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JULY AUGUST 2011

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EUROPEAN YEAR OF VOLUNTEERING The year 2011 has been designated as the European Year of Volunteering (IYV) by the Council of Europe. The em- blem for the IYV is three multi-cultural helping hands crossed in a triangle. The Grand Duchy of publi- cized the initiative with a stamp showing the logo on 15 March. had already issued a stamp on 14 February.

The IYV has the following objectives:

 To work to put in place a favorable framework for volunteering in the .  To provide the means for voluntary organizations to act and improve the quality of volunteers.  To reward and recognize the activities of volunteers.  To increase public awareness of the value and importance of volun- teering.

The official Council of Europe website http://europa.eu/volunteering/ also provides the following:

―The European Year of Volunteering is both a celebration and a challenge. It is a celebration of the commitment of millions of people in Europe who work in their communities during their free time without being paid – for example in schools, hospitals, and sports clubs, protecting the environment, providing social services and helping people in other countries. Their efforts and those of the many thousands of volun- teering organizations make a huge difference to our lives in countless ways. The world would be much worse off without volunteers!‖

Tonny van INTERNATIONAL Loij gets another YEAR OF FORESTS award! See Issue Date 8 September Notes Souvenir sheet from Austria also issued a single stamp without the Europa NTSS logo for forestry awareness. See page 5 for more info. in this issue.

WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE ARTICLES European Year of Volunteering 1 Notes from NTSS 8 Interesting Postmarks 10-11 Report from NAPEX 11 Organizing a EUROPA Collection - Revisited 12 SEPAC Issues 13 DEPARTMENTS New Issues: 2011 International Year of Forests 1-5, 16 New Issues: Other Related Europa Material 7 New Issues with Scott Catalog Numbers 9 EUROPA Briefs 6-7 From the Blogspot 10 Join us at From the Miscellaneous Box 11 FEATURES APS StampShow Columbus OH Donated Auction………………….….Special Insert 13 August @ 10am Room E160B

JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-2

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF FORESTS ● 2011

The year marches on, with a plethora of countries announcing and/or issuing their EUROPA stamps for 2011. Check out the issue from Austria on page 5. It is not Europa but certainly fits the year‘s theme. Are there, or have there been, more issues like that from other European countries? Is the issue from Kosovo (below) another example? Please email us with any additional information you may have. --ed.

ITALY KOSOVO Issue Date 9 May Issue Date 5 May 2 values Two values and a souvenir sheet Note that these stamps bear no logo at all, hence they may be given ―adjunct‖ status by album makers

MACEDONIA Issue Date 5 May Two values and a souvenir sheet Note that these tamps don't bear the new official Eu- ropa stamps logo although Macedonia is a full PostEurop member

LUXEMBOURG Issue Date 17 May Two values JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-3

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF FORESTS ● 2011

GUERNSEY IRELAND Issue Date 4 May Issue Date 5 May Two values (from a set of 3 )and a souvenir Two values sheet containing all three stamps, of which two are Europa

KAZAKHSTAN Issue Date 21 April One value is not a PostEurop member but issued this year's Eu- ropa stamp with the new official Eu- ropa stamps logo

PORTUGAL -AZORES PORTUGAL-MADEIRA Issue Date 9 May Issue Date 9 May Issue Date 9 May One value and a souvenir One value and a souvenir One value and a souvenir sheet sheet sheet (see first page)

NORWAY Issue Date 10 June Two values LIECHTEN- STEIN Issue Date 6 June One value

JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-4

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF FORESTS ● 2011

GREECE Turkish Issue Date 17 May Issue Date 5 May Two values se-tenant Two values + a souvenir sheet of 2 stamps (shown) Also a booklet of 2 sets the stamps issued by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cy- prus aren't recognized by the UPU or PostEurop, and so do not have the official logo.

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA Issue Date 9 May Two values + a souvenir sheet (shown) Also a booklet of 3 se-tenant sets

BULGARIA Issue Date 16 May souvenir sheet to accompany the 2 values shown previously JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-5

17.01.2011 - 2 stamps (9.- & 10.- DKK) INTERNATIONAL 08.02.2011 Jersey - 2 stamps (0.45 & 0.55 GBP) out of a set of 4 stamps 17.03.2011 - 2 stamps (165.- & 220.- ISK) YEAR OF FORESTS 22.03.2011 Great-Britain - 1 stamp within a souvenir-sheet of 4 stamps 24.03.2011 - 2 stamps (2x 12.- SEK) 2011 04.04.2011 - 1 stamp (0.65 €) 04.04.2011 (Spanish post) - 1 stamp (0.65 €) 04.04.2011 - 4 stamps (0.10, 0.42, 0.44 & 1.50 GBP) 05.04.2011 Bosnia and Herzegovina (Croat post) - 2 stamps (2x 3.- BAM) To the right is the latest list (as of 05.04.2011 - 2 stamps (0.60 & 0.65 €) late June 2011) of existing and 06.04.2011 Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serb post) - 2 stamps (1.- & 2.- BAM) planned Europa issues for 2011, 08.04.2011 - 2 stamps (0.55 & 1.20 LVL) thanks to the Europa Blogspot. 08.04.2011 - 2 stamps (0.20 & 0.60 AZN) & 1 souvenir-sheet (1.- AZN)

