Taipei 2021, 38th FIAP Asian
International Stamp Exhibition, Taipei, Chinese Taipei to be held from 4 to 8
June, 2021.
Contact information:
Rajan Motiram Jayakar,
Flat No.2, Court View,126, Maharshi Karve Road,Churchgate,
Mumbai 400 020
Email: rajanjayakar1948@gmail.com Phone: +91-22-22820570, +91-22-22820572,(M)
+919821072417
Observations / Experiences / Facts
One of the special
features of this exhibit is adding of historical background to Beethoven’s
life. Great advantage is that this gives wider choice of philatelic materials.
Beethoven’s time was the most turbulent period of European history. It is a
period of “Tectonic Shift” or “Paradigm Shift” as shown in the following pages.
Unlike conventional biography, this exhibit tells how historical background
influenced his life, way of thinking and his music. It is a very innovative way
of telling a man’s history based on in‐depth study of
European History.
French Revolution
(1789) The Page describes the storming of Bastilles, Declaration of the Rights
of Man and of the Citizen, and “La Marseilles”
Industrial revolution
is described by steam engine, driving force of the revolution, and Uniform
Penny Post showing how speed of postal delivery changed by train replacing mail
coach.
Decline of Habsburg
family is depicted by four heads of the state during Beethoven’s life time;
Maria Theresia’s autographed official letter, and Napoleon and his army’s
military post.
Napoleonic Wars is
described by the Battle of Aspern, Napoleon’s conversion of Schoenbrunn into
his military headquarters and Napoleon on horseback.
Rise of Romanticism is
shown by Goethe, Schiller, George Sand, Victor Hugo and Lord Byron.
Diversity analysis: In
thematic philately, diversity is one of the most important factors. This means
to use different type of authentic philatelic materials as many as possible.
Let’ me show you examples.
They are lager post,
pictorial cancellation, private postal stationery, imperforated stamp, and
meter stamp. Shown in these 3 pages are just examples. There are
many other authentic philatelic materials available. You have to use
as many different types as possible to enhance the level of your exhibit.
To be contd......
Courtesy
- Yukio Onuma
Philately Promoter of the Month
This column is dedicated to the philatelists who are promoting the hobby of stamp collecting in their own way and making a bridge between philately and our daily life.
Mr. Pratisad Neurgaonkar is a well known name in Indian philatelic fraternity. He is computer professional running his own Information Technology business in Pune has several National and international awards to his credit. He is a veteran and hardcore dedicated philatelist who of late has come into world philatelic scene being the organizer of first National Level Virtual Philatelic Exhibition with International Participation showcasing about 1000 philatelic frames. Writer of Book on British India Postal Stationery 1856 – 1947 in 2009, has been serving philately in India for the last many years. Organizing exhibitions in Pune, designing special covers with one unique Pigeon Mail Cover and organizing webinars etc have been some very good works done by him during the last few years. Philavirtu 2020 is another feather in his cap as it was a very big task to organize the first online philatelic exhibition of about 1000 frames at national level with international participation. To organize such online exhibition at large level was a difficult task as this virtual show was going to be held for the first time at national level. In the time of Covid 19 pandemic, it was a visual treat for the philatelists. Rainbow is pleased to have his valued and honest interview to know more about him and his views on various aspects of philatelic exhibitions. Here he replies to the questions asked by Mr Naresh Agrawal.
01. We would like to know in brief about your philatelic journey from a budding stamp collector to a veteran dedicated philatelist. Your interests?
My collecting journey started when I was in 3rd Standard. I used to see beautiful stamps affixed on letters coming from Europe from friends of my father who stayed in Germany for 5 years perusing his PhD in Chemistry. I was fascinated by those and started collecting them until I was guided by one of our relatives what to collect and how to collect when I was about 11 years of age. My father also encouraged me by providing First Day Covers for my collection. I got my first prize for my display of FDC’s when a local Rotary Club had organized a competition when I was just 14 years of age. The real boost I got during MAHAPEX 1998 held in Nasik which turned me into serious collector as I started collecting India mint stamps. In 1999 I visited Singapore wherein the Singapore Philately museum I saw few stamps issued by various countries to mark the millennium. I started collecting stamps on the millennium theme and collected stamps from almost 120 countries.
