Ceylon coconuts

These are king coconuts, native to Ceylon.

Ceylon Adam's Peak

Adam's Peak in Ceylon is a conical mountain...but not as "perfect cone" as Mount Mayon!

Ceylon King George VI

Now it's King George VI who's featured on this Ceylon stamp...and a rubber plantation worker tapping a tree.

Ceylon King George V

In 1935 Ceylon still was a British colony.

That's why this stamp shows King George V and Windsor Castle.

Ceylon King Edward VII

Ceylon issued stamps from 1857 to 1972, the year when this island nation changed its name to Sri Lanka.

Yep, the change in name makes Ceylon a "dead country" in philatelic lingo.

The stamp above pictures King Edward VII of the United Kingdom.

An Introduction to Revenue Stamps

A good introduction to US revenue stamps is Bill J. Castenholz's book.

Easy to use and illustrated throughout!

stumper 1

This stamp had me stumped for a while as to its issuing country.

The clue was "millionen" and the German surcharge, on closer examination, almost covers "Danzig" -- you could barely make it out.

The Free City of Danzig came into existence after the end of World War I in northern Europe. It later became part of Poland.

Guinea Ecuatorial: 1986

Mexico hosted the 1986 World Cup championships in football.

The No. 9 player seems to be neckless!

This Christmas stamp pictures musical instruments.

Guinea Ecuatorial: 1984

These are wood carvings of figurines.

The papaya tree looks different  from any found in the Philippines...maybe a different variety?

These are scenes of whale hunting and turtle hunting.

The whale looks small!

Guinea Ecuatorial: 1983

For World Communications Year in 1983, Equatorial Guinea issued a two-stamp set, one of which shows a postal runner in a village.

Can't say for sure if this was a current scene at the time. Perhaps of the past?

The runner's body position, with respect to the arms and legs, looks awkward!

Guinea Ecuatorial: 1982

This is the top value in a set of four stamps issued for the 1982 World Cup championships in football that was held in Spain.

Now, what's that palm tree doing in the soccer field?

Guinea Ecuatorial: 1980

Although dated 1980, these stamps were actually issued in 1981.

Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial is Spanish for the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, which was formed in 1968.

Located on the western shore of central Africa, this small country is around one-fourth the size of Luzon, with just over a million inhabitants!

The Christmas stamp above depicts a youth and twin bells.

NZ 1898 parrots

Hawk-billed parrots are pictured on the one-shilling value of the 1898 pictorial issue.

NZ 1898 Otira Gorge & Mount Ruapehu

There are two names in this 5d value of the 1898 pictorial set: Otira Gorge and Ruapehu, a mountain.

NZ 1898 huia

A pair of huia rests on a branch in the 3d value of the 1898 pictorial set.

The female of this species has a longer beak than that of the male.

Sadly, this bird is extinct.

NZ 1898 Lake Wakatipu

It's Lake Wakatipu on the 2 1/2d value of the 1898 pictorial issue.
That's Mount Earnslaw in the background.

Interestingly, the lake is misspelled as Wakitipu on the first issuance of this stamp. The correct spelling was printed afterwards.

NZ 1898 Lake Taupo

Lake Taupo is pictured on the bicolored 1d pictorial issue of 1898.

NZ 1898 Mount Cook

The lowest value of a pictorial set issued by New Zealand in 1898 pictures Mount Cook.

NZ half penny

Yep, it's also Queen Victoria who's portrayed on this New Zealand issue of 1895.

NZ 1 shilling

And the one-shilling value of the 1882 issue.

NZ 4d blue green

This is the 4d stamp of the 1882 issue.

NZ twopence

There are different perforation measurements in the twopence issue of 1882.

NZ penny rose

A penny rose issued by New Zealand in 1882 features a profile of Queen Victoria.

This was used for both postage and revenue.

EFO: Papua New Guinea surcharge

A

B

C

D

All four Papua New Guinea stamps above have an EFO each in the surcharge.

A = Only the "2" is printed

B = Dot below the tail and malformed 2

C = Only one bar is printed instead of two obliterating bars

D = Dot on left of tail and malformed lower bar

These were surcharged in 1989.

Base stamp was issued in 1987.

Cote D'Ivoire: 1997

What's this?

A stone head.

From Gohitafla, a town in central Ivory Coast.

Cote D'Ivoire: 1996

Hey, there's a man (or is it a woman?) trying to get into (or out of?) the bus through a window!

I suppose the scene tries to make light of Abidjan's rush hour traffic.

Abidjan is the largest city and the economic capital of Ivory Coast.

The 1996 Summer Olympic Games held at Atlanta in the US was promoted on Ivorian stamps with a set of four: boxing is illustrated on the lowest value.

Is it true that boxers will no longer wear protective headgear during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro scheduled for August 5-21?

Cote D'Ivoire: 1995

A ball python slithered its way to, and mushrooms sprouted on, stamps issued in 1995.

The ball python, so-called because it curls into a ball when distressed, is also known as royal python, so-called because African royalty wore them as "jewelry". Yep, this snake is nonvenomous. 

The mushroom stamps were issued se-tenant in blocks of four. Not shown above is the 30fr value.