Below is an issue from Austria 14.04.2011 - 2 stamps (2000.- & 2500.- BYR) dated 20 May. The English 21.04.2011 Montenegro - 2 stamps (2x 0.90 €) & 1 souvenir-sheet (2x 0.90 €) translation of the inscription is 21.04.2011 Kazakhstan - 1 stamp (250.- KZT) 23.04.2011 - 2 stamps (2x 2.45 LTL) ―Austria—Land of Forests‖. The 26.04.2011 Faroe Is. - 2 stamps (10.- & 12.- DKK) stamp does not have the EU- 27.04.2011 - 2 stamps (2.40 & 9.10 RON) ROPA logo. The actual EU- 28.04.2011 - 2 stamps(2x 0.58 €) ROPA issue for IYF is the souve- 28.04.2011 - 2 stamps (0.65 & 1.50 BGN) & 1 souvenir-sheet (0.65 & 1.50 BGN) nir sheet scheduled for release 03.05.2011 - 2 stamps (0.58 & 0.75 €) on 8 September. 04.05.2011 - 2 stamps (0.45 & 0.52 GBP) & 1 souvenir-sheet (0.45, 0.52, 2.- GBP) 04.05.2011 Cyprus - 2 stamps (0.51 & 0.68 €) 04.05.2011 Czech rep. - 1 stamp (20.- CZK) 04.05.2011 - 2 stamps (8.- & 11.- DKK) 05.05.2011 - 2 stamps (2x 7.10 HRH) 05.05.2011 - 1 stamp (1.- CHF) 05.05.2011 - 1 stamp (15.- RUB) 05.05.2011 - 1 stamp (0.55 €) 05.05.2011 Macedonia - 2 stamps (50.- & 100.- MKD) & 1 souvenir-sheet (100.- MKD) 05.05.2011 Ireland - 2 stamps (0.55 & 0.82 €) 05.05.2011 - 2 stamps (33.- & 66.- RSD) 05.05.2011 - 1 stamp (3.- PLN) 06.05.2011 - 1 stamp (0.90 €) 06.05.2011 - 2 stamps (2x 2nd class value) 07.05.2011 Moldova - 2 stamps (4.20 & 5.40 MDL) 09.05.2011 - 2 stamps (0.37 & 1.19 €) 09.05.2011 Kosovo - 2 stamps (1.- & 2.- €) & 1 souvenir-sheet (2.- €)

09.05.2011 - 1 souvenir-sheet (4x 200.- HUF) 09.05.2011 - 2 stamps (0.90 & 1.30 TRY) 09.05.2011 Åland - 1 stamp (0.85 €) 09.05.2011 - 2 stamps (0.60 & 0.75 €) 09.05.2011 - 1 stamp (0.75 €) 09.05.2011 Andorra (French post) - 1 stamp (0.58 €) 09.05.2011 Portugal - 1 stamp (0.68 €) & 1 souvenir-sheet (2x 0.68 €) 09.05.2011 Azores - 1 stamp (0.68 €) & 1 souvenir-sheet (2x 0.68 €) 09.05.2011 Madeira - 1 stamp (0.68 €) & 1 souvenir-sheet (2x 0.68 €) 09.05.2011 Bosnia and Herzegovina - 2 stamps (2x 2.50 BAM) & 1 souvenir-sheet (2x 2.50 BAM) It‘s not clear to your humble edi- 16.05.2011 Cyprus (Turkish post) - 2 stamps (2x 1.50 TRY) & 1 souvenir-sheet (2x 1.50 TRY) tor whether this stamp is in- 17.05.2011 Luxembourg - 2 stamps (0.60 & 0.85 €) tended to publicize the IYF, but 17.05.2011 - 2 stamps (0.75 & 3.25 €) in any event, it‘s a nice ancillary 27.05.2011 - 2 stamps (0.49 & 0.92 €) issue and would make an inter- 06.06.2011 - 1 stamp (1.40 CHF) esting addition to a Europa al- 10.06.2011 - 2 stamps (12.- & 14.- NOK) bum. 21.06.2011 Vatican - 2 stamps (0.60 & 0.75 €) A similar thing happened in ??.06.2011 - 2 stamps (2x 350.- AMD) 1985, when the EUROPA theme 26.08.2011 Austria - 1 stamp was European Music Year. A 19.09.2011 Belgium - 1 souvenir-sheet of 2 stamps (2x EU value 3) few countries issued stamps for 28.09.2011 Isle of Man - 1 stamp (0.68 GBP) out of a set of 6 stamps ??.??.2011 Albania - 1 stamp and 1 souvenir-sheet the EMY that were not EUROPA. ??.??.2011 Georgia These are listed in the CD ver- ??.??.2011 - 2 stamps (2.20 & 3.30 UAH) sion of our handbook. no issue planned this year from the JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-6

