Harry Potter, Great Britain

Country - Great Britain
Stamp issue date - 16 October, 2018
Process - Lithography, PVA Gum

Harry Potter remains one of the most popular and enduring themes worldwide and these unique stamps have been produced to celebrate the critically-acclaimed series of films.

The stamps not only feature some of the most popular characters including Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Neville Longbottom but there are also five Hogwarts professors contained on a Special Miniature Sheet. Also appearing on the stamps are selected portkeys as well as the most iconic modes of transport amongst them being the Hogwarts Express, the motor bike ridden by Hagrid, the Knight Bus and the Triwizard Cup. The stamps also use the official Harry Potter font denoting the “1st” class service.

Some Special Features on the stamps include the official Harry Potter font denoting the “1st” class service and a little extra magic and intrigue on both the stamps and the Miniature Sheet which can be seen under UV light.

My stamp set was sourced from Royal Mail

Disclaimer - Information and image of stamp issues on this page are sourced from the web and no copyright claim is made on the same. These are for information and hobby purposes only.

Porcelain Stamp, Austria

Country - Austria
Stamp issue date - 20 March, 2014
What's special - First ceramic stamp in the world

This stamp was issued by Austria in 2014 and it is the first official porcelain (ceramic) stamp in the world. The stamp is made of fine porcelain and was created in cooperation with the porcelain manufacturer Augarten Porcelain Manufactory GmbH in Vienna.  It was not printed but made in an elaborate, specially developed process. The white ceramic base was fired for 24 hours at 960 degrees, then glazed and cured at higher temperatures. Only then was the “Viennese Rose” design, the country name and the denomination added.  It was then baked at 820 degrees in a further operation to ensure the colors fuse with the glaze.

My stamp was sourced from Austria Post.

Disclaimer - Information and image of stamp issues on this page are sourced from the web and no copyright claim is made on the same. These are for information and hobby purposes only.

Agatha Christie, Great Britain

Country - Great Britain

Stamp issue date - 15 September, 2016

Process - Lithography

What's special - Thermochromic Ink, Microtext printing and clues visible only under Ultra-Violet light.

Royal Mail has marked the centenary of Agatha Christie writing her first detective novel, 'A Mysterious Affair at Styles' by issuing a set of 6 Special Stamps based on six of Christie’s mystery novels. The six stamp subjects were chosen on the following basis -

The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Agatha Christie’s first detective novel and the first Hercule Poirot novel.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - voted the ‘Greatest Crime Novel of All Time’ by the Crime Writers’ Association in 2013.

The Body in the Library – the biggest-selling Miss Marple book.

And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie’s biggest-selling mystery.

Murder on the Orient Express – a top-selling Agatha Christie novel and familiar to a wide audience.

A Murder is Announced – a Miss Marple title, in the list of top Agatha Christie novels.

In true Christie style each stamp contains hidden elements relating to key scenes and principal characters from Christie’s mystery novels by use of Thermochromic Ink, Microtext printing and clues visible only under Ultra-Violet light requiring a viewer to utilize body heat, a magnifying glass and UV light to find the clues.

My stamp set was sourced from Royal Mail

Disclaimer - Information and image of stamp issues on this page are sourced from the web and no copyright claim is made on the same. These are for information and hobby purposes only.

Macao, United Nations

Stamp Issue Date - 21 September, 2018

What's special - Laser cut stamps

United Nations Postal Administration issued a 3-stamp special event mini-sheet to commemorate the Macao 2018 - Thirty-fifth Asian International Stamp Exhibition in Macau, PR China. The sheet is composed of stamps in three denominations (US$ 1.15, CHF 2.00 and € 1.80) and features a special laser-cutting technique.

The background of the sheet depicts a Chinese story in ancient times called Hua Mulan, about a girl who joined the army instead of her old father, dressing as a man to do so. The three stamps feature judge Bao Zheng, general Guan Yu and Hua Mulan. They are meant to represent justice, loyalty, righteousness, courage and equality.

My stamp was sourced from UNPA

Disclaimer - Information and image of stamp issues on this page are sourced from the web and no copyright claim is made on the same. These are for information and hobby purposes only.

Space Pioneers, New Zealand

Country - New Zealand

Stamp Issue date - 1 May, 2019

Process - Dunedin by Lithography

Colours - Four process colours 
What's special - Ground meteor dust applied to overgloss.

These fun stamps celebrate New Zealand's astronomers, cosmologists, discoverers and rocket scientists. They have been topped off with a sprinkling of crushed meteorite and together form a rocket ship shape in a se-tenant strip.

 

$1.20 Beatrice Hill Tinsley - Pioneer astrophysicist Beatrice Hill Tinsley was a world-leader in modern cosmology. Her 114 published papers are regularly cited today, showing her ongoing contribution to understanding the Universe. Mt Tinsley in Fiordland was named in her honour.

$1.20 Alan Gilmore and Pamela Kilmartin - Active comet and nova-hunters, Alan Gilmore and Pamela Kilmartin discovered 41 minor planets. They also established a programme for tracking near-Earth asteroids and southern comets from New Zealand. Alan is also a member of the prestigious International Astronomical Union.

$2.40 Charles Gifford - Charles Gifford was New Zealand’s most outstanding astronomer in the first half of the 20th century. Using mathematics, he showed that the Moon’s craters were made by meteorite impact.

$3.00 Albert Jones, OBE - Albert Jones made more visual brightness estimates than anyone in history. With a telescope he built in 1948, he looked at more than 500,000 stars, and discovered two comets and a supernova.

$3.60 William Pickering, ONZ KBE - Pioneer of world’s space exploration, William Pickering launched America’s first spacecraft. He was instrumental in the success of the Apollo programme and the Voyager missions and retired to see Viking 1 on its way to Mars. Mount Pickering Summit, in Fiordland, was named in his honour.

My stamp was sourced from New Zealand Post

Disclaimer - Information and image of stamp issues on this page are sourced from the web and no copyright claim is made on the same. These are for information and hobby purposes only.

Map of Latvia

Country : Latvia
Stamp Issue Date : 9 March, 2018

To mark the centenary of the Latvian state, Latvijas Pasts issued a special stamp Flag – Map of Latvia. This is the first stamp of irregular shape released in Latvia, and it is designed as an outline of the map of Latvia. In honour of the anniversary of the state it is designed as the map of Latvia and incorporates the motif of the national flag of Latvia.

My stamp sourced from WOPA+.

Disclaimer - Information and image of stamp issues on this page are sourced from the web and no copyright claim is made on the same. These are for information and hobby purposes only.