Netherlands - Post & Go 2017 - Essen, Briefmarkenmesse

The new Netherlands ATM stamps can be found in a few permanent locations (since May 2018 there is only one location left). One of the ATM machines is used by PostNL for stamp shows and other special occasions. After the introduction at the stamp show in Hilversum in January 2017 the first occasion to get ATM stamps was the Briefmarkenmesse in Essen, Germany. At this yearly event most European postal administrations are present with their latest stamps and other products.

I arrived early in the morning of 11 May 2017 at the PostNL stand in the Messe building only to find a machine that didn't work and a long row of waiting collectors. It turned out that there was an unknown bug in the system. The supplier of the machine was working online from London to repair it. It took almost two hours for technician Bob to repair it. After that I had to wait for some time before it was my turn to get my stamps. I prepared two envelopes, one for each of the stamps.

PostNL provided a special postmark with the coat of arms of the city of Essen and a datestamp from 's-Gravenhage (The Hague). Unlike all other postal administrations you can postmark your stamps and covers yourself. The postmarks are tied with a string to a table next to the PostNL stand. This allows the staff to help the customers without spending time on cancelling stamps. It was possible to leave your envelopes with the PostNL staff. They would take care of sending them through the ordinary mail without then envelopes being cancelled by the sorting machines. Unfortunately one did get a second postmark. Since then I have posted my envelopes myself using the protection I

The ATM stamps have the normal design and the values of 1 (for national mail up to 20 grams) and INTERNATIONAAL 1 (for international mail up to 20 gr). Printed above the machine and order number is the text Essen 2017. With each stamp I got a receipt from the ATM machine.

Date sent: 11 May 2017

Date postmark: 11 and 24 May 2017

Date received: 26 May 2017

Number of days: 15

Envelope in collection: 112

Date sent: 11 May 2017

Date postmark: 11 May 2017

Date received: 26 May 2017

Number of days: 15

Envelope in collection: 113

Germany - Braunschweig - Philatelie-Shop

Deutsche Post has established special philately windows in 26 major post offices throughout the country. Each uses a datestamp with the letters 'ps' in it to distinguish it from normal datestamps. The letters ps stand for Philatelie-Shop.

The Philatelie-Shop in Braunschweig can be found in the Post Office Building in the city center. It was built in 1878-1881 under the direction of August Kind (1824-1904), the chief of the building department of the Reichspost under Heinrich von Stephan. The address for postmark requests is: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Strasse 3, 38100 Braunschweig, Germany. Opening hours: Mo-Fr 9.00-18.30 h., Sat 9.30-13.00 h.

For the envelope I used the new definitive 90 cent stamp from the flower series, issued on 11 May 2017 that I bought at the Philatelie-Shop in Essen on the first day of issue. The priority label was added to the envelope by the German post.

Date sent: 11 May 2017

Date postmark: 23 May 2017

Date received: 26 May 2017

Number of days: 15

Envelope in collection: 111

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Modern Romania was formed in 1859 through a personal union of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The new state, officially named Romania since 1866, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877. At the end of World War I, Transylvania, Banat, Bukovina, and Bessarabia united with the sovereign Kingdom of Romania. During World War II, Romania was an Axis power and, consequently, an ally of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union, fighting side by side with the Wehrmacht until 1944, when it joined the Allies and faced occupation by the Red Army's forces. Throughout wartime Romania had lost several territories, of which only Northern Transylvania was regained after the war. Following the war, Romania became a socialist republic and member of the Warsaw Pact. After the 1989 Revolution, Romania began a transition towards democracy and a capitalist market economy.

Following rapid economic growth in the early 2000s, Romania has an economy predominantly based on services, and is a producer and net exporter of machines and electric energy, featuring companies like Automobile Dacia and OMV Petrom. It has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, part of NATO since 2004, and part of the European Union since 2007. An overwhelming majority of the population identifies themselves as Eastern Orthodox Christians and are native speakers of Romanian, a Romance language.

During the Briefmarken-Messe in Essen in May 2017 I left stamped envelopes at almost every foreign postal administration hoping they would send them back when they arrived home. The stamp I chose was a new one issued to honour Postcrossing. The stamp was postmarked with the datestamp of Bucuresti Tranzit, the Bucharest Regional Transit Center..