EUROPA Briefs BULLETIN OF THE Member Reis Taube emailed re- IS THIS EUROPA? Dept.: EUROPA STUDY UNIT, cently: The stamp below was issued by Bul- AN ASSOCIATION OF PHILATELISTS Dana, my congratulations on this garia on 26 May to mark the 20th DEVOTED TO THE STUDY OF PHILA-TELIC issue (#402)… The collation which anniversary of their Commission for MATERIALS COVERING THE IDEA OF A results in color covers and inside the Protection of Competition (CPC). UNITED EUROPE... EUROPE UNITED IN A POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL SENSE. facing pages of color opposite b&w, www.europastudyunit.org results in the impression of the issue

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER: being all color...GOOD JOB! In my Mr. Dana Roper, 7266 Prices Cove opinion, color makes each issue 10 Place, Gainesville, VA 20155; email: times more useful. Stamps in b&w [email protected]. are boring, in color they are EDITOR EMERITUS: Col. Stephen considerably more interesting and Luster (d) enjoyable. So how much more cost WEBMASTERS: Mr. Chuck Hall, Mr. per issue is a 40% b&w 60% color vs. Dana Roper all b&w? How much would dues A quick Google search brought up OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS: have to increase to go a 60% color the Bulgarian CPC website, plus PRESIDENT: Ms. Caroline Scannell format? I know some say content is similar sites from Cyprus, Armenia, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY: Mr. Don Montenegro and Macedonia. Each more important than color, but I have their own logo. I then tried the Smith TREASURER: Mr. Dana Roper wager even they get more enjoy- Europa Gateway of the EU, and VICE PRESIDENT: Mr. Tonny Van Loij, ment form each issue when color found the following under SECOND VICE PRESIDENT: Mr. Bob is involved. New typeface is a signifi- ―Competition‖: Locke SECRETARY: Mr. Alan Cohen cant improvement. Maybe we can The European Commission has wide DIRECTORS: The Officers, and Mr. create a "Color Guard" who would powers to make sure businesses and Dan Shilcrat, governments stick to EU rules on fair be recognized in at least one issue AUCTION MANAGER: Mr. Donald W. competition...It is illegal under EU rules per year. To be a "Color Guard" Smith, P.O. Box 576, Johnstown, PA for businesses to fix prices or carve up member, one would make an extra 15907. markets between them. $$ per year contribution to fund What I‘m coming away with is that ANNUAL DUES: (Including one year of 60% color issues. Keep up the many countries have set up their the EUROPA NEWS): U.S. $10.00, GREAT work! own commissions (CPCs) in to $11.00, Overseas (airmail) — OK, Reis, I am now facing a huge ensure compliance with the EU $16.00. Dues are payable as of January chiropractor bill for patting myself on rules. In Bulgaria‘s case, their CPC 1st each year. Payments must be made the back. Seriously, the Color Guard was funded partially with help from in U.S. Dollars; cash, or a bank draft, or is an interesting idea. Postage is an the EC‘s European Social Fund a money order (made payable to the even bigger culprit than printing (ESF), whose charter includes Europa Study Unit). We also have a costs, but our printer has said it‘s ―helping workers to acquire new skills and find better jobs.‖ PayPal account (europastudyunit, getting harder to hold the line, so something will have to give. We‘ll So….what to make of this. Is this a email [email protected]) hash this out at member meetings legitimate Europa ―fringe‖ issue, or to which any payments can be trans- and in these pages in upcoming is- are we getting too far afield? I wel- ferred. Any of these methods is sues. -ed. ■ come your emails on the subject. ■ acceptable; however, when using Pay- Member Joseph Bowler sent a letter ANOTHER EXAMPLE of an unex- Pal please add 7% to cover PayPal to Don Smith from San Marino with pected eBay bonus: the franking of costs. this dealer‘s mailing from Estonia his bids for Auction #120. Joe at- SERVICES TO MEMBERS: Periodic tended the Essen Briefmarken included a nice bulls-eye cancel of newsletter (EUROPA NEWS) to all Messe (Stamp Show) in Germany the 2009 Astronomy issue: ■ members; website with special from 5-7 May. He wrote that the ―Members Only‖ section; Periodic auc- Hungarian and Liechtenstein booths were both selling their 2011 Europas tions (~3/yr) of EUROPA-related mate- at the show even though it was be- rial, EUROPA Handbook, monographs fore their official first day of issue. and specialty items available only to Also, the Swiss booth sold out of its ESU members. supply on the second day. ■ JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-7

