Month: August 2019

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Ceylon 1938. there is room in a great Empire for Westminister Abbey and a Temple of the Tooth

I can imagine a young British stamp collector in 1938, for example my father, staring incredulously at this stamp. The King showing a peak at a colony on the other side of the globe where instead of Anglican Cathedrals there are palaces containing something as foreign as a Temple of the Tooth. Must have made him excited to serve the Empire and see the world. My fathers Empire service never got to Ceylon but he made it as far as Egypt, India, Iraq, and Burma. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

I have a great deal of love for this style of stamp. A standard design, printed in England, with a room for an individual colony name. Then the window into the exotic colony. Maybe a bridge the British built, or the industry the colony takes part in, or even just a tourist style picture of an exotic landscape. Then there is this one. Buddhists believed that Buddha’s tooth relic conferred with it the right to rule. The Kandy Palace complex that housed the Tooth now also held the British Colonial Governor. Amazing!

Todays stamp is issue A54, a 25 Cent stamp issued by the Crown Colony of Ceylon in 1938. These stamps replaced an earlier issue with King George V. This design never made it Queen Elizabeth II as it did with other colonies as Ceylon got independence before then. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 30 cents used. Some experts believe George VI issues are a good place to be for the Empire collector as prices are still so reasonable. The same stamp from 1935 with George V is worth 5 times as much.

Buddha died in modern day India in 543 BC. He was cremated. A Tooth that survived the cremation was then presented to the local King for safekeeping. The King started the tradition of building a temple on the grounds of the palace to preserve it. Over a long period of time possession of the Tooth came to be seen as conferring the right to Rule. Around 300 AD the tooth was smuggled to the Kingdom of Kandy on the island that later became Ceylon and now is Sri Lanka. The practice of Buddhism was fading in the India of the day.

That does not mean Buddhists did not want to get control of the tooth. The native King of Burma offered a ransom to Portuguese adventures for the tooth. The Kingdom of Kandy then faced many attempts to capture the tooth and it had to be moved several times to retain procession. Portuguese attacks and attempts to conquer were eventually solved by the Kingdom affiliating with the Dutch. See https://the-philatelist.com/2018/02/22/the-british-require-a-duty-so-send-kandy/  .

With the Napoleonic wars in Europe, Dutch interests in Kandy passed to the British in exchange for Britain recognizing the Dutch takeover of Belgium. The British felt they needed to exert more direct control than the Dutch and after a few wars the Kingdom of Kandy became the colony of Ceylon. Surprisingly, the tooth was not shipped off to London to be a curiosity in a museum but stayed in its temple on the palace grounds with the palace now occupied by Sir John D’Oyly, the 1st Baronet of Kandy. You can probably guess that Sir John had somewhat gone native, he spoke Sinhalese and took up with local poet Gajaman Nona. She had come to him to appeal for aid after her husband died leaving her with many children. He granted her a Nindagama, a house and small farm. From then on her love poems were written for him.

Ceylon was granted independence in 1946. Great Britain had fought two World Wars where colonies like Ceylon were no shows, it was time for separation. The time as a British colony left now Sri Lanka with a large non Buddhist practicing Indian minority. So as with Kandy’s time with the Portuguese, the Temple of the Tooth has been attacked repeatedly by local Indians. Wonder if Sri Lanka will consider putting in a call to the Dutch Ambassador?

Well my drink is empty so I will patiently await tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

 

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Belarus 2004, A former Soviet Republic manages to annoy by staying so Soviet

There are many former Soviet republics that are now independent states. Is it really so surprising that one decided to continue as if the Soviets never ended. I don’t think so, but it sure seems to annoy the USA, the EU, and yes even the Russians. How does the old Ricky Nelson song go “You see, ya cannot please everyone, so you gotta learn to please yourself”. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe,take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The Soviet style is alive in Belarus stamps. Both in the extravagance of issues intended for the world wide stamp market and here with the austerity of the stamps intended for local bulk postage. When I was a young stamp collector, my godmother had a friend in Romania and she would generously clip the stamps off the envelopes for me. Instead of the elaborate oversized stamps in the rest of my Romania collection, it was always the same simple, small, single color stamp of a postman. Belarus follows that tradition.

