Albania 2022

Albania

Date of Issue: 1st December 2023 [!]

one stamp (150.- ALL) and one souvenir-sheet (250.- ALL)

 

the stamp is issued in a mini-sheet of 9 stamps

 a different souvenir-sheet with two stamps (150- & 250.- ALL) is also issued in a booklet

Rozafa Castle in Shkodra is one of the most important in Albania and is also

the main tourist attraction in the city of Shkodra.

According to the painful legend, the construction of the castle was cursed by the gods, which every night demolishing every day construction. To allow the durability of the castle walls, they demanded the sacrifice of a woman and it was unfairly decided that the victim was Rozafa, the youngest bride of the house.

Europa stamps 2022

Europe

Europa 2022 

"Stories & Myths"

20.01.2022 Russia - 1 stamp (55.- RUB) 

25.02.2022 Gibraltar - 2 stamps (1.96 & 3.16 GBP) & 1 souvenir-sheet (1.96 & 3.16 GBP)

 

07.03.2022 Liechtenstein - 2 stamps (2x 1.80 CHF)

16.03.2022 Jersey - 2 stamps (0.88 & 1.25 GBP) (out of a set of 6 stamps) & 1 souvenir-sheet (0.88 & 1.25 GBP)

 

05.04.2022 Bosnia and Herzegovina (Croat post) - 2 stamps (2x 3.- BAM) & 2 souvenir-sheets (2x 3.- BAM)

05.04.2022 San Marino - 2 stamps (1.10 & 1.15 €)

06.04.2022 Czech rep. - 1 stamp (E value)

08.04.2022 Latvia - 2 stamps (1.77 & 1.98 €)

08.04.2022 Romania - 2 stamps (10.- & 16.- RON) & 2 souvenir-sheets (2x 10.- & 2x 16.- RON)

18.04.2022 Artsakh - 2 stamps (2x 500.- AMD)

21.04.2022 Poland - 1 stamp (4.50 PLN)

22.04.2022 Norway - 2 stamps (2x 28.- NOK) issued in a booklet

27.04.2022 Finland - 2 stamps (2x International value)

28.04.2022 Sweden - 1 stamp (26.- SEK)

29.04.2022 Lithuania - 2 stamps (2x 0.95 €)

29.04.2022 Moldova - 2 stamps (9.50 & 11.- MDL)

 

02.05.2022 Hungary - 1 souvenir-sheet of 4 stamps (4x 715.- HUF)

02.05.2022 Slovakia - 1 stamp (1.50 €)

05.05.2022 Estonia - 2 stamps (2x 1.90 €)

05.05.2022 Germany - 1 stamp (0.85 €)

05.05.2022 Switzerland - 2 stamps (2x 1.10 CHF)

06.05.2022 Belarus - 2 stamps (2x P value)

06.05.2022 Cyprus - 2 stamps (0.34 & 0.64 €)

06.05.2022 Serbia- 1 souvenir-sheet (85.- RSD)

07.05.2022 Austria - 1 stamp (1.- €)

09.05.2022 Åland - 1 stamp (2.30 €) 

09.05.2022 Azores - 1 stamp (0.95 €) & 1 souvenir-sheet (2x 0.95 €)

09.05.2022 Bosnia and Herzegovina - 2 stamps (2x 2.50 BAM) & 1 souvenir-sheet (2x 2.50 BAM)

09.05.2022 Croatia - 2 stamps (2x B value) 

09.05.2022 Cyprus (Turkish post) - 2 stamps (6.- & 10.75 TRY)

09.05.2022 France - 1 stamp (1.65 €) 

09.05.2022 Kosovo - 2 stamps (1.- & 2.-) & 1 souvenir-sheet (2.- €)

09.05.2022 Madeira - 1 stamp (0.95 €) & 1 souvenir-sheet (2x 0.95 €)

09.05.2022 Malta - 2 stamps (0.59 & 2.- €) 

09.05.2022 Monaco - 1 stamp (1.65 €)

09.05.2022 the Netherlands - 2 stamps (2x International value)

09.05.2022 Portugal - 1 stamp (0.95 €) & 1 souvenir-sheet (2x 0.95 €)

09.05.2022 Spain - 1 stamp (B value)

09.05.2022 Turkey - 2 stamps (2x 5.- TRY)

10.05.2022 North-Macedonia - 2 stamps (2x 144.- MKD) & 1 souvenir-sheet (72.- MKD)

11.05.2022 Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serb post) - 2 stamps (1.95 & 2.70 BAM) 