EUROPA Briefs NEW ISSUES MALTA Occasion Cards AFGHANISTAN EUROPA Issue LITHUANIA XXXVII EUROPEAN Occasion Cards are issued by Malta The following have finally (at least for MEN‘S BASKETBALL CHAMPION- Post to commemorate a special oc- me) turned up, presumably issued in SHIP casion during the year. They are 2005 to mark the 50th anniversary of Issue Date: 22 January 2011 actual postal cards; i.e., the card has Europa stamps. Shown are two an imprinted stamp valid for postage. sheetlets of 4 stamps each and a ss The first in the series commemo- of all 8. The 8 stamps are also avail- rated the Pope‘s Visit in 2001. In able as singles. 2003, Malta issued two occasion cards depicting its 2002 Europa stamp, voted that year‘s best Europa stamp design:

After a 72 years break Lithuania will host the European Men‘s Basketball Championship of 2011, which will be held from 31 August until 18 Sep- tember. The 24 strongest European men‘s basketball teams will compete for medals and qualify for the Lon- don 2012 Olympic Games. The group matches will be played in Alytus, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. Afterwards the strongest 12 teams of the Old Continent will gather in Vilnius and the champion and prize winners will be announced in the new Kaunas Arena, the largest arena in the Baltic countries. ■

HUNGARY EU Presidency Issue date: 7 February 2011

MALTA Philatelic Bureau cards Philatelic Bureau Cards are 192mm x 105mm postcards. The first issue was on 01.01.01. as a result of the In my checklist of 50th anniversary identical digits in the date postmarks. stamps, I noted that these might be out there and could be cinderellas. They are in the same format as those issued by Chad. One new is- sue dealer is selling the complete series for roughly $76, and indicates that Scott plans to list them. Once Spanish ANDORRA European again, caveat emptor seems appro- Capital of Culture priate. ■ Issue Date: 2011

Below is a scan of the top of an They will continue to be issued in AYAL 3-ring album page for Europa, this format until the year 2012, when the now defunct line of albums from the 12th card, reading 12.12.12., will the 1960s. Note the large header complete this series. The card for area. If you should see one of these 2005 depicted the 2004 stamp is- in a lot, it is surely a collectors item.■ sued to celebrate Malta‘s admission to the Council of Europe: ■ JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-8

NOTES FROM NTSS — Dana Roper Down to business

Don Smith has expressed a desire to relinquish the reins as Executive Secretary, after 50 years of dedi- cated and tireless service. Thank- fully, he has agreed to stay on as Auction Manager, at which he ex- cels.

