Oh, by the way one needs to get back from Holland. So, let's put ourselves on the road for the way home…via Belgium. Or were you thinking, I would miss out a visit to such an important stamp issuing country?
As to the historic background in respect of Belgium: they were the Spanish Lowlands or Netherlands in the past. Have the Netherlands changed to the reformed church, Belgium has stayed catholic and was kept under Habsburg rule until the Napoleon age. Who, that might dismiss this fact as irrelevant, may be reminded that the Netherlands and Belgium were united for a short period of time. They didn't get along too well – the Netherlands dominated Belgium (economically and politically). Result: civil war or uprising and independence of Belgium.
My familiy background is 50% reformed and 50% catholic. My reformed relatives prefer the Netherlands (or the shores of the Baltic sea in Mecklenburg), my catholic ones prefer Belgium. No joke.
Also, in respect of stamp design there are worlds apart between the Belgians and the Dutch ones, The Belgian issues are more baroque and objective. Often large-sized, often in intanglia and more numerous. I took a sample (from the beginnings till 1990) and counted 60% more catalogue numbers as in the Netherlands. Blocs issues are numerous (and popular).
One can find my outlining of the contrast between Catholicism / Protestantism ludicrous. But in the catholic world the fear as to the eternal bonfire is more intense than with the protestants. That leads to the paradox, that in Catholicism there is a higher tendency for sensual delights (if you do fall for the need to sin, you do it thoroughly). That is why according to my experience dining out in Belgium is more rewarding (in comparison to the Netherlands).
The aspect of higher sensuality is also relevant for the visual arts. Consider this: in Catholicism there is the worship of images – whereas in Protestantism there is no such thing and they have tendency to a certain sobriety.
Now, be that as it may – my route led me via Gent. Required stamps I bought at the post office in this building – have a look at it via the link, it is worth it. This is not a post office but a philatelic sacral building. In the meantime sold off by Bpost, it is now a shopping centre with a hotel.
And what else to see in Gent? Look here. Stopover in Brussels. Let's get the post going, card to home! In the evening there was still time to visit the Grand Place. On the way there, I passed on one kilometer three stamp shops. In 1999 that was. As to validity, in Belgium since 1952 all stamps without charitable surcharge are valid for postage, stamps with charitable surcharge from 1961 on. That means one can employ stamps in different currencies: in BEF, EUR or in the current – not to highly esteemed by me - numeral system.
So, visit Belgium! As the range of possibilities in franking your mail, this alone should already constitute a good reason for travelling there.
Quote: As to the historic background in respect of Belgium: they were the Spanish Lowlands or Netherlands in the past. Have the Netherlands changed to the reformed church, Belgium has stayed catholic and was kept under Habsburg rule until the Napoleon age. Who, that might dismiss this fact as irrelevant, may be reminded that the Netherlands and Belgium were united for a short period of time. They didn't get along too well – the Netherlands dominated Belgium (economically and politically). Result: civil war or uprising and independence of Belgium.
Ghent is a lovely place, but also characterised by the French-speaking/Dutch-speaking rivalry. When ordering food in a bar, we ordered in French. "Speak English, you're in Ghent", the waiter told us. I love Brussels. Used to enjoy staying at the art nouveau Metropole - now closed from Covid and the endless roadworks with which the Brussels authorities have surrounded it for several years. I think the wonderful bar is still open.
What do you say to that: I had had a weeks holiday left and no commitments.
Now, what is one going to do about it? You put yourself on the road – for a travel. To get away from the usual grind, to see something different, yes that liberates the mind. So, one packs one's saddlebacks und off you go.
One of the most scenic rail tracks in Germany is the Eifeltrack from Cologne to Trier (currently due to flood damages still interrupted between Kall und Kyllburg). On that track you go half the way and exit the train (after you have crossed the cultural border of Aachen + Elecorate Cologne to Rhineland-Palatine) and you can traverse the Eifel and Luxemburg for an excellent hill training, as the elevation level of this windy and hilly area is not without its challenges.
