Covers - Croatia

Received these five covers from Croatia all in a single day. The added bonus was 25 stamps of Croatia that were sent inside one of these.

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Covers - Burundi, Country #91

My first covers from Burundi. Both arrived the same day. The covers are perfect. Postmark shows that they were sent from Bujumbura, the capital city on the 8th of January 2014.

Burundi was established as an independent country on July 1, 1962. With Rwanda, it had been a UN trusteeship (Ruanda-Urundi) administered by Belgium. A military coup overthrew the monarchy November 28, 1966.

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Cover - Morocco, Country #90

Received this really really nice cover from Morocco from a dear friend. My first from the country. This one was sent from the city of Tetouan on 19th Dec 2013. Took a month to get here, which is decent time.

The three stamps, from left to right, on the cover are:
"Le trois glorieuses" (Three glorious days). It depicts the return of King Mohammed V (grandfather of the current king) from exile on 16th Nov. 1955. The three dates are 16, 17 and 18 Nov of that year, related to the independence of Morocco.

"60th Anniversary of Revolution of the King and the people", also related to the independence of the country

The current king of Morocco, Mohammed VI

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Cover - UAE

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Cover - Japan

Special cover from Japan. This cover's got the 2013 Japanese issue on Taj Mahal. Japan Post issued a souvenir sheet depicting world heritage sites on October 23rd 2013. One of the stamps from the sheet also depicts India's very beautiful Taj Mahal. Here's the stamp up-close.

This is not the fist time that Japan Post has issued a stamp commemorating Taj Mahal. There are two more that were released earlier in 2002 and 2007. Here's the cover. Great addition to my collection.

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Octagonal Shaped Birds Stamps

Here's a beautiful sheet I received only today from a friend in UAE. The sheet depicts Sea Birds of the United Arab Emirates and has six stamps on the sheet. Many have referred to the stamps as hexagonal on their blogs but obviously these are octagonal (Eight sided).

The sheet was issued on 4th November 2010.

1 AED: Black-Headed Gull

2 AED: Grey Heron Ardea

150 Fils: Crab Plover

550 Fils: Caspian Gull

450 Fils: Socotra Cormorant

3 AED: Sooty Gull

AED (Arab Emirates Dirham). 1 AED = 100 Fils

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Bahrain

I have begun to get a feeling that I'm doing a lot more posts on covers recently and hardly any on stamps. This blog was meant to showcase my stamps more than anything else and though I've taken to this newly found love for covers, I will now get back to and concentrate on putting up posts on my worldwide stamps collection here.

Today I am putting up my limited collection of stamps of Bahrain. I hope you enjoy these, cause I thoroughly do every time I take a look at them.

First a little about the country. Bahrain is an archipelago in the Persian Gulf, including the islands of Bahrain, Muharraq, Sitra, Nebi Saleh, Kasasifeh and Arad. Bahrain was a British-protected territory until it became an independent state on August 15, 1971.

I am making sure I do two things compulsorily with all my stamps. At least I am trying to and have successfully done so in most cases. One, arrange them in order according to date and year of issue and two, keep the collection clean with only the best stamps in the albums. 

1966 Definitives: Bahrain’s third definitive set was issued on the 21st of January 1966 and launched not only the independent Bahrain Postal Authority but also the new currency – The Bahrain Dinar. The decimal points were now called Fils and there were 1000 Fils in a Dinar.

The set consist of a total of 12 values: 5 Fils, 10 Fils, 15 Fils, 20 Fils, 30 Fils, 40 Fils, 50 Fils, 75 Fils, 100 Fils, 200 Fils, 500 Fils and 1 Dinar of which I have only 5 values.

1975 Arabian Horses: This set is valued high in most catalogs and though I have only four of the set of 8, I really like these stamps a lot. A commemorative set of 8 stamps issued to celebrate the Arabian horse. The stamps were issued together in se-tenant sheetlets of 8 stamps. All 8 stamps were issued with the value of 60 Fils.

 1976-80 Definitives: Bahrain’s fourth definitive set was issued over the period of 1976 - 1980. 18 stamps were issued including high value definitives. I have 10 of the set.

1989 Definitives: Bahrain’s fifth definitive set portraying Rashid bin Khalifa al-Khalifa was issued on the 16th of December 1989. The set consist of a total of 10 values: 25 Fils, 40 Fils, 50 Fils, 60 Fils, 75 Fils, 80 Fils, 100 Fils, 120 Fils, 150 Fils and 200 Fils. My collection has seven of these 10 values.