I was also informed by our president that the Editor should not also be Treasurer (he who controlleth the money should not also spendeth the money), and after 15 years I‘m quite ready to hand that over. I had previ- ously noted some overlap between the duties of Executive Secretary Attendees at the NTSS ESU meeting (l to r): Tonny van Loij, ESU Vice President; and Treasurer, and Tonny volun- Steve Chun, ESU Member; Don Smith, ESU Executive Secretary; Sue Rosenberg, teered to assume a combined role of ESU member and Penguin aficionado; Fred Skvara, ATA Director and ESU mem- Executive Secretary/Treasurer. At ber; Dana Roper, EN Editor & ESU treasurer; Frank Capozzi, former ESU member this point I offered to take on Tonny's (re-instated during the meeting); Alex Cwiekalo, ESU Member role as VP, which would dovetail bet- ter with the Editor function. First off, let me say that the NTSS Sue Rosenberg, besides being an Alex Cwiekalo, as a new retiree, ex- was a great show, and the ESU ESU member, is an avid collector of pressed a possible interest in help- meeting was a success! I think that Penguins on stamps., and is an offi- ing out in the future. all of us in the picture were there for cer of the Study Unit of the same most, if not all, of the show, and still name, founded in 2007. See The proposed new slate will be didn‘t find time to do everything we http://www.penguinstamps.org/ for discussed further at the APS Stamp- wanted. For many, it was part of a more info. Sue covered much of the Show in August, and presented to larger vacation: Tonny van Loij and available wall space in the hotel with the membership with the year end his BW (beautiful wife) Gerri were on notification of their meeting. Never newsletter. a tour of the northern US, while Alex shy to copy a good idea, I quickly Speaking of Finances (?) Cwiekalo was also celebrating his used the hotel computer to print up a While the Unit is healthy for now with imminent retirement (Alex‘s BW Bert few notices for the ESU meeting. $3000 in the treasury, the trend is kindly took the group picture). Awards not healthy. Rising printing and post- Dr. Fred Skvara is also a Director of You will recall that a few issues ago age costs have led the Unit to show the ATA, which sponsored the show. (EN #401) we showed you a picture a deficit for the last four years, and While ATA membership is not a re- of Tonny festooned with medals for the trend is accelerating. quirement for belonging to the ESU, his exhibit at the NTSS show in Day- At the current dues level, we have it is strongly encouraged and confers ton OH in 2009. Well, he did it again. about 2-3 years before we become benefits of its own, not least of which This year it was the NTSS Silver insolvent. Of course, color printing is the bi-monthly magazine Topical Award and the American Association has exacerbated the problem (~ $10 Time. of Philatelic Exhibitors Award of Ex- extra per color page). Meanwhile, Don and I brought a ―goodie box‖ cellence for his multi-frame exhibit our dues have held steady at $10 and binder of miscellaneous Europa Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - From since 1994, and lag behind those of the Footsteps of a Giant Composer. material, for members to peruse and most other Units.

- if so inclined - leave a donation if Also at the Awards banquet, Don A number of suggestions have been they thought they got a deal. That Smith received special recognition raised at this and previous meetings must've been the case, as we raised for his 50 years of membership and to address the issue. Some of these $100 in donations. Some good stuff service to the ATA. Congratulations are presented in the bottom of page in there, and a good reason to pop in Don, and thanks! 2 of the insert to this issue. As you at the meetings. Don often will bring And a surprise award: Fred Skvara are making your bids for the donated previews of upcoming auction mate- was recognized for his outstanding auction, please take a minute to rial as well. job preparing the NTSS 2010 show think about some of the options, and Frank Capozzi is a former ESU program (he also did the 2011 pro- let us know your thoughts. We‘ll take member who dropped in and de- gram—another excellent job.). the issue up again at the APS cided to re-up. Welcome back!! StampShow in August. ■

JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-9

NEW ISSUES WITH SCOTT CATALOG NUMBERS - Don Smith

From Linn’s May Special Edition

COUNTRY SCOTT # DATE OF ISSUE DESCRIPTION Azores 528-9a 7-May-10 Europa 2010 (529 a sheet of 2: 528/529a) Estonia 657 1-Jan-11 Introduction of the Germany B1049 7-Apr-11 2011 European Gymnastics Championships Germany B1050 7-Apr-11 2011 Men’s Field Hockey Championships Madeira 290-1a 7-May-10 Europa 2010 (291 a sheet of 2: 290/291a) Norway 1638-9 23-Feb-11 Nordic Ski Championships (1639a sheet 1 each) Portugal 3210-11a 7-May-10 Europa 2010 (3211 a sheet of 2: 3210/3211a) Portugal 3236 30-Jun-10 Tiles 2v (Diplomatic Relations w/Romania) joint issue Romania 5166-7 6-May-10 Europa 2010 (in sheets of 4: 5167a/5267b) Romania 5188-9 30-Jun-10 Tiles (Diplomatic Relations w/Portugal) joint issue Romania 5205-6 6-Sep-10 Orient Express, joint issue w/Austria Romania 5216-7 10-Nov-10 Viticulture, joint issue w/Cyprus 1130 Romania 5218-9 15-Nov-10 , joint issue with 1458-61

From Linn’s June Special Edition

COUNTRY SCOTT # DATE OF ISSUE DESCRIPTION

Germany 2619 5-May-11 Europa 2011 Liechtenstein 1506-8 14-Mar-11 Games of the Small European States Serbia 509-10 5-May-10 Europa 2010 Serbia 515 28-Jun-10 Art: Joint with Russia Serbia 523 26-Nov-10 Joy of Europe 1493 16-Mar-11 Airbus A380 Slovakia 595 4-May-10 Europa 2010 Slovakia 611 11-Feb-11 Visegrad: joint w/Czech Rep, Hungary, Poland Slovenia 845-6 28-May-10 Europa 2010 Slovenia 876 25-Mar-11 60th Anniv., Treaty of Sweden 2656 24-Mar-11 Europa 2011 Switzerland 1421 5-May-11 Europa 2011 Tanzania 2551 6-Jun-10 Kennedy: issued for European Championship of Philately, Antwerp, Belgium 2503 1-May-10 Airbus A340 UN Office in Vienna 483b 3-Mar-11 Greece flag and Euro coin UN Office in Vienna 483c 3-Mar-11 Estonia flag and Euro coin UN Office in Vienna 483h 3-Mar-11 Monaco flag and Euro coin JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-10