This and other stamps can be found on the website of Romfilatelia, the state company that issues the Romanian postage stamps: romfilatelia.ro.

Date sent: 11 May 2017

Date postmark: 16 May 2017

Date received: 26 May 2017

Number of days: 15

Envelope in collection: 110

Austria

The name Ostarrîchi (Austria) has been in use since 996 when it was a margravate of the Duchy of Bavaria and from 1156 an independent duchy (later archduchy) of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (Heiliges Römisches Reich 962–1806). Austria was dominated by the House of Habsburg and House of Habsburg-Lorraine (Haus Österreich) from 1273 to 1918. In 1808, when Emperor Francis II of Austria dissolved the Holy Roman Empire, Austria became the Austrian Empire, and was also part of the German Confederation until the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. In 1867, Austria formed a dual monarchy with Hungary: the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867–1918). When this empire collapsed after the end of World War I in 1918, Austria was reduced to the main, mostly German-speaking areas of the empire (its current frontiers), and adopted the name The Republic of German-Austria. However the union and name were forbidden by the Allies at the Treaty of Versailles. This led to the creation of the First Austrian Republic (1918-1933).

Following the First Republic, Austrofascism tried to keep Austria independent from the German Reich. Engelbert Dollfuss accepted that most Austrians were German and Austrian, but wanted Austria to remain independent from Germany. In 1938, Austrian-born Adolf Hitler annexed Austria to the German Reich with the Anschluss, which was supported by a large majority of the Austrian people. After the Second World War Austria again became an independent republic as the Second Republic in 1955 and joined the European Union in 1995.

During the Briefmarken-Messe in Essen in May 2017 I left stamped envelopes at almost every foreign postal administration hoping they would send them back when they arrived home. The stamp was issued on 8 February 2017 commemorates Margherita Spiluttini, a photographer specializing in architecture. In 2015 she donated her archive with 120.000 negatives and slides to the Architekturzentrum Wien. The stamp was postmarked with the datestamp of Bergheim bei Salzburg, a town just north of Salzburg. Why the cover ended up there, I really don’t know.

This and other stamps can be found on the website of Post AG, the Austrian Post: onlineshop.post.at.

Date sent: 11 May 2017

Date postmark: 22 May 2017

Date received: 24 May 2017

Number of days: 13

Envelope in collection: 109

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - Glasgow

As a service to collectors Royal Mail has a number of pictorial postmarks in use for different cities. Each postmark shows a famous landmark and is available at one of the Special Handstamp Centres.

The postmark for the Scottish city of Glasgow shows Glasgow City Chambers. The City Chambers or Municipal Buildings in Glasgow has functioned as the headquarters of Glasgow City Council since 1996, and of preceding forms of municipal government in the city since 1889, located on the eastern side of the city's George Square. An eminent example of Victorian civic architecture, the building was constructed between 1882 and 1888 to a competition winning design by Scottish architect William Young a native of Paisley.

Inaugurated in August 1888 by Queen Victoria, the first council meeting was held within the chambers in October 1889. The building originally had an area of 5.016 square metres. In 1923, an extension to the east side of the building in John Street was opened and in 1984 Exchange House in George Street was completed, increasing the size of the City Chambers complex to some 14.000 square metres.

For this pictorial postmark I managed to find three stamps from Glasgow, two issued for the European City of Culture in 1990 and one from the Millennium series featuring Hampden Park football stadium. The postmark (number 4656) can be obtained by writing to Northern Special Handstamp Center, Royal Mail Tallents House, 21 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh EH12 9PB, United Kingdom.

Images of all pictorial postmarks can be seen on the website of Norvik Philatelics: norphil.co.uk/postmarks/perm.

Date sent: 15 May 2017

Date postmark: 19 May 2017

Date received: 24 May 2017

Number of days: 9

Envelope in collection: 108

United States of America - Nebraska

In my World envelope collection I do not just want to have envelopes from stamp-issuing countries and territories, but also from other regions. This includes the 50 states of the United States of America. This envelope comes from the state of Nebraska, lying in the Midwestern region of the United States as well as in the Great Plains. It was the 37th state, admitted in 1867.

