Argentina National Parks

A cover from Buenos Aires with 7500 pesos of postage on it. That's a lot. It's slightly more than the international letter rate for Denmark. Here's a postcrossing thread I came across with a discussion about postage rates in Argentina. Looking back over covers I've received from Argentina in the past, I can see the increases getting larger and larger as the years go by. Inflation is so high in Argentina. The postal rate increase so fast that multiple older stamps are always needed to make the current postage rate.

The stamp on the left is a 2023 stamp that recognizes the National Plan for Telecommunications Networks. It was originally a 2014 stamp that has been overprinted with a new value, going from 50c to $500, The others are all national park definitives from 2023, except the last stamp on the right which is from 2024: Laguna Blanca National Park, Jaramillo Petrified Forest National Park, Federal Campo San Juan Park, and Baritú National Park.

Sendt til udlandet fra Danmark

Not much happening on this cover from Taastrup, Denmark (there is a large Postnord terminal there) but the stamp caught my attention. It's the first cover I've received from Denmark with an "Udland" stamp on it. Earlier this year Postnord declared that all stamps produced prior to Jan 1 were no longer valid for domestic mail because they were purchased before a 25% VAT for postage stamps was introduced. Apparently the same will apply to international bound mail at the end of the year. New stamps now bear the word "Innland" on domestic rate stamps and "Udland" on international rate stamps.

This stamp is from a 2024 sheet of two (with two sheets in the issue) that feature portrait engravings. On this stamp is an image of Danish poet and author Tove Ditlevsen, based on a photograph by Erik Petersen, engraved by Martin Mörck

It's surprising to see how postage rates have increased in Denmark this year. The international letter rate was increased to 50 DKK. It covers letters up to 100g but that rate also applies to postcards! By comparison, 50 DKK is currently more than enough for three international 20g letters from Canada, or four from the US.

Colourful Flowers, Japan FDC

Another floral FDC from Osaka. This time it's a pair of recently issued rose stamps.

Birds from Suzhou, China

Lots of bird stamps on this cover from Suzhou. The pair on the upper left are peafoul stamps from 2004. And the group on the right from 2005 are birds at the Xianghai National Nature Reserve in north-eastern China. The stamp in the lower left corner is from a 2022 set showing images of pigeons.

Living Legends of the Philippines

I can almost make out parts of the text in the postmark that would tell me where this came from. But not enough. The stamp on the right commemorates former basketball player Ramon Fernandez. It is from a 2021 souvenir sheet called "Living Legends of the Philippines". And the stamps on the left are definitives that feature phrases in different languages spoken in various regions of the country. It was not immediately obvious to me that this was from the Philippines. I think the Canadian air mail sticker caught me off guard. 

Florianopolis, Brazil

This cover from the Brazilian coastal city of Florianopolis comes to me with three stamps from a sheet of nine from 2020 that feature celestial bodies from our solar system. From left to right, the Sun, Earth and Mars. It's hard to see but the dark lines in the stamps that trace the paths of the planets around the sun are highlighted with a varnish. 

UPU 150th Anniversary, Algeria FDC

The 150th anniversary of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) was October 9, 2024.