Interesting Postmarks — Don Smith Saint Benedict, EuroChocolate 2009. Sounds wonderful. Patron Saint of Europe European Culture

European Sports

From the Blogspot An interesting bit of info, from the Full PostEurop members (cont’d) Full PostEurop members (cont’d)

Europa Blogspot guru euroswiss: Germany Spain (including Andorra Spanish post) Many European countries issue Eu- Great-Britain (including Gibraltar) Sweden Greece ropa stamps each year. So... Switzerland Guernsey Turkey 1.which countries are official Hungary Ukraine PostEurop members ? Iceland 2.which countries aren't but are rec- Ireland 2) Non-PostEurop members but UPU ognized postal administrations by Isle of Man members the UPU (Universal Postal Union) ? Italy Jersey 3.which countries aren't officially Azerbaijan Latvia Georgia recognized postal administra- Liechtenstein Kazakhstan tions ? Lithuania

1) Full PostEurop members Luxembourg 3) Non-PostEurop nor UPU members Macedonia Albania Malta Cyprus (Turkish post) Armenia Moldova Kosovo AustriaBelarus Monaco Nagorno-Karabakh Belgium Montenegro Bosnia and Herzegovina Netherlands 1.Bosnia and Herzegovina (Croat post) Not added to this list - many non Norway recognized countries issuing each 2.Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serb post) Poland Bulgaria Portugal (including Azores & Madeira) year cinderella stamps such as Croatia Romania Abkhazia, the Dniepr Rep., etc. Cyprus Russia Czech Rep. San Marino The blog reference above is to the Denmark (including Faroe Is. & Serbia Wikipedia article. I would also refer Greenland) Slovakia the reader to my own short article Estonia Slovenia directed more toward Europa that is Finland (including Åland) on our main website. -ed. ■ JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-11

From the Miscellaneous Box — Tonny van Loij A really interesting postal card from Austria with additional postage, special air-mail flight from Vienna to Paris via Strasbourg, with Austrian Airlines. The cachets on the left say ―Greetings via airmail to the European Council‖. The Austrian Airlines portion says ―Europa Philately Day, Vienna, 19 September 1966. as does the printed cachet.

Some interesting facts about this :  Austria did not issue CEPT stamps for the years 1961 through 1973. Here they used the design for 1966 in the cancel. The cancel is identified in D‘Urso as T-204a. See Dana‘s ―Crossover‖ article in EN#399.  The card was returned without the use of French postage, because the addressee was unknown at the post office (poste restante - general delivery). The CE postmark shows that it was received on 23 September, but returned to sender!

Report from NAPEX Another Interesting Postmark

Yes, we did have a meeting Maximum Card for the NORDIA 2011 at the show in Washington stamp exhibition, 1-3 April in Jyväskylä earlier in June, but it was not Finland. as well attended (see picture at right). That didn‘t stop us from having fun, though! The picture was taken by Alex‘s grandson Robert (Bob), who Alex is trying to groom to be a philatelist. Best of luck with that, Alex! -ed.■ Alex Cwiekalo, Dana Roper, Don Smith JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-12

