Peculiar Postage: Unusual Stamps from Around the World, Part Three

Stamps with embedded volcanic ash, sand from Sahara dunes, and even precious crystals

A while ago, we took a look at examples of strange and noteworthy stamps from around the world. Today we have another fascinating look at some of the more peculiar, quite unusual, slightly odd and downright weird postage stamps from around the world.

Since philately and stamp collecting are somewhat specialized fields of study, this article doesn’t examine postage stamps in terms of their financial value to collectors. Instead, here is just a selection of some of the more unusual and often very strange postage stamp designs that have appeared in various countries over the years.

These are also from Brazil, featuring local species of bats:

(image via)
Printed on cork, this Ecuador stamp commemorates 200 years of independence:

(image via)
Apparently the only country to issue stamps printed on tinfoil, Bolivia produced this example in 1986 celebrating the Winter Olympics, which took place in Calgary in 1988:

(image via)
This Moroccan stamp contains real sand from dunes in the Sahara Desert:

(image credit: VietStamp)
This one was printed on wood by Djibouti to celebrate a Japanese royal wedding:

(image credit: Iomoon)
The $10 postage stamp is the highest face value of stamp ever issued in Canada, so it’s perhaps fitting that it features the enormous Blue Whale. The Latin scientific name of the creature is written in micro printing and krill and a human diver can be viewed under ultraviolet light:

(image via)
Israel came up with this 15 page booklet of stamps which acts like an animated flip book:

(image via)
In 2010, Iceland issued three stamps marking the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, containing very fine grains of volcanic ash:

(image via)
Last time, we featured stamps from Bhutan containing a real CD-Rom. This stamp from North Korea, issued at the time of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, contain an actual DVD:

(image via)
The Sami people are Arctic indigenous people living in northern Scandinavia and parts of Russia. This stamp from Finland is the same shape as the floor plan of the Sami Cultural Centre opened in early 2012:

(image via)
The New Zealand hologram stamp appeared in 1994 for the 25th anniversary of the first moon landing:

(image credit: NewZeal.com)
Also on a space theme, this aluminum stamp with fluorescent ink was issued for the Soviet Union’s Cosmonaut's Day in 1965:

(image via)
These recent United Arab Emirates stamps have a seed from the Ghaf Tree:

(image credit: SlimStamps)
In 2007, the Beatles, or rather some of their familiar album covers, were featured on these British stamps.

(images credit: John Coulthart, 2)
And finally, in another tribute to the sixties, these 2011 postage stamps feature Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation British TV shows from the 1960s - Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Joe 90:

(image credit: http://scstamps.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?products_id=4045)
These four stamps feature Thunderbirds 1, 2, 3 and 4. The sheet can apparently be viewed in a way so you can see the various crafts’ launch sequences:

(image credit: slouchingtowardsthatcham)

If you liked this article, subscribe to the feed by clickingthe image below to keep informed about new contents of the blog:

Previous
Next Post »
Cuba, birds, stamps, animals Croatia, birds, stamps, animals Cook Islands, birds, stamps, animals Cocos Islands, stamps, birds, animals Congo, Africa, stamps, birds, animals China, stamps, birds, animals Chile, stamps, birds, animals Cayman Islands, birds, stamps, animals Cayes of Belize, birds, animals, stamps Caribbean Netherlands, birds, stamps, animals

Random Posts