Todays stamp is issue A179, a standard postage rate stamp A issue of Belarus from 2004. It was a 15 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

Belarus broke away from the collapsing Soviet Union in 1991. The Supreme Soviet of Belarus voted almost unanimously to ratify the break. The one hold out was Alexander Lukashenko. He was the former head of a large collective farm and a veteran of the Soviet Army for which he was a political commissar. Lukashenko got appointed to a independent government anti corruption panel. There was of course a lot of corruption in the early days due to chaos. In 1994 the commission put out a report accusing 70 officials including President Stanislav Shushkevich of corruption. Belarus was still trying for modernness so instead of show trials and detention in Siberia there was an election and Lukashenko was the new President.

Lukashenko then set out recreating at least the Belarus  part of the Soviet Union. The old style was bought back, state ownership of industry was reestablished and dissidents were disappeared. This was annoying to the EU which began to label Belarus a dictatorship, Europe’s last. Lukashenko responded by telling the then Foreign Minister of Germany that it is better to be a dictator than to be gay. Well at least German leaders can think of someone more annoying to them than Trump. He also declared the Drazdy complex in Minsk where all the foreign diplomats lived state property and indefinitely closed for renovations. The west responded with travel restrictions on Lukashenko and began funneling money to the opposition figures. I know, you thought only Russia did that.

The Russians themselves tired of Lukashenko. In 1998 the Russian central bank stopped supporting the Belarus Ruble. Russian state media also began airing exposes of opposition figures and business leaders that disappeared under who they deemed the Godfather. Lukashenko called the stories dirty propaganda. No he is not crazy enough to call Putin gay. He did tell his people that a traditionally Jewish city in Belarus was a pigsty and that if Jews had any pride in themselves they would return from Israel and fix it up. There is plenty of word that Israel was offended, but none whether any came back to fix it up.

Like Putin, Lukashenko keeps getting reelected. Sometimes it is enough to annoy the right people. Former President Shushkevich recently filed suit against the Belarus Department of Labor. He complained that his pension as former head of state was inflation battered and equated only $1.80 a month. No word if they upped his pension but Belarus did give him a medal for his service in the independence movement.

Well my drink is empty and I will poor another while thinking of all the world leaders I have made fun of in these articles. I hope Russia is wrong about Lukashenko. It would be ashamed for everyone’s (anyones?) favorite Philatelist just disappeared. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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China 1952, Honoring 25 years of the PLA, but forgetting that honoring should sometimes mean letting the guns fall silent

Imagine a career in the Peoples Liberation Army in 1952. In 25 years, there had never been a full year of peace. Now you were having to market yourself as a volunteer and fighting on foreign soil. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Though poorly printed, these stamps do a good job of showing the Chinese soldier as strong and determined. The Chinese had just sent 600,000 plus volunteer soldiers to fight UN forces in Korea, a fight the North Koreans started with Soviet help. It was up to the Chinese to avert military disaster. The long Civil War had just ended with a decisive victory for the communists. It was time to show off what they could do for the simple citizen they claim to champion. Unless another military struggle could be concocted to take the pressure off.

Todays stamp is issue A28, an 800 Yuan stamp issued by the People’s Republic of China on August 1st, 1952. It was a four stamp issue in all the same inflation battered denomination recognizing the 25th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth $2.50 unused.