ORGANIZING A EUROPA COLLECTION—REVISITED — Dana Roper

In previous ENs I‘ve referenced an Finally, I used Level 5 to bring in the I propose making these and similar article that I wrote some time ago, Eastern Bloc. issues Part 3a, and any other coop- suggesting a possible way to organ- 5a is the CSCE (KSZE in German) eration issues 3b. This still makes ize a EUROPA collection into a man- 5b is Soviet versions of Section 2, these rather gigantic sections, but to ageable set of topic areas (the article such as the Warsaw Pact and Inter- me it‘s a more logical grouping. first appeared in EN#380 and is kosmos. For what it‘s worth, I‘d still leave available on the main page of our What I liked about this scheme was sporting issues all together, as that is website). The idea was to simplify its flexibility—I could add categories where many draw their line as to the groupings in the (hardcopy) Eu- as appropriate. For example, what what to collect. ropa Handbook, while presenting a happened to Mythological Europa hierarchical approach to a Europa For those who buy regular supple- (Europa and the bull)? This could be collection. ments for ―Sympathy‖ issues, all the Section 4d. above probably doesn‘t matter much The key premise was that the core of So the scheme is perfect right? Well, as they are all lumped together, but most Europa collections consists of maybe not. it really has helped me get a handle the ―annual‖ issues, so that was as- on how far I want to go with my col- signed Level 1. (Outliers, such as In a recent issue I said that I made a lection. 50th anniversary issues, could be mistake putting the Nordic issues in assigned ―1a‖.) Section 2a. No problem—I jut pulled Note that any one of these topics is them out and made a new Level 1 a good candidate for a collection—or Next comes the organizations and subcategory: 1b. Likewise I moved exhibit– in it‘s own right. Steve Lus- agencies put into place by the Euro- SEPAC (see article elsewhere in this ter spent much time and energy on pean unity movement; e.g. Council issue) from Level 3 to Level 1c. what I would call Section 4a. He was of Europe, EEC, and so on. These a master at finding a tie-in between stamps were included in most early I‘m now getting ready to suggest an obscure figure and a history of album pages, but later dropped another change. In my original article European integration. mainly due to size constraints. This I confessed that the line between 3a is Level 2. (cultural cooperation) and 3b Most successful exhibits tell a story, (European meetings) is somewhat and go beyond just the annual is- It‘s at this level that a decision is arbitrary; I did it just because the sues, so this is another way to help made as to whether NATO should be combination was so big. But then I decide what story you want to tell. included. Although NATO is a mili- ran into the following conundrum: tary organization, it is considered by Being a computer guy, I tried dia- many to be central to the success of  Sloburnia issues a set marking the gramming the architecture of my ap- European unity (the Michel catalog United European Veeblefetzer proach. I decided it looked like this: lists it that way). Back in the ‗60s Conference. album makers often provided NATO  Dachshundstein issues a stamp as a separate topic. So, I split this level into two subgroups: 2a for CE, marking the 25th anniversary of EEC et al., and 2b for NATO and the European Veeblefetzer Agree- related issues. So whether to include ment. NATO becomes a matter of ―2b or Does the first go in 3b, and the sec- not 2b‖. (I‘m sorry. That was just too ond in 3a? That‘s awkward to say obvious to pass up.) the least, and has come up on more Level 3 now goes farther afield and than one occasion. includes issues having to do with So—how about this? There have unity in general. This can get very been a number of cooperation activi- large so I split this into three parts - ties that have been promoted, initi- 3a is commercial and cultural coop- ated or sponsored by agencies of eration the EU. A few obvious examples: 3b is conferences and meetings European Conservation Year 3c is sporting issues European Architectural and Cultural Level 4 is more ―fringe‖ yet. That Heritage So, I think I succeeded in keeping it said, for many these issues are the CE Art Exhibitions simple, and from the diagram might only items worth collecting even be accused of creating a 4a is prophets and advocates of ―Mickey Mouse‖ approach. I invite unity your discussion on this as perhaps a 4b is military attempts at unity possible approach to an updated 4c is historical obstacles to unity handbook. ■ JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-13

SEPAC (Small European Postal Administrations Cooperation) — Dana Roper

The following information is taken from the official sepac website www.sepacstamps.eu and other sources:

In 1994, philatelic agent Paolo de Rosa initiated an annual conference for the various small postal admini- strations which he represented, in order to discuss various philatelic matters of interest specific to those smaller postal administrations. After de Rosa sold his philatelic agency to Afinsa, the postal administrations decided to create their own annual SEPAC conference, which com- menced in 1999 and was repre- sented by delegates from the same postal administrations which had attended the De Rosa conference.

Over the years, the value of the SEPAC conference grew considera- bly, to such an extent that two con- ferences were held in 2005 to dis- cuss a SEPAC joint postal admini- stration marketing campaign. Two conferences also took place in 2006 to discuss an innovative SEPAC joint stamp issue and to develop the SEPAC official logo.

The criteria for membership of the SEPAC group of Post Offices/Postal Administrations (what I will hereafter call just ‗Post Offices‘) are: the Post Office must be located within Europe the Post Office must be independ- ent the Post Office must have a small home market with more than 50% of its Philatelic customers living out- side its own country. Map of the SEPAC member states, from the website. Twelve of the members were in the original group; Luxembourg met the membership criteria and joined in 2006. The purpose of the SEPAC stamps is to highlight the joint cooperation of A guideline for issuance is that the SEPAC logo. A collector folder would the SEPAC member posts and to SEPAC logo should be reproduced also be issued, again like the Nordic make the public aware of the history, on one stamp only within each post countries, but it would contain only nature, scenery and culture of the office's set of stamps. The SEPAC the SEPAC stamps. That is in keep- SEPAC member countries. stamp within each set will be that ing with the guideline, which taken It was decided that the stamps would bearing the first weight step postage together indicates a desire to keep be issued every other year starting in rate to European destinations. Thus the bi-annual collections within af- 2007, and that the theme for the first the SEPAC stamp could be part of a fordable limits. set of common stamps would be larger set of stamps, leaving it up to Luxembourg and San Marino did not ―Scenery – Beautiful Corners of the collector to decide how much to issue stamps in 2007 and San Mar- Europe‖. This was then extended to collect. Iceland, for example, has ino sat out 2009 as well, but all mem- three consecutive issues, much like been issuing a pair of se-tenant bers are expected to issue stamps in the issues. stamps, of which only one has the 2011. JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-14

