1812 Bicentennial: Fort Howard, Maryland

The postmark on this cover commemorates the 200th anniversary of the war of 1812. On September 12, 1814, a decisive battle was fought against the British. The had landed a large invasion force at North Point with plans to take over nearby Baltimore. But they were met by American forces who delayed the attack on Baltimore, giving the Americans time to prepare for and successfully defend it.

Defenders Day is a holiday in the state of Maryland to commemorate the battle at North Point. Today, Fort Howard occupies the original battle site. They re-enact the battle every year and this year they did so on September 2.

Christchurch, New Zealand

This was postmarked in Christchurch and the postmark has an image of the Christchurch Cathedral on it. Despite surviving several earthquakes in the past, the last big one to hit Christchurch in 2011 seriously damaged the cathedral and the decision was made to demolish the entire structure and build a new one.

The stamp on this cover is a round kiwi definitive. New Zealand Post has been producing this for a number of years now. Different colours and denominations are used every year.

Star Wars Celebration Postmark

Star Wars Celebration VI, a big Star Wars fan convention, was held August 23-26 in Orlando, Florida. What a huge postmark. I'm glad I didn't use a smaller envelope!

London 2012 Maximum Cards

This is the result of my attempt to get maximum cards made using the recent "Welcome to London 2012" stamps from the UK. I sent two cards to Tallents House for the official first-day postmark and the other two I send to the London Special Handstamp Center  for alternative first-day postmarks. Results were mixed.

This first card was my favorite before I even sent it out for postmarking. Lots of noise free space for the postmark and the card had a matte finish so the postmark stuck to it real nice.

This card had a gloss finish and resulted in a not so perfect postmark application. And the stamp is starting to lift off the card significantly. I should have asked for the postmark to be place a little lower. And the card itself is a little too busy. Still, not bad.

I really wanted this one to work. The picture on this card is from the last Olympic games held in London in 1948. The postmark is rotated 90 degrees which isn't what I wanted. This was an alternative first day postmark for this stamp issue. The card has too much noise in the background though and makes it very difficult to make out the postmark. I should have sent this to Tallent's House for the official postmark. Would have looked better and maybe the postmark would have been applied properly.

I laughed when I saw this one. Where's the postmark? I had extra postage on the back of this card and that's where it was postmarked even though I had fairly simple instructions attached to the back of the card, and a drawing of where to place the postmark. This was the first day postmark used for the coin cover that was issued along with the miniature sheet FDCs.

Despite what must have been a really busy month for the Tallents House postmarking team, they did a fantastic job with my cards. The London SHC can put down a pretty good postmark but I think they were a little busy to get it right for me. Maybe the next set of postcards will turn out better.

Jan Mayen, Norway

A little cover from Jan Mayen in the Arctic Ocean. Jan Mayen is a tiny volcanic island between Norway and Greenland and north of Iceland. It's part of Norway and is home to a weather station and an old LORAN-C radio station. The only people living on the island are the staff manning the stations. Most of the island has been designated as a nature reserve.

Mars Curiosity Rover Postmark

A postmark to commemorate the successful landing of the Curiosity Rover on the surface of Mars at Gale Crater on 5 August 2012. Postmarked in Pasadena, California.

Wellington, New Zealand

Another pictorial postmark from New Zealand. This time it's Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. The postmark has an image of the Wellington cable car on it. The cable car has been in operation since 1902 and provides access to the Wellington suburb of Kelburn.

Bjørnøya, Norway

Bjørnøya or Bear Island is the southern most island in the Svalbard archipelago. It's about half way between the Norway mainland and Spitsbergen, the main island of the Svalbard island group. In 2002 the entire island was declared a nature reserve and the only people living on the island are the personnel who operate the  weather station.

At one time the post office at the weather station was using a pictorial postmark with an image of an arctic loon on it.

Indonesia

Komodo National Park encompasses an area of over 1800 sq-km and includes the islands of Komodo, Rinca and Padar. It protects the habitat of the komodo dragon and is also a UNESCO world heritage site. Thanks Irene.

Whanganui, New Zealand

Whanganui is a city near the mouth of the Whanganui river on the south shore of New Zealand's North Island. New Zealand post has their "Collectibles and Solutions" center there, where they fulfill orders and carry out other philatelic services.

The postmark on this cover has an image of a steamship on it. At one time these were used on the Whanganui river for passenger and cargo transportation. The image on this postmark might be of the PS Waimarie: a restored paddle steamer that now offers tourist cruises on the Whanganui river.

Lyon, France

The French Olympic stamp without the Olympic logo (apparently a few stamp issuing nations followed this trend) and a pair of stamps featuring the legendary Edith Piaf and Miles Davis. Thanks Eric!

London Olympic Postmarks

A couple of 2012 Olympic postmarks from Royal Mail. Both are available from the London SHC for a full year with the E20 postmark from 27 July 2012 to 26 July 2013 and the W2 postmark from 5 Jan 2012 to 4 Jan 2013.