Who does that on a Sunday – as I did by the time – is confronted with closed post gates. Allright, lets fall back on historic material and honour by that the transited Vianden / Luxemburg philatelically: • very young and very pretty: the Grand-Duchess Marie-Adelheid, who unfortunately was caught between two crossfires. France, Belgium and Germany rattle constantly at the borders of the small buffer state of Luxemburg (Luxemburg's very effective revenge is the continuous undercutting of the VAT and capital gains tax rates of the larger neighbours). The Grand-Duchess was accused of being to German-friendly – difficult not be, when you are again threatend and occupied - here: 1914/18 by Germany, together with supply crisis and riots, she was in the end forced to abdicate. And thus vanished from stamps, which was a pitty - as she was a real eye-catcher (I always stop at stamps with her portrait, when going through my collection) • Vianden-views: from the 1920ies and an issue from the 1950ies with a hint as to the sojourns of the exiled Victor Hugo • Keeps one in shape: cycling in Luxemburg - but as a street and touristic rider I recommend to get on the saddle In the evening one arrives in Belgium, to Arlon (after all, I had a few minor Belgian stamps left, which needed to be used up).
As a stamp collector one is always drawn to the local post office. Presumably, the travelling process is only a pretext to be able to visit a local foreign post office.
Disappointed by anonymous cancellations of central mailing centres I have started to ask the local clerks for a good local handstamp cancellation, if possible.
And here they have honoured my request. It got a wild cancellation process, in all five handstamps have been put on my card.
Now, I invite you to take a closer look. Hard to believe, but none of the cancellations is really complete (in one specimen letters of the town are missing, or the specific identification letter of the postmark type, in the next the date is uncomplete…). And yes, this happens all the time and is in a way routine, but this again and again proofs to me, how difficult it is in fact during normal postal routine to produce or get an item with excellent cancellation quality.
I notice that from the things that are displayed in exhibitions or that are circulating within collectors at least 80% are „made". Zeppelin-letters with rare air mail-stamps and perfectly complete cancellations of a number of different postal authorities? This is simply to good to be true. The philatelic world is circling around itself.
And this is why I wish from the usual quality-fundamentalists more respect and acknowledgement for the incomplete, as the more genuine and pure material.
By the way, if Germans stalk through the Eifel and neutral Luxemburg and Belgium….that might not augur well for France. At least that could be said for the first half of the 20th century.
However, I copied the pattern and invaded France via the Belgian border. The city of Verdun fell the same day. But not to claim the city's keys I went there, but only those for a hotel room.
There I was able to manufacture the following item using up all kinds of remainders and which I regard as felicitous and love dearly. The next day I called at the post office, produced the card at the office's desk and sent it on its way.
And what a beautiful postmark they had in store. Une obliteration extraordinaire! That was a nice surprise! A dove of peace, one of the town gates, the victory monument and medals are quoted and ornamentally displayed.
France has the welcome peculiarity (Vive la France!), that nearly all stamps from the very beginning on may still be used for postage until today (with exemption of a few issues, mostly politically tainted ones of the collaboration regime). So, should you find some stamps with Napoleon the Third on them, go on, use them.
Tragic: Philippe Petain was once appointed commander of the forces to defend Verdun 1916 and highly decorated he got for the victory (of his troops). Alas, in 1940 he agreed to be put at the head of the collaboration government during German occupation. And losers may not expect atonement. Stamps with his portrait are not allowed for postage any more.
However, the postage on the card is exact to the penny, even in old Francs. Enjoy the calculation. And at the time the favourable European tariff could be applied (the same rate for EU member countries as for domestic mail).
Interesting historic detail: the above stamp in the right corner quotes the Verdun treaty, which was a succession regulation. Three sons of Carl the Great divided the realm in three zones of interest in a western (Gaul), middle (Burgundy / Lorraine) and eastern sphere (Germany). About the part in the middle France and Germany quarrelled for over thousand years (a typical inheritance dispute indeed).
I travelled at autumnally weather, to via the Maas valley, fro in direction to Metz.
And this is striking when you are in the region, the many graveyards along the roads. Thousands and thousands of soldiers who have been killed and buried there. Well, c'est la guerre...nevertheless this is tragic, tragic and layed a sombre impression on my mood.
One learns to esteem the Europe-issues (with their important political message), which I prefer to field post, if I were to choose.
That might have been a good final statement, but I sense, you want me to add something, as we collectors crave for graphical representations.
From left to right • Souvenir, Souvenir: 1 centime in old Francs, that is to say FRF 0,0001 or EUR 0,00001524 - I thought that was an amount, I would be allowed to spend to mark the moment without appearing too extravagant. • Metz: the cathedral - had a hotel right in front of it • Welcome back to Germany: tourfinale in the Saarland. There, I followed by chance a conversation between two ladies who were undoubtedly locals. By my troth, their idiom was so strong, I did not understand what they were talking.