SEPAC (Small European Postal Administrations Cooperation) — cont’d Scott # SEPAC 2007 Scenery I Scott # SEPAC 2009 Scenery II 268 Aland 1v 292 Aland part of set #291-2 491 Faroe Is 1v 519 Faroe Is 1v 1104 Gibraltar part of set #1104-8 1207 Gibraltar part of set of #1205-10 501 Greenland 1v 548 Greenland 1v 955 Guernsey part of set #953-958 1059 Guernsey part of set #1057-62 1098 Guernsey #1059 re-issued: new currency 1120 a Iceland part of se-tenant pr 1176 a Iceland part of se-tenant pr 1230 Isle of Man part of set #1228-33 for European 1336 Isle of Man part of set #1334-39 Vintage Ploughing Championships 1290 Jersey part of set #1288-93 1398 Jersey part of set #1396-1401 1393 Liechtenstein 1v 1458 Liechtenstein 1v Luxembourg no issue 1276 Luxembourg 1v Vianden castle 1307 Malta part of set #1306-12 1378 Malta part of set #1376-79 2469 Monaco 1v 2563 Monaco 1v San Marino no issue San Marino no issue

Whether or not to collect the complete sets is entirely a matter of personal preference. The Iceland se-tenant pairs (shown below) are very attractive, and would complement a ba- sic collection nicely.

SEPAC 2007 stamps

On the next page is what we know about SEPAC 2011 as of this writing. While I have made a personal decision to add SEPAC to my basic collection, Michel does not list them in their CEPT catalog (although the Nordic issues ARE listed). SEPAC 2009 stamps

Our friend euroswiss features them promi- nently on his Europa blogspot, so unless there is vociferous objection, I‘ll continue to feature them occasionally in these pages. ■ JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-15

SEPAC (Small European Postal Administrations Cooperation) — cont’d

What we know so far about SEPAC 2011, courtesy of euroswiss The SEPAC stamp folders are quite attrac- (underlined stamps are those for which image is known at this time) tive, and may be destined to become col- lectibles in their own right, as only a limited 09.03.2011 Malta - 1 stamps (0.37 €) number are produced each year. 15.09.2011 Gibraltar - 1 stamp (0.42 GBP) out of a set of six stamps 15.09.2011 Iceland - 1 stamp (165.- ISK) part of a se-tenant set 16.09.2011 Faroe Is. - 1 stamp (10.50 DKK) 18.09.2011 Åland - 1 stamp (0.85 €) 27.09.2011 Luxembourg - 1 stamp 28.09.2011 Greenland - 1 stamp (8.- DKK) 28.09.2011 Monaco - 1 stamp (0.75 €) 28.09.2011 Guernsey - 1 stamp (0.52 GBP) 28.09.2011 Jersey - 1 stamp (0.49 GBP) 28.09.2011 Liechtenstein - 1 stamp 28.09.2011 Isle of Man - 1 stamp (0.58 GBP) out of a set of six stamps ————- San Marino—no stamp this year after all

GREENLAND Issue Date 28 September MONACO Issue Date 28 Sept one stamp one stamp 2011

GIBRALTAR Issue Date 15 Sept one stamp out of a set of six

ISLE OF MAN Issue Date 28 September MALTA Issue Date 9 March one stamp out of a set of six one stamp out of a set of three This is the same set that contains the Europa stamp.

Scenery III

ALAND Issue Date 18 Sept Issue Date 28 September ICELAND Issue Date 15 September one stamp with EU- one stamp one stamp out of a se-tenant pair ROPA value JULY-AUGUST 2011 404-16

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF FORESTS ● 2011

SLOVAKIA Issue Date 6 May one stamp

More EUROPA 2011 issues on pages 1 thru 4. VATICAN ISLE OF MAN Issue Date 21 June Issue Date 28 Sept Two values se-tenant one stamp out of a set of six This is the same set that con- tains the SEPAC stamp.

SLOVENIA

Issue Date 27 May Two values Issued in sheetlets of 8 w/label

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