In the year 2000 Col Jayant Dutta ,a veteran philatelist introduced me to competitive philately and taught me how to make an exhibit. He also boosted me to opt Postal stationery collection. Then I also joined the Deccan Philatelic and participated in the National Exhibition INPEX EMPIERPEX in 2001 and got a Bronze medal for my thematic exhibit.
I perused collecting Postal stationery and excelled to the extent that I could accumulate exhaustive details of British Postal Stationery and publish the compilation of the same. Further by the help and guidance of some senior philatelists I came out with the Colorful Book British India Postal Stationery 1856 – 1947 in 2009 which was highly appreciated and acknowledged by the philatelic stalwarts and established me as a serious philatelist. I think after this book lot of collectors has shown interest in collecting Postal Stationery. My other collecting interests are Military Greetings, FPO, Censor & Prisoners of war mails, Post-Independence Stamps, and I also collect unusual stamps of the world.
02. We have seen you participating and even organizing physical exhibitions over the years. What changes you have observed in exhibiting practices physically?
No doubt philatelic exhibiting and judgment
procedures have changed a lot during the last 20 years. Thematic philately is
now going through 5th generation calling for rich study not only
thematically but should have inputs from Postal Stationery, Postal History and
traditional philately also. New variety of philatelic material is being
explored and appreciated. Philately and philatelic exhibiting have become more
interesting but challenging also. Quality of material and knowledge, search and
research are the pre requisite of any good exhibit. New presentation
techniques, computer aided text write up have become integral part of any good
exhibit in any class. Sheet sizes have changed,… I mean philately has added
more colors and flavors to its exhibiting. Yes as far as organizing philatelic exhibitions is
concerned, it has become easier in one way as facilities are better like
exhibit frames quality, availability and transport, communication etc..
03. Due to the pandemic Covid -19, life was put to shells but somehow it came out as blessing for philatelists as far as philately is concerned. How do you see this scenario and its impact on philately?
I think even though due to COVID – 19 the world economy has hit, this is a great opportunity for a hobby like a philately. Due to lockdown philatelists have spent the time to go through their collections, arranging them, preparing exhibits, gaining knowledge, reading books, etc. We thought that the auctions may not get good realization, but the scenario is different, auctions are doing very well and realizations are also fantastic. Overall I think it’s a great opportunity and time for philatelists to peruse the hobby and spend this lockdown time fruitfully and enjoy their hobby.
04. Yes, virtual exhibiting came on surface and become popular. Virtual sites were there of course but virtual competitive exhibiting was far away from its practical implementation. A couple of virtual philatelic exhibitions were organized during last few months. Is this change prompted you to go for India’s first virtual competitive exhibition?
I have been thinking this since 2018. Initially, we developed the admin module to manage the exhibitions. This was used in MAHAPEX 2018, KARNAPEX 2019, and INPEX 2019. We already had a plan to have the display of virtual frames. Due to COVID when other countries started holding virtual exhibitions then why can’t we? As we were already working on it, I thought we can easily do it in a short time? That’s how we started working on it.
05.
We understand you had been working on virtual philately covering different
facets and fields for last few years.
How do you see the future of philately?
I think the future of philately will be bright if all the philatelists work towards one goal that is the promotion of philately. The future depends on how many new collectors join the hobby. I think it’s a need of the hour to decide on a common program to promote philately by all the philatelic societies and the national apex body PCI. We can popularize this hobby in different segments of society. A lot of philatelists are promoting it at the school level and doing good work. But still, a lot of space is there to promote the hobby at school and college level. We can also organize seminars, workshops for young professionals, and businessmen. We can coordinate with the Department of Posts and workout different activities for promotion. According to me, it's not only the Department of Posts responsibility to promote but the societies and philatelist can only play a vital role in popularizing the hobby. We need to organize exhibitions frequently promoting youth and school classes.
06. Coming to the big virtual philatelic event of recent times in India that is PHILAVIRTU 2020 a national level virtual exhibition with international participation and international jury too. For us, it was a great success what how do you look at it because this was the first attempt by you in this direction?