The stamps were affixed by me and come from the Flags of our nations and Greetings series and a stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of statehood. I sent the envelope to the post office in the capital Lincoln to be postmarked. To my surprise the envelope did not arrive back with a normal Lincoln datestamp, but with a commemorative postmark for the 150th anniversary of Nebraska statehood which was dated two months before I sent my envelope to Lincoln. The post office returned the envelope inside a glassine envelope, thus protecting it from getting a machine cancellation.

Date sent: 5 May 2017

Date postmark: 1 March 2017

Date received: 24 May 2017

Number of days: 19

Envelope in collection: 107

Germany - Dortmund (datestamp)

I was already collecting the datestamps of German Philatelie-Shops, when I came across a normal German datestamp at the stamp exhibition in Lichtenvoorde (Netherlands). Here Deutsche Post was represented with a mobile post office. Normally events in the Netherlands are attended by the Erlebnis Briefmarken‑team from Bochum, which lies between Essen and Dortmund. In a mobile post office there is always a datestamp present for those collectors that want cancelled stamps. For some reason the Bochum team always carries the same datestamp from Dortmund. What the letters kn in the datestamp meant, the man could not tell me.

Fortunately I carry always spare envelopes with my name and address with me. I put the new definitive 90 cent stamp from the flower series on it and asked for a cancellation on the stamp and on the left hand side. Since I still had to print the country and city names on the envelope, the datestamp could not be too high up. Just five days later the envelope arrived at my home.

Date sent: 19 May 2017

Date postmark: 19 May 2017

Date received: 24 May 2017

Number of days: 5

Envelope in collection: 106

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia, officially the Republic of Macedonia, is a country in the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991. It became a member of the United Nations in 1993, but, as a result of an ongoing dispute with Greece over the use of the name "Macedonia", was admitted under the provisional description the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (sometimes abbreviated as FYROM and FYR Macedonia), a term that is also used by international organizations such as the European Union, the Council of Europe, and NATO. On 17 June 2018, Macedonia and Greece signed the Prespa agreement which would see the country change its name to "Republic of North Macedonia", pending a national referendum on the matter and legislation passing through parliament.

This region's history dates back to antiquity, beginning with the kingdom of Paeonia. In the late 6th century BC, the area was incorporated into the Persian Achaemenid Empire, then annexed by the Kingdom of Macedonia in the 4th century BC. The Romans conquered the region in the 2nd century BC and made it part of the much larger province of Macedonia. Τhe area remained part of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire, and was often raided and settled by Slavic peoples beginning in the 6th century. Following centuries of contention between the Bulgarian, Byzantine and Serbian empires, it gradually came under Ottoman dominion from the 14th century. Between the late 19th and early 20th century, a distinct Macedonian identity emerged, although following the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, the modern territory of Macedonia came under Serbian rule. In the aftermath of the First World War (1914‑1918), it became incorporated into the Serb-dominated Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which after the Second World War was re-established as a republic (1945) and which became the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1963. Macedonia remained a constituent socialist republic within Yugoslavia until its peaceful secession in 1991.

The first Macedonian stamps were issued on 28 October 1944 on behalf of the German occupation of the territory. After the war, Macedonia used the stamps from Yugoslavia. Since the end of 1992 the republic issues its own stamps with the country name Macedonia.

During the Briefmarken-Messe in Essen in May 2017 I left stamped envelopes at almost every foreign postal administration hoping they would send them back when they arrived home. The stamp is one of two stamps issued on 24 March 2004 featuring carpets. According to the catalogue, this design is called Sofra. The stamp was postmarked with the datestamp of Skopje, the capital of Macedonia.

This and other stamps can be found on the website of Macedonia Post: posta.com.mk/postage-stamps.

Date sent: 12 May 2017

Date postmark: 18 May 2017

Date received: 23 May 2017

Number of days: 11

Envelope in collection: 105

Mount Athos

The world is full of countries, territories, colonies and other entities. Sometimes there is one that is not only unique, but has survived throughout the centuries, like the autonomous theocratic state of Mount Athos (Agion Oros). The state lies on a Greek peninsula, but is formally no part of the Greek state.

Mount Athos has been inhabited since ancient times and is known for its nearly 1800-year continuous Christian presence and its long historical monastic traditions, which date back to at least 800 A.D. and the Byzantine era. Today, over 2.000 monks from Greece and many other countries, including Eastern Orthodox countries such as Romania, Moldova, Georgia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Russia, live an ascetic life in Athos, isolated from the rest of the world. The Athonite monasteries feature a rich collection of well-preserved artifacts, rare books, ancient documents, and artworks of immense historical value, and Mount Athos has been listed as a World Heritage site since 1988.