1989 Camels: A commemorative set of 12 stamps issued depicting different images of camels in their environment. The stamps were issued in 2 se-tenant sheetlets of 6 stamps. All 12 stamps were issued with the value of 150 Fils. These are one of my favourite stamps from all of my collection.
1994 Butterflies: A commemorative set of 16 stamps depicting different images of butterflies. The stamps were issued in 2 se-tenant sheetlets of 8 stamps. The 8 stamps in the first sheetlet, the one I have here, were all issued with a value of 50 Fils whereas the 8 stamps in the second sheetlet were all issued with a value of 150 Fils.

War Tax stamps: Two stamps were issued in 1973 and 1974. What you see below, are two copies of the same stamp issued in 1974. They come in numerous shades. I am looking to get the one issued in 1973 too.

These are beautiful stamps of Bahrain. I wish to have many more of all the missing birds, horses and butterfly stamps someday.

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Cover - UAE

Received this really nice cover from UAE with a souvenir sheet on it. The stamps and the sheet celebrate 50 years of postal services in Abu Dhabi.

Emirates Post issued the set of commemorative stamps to mark the 50th Anniversary of postal services in Abu Dhabi, in coordination with Emirates Philatelic Association. The stamps come in four denominations (Dh1, Fils 150, Dh3 and Dh4) and this souvenir sheet of Dh10 that you see on the cover. 

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Cover - Nigeria

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Christmas Mail 2013 - 17

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Christmas Mail 2013 - 16

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Christmas Mail 2013 - 15

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Cover - Thailand

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Cover - Thailand

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Cover - Vatican City

Received this lovely cover from the Vatican today too. Though this is only my second from the country, I would like to consider it as my very first. The first one I got was received with one stamp on the cover damaged in transit. 

I like this cover a lot. The postmark is spot on and across the stamp it reads "Gloria in excelsis deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis" in Gregorian Latin. The Gloria is a hymn. And the postmark across the stamp reads the first two lines of this ancient hymn. Literally translated it is "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will." Great cover.

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Cover - Kosovo, Country #89

I received my first cover from Kosovo today. It was sent from Prishtine or Pristina, the capital and largest city of Kosovo, on 20th November 2013.

The stamps on the cover are a complete set depicting mountains of Kosovo. These were issued on 14th June 2013.

The Gjeravica (Albanian) or Deravica (Serbian) with an unconfirmed altitude of 2656 meters is the second highest summit of the Prokletije (Albanian Alps), which extend from Albania into Kosovo and eastern Montenegro.

The 25 kilometres long Rugova Canyon or Rugova Valley in western Kosovo (Prokletije / Albanian Alps) is Kosovo's most prominent geological feature. It stretches from the city Pec towards the Montenegro border and was declared as a Protected National Monument in the year 1988.

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Cover - Lithuania, Country #88

My first ever cover from Lithuania. Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius. This cover has made its way to me from the city of Kaunas, the second largest in the country.

A little history....Lithuania was under Russian rule when it declared its independence in 1918. The League of Nations recognized it in 1922. In 1940 it became a republic in the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics.
Lithuania declared its independence on March 11, 1990. Lithuanian independence was recognized by the Soviet Union on Sept. 6, 1991.

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Cover - Ethiopia, Country #87

My first cover from Ethiopia. This new year is really treating me well. I've got covers from three new countries in just about the first week or so of the year.

Ethiopia, once historically known as Abyssinia, is a country located in north east Africa. It is officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. This cover was sent from the capital city Addis Ababa.

The cancellation is poor but a small part of the name Addis Ababa is legible on it. Also the stamp on the far left has no post mark or cancellation on it. Overall the cover is good enough, although, it wont be a bad idea to get another one with better postmarks.

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Cover - Spain

Eva, my good friend sent me this lovely cover from Spain. Perfect cover. Will go straight into my album. The stamps on the cover are from a set of 5 stamps depicting percussion instruments, issued by Spanish post on 22.02.13.

The three stamps on the cover depict the The Timpani or kettledrums, Cymbals and the Drum. The two other stamps, not here on the cover are the tambourine and the castanets. Beautiful set of stamps. Thanks a lot Eva.

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