12.05.2022 Greece - 2 stamps (2.- & 4.50 €)

14.05.2022 Andorra (French post) - 1 stamp (1.65 €)

16.05.2022 Andorra (Spanish post) - 1 stamp (1.65 €)

 16.05.2022 Faroe Is. - 2 stamps (19.- & 29.- DKK)

16.05.2022 Vatican - 2 stamps (0.10 & 0.30 €) & 1 souvenir-sheet (1.15 €)

17.05.2022 Luxembourg - 2 stamps (L50g & E50g values)

19.05.2022 Denmark - 1 souvenir-sheet (2x 12.- & 1x 36.- DKK)

21.05.2022 Guernsey - 2 stamps (0.79 & 1.10 GBP) (out of a set of 6 stamps) & 1 souvenir-sheet of 2 stamps (0.79 & 1.10 GBP) 

27.05.2022 Armenia - 1 stamps (350.- AMD)

27.05.2022 Slovenia - 2 stamps (1.33 & 1.46 €)

 

09.06.2022 Georgia - 2 stamps (2x 4.20 GEL) & 2 souvenir-sheets (2x 4.20 GEL)

13.06.2022 Belgium - 1 souvenir-sheet of 2 stamps (2x Europe 3rd class value) 

16.06.2022 Azerbaijan - 2 stamps (0.50 & 0.60 AZN) & 1 souvenir-sheet (1.- AZN)

24.06.2022 Montenegro - 1 stamp (0.95 €) & 1 souvenir-sheet (1x 0.95 €)

31.08.2022 Greenland - 2 stamps (18.- & 20.- DKK)

08.09.2022 Ireland - 2 stamps (N & W values)

12.09.2022 Isle of Man - 1 stamp (1.04 GBP) out of a set of 9 stamps

28.09.2022 Kazakhstan - 2 stamps (2x 2000.- KZT)

 

25.10.2022 Italy - 2 stamps (B 50gr & B zona 3 value)

22.11.2022 Ukraine - 2 stamps (2x A value)

 

07.12.2022 Bulgaria - 2 stamps (1.25 & 2.70 (BGN) + 1 souvenir-sheet (1.25 & 2.70 (BGN)

 

01.12.2023 Albania - 1 stamp (150.- ALL) + 1 souvenir-sheet (250.- ALL) NEW

Best Sepac stamp 2022

Europe

We have a winner in the best Sepac stamp 2022 contest !

Malta wins for 1st time this contest.

1st Malta with 415 votes
2nd Åland
3rd Guernsey

The Isle of Man won in 2017, Guernsey won once in 2016, Åland won twice in 2014 and in 2019, Greenland won once in 2013, Monaco won once in 2018 and the Faroe Islands won this contest 3 times : in 2007-09, in 2011 and in 2015.

Bulgaria 2022

Bulgaria

Date of Issue: 7th December 2022

two stamps (1.25 & 2.70 BGN) and one souvenir sheet (1.25 & 2.70 BGN)

 both stamps are issued in mini sheet of 8 stamps

both stamps are issued in a booklet of 2 panes (2x 4 unperforated stamps)

a postal stationery is also issued (0.75 BGN)

Khan Asparuh, the first Bulgarian king, had a sister called Huba. She was held captive in another kingdom. Asparuh sent a message to his sister that he had found a land where they could settle down south of the Danube River, a place that nowadays is Bulgaria.

When Huba got the good news from her brother, she managed to escape from captivity and run away. She rode on horseback without stopping until she reached the Danube River. She looked for some way to cross the mighty river but couldn’t find a ford to pass across. So then she tied a thread of white yarn to one of the legs of a falcon sent by her brother and let him fly up into the air, holding the other end of the thin thread in her hands.

The falcon flew away to find a ford for passage across the river and just then, when he found a place, an arrow shot by an enemy pierced the falcon, and he fell to the ground dead. The yarn became red from his blood. Huba followed the thread she was holding and so she found the way to cross the great river and reach the country where her brother Asparuh had made his new home. Then they lived free and happy in the new land they called Bulgaria.

That day was March 1st, the new year in the tradition of those times. They called the white and red threads of yarn after the name of the month March, and named it ‘Martenitsa.’