The People’s Liberation Army(PLA) was founded in 1927 as the Chinese Workers and Peasants Red Army. In Shanghai there had been a purge of previously allied Communists from the KMT under orders from Chiang Kai-shek. In response army units in Nanchang under communist generals including Chow Enlai rebelled. Most of the KMT Army remained loyal to Chaing and there was a long pursuit of the Red Army. The fact that the Red Army was not caught was in itself a victory and the army became ever more adept at living off the countryside and engaging in guerilla tactics. In 1937, the Red Army officially rejoined the KMT to fight the invaders from Japan. The Red Army however held together in units separated from the KMT.

After World War II the Red Army became officially the PLA. Contact was close with the Soviets and there were large scale transfer of now surplus Soviet weaponry. Notice the artillery pieces on todays stamp are Soviet made 122mm pieces. The PLA did well in the Civil War, winning in 1949. The losses however were over 250,000 dead plus over a million on the KMT side. In a civil war, losses from both sides had to be absorbed.

Though the Chinese had allowed Soviet arms to flow through China to North Korea, when the North invaded the South it was without the Chinese Army. The entirety of the PLA was inside China’s borders. When the tide turned, it seem to surprise the Chinese that the North Koreans would be pursued in defeat into North Korea. The UN forces never crossed the Yalu River forming the border with China even though remnants of the North Korean army did.

China sent at least 600,000 troops into North Korea. Officially they were volunteers. General MacArthur proposed bombing Chinese cities with nuclear bombs to make the Chinese pay the price for getting involved. The USA fired General MacArthur and allowed the fantasy that the Chinese were volunteers to avoid World War III. China was not bombed. After some initial Chinese success using guerilla strategies of which they were expert, the Korean war settled into 2 years of trench warfare  very near the old North Korea-South Korea border. The two sides dispute the numbers of Chinese casualties. The Americans claim 1 million while Chinese admit to one third of that. It may be that the Chinese number is more accurate. American Generals tend to promote high opponent losses to burnish their career and make it seem the war is successful. The Chinese point to the fact that it was a serious crime to misreport information to Chinese leadership. The fact is though that losses were high and the Chinese people had to again put off the bounty the communists had promised them.

Well my drink is empty, and I will pour another for the PLA veteran on todays stamp. The guns finally fell silent in 1953 and I hope he got his fair share of the communist bounty due him. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Spain 1980, boldly reminding who found Buenos Aires, one of the great world cities

Colonialism is now days almost a dirty word. Not to a stamp collector like me, who loves both colonial and post colonial issues in how they show what changed and what remained the same after the status changed. With Empires a thing of the past, you wouldn’t expect them to show much on home countries’ stamps. Britain doesn’t remind that it was them that founded Singapore or Calcutta. Spain in 1980 was more bold. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Given how modern this stamp is and Spain insisted on recognizing the 400th anniversary of Buenos Aires founding, you might expect a modern shot of the skyline. Instead Spain had the guts to go full conquistador and show the always on the lookout for gold guy waving his sword. It makes the point of what a dangerous thing it was to try to bring civilization where there is none. Good for Spain making the case that is too often forgotten today.

Todays stamp is issue A579, a 19 Peseta stamp issued by Spain on October 24th, 1980. It was a single stamp issue. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether used or unused.

1580 is given as the date of the founding of Buenos Aires by the Spanish conquistador Juan  de Garay. There was an earlier Spanish settlement there starting  in 1536. That one was abandoned 8 years later due to persistent indian attacks. The number of Spaniards in the new world was really quite small and so settlements were few and far between. Juan de Garay moved on from Buenos Aires in search of the mythical “city of the ceasers”. While encamped with 40 men, a priest, and a few woman, his force was surrounded and massacred by indians of the Querandi tribe. This time Buenos Aires decided to keep going.

Buenos Aires always made it on trade, often of the elicit veriety. The Spanish Empire had rules that required trade with the colonies to go only between Lima in Peru and the port of Seville in Spain. This was to allow for convoys to ward off pirates. The distances meant trade was slow and very expensive. The port of Buenos Aires reduced the distance a lot and avoided all the taxes and fees of doing things legally. Though the people in Buenos Aires were mostly European the activities gave the city a rebellious nature.

