On this cover, postmarked in Alderney, are a pair of Atlantic puffin stamps from 2023. In the middle is a squat lobster stamp from a 2007 set that commemorated the 2005 recognition of the west coast of Alderney as a Ramsar "wetland of importance". And on the right is a 2007 Guernsey definitive that shows rock outcroppings at Albercq on the north short of the island of Guernsey.
Covers from the Spanish Antarctic research base Juan Carlos I and the research ship Hespérides. Where are the postmarks? I've received covers from the bases in the past with very nice postmarks. But not this time. There was a third cover from Base Gabriel de Castilla that came back with no markings on it at all: just my address and the stamps. Any kind of hand-stamped postmark would have been acceptable. Oh well. Win some. Lose some.
The stamp in the souvenir sheet from Germany commemorates the earliest existing example of a letter mailed in the Americas that contains a complete set of stamps. The letter, mailed from Rio de Janeiro to the city of Santos on 22 August 1843, was franked with the first Brazilian postage stamps. This was only 3 weeks after the stamps were issued. The stamps were known as "bullseye" stamps due to their resemblance to the eyes of a bull. They don't look that way to me but I'm no expert on what a bull's eyes look like. Each of the three available denominations were used. It is a very rare collectible.
I believe the twelve flower seasons is a recent tourist industry initiative in Vietnam, with the idea being that the streets of Hanoi are constantly in bloom with different flowers every month of the year and therefor every month is like a different season. They appear to be the first of a series of stamps with these three stamps showing flowers that are in bloom during January, February and March. Along the top from left to right are sua flowers in March, ban flowers in February and peach blossoms in January.
Some older Europa stamps from 1998 on this cover from Skopje. From a time when it was known simply as the Republic of Macedonia or the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). As of 2018, it is just the Republic of North Macedonia. The Europa theme in 1998 was festivals and national costumes.
Recent endangered frog stamps from Canada. On the left if an Oregon spotted frog which can only be found in British Columbia's Fraser Valley. On the right is a Fowler's toad. They are found on sandy beaches and dunes on the north shore of Lake Erie. The official day-of-issue post office was the Port Rowan post office in Port Rowan, Ontario. But this is not the first-day postmark. Just a new regular postmark.
A little cover from Hong Kong. On the left is a 2024 stamp from a set featuring teaware from the Hong Kong museum. And on the right is a 2024 year of the dragon stamp.
The images on these stamps are from a pair of panels that are part of the six panel Hikone screen painted between 1624-1644. The screen depicts people enjoying themselves at a pleasure house in Kyoto. The first-day postmark was applied in Yokohama. Philately week stamps have been issued in Japan each year since 1947 (If I remember correctly).
From Parker City, Indiana. "It's darker in Parker". I like how the postmark states the amount of time they were to remain in darkness. Parker City is a town of about 1500, just east of Muncie, Indiana and an hour and a half north-east of Indianapolis. There were several festivities scheduled for the day of the Eclipse.
