cents

 20 centimes coin from Switzerland showing the head of Liberty (designed in 1879)

 

2 cent stamp from Netherlands  (1946)

arctic

 

The Arctic islands are an archipelago of over 36,000 islands.  I will admit, I had no idea there were so many!  Only 11 are inhabited.

symmetry

 

This stamp has been shown before, but I like it, so here it is again.  It was designed by Yauheniya Biadonik who has designed various stamps, especially on culture and arts

 A deceptively simple Japanese forest

 

More conical trees in front of the horizontal schloss with an even number of vertical windows

some patterns for Sunday Stamps

 

 

salut

back to France

for the Paralympics

and, just in time, I received the latest Marianne (2023) 

This is Marianne of the future designed by Olivier Balez and engraved by Pierre Bara

icon

I have many of these Machin stamps (this is but a tiny sampling). I love all the colours - it's like looking at paint swatches.

and, this, with the lovely cancellation and a more casual hat instead of a crown, but still with the necklace.

some colours for Sunday Stamps

marianne

Let's start off our world tour of Olympic participating countries with the host: France

the 2018 version of Marianne designed by 'YZ', a French graphist (or graphic designer) living in Abidjan, and engraved by Elsa Catelin

 

 

Olivier Ciappa's 2013 version of Marianne and youth

Marianne and stars designed & engraved by Yves Beaujard released in 2008

This 2003 version was designed by Eve Luquet and engraved by Claude Jumelet

 

 

New versions of these stamps are released every five years by the president.  I have yet to receive any 2023 ones

In case you've lost count, France is hosting the Olympics for the sixth time this summer.

northern hemisphere for Sunday Stamps

happy vegetables

As luck would have it, I received these happy vegetables from a Postcrosser this week.

These remind me of signs one of our grocery stores used to have in the produce section showing smiling fruits and vegetables with a "pick me, pick me".

a courgette and a potato

as well as a cabbage, cucumber and carrot

The stamps by artist Victor Chaichuk were part of                            14 vegetables issued on July 1, 2020

I will never understand the Belarusian postal rates as every card received seems to have different denominations of stamps. There is a stamp 'N' which has a face value for an international postcard, but here we have the cabbage which is 1 ruble and the carrot, cucumber, courgette are 5, 1, and 2 kopeks respectively. The potato is an  'A' which is a face value of a 20g letter within Belarus. My card had four courgettes and one of each of the others. And, not one of them was cancelled.

for Sunday Stamps - food

Sunday Stamps - D

1968, Singapore, Sword  Dance

Singapore is an island city state which gained independence from Britain in 1963 by joining Malaysia but later, in 1965, separated and formed its own state. For the first few years of independence, stamps in Singapore were interchangeable with Malaya. This sword dance stamp was in the first set of definitives issued in 1968. They were hand painted in photogravure and portrayed traditional dances of the three main ethnic groups.

D for Dance

Sunday Stamps - C

2018, USA
illustrated by John Burgoyne

Meyer lemons are sweeter than true lemons with a taste that is said to have hints of mandarin orange and lime. The fruit tree was originally ornamental both in China and in the US where it was transported by Frank Meyer, an agricultural explorer, who was responsible for collecting new plant species for the US Dept. of Agriculture. How these fruits moved from ornamental to culinary is unclear.
The peak season begins in November and runs to late March ... so get yours now.
Peak season for these definitive stamps will be when postage increases.

for the letter C - citrus / citrus meyeri

Sunday Stamps - S

1985, Singapore definitive insects

We always need honeybees - though maybe not such a supersized looking one?! The apis cerana javana is one of four bees found in Singapore and is not even the giant honey bee (apis dorsata). This is an Asian honey bee, and there is also a dwarf honey bee as well as a stingless bee.

for the letter S - Singapore

Sunday Stamps - B

2012, Belarus, definitive
Belarusian ornament
artist: Yauheniya Biadonik

The M is equal to the tariff for an international postcard. 

The design is of an embroidered ornamental pattern.

for the letter B - Belarus

Sunday Stamps - 'T'

2017, Germany, definitive 'baby animals'

Wildschwein, or wild boar, is one of the widest ranging mammals in the world and has become an invasive species in many places.  They are strong, intelligent and highly adaptable and can become quite the pests while damaging crops, eating birds eggs, and scaring of cattle. These tierkinder stamps are an ongoing series since 2014.

for the letter T - tierkinder

Sunday Stamps - 'M'

1972, Canada, Mountain Sheep, definitive
designed by Reinhard Derreth
based on a photograph by Harry Rowed

These bighorn sheep live in the Canadian Rockies. These are rams, as can be seen by their massive curled horns which can be as long as 125cm and together can weigh up to 13kg.

for the letter M - mountain sheep 

Sunday Stamps II - 152

1955 Canada, wildlife series
designer: Emanuel Otto Hahn
engraver: Silas Robert Allen

The Musk Ox (Ovibos moschatus) lives in the tundra of the Arctic. The name comes from the musky odour of the males during the rutting season. In winter, they live on roots, lichen and mosses and during the summer  months they feast on Arctic flowers and grasses. Its long, shaggy coat makes it appear larger than they really are. They are smaller than bison and about half the weight (4'-5', 400-900 lbs).

for the letter O - ox, ovibos