Should the oddness of the Saarland idiom be the reason that they had separate stamp issues apart from the mainland for a while (of course I'm only joking - as in fact the Saarland issues were a consequence of the First and Second World War)?
In 1999 I had bought a new old car. A chance acquaintance, we met not far off my dwelling cave on the street, where the vehicle was offered for acquisition for a new master. This 1.000,-- DEM-vehicle (a Ford Sierra station wagon, red as fire - very handy and dependable - which is why the initial working relationship turned in the lapse of time into one of dear affection) needed to be moved now and again.
So, let's go for a weekend tour - to see something different, to get out oft he daily grind. My local philatelic paper informed me of a coming stamp exhibition in Brussels. One checks the oil, fills the tank, puts a handful of banknotes in one's wallet, grabs a tooth brush and off you go. And that was far before the time when people started to put their fate at the will of little navigation computers or mobile phones. The evening before I had studied the map and memorised significant points (which is no problem for graphic loving stamp collectors).
After an hour's drive one arrives at the border, crosses it and is already abroad. The scenery, traffic signs, cars, people - everything is changing and that is the thrill of travelling. If out there in foreign parts, will all be well? One senses the desire to proof oneself at this task, to discover something new and to assay how one will get along with that new situation (Do or die!).
Already the entry on a Belgian motorway (stamp on the left) triggers that feeling. These are constructions from the Sixties and Seventies, for decades illuminated by a certain yellowish light typical for the francophonic world. A chain, which one needs to follow and which is dragging one deeper and deeper into the country.
The destination was the exhibition grounds in the North of Brussels. The worthy cause: an exhibition in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the first issue of a Belgian stamp (stamp in the middle a Michel 4B displaying the historic design of the first issue).
I the evening there was time to go downtown. At the time I was able to find a parking place right in front of the royal palace (stamp right).
And of course did the Belgian Post attend the exhibition. I mailed greetings home.
And after we have seen my article of Sep. 15 a simple machine cancellation, in my article of Oct. 15 the efforts of a willing but in philatelic regards not really experienced postal clerk, the exhibition attending staff was professional and delivered exquisite cancellation quality.
Of course, that has - even if actually processed by the post - a taste of a "cancelled to order"-item, which so often can be found in the philatelic world. But I find the item nice to look at due to the arrangement and the beauty of the stamps and the postmark.
Since then decades have elapsed, In the meantime I could acquire some collections at a low price level of EUR 40 and 80 for modern material, thousands of stamps. Astoundingly inexpensive and most of them still valid for postage.
Should now not everything be said in respect to Belgium, I could offer a link to an additional report of the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Federal Agency for Civic Education) about Belgium with a volume of 340 pages (from the stoneage to the presence), but this is unfortunately only available in German.
Ere I forget, should you now have got an appetite for Belgium (as I have beat the drum for Belgium a good many times now) before you sort / look through your (new?) Belgium collection – don't forget to vicutal yourself appropriately.
Here a proposal of the Belgian Post from 2001: „Triumph of the Mussel".
No time for long journeys? How about the shortest known voyage: an excursion.
Now one only needs to find a tempting destination. What could be eligible for a stampcollector? Right, the local stamp exhibition in your vicinity.
I dwell in the Rhinish agglomeration, which has its advantages. In Cologne there was for decades the exhibition „philatelia" which took place in the fair pavilions in Cologne-Deutz. The famous cathedral is to be found right on the other side of the rhine, always worth a glance. An exhibition with that name is nowadays held in Munich.
Fair hustle is of course fun, although I prefer the exhibition part. The fair business is dominated by commerce and as money is my profession as a merchant I need from time to time some distance from the haggling.
These exhibitions are extraordinary events – I always say „Come on, show something of your collection" and "tell about it". That you can have in an exhibition and focus on what is of interest for you (at one piece you look more closely, at another less - according to one's preference).