Although Mount Athos is technically part of the European Union like the rest of Greece, the status of the Monastic State of the Holy Mountain, and the jurisdiction of the Athonite institutions, were expressly described and ratified upon admission of Greece to the European Community (precursor to the EU). The free movement of people and goods in its territory is prohibited, unless formal permission is granted by the Monastic State's authorities, and only males are allowed to enter.

The first stamps for Mount Athos were issued by Russia in 1910. The Russians operated a post office in the capital Karyes since the late 19th century. During the First World War both the Allies and the Greek government prepared stamp issues, but they were never put into circulation. In 2008 the Greek Post (ELTA) started issuing special Mount Athos stamps with mainly religious motives. Each year a theme is chosen and four series of stamps are issued within that theme. These stamps are only valid for use at the post offices in Karyes and Dafni.

I sent a letter with an envelope and an International Reply Coupon to the Karyes post office and just over a month later I received my envelope back with a nice stamp and postmark on it. Inside the envelope was my IRC with a note by the post office worker telling me that the stamp costs 90 eurocents. Apparently Mount Athos is not completely part of the UPU. Not much later I sent back a letter with a 1 euro coin. I guess it arrived because I have not heard from the post office since.

The stamp was issued on 10 November 2016 as part of a series of five stamps depicting marble sculptures in various monasteries. This sculpture is from Esfigmenou.

Date sent: 17 April 2017

Date postmark: 17 May 2017

Date received: 23 May 2017

Number of days: 36

Envelope in collection: 104

United States of America - Massachusetts

In my World envelope collection I do not just want to have envelopes from stamp-issuing countries and territories, but also from other regions. This includes the 50 states of the United States of America. This envelope comes from the state of Massachusetts, lying in the New England region of the United States. It was the 6th state, admitted in 1788.

The stamps were affixed by me and come from the Flags of our nations and Greetings series, a stamp commemorating the 200th anniversary of statehood and the Iowa stamp from the 1981 State Bird & Flower series. I sent the envelope to the post office in the capital Boston to be postmarked. The envelope arrived back with three nice postmarks from USPS Milk Street Station, the main post office in Boston. The post office returned the envelope inside another cover, thus protecting it from getting a machine cancellation.

Date sent: 5 May 2017

Date postmark: 15 May 2017

Date received: 23 May 2017

Number of days: 18

Envelope in collection: 103

United States of America - Minnesota

In my World envelope collection I do not just want to have envelopes from stamp-issuing countries and territories, but also from other regions. This includes the 50 states of the United States of America. This envelope comes from the state of Minnesota, lying in the Upper Midwest and Northern regions of the United States. It was the 32nd state, admitted in 1858.

The stamps were affixed by me and come from the Flags of our nations and Greetings series and a stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of statehood. I sent the envelope to the post office in the capital Saint Paul to be postmarked. The envelope arrived back with three nice postmarks from USPS Main Office Windows St. Paul. At the top of the envelope unfortunately there is again a machine cancellation.

Date sent: 2 May 2017

Date postmark: 16 May 2017

Date received: 23 May 2017

Number of days: 21

Envelope in collection: 102

United States of America - Iowa

In my World envelope collection I do not just want to have envelopes from stamp-issuing countries and territories, but also from other regions. This includes the 50 states of the United States of America. This envelope comes from the state of Iowa, lying in the Midwestern region of the United States. It was the 29th state, admitted in 1846.

The stamps were affixed by me and come from the Flags of our nations and Greetings series, a stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of statehood and the Iowa stamp from the 1981 State Bird & Flower series. I sent the envelope to the post office in the capital Des Moines to be postmarked. The envelope arrived back with three nice postmarks from USPS Des Moines main post office. At the top of the envelope there is a part of a machine cancellation, but fortunately the wavy lines did not come through.

Date sent: 26 April 2017

Date postmark: 15 May 2017

Date received: 23 May 2017

Number of days: 27

Envelope in collection: 101

Netherlands - Lichtenvoorde - Achterhoek 2017 - 19-21 May 2017

During the weekend of 19 to 21 May 2017 a stamp show was held in the town of Lichtenvoorde to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Postzegelvereniging De Achterhoek (Stamp association De Achterhoek). I went there to buy stamps from the dealers that were present and to buy some German stamps directly from Deutsche Post that had a small stamp selling point there.

