Bern, Switzerland

On this cover from Bern is a 2023 Christmas stamp on the right. And on the left is a 1978 stamp featuring the paddle steamer "Il Verbano" issued as part of a sheet for a stamp exhibition.

The National Flower of Suriname

It's pretty obvious from the postmark where this came from. The stamp from 2021 features the national flower of Suriname: Ixora coccinea or the jungle geranium, also know as "faja lobi" in Sranan Tongo (creole language spoken in Suriname). Fiery Love. Perfectly postmarked at the main post office in Paramaribo. 

Bhubaneswar, India

Stamps on the front and back of this cover from the city of Bhubaneswar in the Indian state of Odisha. The 2023 stamp on the left commemorates the first Tuluvan Queen of Ullal and first female freedom fighter of India, Rani Abbakka Devi, who fought off a Portuguese occupation during the 16th century. And the 2024 stamp on the right commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Bombay Sappers War Memorial in the city of Pune in Maharashtra.

And on the back is a 2008 souvenir sheet. A joint issue with China with stamps showing the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya and the White Horse temple in Luoyang, China.

Rabits from Parepare, Indonesia

The Indonesian city of Parepare is on the south west coast of the island of Sulawesi. The souviner sheet on the right with the European bunnies is from a 1999 stamp set featuring domesticated animals. And the pair of stamps on the left are year of the rabbit stamps from 2011.

500th Birth Anniversary of Luís de Camões, Portugal FDC

Portugal's greatest poet was Luís de Camões. His death on 10 June 1580 is commemorated every year with a national holiday known a Portugal Day. That's how famous he was. He led an adventurous life and spent many years in Africa and Asia before being taken by the plague. I'm sure some of what I've been reading about his life has been heavily romanticized over the centuries but I still find it very fascinating. Thank you Pedro.

Kölner Dom by AI, Germany FDC

The stamp on this First-Day cover is part of a crypto stamp issue. The stamp features an interpretation of the Cologne Cathedral by the DALL-E AI system. I was confused by the out of place grey box sticking out of the upper left side of the structure but I understand now that it is scaffolding for restoration work. Would have been nice if the AI could have provided an image of what it would look like without the scaffolding.

Japan's Updated Currency, FDC

On July 3rd the Bank of Japan issued three new banknotes with new designs to replace previous designs  that were first issued 20 years ago. The new notes are 1000, 5000 and 10000 yen. Japan post issued a sheet of stamps to commemorate this with stamps that feature design elements from the new notes. The stamp on the right features a portrait of Japanese bacteriologist and Nobel prize winner Kitasato Shibasaburō. He is featured on the front of the 1000 yen note with "The Great Wave of Kanagawa" on the reverse. The pattern in the postmark represents one of the anti-theft elements that appears on the notes.

Hugo Simon, Germany

On the commemorative postmark is German Jewish banker and politician Hugo Simon who escaped Nazi persecution and resettled in Brazil in 1941. He was also an art collector with a rather large collection that at one time included Edvard Munch's "The Scream". His collection was dispersed after being plundered by the Nazis. Hugo Simon died in Sao Paolo in 1950. The stamp in the souvenir sheet commemorates the earliest example of a letter mailed in the Americas containing a complete set of stamps: the first Brazilian postage stamps known as "bullseye" stamps.

Shizuoka, Japan

"Baba" referring to Baban-cho: a neighbourhood in the Aoi ward in the city of Shizuoka on the south coast of Japan between Tokyo and Nagoya. The stamps are 2021 Year of the Ox lottery stamps.

The Birth of Copernicus

A commemorative envelope issued in Germany in 2023 to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. The stamp at top-right that is pre-printed on the envelope is the 2009 Europa stamp for which the theme was astronomy. The €0.30 label below it is also pre-printed on the envelope (because €0.55 was not enough for domestic postage in 2023).

Flowers from Latvia

From Riga, the capital city of Latvia. The flower stamps are from a long-running annual stamp series issued by Latvijas Pasts. On the left is Freesia from 2017 and on the right are are tulips from 2014. The lighthouse stamp bottom right is also from a long-running series and on this stamp from 2015 is the Salacgīvas lighthouse.

Åland's Underwater Flora and Fauna

On this cover from Mariehamn is an Åland 2024 Europa stamp. The stamp features common eelgrass. There are large fields of eelgrass in the Baltic sea, particularly around the Åland islands. It is home to a thriving ecosystem providing food and shelter for several species of fish, crustaceans and invertebrates.

My flatbed scanner does not present the blue-green hot foil applied to the stamp in all its shimmering glory, as you can see in the image below.