Spanish King Charles III tried to reform the situation. He freed up the previous trade restrictions and set up a new Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. This was based out of Buenos Aires. This did not work out as intended. The British repeatedly raided Buenos Aires. With no Spanish army nearby to defend, locals had to rely on themselves to kick out the British. This mirrors how they were on their own in dealing with indian attacks earlier. Combined with the cosmopolitan international nature of a large port, Buenos Aires became a  hotbed of pro independence from Spain sentiment. With Spain distracted by Napoleon at home, Argentina got independence. The disdain toward Spain was somewhat mutual. Notice when Argentina had further troubles with Britain over the Falkland Islands in the 1980s, Spain was a no show for the former colony.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another as I remember a pleasant trip I had there in 1999. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

 

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Latvia 1919, Ulmanis slays the Russian dragon to take Kurland

Another slaying the beast stamp. This time not Russian see https://the-philatelist.com/2018/11/16/russian-soviet-federative-socialist-republic-1921-triumphant-so-claims-the-stamp/ , in fact Russia is here represented as the dead dragon. At the time Latvians faced many dragons. Russians, Germans, and even Jews. It also had a leader Karlis Ulmanis, who believed Latvia was for Latvians, and only Latvians. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

This stamp is obviously anti Russian. Really though could the image be more Russian. Latvia had been in Russia’s orbit for quite a while and of course neighbors for all time. More assimilation must have occoured than a Latvian nationalist like Ulmanis would like to admit to.

Todays stamp is issue A6, a 10 Kapeikas stamp issued by the newly independent provisional government of Latvia. It was part of a four stamp issue in various denominations celebrating the Latvian government gaining control over the province of Kurland. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 50 cents whether it is mint or used.

Kurland started the 20th century as a Dutchy of Czarist Russia. The area lies on the coast of the Baltic just east of the then furthest eastern city of Germany Memel, see https://the-philatelist.com/2019/06/21/memel-1920-the-french-worry-about-the-germans-and-forget-to-worry-about-the-lithuanians/   . During World War I the Russians were pushed back and the area became German. After Germany lost the war, The intact and indeed victorious German Eastern Army was used to prevent the Soviets from retaking the area. Weimar Germany hoped the Baltics would become vassal states. After the German Army pushed back the Soviets they turned over Kurland to the Latvian government of Karlis Ulmanis.

New German East lands during World War I. Nice Fonts if nothing else

Kurland was about 80 percent Latvian, 8 percent German, 8 percent Jewish, and only 1 percent Russian. Germans were over represented in the cities and the landowning class while Jews were over represented in the professional and artistic classes. Ulmanis sought to replace the Germans and Jews with Latvians not by force but via an education system that heavily favored the after all native Latvians. Independent Latvia was however politically splintered and there were numerous minority governments till Ulmanis again took power in a coup in 1934. He ruled by decree until the Russians pushed him out and imprisoned him in 1940. Ulmanis died of chronic diarrhea while his Soviet guards fled East away from advancing Germans in 1942. He died knowing what the Russian dragon on the stamp must have felt like.

Karlis Ulmanis in 1934. He arrested and jailed the Latvian Nazi party guy so I don’t know what those high pants fellows on the left are up to?

The German dragons were also back in Kurland in World War II. They in fact were especially long lived. The German forces that had been besieging Leningrad faded into Kurland and were cut off in a pocket in 1944. German Generals advised Hitler to evacuate Kurland by sea. Hitler instead had the fantasy that the troops there could lead a new push to Leningrad when the tide turned. Indeed the German force stayed intact and undefeated until the end of the war but unlike World War I was not willing or able to keep the Baltic states from being absorbed by the Soviets. The Soviet dragon was alive in Latvia, even if the German and Jewish ones were dead.