PHILAVIRTU 2020 was certainly a big event with225 competitive exhibits displayed over 650 frames and others totaling to about 1000 frames. When we decided to hold the virtual exhibition I was under pressure because the main part was the display of virtual exhibits. As this was the first time we were not sure about the difficulties and problems which we might come across. But because of our efficient technical team, my pressure got eased.
We had informed all the participants to upload the exhibits with specific file size. But a lot of the exhibits were not as per the specifications and had file size between 125MB to 200 MB, that was the main reason why some of the exhibits took more time to load. A lot of exhibitors couldn't convert the images to the required file size.
As this was a virtual show jury took more time in judging the exhibits. For most of the juries, this was the first time judging the virtual show, took some time to adjust to the new way of judging and adopting new technology. International juries were also on the panel, due to the time difference juries had to adjust their time for the meetings and discussions. All this resulted in the delay of results.
We displayed virtual booths for the first time and even the dealers were not aware of how to participate and what response they will get. They were not sure about the virtual booth idea. That was the reason a few dealers participated. But those who participated got a very good response. One of the dealers was telling me that he got a lot of new clients and his sales got increased by almost 30 to 40%. A lot of Indian dealers are not having websites, but they should go for it as this is going to be the future of philately business.
It was challenging in terms of management and technology to hold the exhibition of 1000 frames in a short time. Because of the support from ICSRI, PCI, organising committee, the technology team, and Exhibitors, we could make the event a grand success. We faced a few problems technically and administration wise. But the overall experience is very good. We have already started making the changes in our system. Hope this will eliminate all the issues which the users faced during PHILAVIRTU - 2020.
As a member of ICSRI, I thank PCI for giving patronage to the exhibition. Because of that PHILAVIRTU - 2020 score and medal will be valid for all future exhibitions. Due to patronage PHILAVIRTU – 2020 is the First Virtual National Philatelic Exhibition with International participation. I also thank all the participants for their support.
07. Normally it is thought that there is no need for big efforts and time to organize virtual exhibition. In other words it is quite easy in comparison to conducting physical exhibitions and the workload and efforts are quite less. But certain shortcomings were observed during PHILAVIRTU 2020 show such as loading difficulties, slow opening of sites, delayed results, lack of proper communication, allowing absolute virtual exhibiting instead of display of conversion of physical exhibits in to virtual exhibits for display etc… We understand being the first-ever such show conducted in India of this stature, you might have left no stone unturned to have the smooth and better conduct of the show but please put light on the reasons behind and the practical difficulties you faced? Also give your valued suggestions to overcome such difficulties / anomalies in such future shows?
The virtual exhibition is a new trend, I think FIP should come out with some rules and regulations for Virtual Exhibits. As this is evolving I am sure we will see some direction and regulations from FIP in the future.
In my opinion, even after the COVID times, there should be a combination of physical and virtual. We can have virtual and physical displays which will be an advantage for all the philatelists across the country or world. They can easily see the exhibits sitting at home and enjoy the exhibition. This will give a wide reach and the hobby can be promoted.
08. We all understand jury ship of philatelic exhibits is a thankless job. Even best of the jury is always at receiving end and is prone to be stroked. What difference do you see in judging physical and virtual exhibits. And also put light on what difference it make on the final results and so the marks or awards?
In physical exhibitions, juries have a very short time to go through the exhibits but here they get more time and can go through every page with a zoom facility. They can get advice from the expert committee, other jurors. They can easily exchange views within the jury team. This can be a disadvantage for the exhibitors as the jury can see everything like the condition of the items, storyline, description, overall exhibit balance, etc. in detail. This may affect the medal level. I think in virtual exhibits the exhibitors have to take care of all these otherwise they may not get their expected medal level.
09. Your recommendations and suggestions to the future participants as to how they should work on preparing virtual exhibits. What all they need to know and possess?
