In the Mailbag, February 2019

In January I’ve introduced a new concept to the blog, namely the Stamp of the Day category. In many cases the stamps featured have been re-hashes of previous posts, which I do realize. However, there are exciting things in the works requiring a bit more attention than keeping up with the regular blog posts. As disappointing as this might seem I do believe it will be a great benefit for the blog as a whole if focus is put on that rather than blog posts. I also do believe the Stamp of the Day posts will play another purpose moving forward with the project.

Sn# ET 1319

Sn# ET 1271

ET C88

Sn# US 1031a

Featured Stamps – January 2019

Thank you for reading

Stamp of the Day – Sc# ET 1319: Lacepede (Adioryx Diadema)

Sn# ET 1319

Sn# ET 1319

In 1991 Ethiopia issued a series of stamps commemorating marine fish. The first stamp of the issue was the 5c stamp of the Lacepede (Adioryx Diadema) (Sn# ET 1319). The fish is very common in the Indo-Pacific seas and is commemorated on stamps around the world, Suriname, Grenada, and the Pitcairn Islands among others.

Stamp of the Day – Sc# US 1031a: Liberty Definitive Issue – Palace of the Governors, Santa Fe, NM

Sn# ET 1031a

Sn# US 1031a

The 1 1/4c stamp featuring the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, NM was issued on June 17th, 1960, which coincided with the city’s 350th anniversary. The same year the building became a national historic landmark.

The stamp was mostly used by not-for-profit organizations and as the postage rate increased to 5c as of July 1st the same year a block of 4 could also be used for first class mailings.

Please click here to read more about this stamp 

Stamp of the Day – Sc# ET 1273: UNESCO International Literacy Year

Sn# ET 1273

Sn# ET 1273

1990 was the UNESCO World Literacy Year. In Ethiopia, this was commemorated with an issue showing the effects of education. Sn# ET 1273 is the last stamp in the issue showing a man reading a paper superimposed above an image of a well irrigated Ethiopian countryside farm with the joined village. The workers in the field seem to be working at cultivating or harvesting the crops.

Please click here to read more about this issue of stamps. 

Stamp of the Day – Sc# ET C88: Visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ethiopia

Sn# ET C88

Sn# ET C88

In 1965 Queen Elizabeth II made an official visit to Ethiopia. This was a great moment for the Empire, in which Emperor Haile Selassie’s efforts to improve foreign relations became legitimized. The stamp shows the portraits of the both rulers superimposed in front of the flags of the respective countries.

Please click here to read more about this issue of stamps. 

Stamp of the Day – Sc# ET 475: 50th Anniversary of the Addis Ababa – Djibouti Railway

Sn# ET 475

Sn# ET 475

In 1967 Ethiopia celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Addis Ababa – Djibouti Railway. This was commemorated with a series of stamps featuring portraits of Emperor Menelik II and Haile Selassie I. The stamp featured is Sn# ET 475 for the face value of 50c, the last stamp in the issue.

The cancellation mark is from the First Day Cover and reflects the release date of June 7th, 1967.

Please click here to read more about this issue of stamps. 

Stamp of the Day – Sc# ET 212: Palace of Menelik II

Sn# ET 212

Sc# ET 212

Ethiopia’s 1944 commemorative issue celebrates the centennial of the birth of Emperor Menelik II. The 5 cent stamp (ET Sn# 212) shows the imperial palace in Addis Ababa, which was constructed during Menelik II’s reign.

The cancellation mark is from the First Day Cover and reflects Menelik II’s birthday of December 31st.

Stamp of the Day – Sc# ET 817: Warthog

Sn# ET 817

Sc# ET 817

In 1975 Ethiopia released it’s third commemorative series regarding the animals of Ethiopia. The first animal to be featured was the warthog as featured on the 5c stamp.

The cancellation mark is from the First Day Cover and reflects the release date of May 27th, 1975.