Karlis Ulmanis is well remembered by modern independent Latvia. There are now statues of him and a major highway built by the Soviets was renamed for him. Ulmanis was a homosexual so had no offspring, but a grand nephew of him Guntis Ulmanis served as President of Latvia from 1993-1999.

Well my drink is empty and so I will patiently wait till tomorrow when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Denmark 1920, to the nuetral go the spoils, and this warehouse, unless the King gets greedy

By the 20th Century, if left alone, Scandinavia will tend toward neutrality. Denmark sat out World War I and benefited greatly, if not enough to satisfy King Christian X. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Todays stamp shows a newly acquired castle in the area of Northern Schleswig that was retaken from a defeated Germany. The Danes have since sensibly renamed the area South Jutland. It being hard to argue Jutland isn’t naturally Danish. Sonderborg Castle was actually built by Danish 12th century King Valdemar I, so does a great job of signifying Danish claims to the area are long term and have legitimacy. Sonderborg Castle wasn’t the prize  that it may appear on the stamp. The previous owner, a Schleswig Duke, had been renting the castle out as a warehouse.

Todays stamp is issue A21, a 20 Ore stamp issued by the Kingdom of Denmark on October 5th, 1920. It was a three stamp issue in various denominations celebrating the return after 50 years of Northern Schleswig to Denmark. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 50 cents used.

Denmark got many benefits from staying out of World War I. Wartime Germany was short of everything Denmark had to export and paid dearly for it. Denmark was able to sell money pit colonies in the Virgin Islands to the USA for still more money. See https://the-philatelist.com/2019/05/01/danish-west-indies-1900-triangular-trade-becomes-triangular-bidding/  . After the War, there was even a vote in Schleswig as to whether the area wanted to be Danish or German. The Northern area voted 3 to 1 to return to Denmark. The southern part, despite relative German poverty, voted to stay German. This outraged King Christian X, who thought the whole of Schleswig should be Danish whatever the voting. If you are guessing that the Danish Royal family probably  could trace it’s heritage to areas still part of Germany, you would be correct. In any case, the elected government did not appreciate the interference of the King, and there was a constitutional crisis over Easter in 1920. The King eventually backed down and stayed on the Throne in return for staying out of politics. See https://the-philatelist.com/2018/09/05/iceland-honors-king-christian-one-last-time-before-the-union-with-denmark-ends/ .

Sonderborg Castle was built first as a fortified tower in the 12th Century by Danish King Valdemar I. It was built on a then separate(now connected) small island off the bigger island of Als on the Baltic Sea side of Jutland. The fort was built to defend Germanic settlements from attacks of the Wends people. The Wends people were Slavic people who had ended up on what Middle Age Germans would consider the wrong side (western) of the Oder River. Over the long term the Wend Slavs integrated with the Germans and lost their separate identity. While there are really no more Wend people, the term has survived in some Baltic languages as a sneer aimed at Russia. The castle over many years gradually was rebuilt into a castle. It’s most interesting claim to fame was when deposed Danish King Christian III was held there against his will for 17 years starting in 1532. A legend grew up that he paced around a round table so much that his thumb wore a groove in it. The castle passed through many hands and the last Duke who owned it was happy to sell out to the government of Denmark in 1920. The Duke was not living in it but renting it out to serve as a warehouse. The castle currently contains a museum which is the main place for the artefacts of the former  Dutchy of Schleswig. Hmmm….

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast all those who remember to stay on the right side of the Oder. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Canada 1927, remembering John A Macdonald for turning a confederation into a country

Turning a sparsely populated, spread out colony into something prosperous was itself a big challenge. With the British fading and the areas southern neighbor and French minority on the rise, a Canadian politicion John A Macdonald came forward with a plan to make a coherent country. Not everyone agreed with everything he did, but by the end od a long career, most appreciated the effort. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelists.