As to presentation, I don't want to lag behind in that regard and show something here and now For me this is simply a souvenir, from the collector's perspective two aspects could be better • The commemoration of Albrecht Dürer (1971) is well comprehendable (a real champion of graphics), but the Federal Republic of Germany was with the display of only the monogram far too modest • The special postmarks are too contemporary for my taste and unpersuasive as to their design, but let's not make a fuss, they were good enough for cancellation nonetheless
Now coming to the end of my contribution the question remains where is the adventure factor in that. Well, that is simply a question of perspective. • I love to use the public transportation system. And when I will one day face my maker and will be asked what I have done with my life, I would need to admit that after sleeping my second most time intensive occupation will have been to wait for a public transport vehicle. My local bus not only transports me to far destinations but foremost to the trainstation of my dear hometown (unfortunately an example for less favourable contemporary architecture, under such impressions one needs to take up stampcollecting) and from there, one can conveniently enter a train to Cologne. But (and now comes the adventure factor) the train has to arrive. There are - especially these days more than ever - strikes, the track is under construction for months, single trains are cancelled (due to lack of personnel, technical incidents, persons on the track, police operations, medical emergency incidents…. - there die more people on trains than in any other place in the Rhineland, so it seems - I can sing these lame execuses). But when the thing (that is the train) arrives, I can't imagine a more relaxed way of travelling (you take a look at the landscape, your co-travellers, have a glimpse into the press or on your mobile) • And whose heart doesn't beat faster on the occasion of such events. In anticipation of the event, out of curiosity. To behold stamps, for the bargaining, for the meeting, to see the odd stamp collecting community.
There will be an event in your vicinity soon, so I should hope.
Time to open a new chapter. Exactly, the Luisads, a heroic epic (to honour the seafaring achievements of Portugal, not my sojourn).
Portugal had in 1989 received me most kindly on the occasion of a fortnight on the seashore on the Algarve coast. A good holiday includes - that much is certain - a visit of the local post office, at the time in Portimao. That proofed to be a real highlight. On entering the premises there was to my surprise and delight on the left a philatelic counter with a width of about two meters, with a colourful display of issues from Portugal, the Azores and Madeira. The sales personnel was formed by a proper Lusitanian lady, who was the mistress of the trade. Further on the left to the wall behind her stood an old black safe which was full of philatelic material of all sorts.
My eyes looked greedily over the displayed items and thus I was identified as a potential buyer. There were lot of blocks, many special issues in the for Portugal typical presentation of issues by a set consisting of four to six stamps in one design in different nominals, often accompanied by a block issue with the top nominal of the set. I picked this and that and the lady registered exactly the material I choosed, and she found in her safe more matching material (for example a booklet instead of single stamps). The issues from 1986 to 1989 were in stock. Money was tight at the time, but for the by then for me hefty sum of DEM 50,00 / PTE 5.000 I bought various material. And didn't my catalogue from the public library state that the current issues were of indefinite maturity?
Here is one of the by then typical issues from a booklet, cut at the top and the bottom and with a considerably lower number of prints (60.000) as the all perforated version (600.000) from sheets. I have never forgotten this episode - had been received in Portugal in a general kind manner and have therefore formed a sympathy for the country, which until today has not cooled down.
Well, in the year 2001 I found myself (having had finished some refurbishments earlier than planned and below budget) in the mood for travelling, equipped with an adequate allowance and having 10 days of holiday left.
Without further ado I booked a flight to Faro, packed a few things and off I went.
But Portugal collectors will know what devastating news were in store for me, when I looked into a then current catalogue beforehand the voyage and had to find out that the stamps which I had bought in 1989 and of which I wanted to put some in my luggage (to use them up - the Euro introduction was at hand) were invalidated. The stamps of Portugal are namely in regularily unregular intervalls of three to eight years declared void - regardless if these are definite or special issues. Well, rather a shock, I came too late.
On my trip I also transited Portimao and visited the post office. But to my regret the philatelic counter, at which I was served so well in 1989, didn't exist anymore in 2001.
From Lagos I sent the following card home: The postleress in Lagos (by the way a pretty thing and agile - again a proof that stamp collection is in fact a sensual hobby) who took over my item, asked my, why I had put so many stamps on the card (about which of course us collectors will chuckle, as a varied postage is for us simply stimulating and nice to look at) and then grasped stout-heartedly for the postmark for cancellation, which was put on almost relief-like but well cognisable as well.
Two interesting details • The definites I acquired on site in Portimao, if my memory serves me correctly. Official validity left: three days - astounding - as the new definite issue birds and coins with small values had not yet been released. I reckon the stamps were beyond their official validity accepted by the Portugese post until January 1, 2002 (the day Euro notes and coins were introduced). • The postmark: remarkeably the town is displayed in brackets - the focus is put on the qoute „Portas de Portugal", so more on the function as to the location (Lagos, is one of the main towns on the Algarve coast)
Where were we? Oh yes, of course, in Portugal – doesn't ring the gong? Then have a look here (five out of about two hundred varieties of the very famous Ceres-definites, identical stamps for the colonies are to be added to that).
