Sunday Stamps II - 141

1977, Djibouti

Before its Independence in 1977, Djibouti was known as French Somaliland as well as The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas. It lies in the Horn of Africa bordering Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Currently (2016) there Are 846,690 people living there.

for the letter D
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Sunday Stamps II - 140

2016, Norway, 200th Anniversary Norges Bank
21 kroner
designer and engraver: Sverre Morken

A 19th century Norwegian coin and 20th century banknotes are shown on this stamp commemorating the 200th anniversary of the central bank of Norway Norges Bank. This stamp won second place in a poll for Norway's most beautiful stamp of 2016.

21 kroner = 2.30 euros

for the letter C - currency

Sunday Stamps II - 139

1995, Belarus, Belovezhski Bison Bonasus

A European Bison in the Belovezhskaya National Park within the Bialowieza Forest (a UNESCO site on the Belarus-Poland border). in 1996, they were declared an 'endangered' species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, though that has been upgraded to 'vulnerable'. There are now around 800 in Belarus and the population is growing. The bison in the Bialowieza Forest were protected by the Polish kings with a death penalty for killing any instituted in the mid-16th century. Later, the Russian czars continued to protect them but their numbers still dwindled until there were none left by 1928. Slowly, captive bison from zoos were bred to be reintroduced to the wild with the first pair finally leaving captivity to live in the forest in 1952. The modern day bison bonasus are all descended from only seven animals.

for the letter B - Bison, Belarus

blue cats

received 2017 from Belarus
artist Irina Zeniuk

International Cat Day

Sunday Stamps II - 138

1928 US AIR MAIL

The US postal service started constructing airway beacons between 1923-1933 to aid navigation before there were good aviation charts for pilots. A series of lighted beacons were placed every 10 miles or so along with a brightly painted concrete arrow for navigation during inclement weather and at night. The lights would flash a code to identify each beacon's number. By 1940, when technology had improved, the beacons were torn down and the steel went towards the war effort.

for the letter A - air mail