For virtual exhibits scan of the mounted exhibits should be mandatory. If computer-generated exhibits are allowed then the exhibit has to be verified by the jurors or team of the organizing committee. This is a debatable issue, which is a separate topic of discussion. Preparing of the exhibits will be the same as the physical one. Scanning should be done at 300dpi but can reduce the file size with the help of software. By reducing the file size there will not be any dpi change. Exhibitors should adhere to all the requirements laid by the organisers. Exhibitors must co-operate otherwise, it’s a nightmare for the organisers.
Interview: Naresh Agrawal
Beginner’s
Section
What are forever stamps?
From its unusual name, you may be wondering what forever postal stamps are and how they came to be.A forever stamp is a postage stamp that pays the current first class postal rate regardless of when it was purchased and when will it be used. As postage rates rise, the postage stamp prices also increase.
When did forever stamps start ?
The forever postage stamp was a proposal
submitted by the United States Postal Service in May 2006. A US forever stamp
should be based on the current first-class postage stamp rate at the time they
are purchased. Forever postal stamps are sound investments during stamp price
changes.
How much was the first forever
stamp?
The
art on the first forever stamp featured a computer-generated image of the
Liberty Bell, the most recognizable symbol of American Independence. The stamp
design was made by nationally-acclaimed artist Tom Engeman from Maryland.
The
Liberty Bell forever stamps were labeled "US FIRST-CLASS FOREVER".
They do not have a denomination since they are USPS no-value indicator stamps
or non-denominated postage stamps.
Can you buy forever stamps in advance?
Yes. In fact, to some Americans, forever
postage stamps are a form of investment. A forever stamp is valid as domestic
first class postage stamp on standard envelopes weighing one ounce or less.
This is going to be valid regardless of future postage price adjustments.
Can you use a forever stamp on large envelopes that require extra
postage?
Yes,
you can use a US forever postal stamp to pay for the first ounce but you have
to supplement the remaining ounces with regular definitive stamps.
Likewise,
International postage rates are always higher than the comparable domestic
rates. Thus, additional postage would have to be affixed on international mail.
What are the benefits of forever stamps?
The
greatest advantage of a forever stamp to a consumer is convenience. Once
forever postal stamps are purchased, they never expire or decline in stamp
value. For example, when the postal rates go up, you no longer have to line
up to purchase the new denomination stamps.
Consumers
usually stock up on forever postage stamps which they buy at the current rate
and use them until supplies last. The USPS saw this as a winning strategy –
they receive income for stamps that are yet to be used in the near future.
Another
advantage for the postal service is that they do not need to deploy employees
to handle consumers scurrying to buy new postage stamps during postal rate
increase.
Specialized
Section
PERMANENT
PICTORIAL CANCELLATIONS : AN INTERESTING FIELD OF PHILATELY
-Naresh Agrawal
This letter box is
located at the historical site Somnathpur in Karnataka. Letters posted in this
box
receives permanent pictorial cancellation of Kesava temple
India has a rich heritage of art, craft,
architecture, culture,mythology, rich nature and natural beauty and history
which is depicted through various places, monuments, sculptures, natural
scenes, temples etc. located at different places with in India. Department of
post has issued Permanent Pictorial Cancellations(PPC) which were brought in
practice in 1951 to promote, commemorate, advertize and keep
introducing the rich heritage of India located at a particular place or city in
India. This of course is an unique method of
commemorating and promoting our
rich heritage and also to promote
tourism.
There are some very beautiful pictorial cancellations which depict historical monuments, places of tourist interest, mythological creatures and events etc..There seems to be no clear cut understanding of PPC as different people define PPC in their own way. However, based on those PPC can finally be defined as under :
A
Pictorial Cancellation is a unique sealed postmark, which shows customized
graphical design or replica or photo or
sketch or a picture of any of a sculpture, temple, building, character, river
ghat, flora fauna, animal, ancient land mark , heritage etc. highlighting
a tourist, natural, social, religious,
historical, mythological, architectural or an important place or thing or event
from where it
is issued regularly for a long period. Permanent pictorial cancellation on
mails speaks much more than any normal cancellation...
As
per available information, Pictorial Cancellations of permanent nature were
first provided in 1951 pertaining to Qutab Minar, Sanchi, Ajanta etc. Second
phase of Pictorial Cancellations of permanent nature, started in 1965. The
third phase started in 1974. Slowly but steadily this Pictorial Cancellations
were introduced from all places of interest, throughout India.