Algarve, that is the touristically most intensively developed area of Portugal, there are more beaches at the southern coast than on the main coast.
Those who prefer to move off the beaten track, simply turn north on the coastal road behind Sagres. And all of a sudden, there is tranquillity. Off course there a coastal settlements and beaches – but beware, the current may be strong – it is the Atlantic (as it is in the south, but there milder).
At the end of a long and toilsome day, I arrived in a small village, Odeceixe. And after one of the worst accommodations ever in Lagos, one is pleased of a decent, clean boarding house with an active and busy hostess and a quiet Dinner in the town center. During the night a heavy rain goes down, which falls noisily on the in Portugal inevitable tiles, while one lies savely and protected in one's bed. Of that one briefly takes notice and sinks back in a deep and refreshing sleep.
Who travels naturally hurls oneself into the regional normal daily existence (a second breakfast in a local café – with a typical ham sandwich and short wonderful intense coffees, thus one victualises at best). And at the time, one needed to change money. My favourite bank (for me as a man of commerce this is important) was the Banco Nacional Ultramarino (the national overseas bank, today absorbed by the Caixa Geral – a national savings bank). Already the name of the bank promises cosmopolitanism and arouses a wish for adventure, which is increased by the corporate arms – and here's the proof
In three stages to Lissabon. But how unfortunate when one arrives on a Saturday afternoon (is as wise as to stop for a day of rest on a Monday – as on Mondays all museums are closed). If I remember correctly, the post with its philatelic counter could be found on the Praca do Comercio – in the western tower of this phantastic square. Today according to an internet recherche not be found there anymore. So, due to my late Saturday arrival no philatelic spoils for me.
Astoundingly, in the metropolis Lissabon, I met by chance a co-traveller from of the plane from Germany to Faro (…unbelieveable, what are the odds…). He recommended a in a way fishy boarding house in an astounding historic apartment with impressive stukko ceilings in a lively, not-so kosher district of Lissabon. The receptionist – the hostesses son – consumed endlessly video tapes, while the mother of about 45 dropped by accompanied by an about thirty year old escort of Angolian decend I would say, who was embellished with gold chains. Dinner in a traditional restaurant with Azulejo tiles. There were in the area dancing saloons where one could book a co-dancer (which I have before and since never seen again – reminded more of the 40ies and 50ies of the last century, bars with quirky guests and cool Portugese beers, clubs and so on. In short: an eclectic and unconventional evening.
And in Portugal there are monuments to be found all over the land. The next day I transited Lissabon and came to Sintra. But on the day of my visit it was so foggy, I was unable to find neither the award-winning palaces nor the historic center. I marvel until this day, how that was possible.
That much for the adventure part of my report. It must be possible to enhance this with stamps (and so I grabbed for my collection, let's see what I have in store for you….) • For all collectors of classic material, who feel until now being missed out: my oldest Portugal-stamp (with a Lisboa-cancel), a 57ya from 1882 (print run 9.224.000). By the way King Louis I. was an offspring of a migrant worker (his father was a German of the house Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha). Therefore, as a bonus the 63b from 1887 (print run 90.975.000). • The famous tower of Belem in Lissabon • One of the palaces in Sintra, here the historic town palace. The towers are the chimneys of the palaces' kitchen.
Also, nice to look at as a reminiscence of Lissabon – a bloc out of one of the annual Europe issues with a complete view of Lissabon (please take notice of the articulate quote of a poem also shown on the bloc, that's how I want stamps to be – stimulating the mind).
However, at the end of the day I arrived by chance in Mafra, with its Palacio Nacional, a beamy mixture of palace and monastery - again world cultural heritage. Time to send card greetings home. A felicitous mix of stamps that were acquireable at the time at the post offices. According to my memory, the local clerks refused to handstamp, that is why the card was put into aallgemeine post box. I don't have anything against conventional postmarks, but we collectors know how easy (from a collector's point of view) things may go wrong - here: a clearly to meekly printed postmark.
That much for today - vejo voce em breve (see you soon)!
Recently in my German forum the question was disbelievingly raised, who these days would still be sending mail.
Well, I do. Because I like to collect, for me stamps are items of utility, out of friendship and the wish for communion with the recipients - when away on the road I indulge freedom in time. Why not then share a thought, a mood, an impression (and convey that unobtrusively).
