Behind the Stamp

Washington DC is home to a great amount of sites, memorials, fancy buildings, lack of votes in Congress, and taxes; one of these great sites is the World War II memorial, commemorating the lost lives in the war. A totem is there for every single state, with thousands of gold stars for the dead, surrounding a large fountain in the middle. The foliage and decor puts the memorial in direct view of the Lincoln Memorial, giving a very pretty This stamp shows the memorial against a sunset; this was only the planned version, as the actual memorial hadn't been finished yet. It was issued in Washington DC, on May 29, 2004, in zip code 20060, shown above. It's worth 37 US cents.

   Brexit: the one political joke that will almost never get old. Delayed by a year, Brexit was the UK's attempt to try to pull itself out of the EU and unintentionally trying to destroy the Good Friday Agreement. But, we did get a new stamp out of this (from Austria, of all people). Shown to the left, this stamp depicts a map of the current European Union, highlighted in blue, and the UK, in gray. To the left of that, two dates, one crossed out. That is the original date for Brexit, and the release of the stamp, which was delayed by a year. These are worth  €1.80 and were released on Jan 31, 2020 in Vienna, Austria. Stay safe, and wear a face mask.

Squaw Valley, California, was the host of the 1960 Winter Olympics, the 13th of it's kind. It's nomination was a surprise, considering it, in 1956, only had one lonely chair lift and was an unincorporated village, and that it beat the likes of Innsbruck (barely) and St. Moritz. Thirty countries came to participate in the Olympics that year. Today, you can still visit the location right next to Lake Tahoe and 30 miles from Reno as the crow flies, and 25 miles from Carson City as the crow flies. The stamp shows the Olympic rings over a snowflake, with all that under the words "XIII Winter Olympics", and is worth 4 US cents. On the side are the words "California 1960". At the bottom are the words "United States Postage". Shown: Single stamp (left), FDC Artcraft (bottom)

The Antarctic Treaty stamp was released on June 23, 1971 in Washington D.C., and was designed by Howard Koslow.. The face value is 8 US cents. It commemorates the ten year anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty, signed by twelve countries originally to promise to keep Antarctica for research purposes only. It shows a map of Antarctica, adjacent to the words "Antarctic Treaty- 1961-1971".

I love the design of this stamp. It depicts a photo by Art Wolfe, showing the Big Sur coastline, arguably one of the most breathtaking places in California. The text at the bottom says "California" in shiny letters, in an art-deco style font.. It was designed by Carl Hermann, and was released on September 8, 2000, in Sacramento, California 95813. California joined the Union on September 9, 1850. It's a 33 US cent commemorative stamp.

This stamp, released during the cultural revolution, to celebrate every province creating a committee to control the cultural revolution in that specific province. You can see the government as a macro-manager, leaving the employees (provinces) to do their own work. You saw by the title, it's an error stamp. Why? When first published, the stamp didn't show Taiwan and the Spratly Islands as part of China. Taiwan was highlighted on the map, and the Spratlys were left off entirely. These stamps are now worth up to 3.7 million Hong Kong dollars (US$475,000/£290,000), sold in Hong Kong in 2009. Released November 24, 2019. Recalled same day.

Ireland Post recently released a new single stamp to commemorate the 100th Liffey Swim (Irish: An Snámh a Life), an open sea swimming competition from Rory O'More bridge to just outside of the Customs House. On the stamp is a painting by Jack B. Yeats in 1923. The Liffey Swim started in 1920.

This stamp was released to commemorate the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing. Number: 2018-5. First released March 5, 2018. These stamps depict four different flowers, (starting from top left, clockwise) the Malus Prunifolia, Malus Macromalus, Malus Hoanensis, and the Malus Sieboldii. According to China Post, Malus Micromalus, or the midget crabapple, was Premier Zhou Enlai's favorite fruit tree. Number: 2018-6. First released March 25, 2018.

These stamps celebrate the fine and intricate Chinese art of paper cutting, rich with history and part of the culture. Number: 2018-3. First released January 24, 2018. The annual Chinese Lantern festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, also marking the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations. People typically celebrate with lanterns as decoration. Number: 2018-4. First released March 2, 2018

  2018 was the year of the dog, hence dogs. China Post releases an animal stamp for that certain year on the zodiac calendar. For example, 2019 would have a pig on the front page. Number: 2018-1. First issued January 15, 2018 This stamp depicts two people celebrating a new year, and a dog for the year of the dog. Number: 2018-2. First issued January 10, 2018.