Well,
while one think more about PPC’s, and compare with other cancellations; answers
to following questions put more light
and tells about significance of PPCs. :
What is so good about Permanent
Pictorial Cancellation (PPC)
As the name suggests PPC refers to Permanent Pictorial Cancellation. The word permanent refer to lasting for a longer period, Pictorial means the subject matter of the cancellation in form of an image /picture specifying the heritage, monument or the image specifying and highlighting the importance of that particular place or event. & cancellation is the seal which lasts long once applied on a mail piece.
No, because what we see that PPC have no specific span of period of issuance. There are several places where the cancellation lived for very short period. Cancellations from Ajmer, Bhilwara, Lashkar and Belgaum lived just for a day. It is felt that to call any cancellation permanent there should be some specific period for which it should not only exist but issued and applied on mail pieces regularly. However, PPC issued from Pune can be called as permanent as it is being applied even now since its first application.
Whether the pictorial cancellations do justification for the purpose these are issued?
Sometimes not. For example pictorial cancellation of Nandi Hill, Bangalore has picture of Nandi Bull but Nandi Hill is an ancient hill fortress and presently better known as a tourist spot and a weekend gateway. So the image of Nandi does not do a true justice to the cancellation. Likewise there are some more such examples
Do
the cancellations change with time?
Yes, cancellations at places do change with time as either the image is redesigned or the cancellation size, shape and other specifications are changed. It has been found that these cancellations are changed mainly at places where these are applied in good number. Most of the times the subject matter of the picture remains same but specifications are changed. For betterment of impression of the seal, the changes are done. Some time even the seal material is changed from hard silicon rubber or plastic to metal. For example cancellation from Bandipur , Mysore had changes in the picture as initially there was Pug marks of tiger but then changed to face of the tiger.
Cancellation
of Bandipur, Mysore changed with time
No, it is understood that about 400 cancellations have so far been issued with almost 70% from 4 states such as Gujrat, Karnatka, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh. Since there are several importance places in other parts of India, there is a great need of releasing such cancellations from such places on regular basis.
: Naresh Agrawal : email : nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in
The sad period of the worldwide corona virus COVID-19 pandemic remains unnoticed even in philately. Several postal administrations have decided to issue stamps to commemorate this tragic event, respectively as a tribute to those who fight dangerous contagion in the front lines: doctors, nurses, medical staff, scientists, firefighters, police, soldiers, and so on.
Another reason for issuing these postage items is the efforts to raise public awareness to take effective protection measures as the most effective means of combating this insidious disease.1. Postal Materials Directly Referring to the COVID-19 Corona Virus Pandemic - official
IRAN - Postage stamp
National Heroes (17th March 2020)
This postage stamp (18 000 Rial) depicts medical workers, a paramedic in protective mask, and a symbolic graphical representation of sars-cov-2 virus (COVID-19).
VIETNAM - Postage stamps
Combined Forces Against COVID-19 (31st March 2020)
This pair of postage stamps (4 000 d and 15 000 d). The 4,000 d postage stamp depicts units fighting the pandemic, namely health care workers, soldiers and police, along with ordinary citizens they care for. The 15,000 d postage stamp depicts scientists, doctors in researching the vaccine, preventive medicines, and medical treatment needed to fight the virus.
SPAIN - Personalized postage stamps (March/April 2020)
Health Tribute Appreciation (March/April 2020)
The philatelic association Asfinca in Calahorra has asked the Spanish Post to issue a depicted personalized stamp with the aim to "thank the work people who do health in these difficult days for all".
This personalized postage stamp (symbolic value A) depicts the hospital building in Calahorra and the text: "HOMENAJE SANITARIOS AGRADECIMIENTO POR VUESTRA PROFESIONALIDAD".
In Cadiz has asked the Spanish Post to issue a depicted personalized stamp with the aim to "thank the work people who do health in these difficult days for all".
This personalized postage stamp (symbolic value A) depicts the medical workers, symbolic clapping hands and the text: "GRACIAS / CORONAVIRUS CÁDIZ 2020".