I'm constantly surprised of the positive effects in respect to that.
The addressee of the following item for example I send a card once a year when possible. One brings oneself to memory and salutes from afar (with a handsome motive, postage that shall catch the eye and an individualilsed text – for the simple reason to create joy). Jesus, how often has he moved - and what has survived all the removals: my post cards, yes Sir. In the end this is just succumbing to a subconsciously already existing collecting passion, a passion that we stamp collectors are – but more obviously – addicted to. Now he has digitalised his cards recently and I received the originals, a gesture which I have appreciated much. I would like to share one item here today.
Also another acquaintance of mine, assuredly unsuspicious of stamp collection, I caught once, when on the occasion of a reunion which took place recently after he had received one of my cards, of which he raised the latest one in the air, said thanks and after that put it away on the pile (!) to the others.
Nazaré, you may have heard of that town. Yes, that is the surfing hot spot in Portugal, with purportedly higher waves than on Hawaii. Discovered by the scene at the end of the 1990ies. And I was there, in 2001, at the time there was no sign of an overcrowdedness. I arrived in the evening, got a nice accommodation near the beach and asked myself, if I were to go for a swim. I like the Atlantic and its waves but I need to say that would have meant danger for life. The swell was heavy and would simply have battered a swimmer. But already a stroll along the wide and long beach, the force and might of the waves, the viridity and chill of the place while the air was filled with the spray of ocean was impressive. A well worth seeing and experienceable adventure.
For all those to whom the today's report may have been to colourful and to current, that is the pietists of philately, I show a classic for their tranquilisation.
Of 1892. A Michel Nr. 66 – print run 15.880.000 and Nr. 70 – print run 50.702.000, therefore no rarities. Displayed: King Carlos I, who 1908 on the Praca do Comercio fell victim to an attempt on his life. So, all who are on the quest for the crown may be warned and should take notice how that may end („Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown" I read once, and sometimes that head falls). On the left: gorgeous – a hexagon postmark with interesting decorative elements.
Probably barely known historical detail: Portuguese state bankrupt in 1891 – since then the main creditors Britain and Germany were working in earnest on plans for the division of the Portuguese oversea possessions in Afrika (until 1914, when they chose to go at each other's throat instead). Absolutely, the age of imperialism.
Portugal, October 3., 2001 - still 89 days to go before the introduction of Euro banknotes and coins.
Until that time one needed to handle the day to day cash transactions in Escudos (PTE). The Portuguese postal administration however had started the emission of double nominated stamps (displaying its nominal in EUR as well as in PTE) in March 1999.
All solely PTE-nominated stamps ceased validity for postage by the end of September 30, 2001. Why the administration didn't choose December 31, 2001 is hard to tell. EUR stamps in small nominals however were released not until January 02, 2002 (together with the introduction of Euro notes and coins) and were displaying the features of the new coins. In this set of stamps there were nominals as of EUR 0,01, 0,02 and 0,05 in a print run in millions (special issues of this period were well below the million).
The contemporary definite set „birds" comprised small nominals only from February 2002 and March 2003 on. Small values are a necessity, as nearly every year the postage is increased slightly. An example: a special issue for PTE 100 from 2000 needed in 2001 an additional PTE 5 when to serve as postage for a postcard to European destinations (PTE 105).
As a fact I couldn't acquire any small nominated stamps after September 30, 2001 and neither find any dispenser who would print such additional postage. Once (should have been in Nazaré) I was offered to clear the postage in cash and put some label on my mail. As a stamp collector I refused.
Allright, the mail needed to go, so I overfranked from the stock that I had in my album and the sheetlet "discoverer" which I wanted to take home, was unceremoniously put into use according to their purpose. I found out later that these stamps (solely PTE nominated as they are, true from 1998 - but acquired in late September 2001 at the counters of the Portuguese post) had been declared void since October 01, 2001. But the post allowed the items to slip through, to my view only fair.
Now coming to the end of my present contribution, let's have a look at something modern, which - being bought at the time on site - made it home into my collection: an issue to honour the Geographic Society which had made a special contribution in respect of the surveying of Angola and Mocambique which once were large and economic relevant Portuguese colonies. From 2000, print run 250.000.
Today at the beginning, I am going to compare two stamps from 2000 / 2001. On the left: an self-adhesive definite issue (not acquired by myself but sometimes come to my collection – I distrust this quality), on the right a gummed special issue (touring spoils, that means acquired on the spot). Please compare these two. I want to drive at the shrinking of the self-adhesive stamp, whereas the gummed stamp has not changed its appearance.
