Smart innovations on stamps

 

Date of Issue : 7 July 2015

Estonian Post has issued a set of four stamps on occasion of 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia. The items depict various innovations  which were born in Estonia. The issue was released and put into circulation on the 6^th of July.

In the most general sense innovation is doing things in a new way. Several world-wide success stories have been born from Estonian innovational ideas and as a result rapid development has changed the lives of the people for good.

Smart ideas born in Estonia create added value both in the business and the private sectors and some of the success stories have now arrived also on postage stamps. Fortumo is an international mobile payment provider. GrabCAD helps engineers get products to market faster by making it simple to manage and share CAD files.

Transfer Wise is a global peer-to-peer money transfer service that got started from Estonia. Skype is the software that enables the world’s conversations, with more than more than 300 million active users globally.

 

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Honey Buzzard - Bird of the Year

 

Date of Issue : 21 Mat 2015

Estonian Post has released a special stamp depicting the honey buzzard that was selected to be the bird of the year. The issue was unveiled and put into circulation on the 21^st of May.

There are two types of buzzards in Estonia. The country’s most numerous hawk, the common buzzard, can often been seen loudly circling in the sky or sitting on posts watching next to the road, stalking for mice. Although most of the common buzzards leave in the autumn, some of them stay also in the winter. The rough-legged hawk, a species closely related to the buzzards, is quite similar to the common buzzard but it can be met only wintering or in passing.

The European honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus) has a special diet among hawks – it looks for wasp and bumble-bee nests and eats the maggots of these insects. Because of this it arrives here in late spring and leaves already at the end of summer. The Estonian Ornithological Society picks the Bird of the Year since 1995.

New Special Cover

Special cover to mark ‘Sathabishekam’ (completion of 80 years) of Srimad Srimushnam Andavan – 21st May 2015

A special cover and my stamps were released to mark the ‘Sathabishekam’ (completion of 80 years) of Srimad Srimushnam Andavan on 21st May 2015. Shri J. T. Venkateswarlu, Postmaster General, Central Region, Tamil Nadu, released the special cover in presence of Srimad Srimushnam Andavan, Shri N. Ravi, Director, Kasturi & Sons Limited, publishers of The Hindu, Shri Venu Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Motor Company and Sri Gopalaswamy, Ex. Chief Election Commissioner.

Courtesy – Indian Philately Digest

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Protection of the Baltic Sea Natural Environment

 

 

Save the Baltic Seal

Date of Issue : 12 March 2015

The beautiful Souvenir sheet shown above was issued by Estonia Post on 12th March 2015 featuring ‘Protection of the Baltic Sea Natural Environment’. The FDC of this issue is so wonderful. With this issue a Maximum card was also issued. This is the perfect item for collection on environment, nature, sea and mammals.This issue highlights how the intense ship traffic in Baltic Sea has affected the sea life.

The Baltic Sea is an inland sea of the Baltic Ocean, which surrounds Estonia from the north and the west. The other countries of the Baltic Sea are Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The Baltic States are developed industrial countries and the settlements’ and industrial enterprises’ effluent flow into the sea from large areas. A lot of nutrients used in agriculture and forestry flow into the sea and as a result of this the coastal and maritime flora has started to thrive out of proportion. For many organisms it is difficult to adapt water that contains a lot of nutrients and as result they fall ill and finally die. Recently “flowering of the water” or mass gadding of the blue green algae has increased.

 

The biggest amount of toxic substances build up at the end of the feeding chain. Seals, who mainly eat fish, are at the end of feeding chain and due to the environmental toxic substances numerous female animals have lost their power of breeding. The intense maritime traffic on the Baltic Sea is a great source of danger, accounting for nearly 15 percent of the maritime traffic of all the seas of the world. One of the channels of pollution is nitrogen that gets into the maritime environment due to the exhaust gases of ship traffic. More environmental-friendly fuels and technologies would reduce ship effluents by up to 80 percent.

General growth of ship traffic and explosively increased transport of crude oil additionally bring considerable danger of a collision of tanker ships. Many oil tankers moving on the Baltic Sea are still single-bottomed as before. During the past twenty years there have been dozens of accidents involving ships and oil pollution. Oil pollution on the seaboard can preserve for decades and its most visible consequences are oil on the surface of the sea: birds and seals suffocate and the opportunity that they do not die is reduced by the deterioration of their movement. But purposeful protection makes it possible to keep the Baltic Sea relatively clean and viable, to preserve the versatility of to its natural environments and to restore the quality of the environment and of the waters.

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New Christmas stamps

 

Estonia

Date of Issue : 20 November 2014

For this year’s Christmas here are new stamps issued recently. Estonia Post introduced two Christmas stamps on the 20^th of November. The items depict gorgeous Christmas decorations.

Christmas time is still the most important holiday celebrated in Estonia. For Estonians, Christmas is a mixture of the traditional, the modern, the secular, and the religious. Like in other Nordic states, Estonia’s celebration of Christmas mostly falls on Christmas Eve, however Christmas season starts in Advent with people buying Advent calendars or lighting Advent candles.

Poland

Date of issue : 14 November 2014

Polish Post has already issued its annual Christmas stamps on the 14^th of November . Christmas in Poland is a major annual celebration, as in most countries of the Christian world. The observance of Christmas developed gradually over the centuries, beginning in ancient times; combining old pagan customs with the religious ones introduced after the Christianization of Poland by the Catholic Church.

Later influences include mutual permeating of local traditions and various folk cultures. Christmas trees are decorated and lit in family rooms on the day of Christmas Eve. Other trees are placed in most public areas and outside churches. Christmas is called “Boże Narodzenie” in Polish (literally ‘God’s Birth’).

 

Finland

Date of issue : 17 November 2014

Finnish Post issued a Santa Claus special stamp for this year’s Christmas  on the 17^th of November.

The Joulun taika (The Magic of Christmas) stamp's based on Antti Kurola’s impressive photograph. In the magical picture, Santa Claus is throwing snow into the air with both hands, and behind the snow-covered spruce tree forest is revealed the city of Rovaniemi. The Santa Claus stamp is a great way to show to the rest of the world where the real Father Christmas is from.

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New stamps on Mushroom

 

Poisonous Mushroom

Date of Issue : 11 September 2014

Estonia Post will issue a stamp featuring deadly fibrecap mushroom on the 11^th of September.

The deadly fibrecap (Inocybe erubescens) is very poisonous, containing muscarine. The poison does not even its name derives from it. It is found in parks and deciduous forests when the first pale red russulas spring up. Quite soon after eating the mushroom signs of poisoning appear: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abundant perspiration, flow of spit and tears, often narrowing of the pupils and vision disorders. First aid must certainly be given after the first poisoning symptoms, as later help need no longer save the affected person.

In Western Europe the deadly fibrecap causes numerous poisonings every year, including deaths. When young, the mushroom has a white bell-shaped cap, but when it gets older it turns humped fibrous and yellowish brown of up to 10 cm and the stem 2.5 cm thick.

The stem, which has no ring, stands 5 to 8 cm from the ground. The mushroom has an unpleasant taste and smell. Aging it turns brownish red, and even its name derives from it. It is found in parks and deciduous forests when the first pale red russulas spring up. People pick then there, believing that are they are russulas, but picking mushrooms in city parks should be avoided.

Mushrooms of the Polish woods

 

Date of Issue : 29 July 2014

Polish Post issued a Miniature sheet of 8 stamps featuring mushrooms of Polish Woods. The FDCs are so beautiful in two different designs. A nice item for those collecting stamps on Mushroom.

 

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