Last Day of Issue

Bahamas Postmark

The postmark on this Bahamas 1954 8d stamp, SG 209, is interesting. It reads 31 December 1963. This series was stopped at the end of 1963. So this stamp was cancelled on the last day of printing for this issue. Too bad it's not on a cover. It would be a Last Day Cover...!!

Stay Stamp Crazy!!

Another Postmark ID

According to my count Southern Rhodesia had 216 post offices during the reign of King George V (1910-1936). Until now I had but one postmark identified from this period. I recently discovered this great postmark...

Southern Rhodesia 1931 1/2d

The letter to which these two 1/2d stamps were affixed was posted from Felixburg. Felixburg is a village in the Masvingo Province of Zimbabwe. The village was named after Felix Posselt who visited the area in 1888 and later settled at Felixsburg.

So that's 2 down and 214 to go...

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Christmas Twist!

A Different Christmas Theme.

I love thematic collecting. It provides refreshing relief from the rigours - and expense - of building my KGV collection. Then I thought why not combine the two!

So I came up with a Christmas theme with a twist after discovering a great KGV cover from Australia with a Christmas slogan.

Not long after I found this cover I found another. The slogan on this one isn't as clear, but still discernable.

Then recently while trolling through some KGV Southern Rhodesia I'd purchased, I discovered this gem that was posted on Christmas day!

   
The moral of this story has to be that the sky's the limit when it comes to themes, and you don't have to spend a fortune! But most importantly, make sure you have fun!!

Stay Stamp Crazy!

Exciting Moment!!

A New Postmark Identified!

 

I always get a little thrill when I start to collect a new country and I identify my first postmark within that country. My latest thrill came yesterday after I received a small lot of KGV Southern Rhodesia stamps. While sorting I put this stamp aside to see if I could find the origin of the postmark...

My investigation didn't take me as long as I'd first thought. The Post Office of origin for this stamp was Gwelo. Gwelo was changed to Gweru in 1982. Gweru is located right near the city centre of Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe is what Southern Rhodesia is now called).

One more Post Office identified!!

Happy Stamping!

Not So Genuine Postmark!

Benin Postmarks

I am always on the lookout for dragon stamps with genuine postmarks. With some issues, such as Benin Year of the Dragon 2000, this is impossible as the stamps weren't made for postage. So you can imagine my surprise when I came across a photo of a Benin 2000 Year of the Dragon stamp that was actually postmarked!!

   But then reality set in. Pause for a big sigh! The postmarks were added as part of the printing process. Massive bummer.

   Once the disappointment had subsided, I realised that these stamps were worth having despite the fact that the postmarks were fake.

   A closer look at a couple of the postmarks reveal that they are supposedly from Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin. Fake - yes. But still interesting, and a fine addition to any Dragon collection...

A Genuine Cancellation!

Serbia Year of the Dragon Cancellation.

Last night I got very excited when I found in my mailbox a small package of stamps from Serbia. Affixed to the package were two Serbian 2012 Year of the Dragon stamps. And they were nicely cancelled to boot !!

Here's a close-up of the Year of the Dragon stamps with genuine cancellations - wahoo!!

The package was sent from Belgrad, the capital of Serbia and its largest city on 12/9/12. This envelope is a definite keeper.