Jan. 3, 2023 Special Occasions Australia Post's first set of the year was "Special Occasions". Released on January 3, there are ten designs available in gummed and self-adhesive varieties in sheets or booklets plus a miniature sheet that contains one copy of each design. There was also a "Wedding Collection" with a prestige booklet and … Continue reading Stamps of 2023: Australia (January 2023)
Australia
Christmas Stamps 2022: Australia
On November 1, Australia Post issued its Christmas stamps for 2022 with five gummed stamps, five self-adhesive booklet stamps, a miniature sheet of the two religious stamps from this issue, along with the usual assortment of first day covers, PNC's, gutter strips, maximum cards, etc. According to the postal administration's press release, In a year … Continue reading Christmas Stamps 2022: Australia
A Philatelist’s Tribute to QEII
I tend to wake up earlier and earlier as I become older, often just to urinate and return to bed until the alarm jars me into the shower at a more reasonable hour. Thus, it was just after three o'clock in the morning that I awoke last Thursday, the 8th of September 2022, and discovered … Continue reading A Philatelist’s Tribute to QEII
A Philatelist’s Tribute to 9/11
Tuesday, the 11th day of September 2001 means many different things to many different people. For me, it evokes a number of strong memories. I consider there to be several powerful connections between myself and 9/11. First, I associate it with the death of both my mother and a favorite cousin. My mother passed away … Continue reading A Philatelist’s Tribute to 9/11
A History of Christmas Stamps
The history of Christmas stamps is an interesting one as there is quite a bit of disagreement of what was the actual first stamp to commemorate the holiday. It really depends on what your definition of a Christmas stamp is. Does the mere words “Christmas” (or similar term) make it a true Yuletide emission? Or … Continue reading A History of Christmas Stamps
The 12 Days of Christmas Stamps 2013: #4, Australia (2013)
Australia has issued Christmas stamps since 1957 (the U.S.A. released their first in 1962) and, in my opinion, they are extremely hit-or-miss in their designs having some of my least favorite overall. Oddly enough, neighboring New Zealand has also had numerous ugly Yuletide stamps over the years. That trend continues this year as I'm not … Continue reading The 12 Days of Christmas Stamps 2013: #4, Australia (2013)
Postcrossing: Received Cards #9, 10 and 11!
When it rains, it pours! After a bit of a dry-spell, there was a stack of mail on the lobby counter this morning as I was leaving for work. Among the mail were four postcards, three of them official Postcrossing cards and one was from my sister in America. One of these was actually a … Continue reading Postcrossing: Received Cards #9, 10 and 11!
Mark Joseph Jochim 