Well you have to admit that this stamp resembles a same time period American founding father stamps. Describing Macdonald that way might inspire queasiness in Canada. He has a few statues and a John A Macdonald day, but it is not even a holiday. Some of it is partisanship, he was right and if you are left? or French( I think I am supposed to say Francophone?) Or maybe it was the still strong then affiliation with Britain, making local leaders seem less powerful. In any case, this stamp may look the same, but what it conveys is different.

Todays stamp is issue A45, a one cent stamp issued by the Dominion of Canada on June 29th, 1927. The stamp shows former Prime Minister John A Macdonald and was part of a 5 stamp issue celebrating 60 years sine the Canadian British colonies confederated as the Dominion of Canada. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.30 used.

John A Macdonald, there was a rival unrelated politician named John S. Macdonald, was born in Scotland to an unsuccessful shopkeeper. When still a child, the family moved to Kingston, Upper Canada where he was still an unsuccessful shopkeeper. Macdonald knew he didn’t want to go into trade so became a lawyer. At the time there were no law schools, instead you started with a test of general knowledge, then apprenticed with a lawyer and then took a second test of legal knowledge. If all went well, you were then called to the bar. All went well for Macdonald. his apprenticeship was with an up and coming young lawyer who died near the end of Macdonald’s studies, leaving him an established practice in Kingston, then the capital of upper Canada. One of his early clients was a 16 year old newlywed Irish immigrant that came to him seeking legal advise on a store she wanted to buy. She became rich and was a lifelong supporter and some say lover of Macdonald. Established, Macdonald went on a long English tour, coming back to Canada with a distant cousin Isabel as his bride. She was sickly and melancholy and she moved to Savannah, Georgia in the USA in the hope that would improve her condition. Macdonald visited her there and she had two children, but in this period Macdonald began drinking heavily. Isabel died in 1857. His surviving son was raised by an aunt.

Great Britain was paying a lot for the colonies in Canada. As such they were anxious to turn over the burden to Canadians. At the time Canada was just Upper Canada which is now Ontario, and Lower Canada, French Quebec. The Maritimes were separate colonies and the west an open frontier. Not a particularly promising country. Economic growth was quite slow and there was a serious net migration to the faster growing USA. Macdonald foresaw one country incorporating the Maritimes and with the west settled by Anglo Canadians. To unite the place he saw and supported a continent wide Canadian Pacific Railroad. The case for the railroad was not economic, it had to be greatly subsidized, and still required dealing with money borrowed from crooked interests. Several times, nineteenth century Canadian governments including Macdonald’s fell due to railroad corruption.  In Manitoba there were rivalries between English and French settlers, see https://the-philatelist.com/2018/08/15/canada-1955-cellebrating-50-years-of-alberta-being-a-province/   . In British Columbia there was resistance to large numbers of Chinese railroad workers brought in that worked at half pay. Macdonald sided forcefully with the English Settlers meaning the west would be English. He also initiated a Chinese “Head tax” that charged $50 per Chinese they let into Canada. This was necessary Macdonald said otherwise the Aryian nature of British America would be compromised. It sounds harsh and ended in 1923 when Chinese immigration to Canada was banned completely. When trying to build a country where there isn’t one, diversity is not a strength. Many apologies no doubt from current Canadian leadership. Macdonald also supported high tariffs in the hope that Canadian manufacturers could survive American competition.

Macdonald lived long enough and returned to power enough times to see his prized Canadian Pacific Railroad completed. It did what he hoped and united the countries’ economy. He was in fact reelected the same year he died of a stoke.

