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.

Cote D'Ivoire: 1994

Two issues of 1994 picture a woman carrying a basket on her back, and the Basilica of Notre Dame of Peace in Yamoussoukro, the (political) capital city of Ivory Coast.

The latter is a souvenir sheet postally used with a circular date stamp of Abidjan dated Aug. 13, 2000.

Cote D'Ivoire: 1993

The centenary of Ivory Coast as a French colony was commemorated in 1993 with a three-stamp set.

Shown here is the highest value illustrating Ivorians and a Frenchman in a store.

Cote D'Ivoire: 1992

In 1992, Ivory Coast issued a set of four stamps promoting its tourist attractions. The high value of this set (200fr), depicting a map of tourist sites, is shown above.

The "Monuments Funeraires" stamp shows a grave site monument.

Cote D'Ivoire: 1986

President Felix Houphouet-Boigny

A freshwater fish native to Ivory Coast and other parts of Africa

Cote D'Ivoire is French for Ivory Coast.

Yes, this country in the west coast of Africa is a former French colony.

It's a little larger than the land area of the Philippines but its population is much less -- about one-fifth.

The first stamp issue came out in 1892. In 1945, however, it began using the stamps of French West Africa after becoming a part of this federation. As a republic, it started issuing its own stamps in 1959, although it became a republic in 1958 and gained full independence from France later in 1960.

Felix Houphouet-Boigny (1908-1993) was the first president of Ivory Coast from 1960 to 1993.