The Martenitsa became a symbol of peace and love, health and happiness. The white color symbolizes purity and honesty in relationships, and the red color means life, passion, and cordiality in friendship and mutual love. Source : Europe's not dead

 

Ukraine 2022

Ukraine

Date of Issue: 22nd November 2022

two stamps (2x A value = 1.- USD)

 both stamps are issued in a mini sheet of 6 stamps

 

Svarog – God is the creator of the Universe - Svarog is a Slavic god of fire and blacksmithing, who was once interpreted as a sky god on the basis of an etymology rejected by modern scholarship. He is mentioned in only one source, the Primary Chronicle, which is problematic in interpretation. He is presented there as the Slavic equivalent of the Greek god Hephaestus. The meaning of his name is associated with fire. Source Wikipedia

Lada – Goddess of motherhood - Lada was first mentioned around 1405-1412 in the sermons of Lucas of Wielki Koźmin, which warned against worshipping Lada and other gods during spring ceremonies and folk performances. They owe their popularity to Długosz, who in one of his sources recognized Lada as a goddess and in another as a god of war, the Polish equivalent of the Roman god Mars, to Aleksandr Faminstyn, who recognized the word Lada in Russian songs as the goddess of marriage, and to scholar Boris Rybakov, who insisted on recognizing her historicity. However, the vast majority of religious scholars and Slavists reject the historicity of these deities, believing that they owe their divine status to a misunderstanding of the song refrains by medieval scribes. Source Wikipedia

 

Italy 2022

Italy

Date of Issue: 25th October 2022

two stamps (B50g & B zona 3 values = 2.70 & 3.10 €) - NOTE both stamps are self-adhesive

 

Colapesce - Colapesce holding up one of the three columns on which Sicily rests, consumed by the fire of Mount Etna, to prevent the island from sinking.

In a version from Palermo, edited by Italo Calvino, Colapesce spends all of his time swimming, until his frustrated mother curses him to turn into a fish. He instantly becomes half fish, with duck feet and a frog's throat. He appears to fishermen and warns them of upcoming storms, and also informs them of the marvels found at the bottom of the sea. A king hears of him and summons him, then gives him orders to swim around the island and explore the bottom of the ocean. The king sends him down on numerous dives around Italy. Nick Fish discovers that Messina rests on three columns, some of which are broken, and brings back hot and fresh water from springs in the ocean around Naples. Finally the king urges Nick Fish to explore a bottomless ocean chasm, despite his resistance. He throws his crown into the chasm and orders him to fetch it. Nick Fish reluctantly dives in. Some lentils he was carrying float to the surface, but he but never returns. Source Wikipedia

Romeo and Juliet - Grieving Juliet in the presence of lifeless Romeo.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young Italian star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families.
The play is set in the Italian city of Verona.

Best Europa stamp 2022

Luxembourg

The 2022 Best Europa stamp has been announced by PostEurop in this press release.

Luxembourg (stamp 2/2) is the winner of the 2022 Best Europa stamp contest organized by PostEurop. Finland (stamp 1/2) finished second and Liechtenstein (stamp 2/2) is third.

1. LUXEMBOURG
2. FINLAND
3. LIECHTENSTEIN

As written earlier on this blog, PostEurop changed the rules for this contest. 3 voting panels (public, jury and operators) are selecting the best Europa stamp. The results of these three panels are compiled and gives an overall winner.

Luxembourg wins the overall contest in a deserved way by winning 2 of the 3 voting panels :

Public voting :

1. Finland
2. Georgia
3. Turkey

Jury voting :

1. Luxembourg
2. Liechtenstein
3. Switzerland

Postal operators voting :

1. Luxembourg
2. Finland
3. Åland

Consolidated result of all three panels - top 10 :

1. Luxembourg
2. Finland
3. Liechtenstein
4. Croatia
= Georgia
= Åland
7. Azerbaijan
= Germany
9. Switzerland
= Turkey

Note that Belarus and Russia were excluded of this contest due to their aggression of Ukraine.
Armenia withdrew for "technical" reasons.

Kazakhstan 2022

Kazakhstan

Date of Issue: 28th September 2022

 2 stamps (2x 2000.- KZT)

both stamps are issued in a souvenir-sheet of 4 stamps (2 of each)

Bayterek and Samruk : Ancient Turkic myth a tree of life "Bayterek" and a sacred bird "Samruk". Bayterek in Kazakh means "High poplar tree", every year the Samruk, lays its egg (the Sun) in the crevice between the branches of the poplar tree.