1891 Macdonald campaign poster from his last campaign. Perhaps Biden will copy this pose next year?

Well my drink is empty and one perhaps shouldn’t toast a fellow with a drinking problem. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting

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Australia 1974, noticing the wombat is no longer so common anymore

A rare animal story, so me making fun of Australian politicians circa 1974 or eyeing impressed Australian technical advancements will have to wait for another stamp. Today we take on the story of the Australian wombat. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

In June I was lucky enough to go on a short trip to Sydney, Australia. I took a day trip to the Blue Mountains and the tour stopped at a nature park named Featherdale where they had the many of the unique animals of Australia. I was expecting kangaroos and koalas, which they had, though the koalas were kept well back. While there a very friendly wombat came up to me and it turned into a trip highlight making friends with him. Once home seeing I own an Australian stamp featuring a wombat, it turned into just the excuse I needed to learn more about them. I also was quite moved by the ANZAC memorial in Sydney, so if I find a stamp of that, I will shortly after be bringing my readers that story. I have already covered the New Zealand ANZAC memorial here, https://the-philatelist.com/2018/02/16/new-zealand-expands-a-war-memorial/  . The Australian one is better.

Todays stamp is issue A224, a 20 cent stamp issued by Australia in 1974. The wombat got only the single issue that year. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

Wombats are one meter long marsupials native only to Australia that weigh about 40 pounds. They live in boroughs they dig and tend to live in more arid regions. Their chief predators are dingoes and Tasmanian devils. They are thought to be unlucky animals. Aborigine legend is that wombats descend from a man named Warren who had his head bashed in, his tail cut off and banished for being selfish. This would explain their fat torso and boroughing ways. British settlers to Australia were not themselves glad to see the wombat. In 1905 the government declared them varmints to be killed. Their boroughs were not welcome on farm or grazing land.

This has slowly changed as numbers of wombats decreased. There is a Wombat National Forest near Melbourne that no longer contains any wombats. By 1970, Australia declared the wombat protected and all of the regions except Victoria followed suit.

The 2000 Sydney Olympics became part of the wombats comeback. In the runup to the games, an ad agency had designed three animals to be the official mascots of the game. A kookaburra named Syd (for Sydney) a platypus named Olly(for Olympics), and an anteater named Millie (for the Millennium). Some felt these were too contrived, politically correct, and commercial. A radio DJ then designed an alternate unofficial mascot.”Fatso, the Fat Arsed Wombat”. Two statues of him were created and Fatso proved more popular. One of the statues of Fatso was auctioned off for charity and the other was mounted in the Olympic Village in honor of the workers that built it. This statue was stolen in 2011 but the rich guy who won the auction still has his. Such is the world today.

Fatso at Olympic Park before he was stolen

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to throw it on the fool who stole Fatso. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Bulgaria 1913, that brief moment when the Balkan Wars looked good for Bulgaria

Even an overprint of an older stamp issue can take a little time. This overprint was issued to celebrate the lands gained in the (not well named) First Balkan War of 1912. By the time the stamp was in the post offices, Bulgaria had started a 2nd Balkan War to take more of Mecedonia, but ended losing more than it ever gained. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Todays stamp shows the traditional old capital of Bulgaria, Tarnovo (now called Great Tarnovo). This ties the gains achieved in the First Balkan War of Slavs and Greeks against the Ottoman Empire back to the no doubt glorious exploits of the 14th Century Bulgarian Empire. The Greek and Serb allies had not divvied up Macedonia  as previously agreed on so Bulgaria’s German King Ferdinand ordered a surprise attack on both Serbia and Greece with the goal of Thessalonica, the now second largest city in Greece. This happened suddenly while the postal service was just getting to talking up the last war.

Todays stamp is issue A22, a 3 Stotinki stamp issued by the Kingdom of Bulgaria on August 6th, 1913. It was a seven stamp issues of overprints on an earlier issue. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $2 unused. This is 5 times the value of the original version of the stamp, as the overprint did not have much of a shelf life.

A federation of Slavs and Greeks with the backing of Russia met with great success against the Ottoman Empire in the First Balkan War. The Ottoman offensive against Serbia stalled and the Greeks and Bulgarians as allies were able to clear the Ottomans from Macedonia. The Greek navy had successfully prevented Ottoman reinforcements being shipped in by sea from elsewhere in the empire. Millions of Turk Muslims streamed out of Europe where they had been for centuries to a Turkey they did not know. The Balkans being a rough place, the Serbs and Greeks had a backroom deal that cut Bulgaria out of some of the spoils including the important city of Thessalonica. Turkey could be rough itself, the general in charge of the losing effort, General Nazim Pasha, was assassinated by a group calling itself the committee of union and progress. Nazim Pasha’s family then formed its own committee of annoyed relatives of Nazim Pasha and assassinated the Pasha in charge of the progress comitee.