SWITZERLAND - Surcharge (or semi-) postage stamp
Solidarity with those Affected by the Virus COVID-19 (April 2020)
This surcharge (or semi-) postage stamp (1,00 + 5,00 SvFr) was issued in the sheets of 10 stamps, depicts the symbolism of the medical cross and the population of people with raised hands and the call for solidarity with the affected COVID-19 virus in four languages:" COVID-19 / Solidaridad / Solidarieta / Solidarité / Solidarität".
Source : Tribute to the First Line Warriors
New issues from other Countries
Aland
23 October 2020 : Christmas 2020
 |
8 January 2020 “
: Year of Rat ”
Gibraltar
2 November 2020 : Christmas 2020
25 November 2020 Christmas 2020
Hungary
20 November 2020 Puskás Arena Budapest
Philatelic
Library
The Scinde Dawks and Lithographs of India
-by D.E. Wadia & edited by Dhirubhai Mehta
This is an excellent
reference book of Indian Philately.
Acknowledgment
- Ananthapuri Stamp Bulletin December 2020 issue edited by Mohanachandran
Nair
- Judaica Thematic Society (UK)
December 2020 Newsletter edited by Gary Goodman email - judaicathematicsociety@talktalk.net
-The Hyderabad Philatelist September 2020 issue edited by Prakash Agrawal
-The Hyderabad Hobby Magazine September 2020 issue edited by Prakash
Agrawal
-Latest issue of Deccan
Philatelist Vol 20
No 1 2020 edited by Col Jayant Dutta
- Latest Issue of Vadophil July – October 2020 edited by Prashant Pandya
& Timir Shah
Bogs & Websites
Philatelic
Clubs & Societies
Ananthapuri
Philatelic Association, Thiruvanthapuram
Baroda
Philatelic Society - http://www.vadophil.org/
Chandigarh
Philatelic Club
Deccan
Philatelic Society – Pune, Maharashtra
Eastern
India Philatelists’ Association -http://www.filacapsule.blogspot.com/
The
Hyderabad Philatelic and Hobbies Society
India
Study Circle - http://www.indiastudycircle.org/
Indian
Thematic Society, Ludhiana -http://indianthematicstamps.webs.com/
Ludhiana
Philatelic Club
Numismatic & Philatelic Association of Vellore
Fort
http://numismaticphilavellore.site40.net/index.htm
Philatelic
Congress of India - http://www.philateliccongressofindia.com/
Philatelic
Society of Rajasthan, Jaipur
Philatelic
Society of India , Mumbai : http://www.psi1897.com/
Orissa Philatelic Association, Mail id-: orissaphilatelic@gmail.com
Rainbow
Stamp Club -http://rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/
Rajkot
Philatelic Society – Rajkot, Gujarat
Gujarat
Philatelic Association - Ahmedabad
South
India Philatelists Association -http://www.sipa.org.in/
The
Army Philatelic Society, Pune
Stamps
of India – http://www.stampsofindia.com
RAINBOW STAMP CLUB
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Blog. - Editor
Current
Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters
-VADOPHIL,
Editor - Prashant Pandya &TimirShah and published by Baroda Philatelic
Society, Vadodara. Website -http://www.vadophil.org/
-ITS Stamp News - Quarterly - Editor: Suraj Jaitly Publisher: Indian Thematic
Society website - http://itsstampnews.blogspot.com/
-Ananthpuri Stamp Bulletin - Monthly e -stamp bulletin of Anathapuri Philatelic
Association, Thiruvanthapuram
-Journal of the Army Philatelic Society : Editor – Col Jayanta Dutta
-India Post – Quarterly Journal of the India Study Circle publishes original
articles submitted by members of ISC.
-Deccan Philatelist from Deccan Philatelic Society, Pune. edited by Col Jayanta
Dutta
-The Hyderabad Philatelist from Hyderabad Philatelic and Hobbies Society Editor
– Prakash Agrawal
-SIPA Bulletin issued by South India Philatelists’ Association
Courtesy - News and Image Resource to this issue : Suresh R. - Bangalore;
SIPA, EIPA, Prayag Philatelic Society Whatsapp groups; India Post
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