The show was held in the Hamaland sports, meeting, and recration facility. During the show a special postmark was used. I wanted to send myself an envelope with the special cancellation and the special personal stamp. The only problem was that all mail in the Netherlands is cancelled in large sorting machines. It is not possible to skip the wavy lines unless you are in the system. After long thinking I came up with the solution: a protective sleeve made out of a windowed envelope. The stamp remains visible and can be 'read' by the sorting machine while the wavy lines end up on the window and the envelope gets the machine code at the bottom, proof of really being in the post.

I had to wait a whole day to see if my trick worked and it did. From now on I could send envelopes with Dutch postmarks without any chance of stamp and postmark being destroyed by the postal process.

Date sent: 22 May 2017

Date postmark: 19 May 2017

Date received: 23 May 2017

Number of days: 1

Envelope in collection: 100

Germany - München - Philatelie-Shop

Deutsche Post has established special philately windows in 26 major post offices throughout the country. Each uses a datestamp with the letters 'ps' in it to distinguish it from normal datestamps. The letters ps stand for Philatelie-Shop. There was already one Philatelie-Shop with a different postmark, Erfurt with the letters 'dx'. A second one has turned up from München (Munich), with the single letter 'o'. There was no explanation given.

The Philatelie-Shop in München can be found in the Postbank building in the Alter Hof. This is the former city palace of the Bavarian dukes and kings dating back to the 12th century. There is an entrance from the Sparkassenstrasse. The address for postmark requests is: Alter Hof 6-7, 80331 München, Germany. Opening hours: Mo-Fr 9.00-18.30 h., Sat 9.30-12.30 h.

For the envelope I used the new definitive 90 cent stamp from the flower series, issued on 11 May 2017 that I bought at the Philatelie-Shop in Essen on the first day of issue. The priority label was added to the envelope by the German post.

Date sent: 11 May 2017

Date postmark: 13 May 2017

Date received: 23 May 2017

Number of days: 12

Envelope in collection: 99

France - Martinique

France has a number of overseas territories, that they call DOM-TOM. It stand for overseas Departments and Territories. One of these overseas departments is the island of Martinique in the Caribbean. Martinique is an insular region of France located in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of 1.128 km² and a population of 380.877 inhabitants (2015). Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. One of the Windward Islands, it is directly north of Saint Lucia, southeast of Greater Antilles, northwest of Barbados, and south of Dominica.

As with the other overseas departments, Martinique is one of the eighteen regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the French Republic. As part of France, Martinique is part of the European Union, and its currency is the euro. The official language is French, and virtually the entire population also speaks Antillean Creole (Créole Martiniquais).

The island was occupied first by Arawaks, then by Caribs. The Carib people had migrated from the mainland to the islands about 1201. Martinique was charted by Columbus in 1493. On 15 September 1635, Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc landed in the harbor of St. Pierre with 150 French settlers and claimed Martinique for the French King Louis XIII and established the first European settlement at Fort Saint-Pierre.

For the envelope I used stamps from the booklet issued on 28 November 2011 for the Year of the Overseas Territories (Année de l'Outre Mer). The stamps were for the national tariff so I bought two booklets and put two identical stamps on the envelope. The stamps were cancelled at the Liberté post office in the capital Fort-de-France.

Date sent: 20 April 2017

Date postmark: 16 May 2017

Date received: 23 May 2017

Number of days: 33

Envelope in collection: 98

Cyprus

Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean.

The earliest known human activity on the island dates to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains from this period include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia. Cyprus was settled by Mycenaean Greeks in the 2nd millennium BC. As a strategic location in the Middle East, it was subsequently occupied by several major powers, including the empires of the Assyrians, Egyptians and Persians, from whom the island was seized in 333 BC by Alexander the Great. Subsequent rule by Ptolemaic Egypt, the Classical and Eastern Roman Empire, Arab caliphates for a short period, the French Lusignan dynasty and the Venetians, was followed by over three centuries of Ottoman rule between 1571 and 1878 (de jure until 1914).