King Ferdinand, without consulting the Bulgarian government or Russia ordered surprise attacks on Serbia and Greece, both attacks quickly bogged down although the Bulgarians were able to hold off the Serb counter attack. The Greek counterattack was more difficult. There was a bloody battle at the then ethnically Bulgarian city of Kilkis in Macedonia that the Greeks won and then ethnically cleansed brutally. Further progress toward the Bulgarian capital of Sophia got bogged down. Then Romania and even the Ottomans joined the attack and Bulgarian King Ferdinand was forced to accept harsh Greek peace terms that lost land to Greece, Romania and even the Ottomans.

Serbian poster claiming it was them instead of the Greeks that spanked Bulgarian King Ferdinand

The Russians were especially hard hit by the Second Balkan War. They felt forced to side with far off unconnected Serbia and with it lost Slavic Bulgaria in a Slavic Balkan Federation where they would have had more influence in uniting the Slavic people. Darn those German Kings pretending to speak for Slavs.

Well my drink is empty and I am left wondering what number the First and Second Balkan wars would be in an accurate count? Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Switzerland 1988, Remembering 600 years later the Battle of Nafels where the Canton of Glarus chased off the Austrians

Chasing off the Austrians was a huge building block toward building a modern Switzerland. So why not remember an important battle in that struggle. Well you might say that the modern multiethnic Switzerland has little to do with a confederation of cantons chasing off Holy Roman Hapsburgs that even the Austrians themselves have now chased off. Think about if the battles had gone the other way and the land was still Austrian. Would not the people have been kept down with all the wars and would the area have achieved such peace and prosperity. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Visually this stamp is a mess. The old style cursive writing style is unreadable and the red playing card with the old fashioned guy also makes no sense. I doubt better eyesight and a knowledge of old German helps much. Fail

Todays stamp is issue A367 a 50 cent stamp issued by Switzerland on March 8th, 1988. It was a single stamp issue remembering the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Nafels fought between the Canton of Glarus of the Old Swiss Confederacy and Hapsburg Army of Austria. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

The Old Swiss Confederacy grew up as Alpine market town dominated cantons began buying more self rule from their ruling but apparently cash poor Austrian nobility. At this point there was still tribute due the Hapsburg Holy Roman Empire but on the ground there was fighting for the allegiance of Swiss towns.

In 1388 Austria sent two armies of over 5000 men toward the town of Nafels with the goal of capturing it and then breaking the Canton of Glarus away from the Swiss. The town only had 400 defenders and after a short siege the town fell with the defenders fading intact into the surrounding hills. The Austrians than broke military formation to loot the town. Remember the armies then were put together by knights in service to the King but with a definite profit motive for the knight. At the height of the looting of Nafels the Swiss counter attacked to great success with the total element of surprise. The Austrians retreated in some disarray and this was compounded by a bridge collapsing on the Linth River. 20-30 % of the large Austrian Army was lost. A peace treaty was signed in Vienna the next year acknowledging the Swiss claim to the area. The loss of the area to the Holy Roman Empire meant there was now a buffer zone between Hapsburg Austria and Bourbon France. The old Swiss Confederacy ended when it was conquered by Napoleon in 1799.

Every year on the first Thursday in April, the is a pilgrimage to the site of the battle  called the Nafelser Fahrt. Usually in attendance is a potential pretender to the Hapsburg Throne for whom it is possible to spit upon for a small fee. I am kidding about that last part.

Well my drink is empty and the first Thursday in April is a while off so there is time for another round. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.