My judgement: the gummed stamps are more durable and environment friendly and that is we are supposedly all thriving at. And how does it go? The selfdestructing composite material supersedes the gummed versions. This is for me as if the non-recyclable Tetra-Pak supplants the reusable glass bottle and that makes me pensive.
Here is the tours end-card home and not that you could say of me, I were only to remember female postal personnel (which I indeed prefer - according to my personal statistics they produce the better cancellations) I was happy to find an open post office in the first place on the national holiday. Here, a mid-thirty with a beard decidedly postmarked my card in a satisfying quality, and - thank the lord - let through the stamps which had become void five days before (of which at the time I was not aware).
Return by flight. At the airport a post office was in service. There, I found myself persuaded to buy another souvenir sheet. Nr. 24 of Madeira, print run 60.000. Madeira stamps are available and valid also on the main land. The specimen shown is void for postage since 2007.
Food and drink in Portugal have not yet been recognized adequately. Although, stamps commemorating local dishes are numerous.
Portugues wines are excellent, I appreciate the fruitiness and effervescence of the white wines (obtainable at your local Portuguese shop). Porto and the Douro-valley are champions in viticulture.
I could enthuse about several meals, for example in a bar in Porto which I had the opportunity to visit, where I was offered all sorts of Bacalao (cod fish)-based dishes. With great appetite and to the delight of the host I tasted some. Or the ubiquitous smell of grilled sardines which will be recognisable sooner or later in the day (let that be accompanied by a Sagres or Super Bock – local beers).
Lastly, I have here something that is all typical of the local cuisine and which can be found on all menus. And it is not misplaced in this forum, as it is a souvenir sheet which is a cooking recipe as well.
Now, my eighth voyage is at an end. Maybe I made you an appetite on Portuguese stamps and this should be - as we have found out - nothing bad. Enjoy!
You may have noticed: I actually quite liked it there on the Iberian Peninsula. And every year there is actually a new claim for days off.
You may wonder if there is anything worth seeing? Let's find out. It's only a three-hour flight from Germany (a regional train would take you from Düsseldorf to Mainz in that amount of time) and you're already back in...Porto.
Not Portugal again, God knows I've been harping on the subject enough recently. Let's just go into it briefly. This is easy for me because from Porto I travelled consistently north and left Portugal already after two days, even the post offices were closed - bank holiday on the 1st of May.
That's why I'm showing another classic - the monarch design from 1895 (valid until 1910, print run unknown, but not rare). Enjoy the different designs and I like the ornamental postmarks.... and thanks to Portugal for the pleasant stay there at the time. Also interesting: I have shown older stamps in ascending order in the previous posts - now you can see how the designs are modernising. Yes, the English influence on Portugal was high in the last centuries and the British played an important role (as defenders against the Spanish and Napoleonic invasion, as a major creditor and as a trading partner). In any case, communicating in the country using this lingua franca was no problem.
But let's look forward, which in this case meant northwards and crossing the border from Portugal.... to Spain.... and that meant taking a vow of silence for the next two weeks when crossing the border and being reduced to 100 Spanish words as vocabulary and gestures to get around the country, because at he time the Spanish only spoke Spanish and nothing else. Dios mio!
Oh yes, Spain - see post #1 - after the stressful experience of a mass tourism trip (which had really shocked me in 1990), I imposed a private travel ban on Spain, which I lifted not before 2002.
2002 = the introduction of the Euro, and Spain was part of it. For purely ESP-nominated stamps, this meant that they could be used for mail until 28.02.02, after which they could only be exchanged. And the range of stamps that could be used until 28.02.02 was wide, because most stamps from 1936 remained valid until 28.02.2002, i.e. over 2,800 catalogue numbers (in Germany, approx. 1,500 catalogue numbers became void).
In any case, the introduction of postage labels had a dramatic effect (increasingly from around 1991 on), which quickly replaced the wet adhesive stamps. Even in 2002 - it was difficult to find a post office clerk who would go to the vault / look for the stock book to produce something other than labels. Postage with labels is simply easier for the postmen to organise (just press a button in the evening, count the money - and you can go home - without having to count the stamp stocks in its entirety). That this also makes it culturally more monotonous is less important for the Spanish postmen.