Cyprus was placed under British administration based on the Cyprus Convention in 1878 and was formally annexed by Britain in 1914. Cyprus was granted independence in 1960. In 1963, the 11-year intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots started. On 15 July 1974, a coup d'état was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists and elements of the Greek military junta. This action precipitated the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on 20 July, which led to the capture of the present-day territory of Northern Cyprus in the following month, after a ceasefire collapsed, and the displacement of over 150.000 Greek Cypriots and 50.000 Turkish Cypriots. A separate Turkish Cypriot state in the north was established by unilateral declaration in 1983.

The British administration of Cyprus began on 11 July 1878 and initially British stamps were used which may be identified by the numbered cancels used. The first postage stamps marked Cyprus were British stamps overprinted CYPRUS from 1880. The first postage stamps produced specifically for use in Cyprus, rather than being overprinted British stamps, were issued on 1 July 1881.

During the Briefmarken-Messe in Essen in May 2017 I left stamped envelopes at almost every foreign postal administration hoping they would send them back when they arrived home. The stamp is issued for the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development on 4 May 2017. A refugee stamp has to be put on every piece of mail that is sent from Cyprus to another country. The proceeds go to the Refugee Fund to help the (Greek) Cypriots that were displaced as a result from the Turkish invasion. The stamps were postmarked with a normal datestamp from the capital Nicosia. The priority label was added by Cyprus Post.

This and other stamps can be found on the philatelic website of Cyprus Post: cypruspost.post/shop.

Date sent: 11 May 2017

Date postmark: 15 May 2017

Date received: 23 May 2017

Number of days: 12

Envelope in collection: 97

United Nations Vienna

The idea of the United Nations issuing its own stamps was first proposed by Argentina in 1947. An agreement with the United States postal authorities was reached in 1951 and it stipulated that the stamps be denominated in United States currency, and used only at UN Headquarters. The first United Nations stamps were issued in U.S. dollar denominations on United Nations Day, 24 October, in 1951. The stamps were an immediate success and sold out within days. Similar postal agreements were reached with the Swiss and Austrian postal authorities. On 11 December 1968 , an agreement between the United Nations and the Swiss Postal Telephone and Telegraph Enterprise enabled the Geneva office of UNPA to issue the first UN stamps in Swiss francs on 4 October 1969. A similar agreement with the Austrian government on 28 June 1979 enabled the Vienna office of UNPA to issue the first UN stamps in Austrian schillings on 24 August 1979.

UNPA attends a number of stamp shows during the year. In earlier years, especially in the 1980s and 1990s there were a lot more attendances and the blue, white and green exhibition card were popular collection objects. Essen is still one of the shows where UNPA is present every year. During the Briefmarken-Messe in Essen in May 2017 I left stamped envelopes at almost every foreign postal administration hoping they would send them back when they arrived home. For UN Vienna I bought the definitive stamps issued on 7 May 2015, the theme is 'The UN Community' and it shows Human Rights. Since I left it at a stamp show the envelope automatically got the exhibition cachet. In Vienna a priority label was added.

Recent stamps of UNPA can be bought through the UN stamps website: unstamps.org.

Date sent: 11 May 2017

Date postmark: 18 May 2017

Date received: 23 May 2017

Number of days: 12

Envelope in collection: 96

Norway - Svalbard - Barentsburg

With postmark and cover collectors the polar regions have always been very popular. A collection is not complete without mail from bases in Antarctica. On the other side of the world post offices above the Arctic Circle exist in Norway, Greenland, Finland, Alaska, Canada and Russia.

In Norway there are post offices above the Arctic Circle on the mainland. Also the island of Jan Mayen has a post office. The region of Svalbard has four post offices on the largest island Spitsbergen and two on the islands of Hopen and Bear Island (Bjørnøya).

Barentsburg is named after Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz, who (re)discovered Svalbard in 1596. The Russian state owned Trust Arktikugol has been mining coal here since 1932, and during the Cold War Barentsburg was a veritable hotbed of activity as the Russians attempted to expand their zone of control over the islands. After Pyramiden was closed in 1998, Barentsburg has been the only Russian settlement still operating, with 471 inhabitants (2015) and some 100.000 tons of coal exported yearly. The mine closed in 2006 due to concerns over an underground fire breaking out, but resumed production in late 2010.