Malta - Sepac 2022

Malta - Sepac

Date of Issue: 13th September 2022

one stamp (0.37 €) out of a set of four stamps (only this stamp is bearing the official Sepac logo).

this stamp is issued in a mini sheet of 10 stamps

Sepac 2022

Europe - Sepac

Sepac 2022
"Local beverages"

16.05.2022 Faroe Is. - 1 stamp (29.- DKK)
24.05.2022 Jersey - 1 stamp (0.91 GB) out of set of 6 stamps
31.05.2022 Greenland - 1 stamp (20.- DKK)

07.06.2022 Liechtenstein - 1 stamp (1.80 CHF)
14.06.2022 Monaco - 1 stamp (1.65 €)
22.06.2022 Guernsey - 1 stamp (1.10 GBP) out of a set of 4 stamps

06.09.2022 Åland - 1 stamp (1.90 €)
13.09.2022 Luxembourg - 1 stamp (E50g value)
13.09.2022 Malta  - 1 stamp (0.37 €) out of a set of 4 stamps

no issue Gibraltar
no issue Isle of Man
no issue Vatican

Ireland 2022

Ireland

Date of Issue: 8th September 2022

two stamps (N & W values = 1.25 & 2.20 €)

According to the Irish folklore tales, Balor caused great pain and anguish to the Tuatha Dé Dannan, the other supernatural race in Irish folklore.

The legend centres on Balor having an eye that, when unleashed, could cause instant death or poisoning.

Balor’s Poisoned Eye is the main focus of one stamp. The second stamp relates to the legend that claimed Balor had only to look on the landscape to cause damage, such as in the Poisoned Glen in County Donegal.

In both cases, contemporary colours are used to create the impression of poison almost leaping off the stamp. 

Isle of Man 2022

Isle of Man

Date of Issue: 12th September 2022

one stamp (1.04 GBP) out of a set of eight [!] stamps (only this stamp is bearing the official Europa logo)

 

this stamp is issued in a mini-sheet of 9 stamps

but this stamp is alos issued in a sheet of 9 stamps + 1 vignette (this sheet is also issued imperforated)

this stamps is also issued in a "mini-book" with 4 panes of 4 stamps (2x the Europa value)

David Bowie starring as Jareth the Goblin King in Jim Henson's film Labyrinth which ties into the wider 2022 PostEurop theme of Myths and Legends

 

 

Special 2022 Europa folder issued by 6 countries

Europe


6 countries - Austria - Germany - Liechtenstein - Luxembourg - the Netherlands and Switzerland - issued a common "Multilaterale" folder containing this year's Europa stamps from the six countries (10 stamps in total).

This folder can be ordered by any of the 6 postal administrations.

It is the 7th issue of this kind after :  2013 (theme - "The postman van") ; 2016 (theme - "Ecology in Europe - Think Green" ; 2017 (theme - Castles) ; 2018 (theme - Bridges) ; 2019 (theme - National birds) ; 2020 (theme - Ancient postal routes) and 2021 (theme - Endangered national wildlife)

Sepac folder 2022

Europe - Sepac

"Local beverages 13", this special folder contains the 9 Sepac stamps issued in 2022.

This folder will be on sale by any of the Sepac countries philatelic offices !

Luxembourg - Sepac 2022

Luxembourg - Sepac

Date of Issue: 13th September 2022

one stamp (E50g value = 1.40 €)

 this stamp is issued in mini-sheets of 10 stamps

Greenland 2022

Greenland

Date of Issue: 31st August 2022

two stamps (18.- & 20.- DKK)

both stamps are also issued in a booklet of 12 self-adhesive stamps (6x each stamp)

 

both stamps are also issued in mini-sheets of 10 stamps

 

 

Aka Høegh, one of Greenland’s most significant living artists, says about her two stamps :

- “The first stamp symbolises Inuit narratives in a broader sense. I have drawn two mask-like faces to represent that our stories are told and passed on. The book is open to let the stories come out. In creating the design, I cut from an old history book with old orthography, as a form of talking flower that grows.

- The second stamp depicts a myth about the children between the willow twigs. After Earth came into being, humans appeared. It is said that the little children came forth out of the earth between the willow bushes, covered in willow leaves. Then they lay there with their
eyes closed, between the bushes, squirming. Then the children crawled around and ate of willow twigs and of the soil. This is an Inuit narrative of the genesis of man.”