In any case, I wasn't lucky or didn't have the perseverance to get good material in my first encounters.
In order to prevent this getting a post without stamps, I'm going to jump back in time and show some stamps from 1983 (...you can bet that I'll be able to pick out the stamps I bought for my collection in a supermarket on Mallorca when I was 14 years old, and of course - it took me exactly 5 seconds...). And as luck would have it: phantastic: the new national coat of arms from 1981, which fits perfectly as an intro to entering a new country. Of course, my heart beats more for the bicycle stamp, because it reflects the design highlights of a steel-frame racing bike very well. Elegant and very durable - I still have one of these in my garage (from 1981 - a beauty). And here is a first postal item from Spain to Germany from 2002. Unfortunately, only franked with a label - there was simply nothing more to get. And this is interesting: Michel lists the circulation of the label in the drawing on the postcard as 62 million - 13 different drawings in labels were issued in one year with similarly high print runs. Special issues from 2002, on the other hand, usually have a circulation of only 1.2 million.
Galicia, that is the wild, hilly, seaside landscape in the north of Spain.
Compared to the rest of Spain, it is spared from mass tourism (if we disregard the pilgrimage boom to Santiago de Compostela). You travel through a green, hilly landscape, but you'd better pack an extra wool sweater because it can be quite chilly in May.
From Pontevedra I went to La Coruna. Up and down, through rain and headwinds. One is grateful for a bed and a roof over one's head. Sometimes that takes you to the most unusual places. Concurbion, a small town at the time with a view on a remarkable power station, then probably still without a soot filter, as an important landmark that shaped the silhouette of the landscape like a volcano. I found accommodation near the Avenida Franco and soon had a steaming plate of seafood in front of me in the evening. Were that sea snails? In any case, things you don't eat as a dish every day, I had to let myself be instructed on how to get the protein. But such challenges are part of a good trip, which has to be rich in contrast and impressions.
Here are a few quotes in stamps in respect to the destination. I like to emphasise the legendary Provincial Coat of Arms series (1962-1966 - one stamp appeared per month) - a trip to Spain in 57 issues with a circulation of usually 4 million each. On the left, typical demand postmarks - machine postmarks are common, just look at the cards you may have received from Spain.
In Coruna, I was finally able to buy stamps at the main post office (what situation is this, to travel around without having a stamp stock). There were all kinds of issues from around November 2001 onwards.
I also simply plonked all the ESP coins I could find in my household on the counters at the Banco Espana (the Central Bank) in Coruna. There were about twenty of them from all periods after 1970. The counter clerk was naturally surprised that a tourist with a small amount of money had taken the trouble to come to the counter and was very suspicious. She examined the coins piece by piece, and about five of them (with the head of Francisco Franco) were no longer exchangeable.
To celebrate the day, a sign of life to home... letterbox posted and - of course - something went wrong again - it wasn't postmarked at all. Regular recipients of vacation cards from Spain may be familiar with this phenomenon. At least this now allows a full view of the designs. The military academy in Zaragoza (left stamp) - where the Crown Princess swore her oath of allegiance in October 2023, I read on the "Miscellaneous" page in the press recently.
Well, what can one do? And here I have good news - for all those who are now traveling to La Coruna, it looks like it is shown below.
Thank the lord, no service is being discontinued for once, but there is something to discover: the matasellos turisticos in Spain (go to the post office counter and demand them...).
I became aware of this through a document published in my German forum. There is a wide network of regional special handstamps available. I wanted to know more about it and did some research. I found information on this on two websites
a) that of the post office - but only the stamps from the last three years are shown there b) that of a private initiative, which shows all special postmarks since 2014, including a map view
Most are only available in the relevant town from a single post office (although many now have just one), or from 2020 from the cancellation centre of Correos in Madrid where you can send the cover in a self-addressed envelope, for cancellation with the required cancel (see page 3).
A common mistake is that the Coats of Arms series is called
Quote: Provincial Coat of Arms series
Whereas the names on the stamps are those of the provinces, your 'A Coruña' stamp is a good example that shows the arms on the stamps are those of the provincial capitals. In most cases, they have the same name as their capital. Asturias, La Rioja, Baleares are a few of the exceptions. Tenerife is a strange one. The capital is Santa Cruz de Tenerife, as is the province. Tenerife is one of the islands in the province.
As far as I am aware, only Edifil gets it right in calling it 'Arms of Provincial Capitals.'
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Posted 09/15/2023 2:56 pm
