Hong Kong: Weather Phenomena - "Registered Cover"

In collaboration with the Hong Kong Observatory, Hongkong Post issued a set of special stamps with the theme of "Weather Phenomena", introducing seven common weather phenomena in Hong Kong, namely rainbows, frost, clouds, lightning, fog, rain and typhoons. The stamp issue will help the public understand the changes in our weather. I'm very happy to receive this nice cover with almost the full set. Only the $ 5 "Rain" stamp is missing. The postage is completed with two stamps from the 2014 issued Definitives Series.

Stamps:
Weather Phenomena (5 from a set of 6) - Issued: 27-03-2014
Definitives Landscape of Hong Kong (from a set of 12) - Issued: 24-07-2014


Many thanks to Edward for this great Cover!

Luxembourg: Cycling Stamps

This Cover is all about Cycling. Both stamps used to frank this cover from Luxembourg are related to Cycling.

The right one was issued because in 2017 two stages of the Tour de France led trough Luxembourg.  On 3 July, the riders came across Luxembourg from north to south over 115 km. On 4 July the fourth stage started from Mondorf-les-Bains along the Mosel up to the French city of Vittel in the Vosges region.

The left one commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the foundation of the "Fédération des Sociétés Cyclistes Luxembourgeoises (FSCL)" (Luxembourgish Cycling Federation) in 1917. Today, Luxembourg is widely associated with cycling, not only, but because of the "Schleck Brothers", Andy and Fränk Schleck.

Stamps:
left: 100 years of the Fédération du Sport Cycliste Luxembourgeois (FSCL) - Issued: 04-07-2017
right: The 2017 Tour de France's starting stage in Mondorf-les-Bains - Issued: 04-07-2017

Slovakia: EUROPA - "Castles"

The stamp for the 2017 EUROPA Series of Slovakia depicting the Lietava castle in Northern Slovakia. The castle was built after 1241, most likely as an administrative and military centre. In the 16th century when the Thurzó family gained it, it was reconstructed and fortified, and given its own military garrison. After the death of Imre Thurzó in 1621, it was divided between his heirs. After the ownership disputes in 1641, they lost interest in it. The castle report in 1698 said that the castle was uninhabited and there was only an archive, which was moved to the Orava Castle (Hungarian: Árva) in the 1760s. After that, the castle was abandoned and not used any more. Today the castle is in the hands of the non-profit organisation Združenie na záchranu Lietavského hradu, which takes care of the castle and oversees it's conservation.

As you can see by the postmark on the left, this cover was sent during the International Stamp Fair in Sindelfingen 2017.

Stamp:
EUROPA - Castles - Issued: 05-05-2017

Germany: The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation - Joint Issue with Brazil

October 31, 2017 was the date of the 500th anniversary of the so-called "Reformation". On this date back in 1517, Martin Luther (1483-1546) pinned his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church, which brought a series of reforms not only within the Christian religion, but also in all areas of life. Because of this special Occasion the German and the Brazilian Post jointly issued a stamp showing Martin Luther. I'm happy to receive not only the german stamp but also the brazilian one.  

German Version:

- with special First-Day of Issue Postmark

Stamp:

The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation - Issued: 13-04-2017

Brazilian Version:

Stamp:
The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation - Issued: 13-04-2017


Many thanks to Helio for sending me this nice Cover!


On this card you can see an Illustration of Martin Luther pinned his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. The stamp on this card commemorates the the so-called "Luther-Bible".

Stamp:
Luther-Bible - Issued: 02-01-2017

Turkey: Prof. Dr. Aziz Sancar - 2015 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry

Aziz Sancar (born 8 September 1946) is a Turkish-American biochemist and molecular biologist specializing in DNA repair, cell cycle checkpoints, and circadian clock. In 2015, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Tomas Lindahl and Paul L. Modrich for their mechanistic studies of DNA repair. He has made contributions on photolyase and nucleotide excision repair in bacteria that have changed his field.  Sancar is currently the Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Stamps:
Aziz Sancar - 2015 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry - Issued: 10-12-2015


Many thanks to Baris for this nice Cover!

USA: The History of Hockey

On October 20th the US Postal Service and the Canada Post jointly issued a stamp dedicated to one of the most famous sports in North America: Ice Hockey. In the 1800s, the sport truly began to take shape in Eastern Canada. By the late 19th century, the game had grown popular in the United States. American Malcolm Greene Chace became interested in the game and assembled a group of players from various universities. In 1896, a team from Yale, which included Chace, faced Johns Hopkins University in the first college hockey game. The National Hockey Association began play in 1910 and evolved into the National Hockey League in 1917.

I'm happy to receive some covers with this nice stamp with first-day cancellation and even one cover showing a very nice souvenir sheet.

Stamps:
The History of Hockey (stamps + m/s) - Issued: 20-10-2017


Many thanks to Richard, A.W. Welch and Geoffrey!

South Korea: The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games

Only three day left and one of the major world wide sport events is going to start. The XXIII. Olympic Winter Games will take place from 9 to 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Korea. The 2018 Winter Olympics will feature 102 events in 15 sports, making it the first Winter Olympics to surpass 100 medal events. Four new disciplines in existing sports were introduced to the Winter Olympic programme in Pyeongchang, including big air snowboarding, mixed doubles curling, mass start speed skating, and mixed team alpine skiing. And of course for this special event Korea Post issued a series of stamps dedicated to this event. The design of the stamps includes the official mascot, Soohorang, participating in a number of winter sports including curling, speed skating and bobsleigh, as well as images of Olympic stadiums. I'm happy to receive this nice cover with also a nice special postmark showing the mascot Soohorang.

Stamps:
Winter Olympics 2018 (from a set of 10) - Issued: 01-11-2017


Many thanks to Choonjong Park for this nice cover!

Stamps:
Winter Olympics 2018 (from a set of 10) - Issued: 01-11-2017

Lithuania: EUROPA - "Castles"

Lithuanian Post issued two stamps for the 2017 EUROPA theme "Castles". The stamps on this cover below are showing ancient documents of the castles of Biržai (left stamp) and Klaipėda (right stamp). Biržai Castle is a castle in the city of Biržai, located in the northern part of Lithuania. The city and the whole region is renowned for its many traditional-recipe beer breweries. Klaipėda Castle, also known as Memelburg or Memel Castle, is an archeological site and museum housed in a castle built by the Teutonic Knights in Klaipėda, Lithuania, near the Baltic Sea. It was first mentioned in 1252.

On the left bottom, you can also see a cachet postmark from the International Stamp Fair in Sindelfingen 2017.

Stamps:
EUROPA "Castles" (full set) - Issued: 29-04-2017

Liechtenstein: The 200th Anniversary of the K.K.Briefsammelstelle Balzers

The history of Liechtenstein’s postal service began 200 years ago with a mail collection station in Balzers. On 1 September 1817, the k.k. österreichische Post (Imperial and Royal Austrian Post) opened a mail collection station in Balzers, followed in 1845 by a second collection station in Vaduz.  By 1912, there were a total of five Austrian-run post offices in Liechtenstein. That same year Liechtenstein also began to issue its own stamps. After the First World War, Liechtenstein left its 100-year relationship with the Austrian post and joined the Swiss PTT, concluding a postal contract with Switzerland in 1920. The move was regarded as necessary requirement to adopting the Swiss franc and customs treaty with Switzerland. In September 2017 the Post of Liechtenstein celebrated this Anniversary with several events and also by issuing this nice sheet you can see on the following cover cancelled by Balzers Post Office.

Stamp:
The 200th Anniversary of the K.K.Briefsammelstelle Balzers (m/s) - Issued: 04-09-2017