The population of the settlement has been steadily decreasing in the recent years. Many buildings are not inhabited, and some are left to decay. Combined with a truly stunning setting for the town when the weather is clear enough to see across the Isfjord, and the black smoke from by the old coal power plant, the visit will leave a strong impression on the few who come here.

The postmark shows a Svalbard grouse and the geographic coordinates of the town. It has been in use for many years. As stamps I bought the most recent Norwegian Svalbard stamps from 1996. Although the postal rate for an international letter is only NOK 17, I used the complete series because they look very nice on the envelope. The big surprise was the card inside the envelope. In every cover I put a blank card to make sure the envelope goes through the postal system without damages. The surprise was that the post office clerk in Barentsburg put ten cachets on the card. What a service.

Date sent: 28 April 2017

Date postmark: 12 May 2017

Date received: 23 May 2017

Number of days: 25

Envelope in collection: 95

United States of America - Washington

In my World envelope collection I do not just want to have envelopes from stamp-issuing countries and territories, but also from other regions. This includes the 50 states of the United States of America. This envelope comes from the state of Washington, lying in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It was the 42nd state, admitted in 1889.

The stamps were affixed by me and come from the Flags of our nations and Greetings series, a stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of statehood and the Washington stamp from the 1981 State Bird & Flower series. I sent the envelope to the post office in the capital Olympia to be postmarked. The envelope arrived back with three nice postmarks from USPS Olympia main post office.

Date sent: 5 May 2017

Date postmark: 17 May 2017

Date received: 23 May 2017

Number of days: 18

Envelope in collection: 94

United States of America - Florida - Orlando - Kennedy Space Center

A part of my World envelope collection consists of special post offices. One of the post offices I considered special is Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States. The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is one of ten National Aeronautics and Space Administration field centers. Since December 1968, Kennedy Space Center has been NASA's primary launch center of human spaceflight. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources, and even own facilities on each other's property.

Located on Merritt Island, Florida, the center is north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida's Space Coast, due east of Orlando. It is 55 km long and roughly 9,7 km wide, covering 570 km².

KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and is approximately one hour's drive from the Orlando area. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers public tours of the center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

On the envelope I put the US stamp issued on 20 July 1989 commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Moon landing. The envelope was sent back in a protective cover. A good service of the KSC post office.

Website of the Kennedy Space Center: kennedyspacecenter.com.

Date sent: 3 May 2017

Date postmark: 15 May 2017

Date received: 23 May 2017

Number of days: 20

Envelope in collection: 93

United States of America - Michigan

In my World envelope collection I do not just want to have envelopes from stamp-issuing countries and territories, but also from other regions. This includes the 50 states of the United States of America. This envelope comes from the state of Michigan, lying in the Great Lakes and Midwestern regions of the United States. It was the 26th state, admitted in 1837.

The stamps were affixed by me and come from the Flags of our nations and Greetings series, a stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of statehood and the Michigan stamp from the 1981 State Bird & Flower series. I sent the envelope to the post office in the capital Lansing to be postmarked. The envelope arrived back with three nice postmarks from USPS Lansing post office. Unfortunately there was also a machine cancellation at the top of the envelope.

Date sent: 4 May 2017

Date postmark: 15 May 2017

Date received: 20 May 2017

Number of days: 16

Envelope in collection: 92

Germany - Nürnberg - Philatelie-Shop

Deutsche Post has established special philately windows in 26 major post offices throughout the country. Each uses a datestamp with the letters 'ps' in it to distinguish it from normal datestamps. The letters ps stand for Philatelie-Shop.

The Philatelie-Shop in Nürnberg can normally be found in the post office building next to the central station. The old post office has been demolished in November 2017 and will be replaced by a new building complex with a hotel, offices and shops. The post office will return there in 2020. In the meantime it is housed in a spacious container next to the location of the former post office (Ausweiche Container). The address for postmark requests is: Bahnhofplatz 3, 90443 Nürnberg, Germany. Opening hours: Mo-Fr 8.30-19.00 h., Sat 9.00-14.00 h.

For the envelope I used the new definitive 90 cent stamp from the flower series, issued on 11 May 2017 that I bought at the Philatelie-Shop in Essen on the first day of issue. The priority label was added to the envelope by the German post.

Date sent: 11 May 2017

Date postmark: 18 May 2017

Date received: 20 May 2017

Number of days: 9

Envelope in collection: 91