World Stamps Pictures

Stamp Philatelic - Chinese Zodiac Stamp The Chinese lunar calendar has a sixty year cycle. According to the Chinese horoscope, The 60-year cycle consists of two separate cycles combining with each other. The first is the cycle of ten heavenly stems, namely the Five Elements which make up all matter (in order Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) in their ip Yin and Yang forms. The second is the cycle of the twelve Zodiac animal signs or Earthly Branches . They are in order as follows: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. The current cycle began in the year 1984. Chinese ancestors believed that a person’s destiny can be determined by the position of the major planets at the person’s birth along with the positions of the Sun, Moon and comets and the person’s time of birth and Zodiac Sign. So the Zodiac Sign animal is believed to be the main factor of each person. Stamp Philatelic - Chinese Zodiac Stamp

US Postage Stamp In 1902, 65 years after Queen Victoria appeared on an English postage stamp, and 55 years after the first US postage stamp was issued, the 8-cent Martha Washington was the first US stamp to feature a woman. The year before, the Post Office Department had enjoyed a successful run of the commemorative Pan-American Exposition stamps. But, at more than a decade old, all its regular-issue designs were becoming a bit dated. In an attempt to jazz up its offerings, the Postal Department commissioned new stamps for 1902, giving artists and engravers free rein to show off their intricate handiwork. Mrs. Washington's stamp was introduced at a time when Americans began recognizing the importance of women's contributions to society. Although women had not yet earned the right to vote, the suffrage movement was a major topic of conversation. Legend has it that after much squabbling over which prominent woman should be the first to grace a US stamp, Mrs. Washington -- the fir

German Rare Postage Stamps - Vineta Provisional - Germania stamp from the 1900 issue Germania stamps are definitive stamps that were issued by the German Empire and the Weimar Republic between 1900 and 1922, depicting Germania. They represent the longest running series in German philately and are in their many variations and derivations an essential part of German philatelic collections. The Vineta Provisional (German: Vineta-Provisorium) is a German stamp made on April 13, 1901 on board the cruiser SMS Vineta. As the postal officer had not been supplied with 3 Pfennig Germania stamps, he bisected his 5 Pfennig stamps (Michel nummer 55) of the series and stamped them by hand with a "3 PF" mark. Mail with the Vineta provisional stamp was sent from Pernambuco to Germany on April 17, 1901. Only 600 stamps were issued making the provisional one of the rarer stamps in German philately. Country of production : German Empire Date of production : 13 April, 1901 Nature of rarity : Bis

A two cent stamp issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Yorktown was first issued October 19, 1931. These beautiful commemorative stamps were place on sale at the post offices in Yorktown, Virginia and Wethersfield, Connecticut. At the time of "First Day of Issue" stamp collectors could send up to 10 addressed letters for first day of issue cancellation. The Yorktown stamps were placed on sale elsewhere, October 20, 1931. Why Wethersfield, Connecticut and Yorktown, Virginia? Wethersfield was the home of Silas Deane. Deane did more than anyone else to enlist the aid of France in the cause of the American Revolution. The town was also the place where plans for the battle of Yorktown were made by General George Washington and others who participated in the battle. Yorktown Commemorative Postage Stamp are rectangular in shape and printed in two colors. The background being red and the three portraits composing the central design in black. In a horizontal lin