Como Park Post issues Ukraine surcharge, wooden stamp
A mailing I received earlier this month from Como Park Post in Saint Paul, Minnesota, contained a couple of interesting new local post stamps.
The first is a “Support Ukraine” stamp picturing a woman and child on a background comprised of the flags of the United States and Ukraine. I initially reported on this stamp’s initial release in June 2013, but the 3¢ + $1 semipostal stamp has been surcharged to give it a new local postage face value of 5¢. The portion earmarked to support various Ukrainian relief organizations remains the same.
Como Park Post Support Ukraine stamp
A surcharged local post semipostal stamp is an unusual thing, but the other stamp I received is even more unusual: it’s a 7¢ stamp printed on a thin layer of wood! You can even see the wood grain when you look at the reverse.
Como Park Post 7¢ wooden stampComo Park Post 7¢ wooden stamp (reverse)
Pretty neat stuff, right? Various postal administrations around the world have experimented with producing stamps using unusual materials, but for local posts, this is very much out of the ordinary. It will be interesting to see how many of these show up on cover!
The Fellowship, American Bible Society distribute BREs
I realize that my posts on business reply envelopes bearing preprinted stamp-sized designs must seem to come on an almost weekly basis sometimes, but I do have a couple more additions to mention today.
First is an envelope that was enclosed in a mailing my wife received from the American Bible Society. The preprinted designs on the envelope picture a snowflake, an angel, mistletoe, and a dove. All four have simulated printed perforations that definitely help make them look more like stamps.
American Bible Society business reply envelope
The other BRE came from the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. It bears four images, two picturing a briefcase colored like the United States flag and two picturing the White House. Both designs bear the legend “United States of America,” and they have simulated printed die cutting.
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews business reply envelope
And there you have it: two new entries in the business reply envelopes category.
Philosateleian Post honors Monument to the Forefathers
In celebration of World Local Post Day on January 27, 2025, Philosateleian Post is scheduled to issue a new local post stamp commemorating the National Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The 1-stamp stamp’s vignette pictures the figure of Faith, which tops the 81-foot granite sculpture previously known as the Pilgrim Monument.
Philosateleian Post National Monument to the Forefathers stamp
In addition to Faith, by far the largest, the monument also bears the individual figures of Morality, Law, Education, and Liberty, along with other carvings and reliefs; a list of passengers who traveled aboard the Mayflower; and the following inscription: “National Monument to the Forefathers. Erected by a grateful people in remembrance of their labors, sacrifices and sufferings for the cause of civil and religious liberty.” Work was finished in 1888 with its completion celebrated in August 1889.
“The faith the Pilgrims demonstrated by coming to the New World so that they might freely worship God is inspiring,” says Kevin Blackston, Philosateleian Post’s proprietor, who had the opportunity to visit the National Monument to the Forefathers with his family in August 2024, almost exactly 135 years after its dedication. “There’s little question their beliefs and actions influenced the development of the future United States and the freedoms we have today.”
Technical Specifications
Format: sheets of 36 (9×4). Plate number: P241111. Design size: 23×42 mm. Overall size: 26×45 mm. Separation method: perforated 12. Adhesive: water-activated dry gum. Printing method: laser.
Philatelic Services
To receive a mint single of Philosateleian Post’s National Monument to the Forefathers stamp, or for first day cover service, send either $2 or a self-addressed stamped envelope and your request to:
Kevin Blackston
Philosateleian Post
PO Box 217
Floresville TX 78114-0217
United States of America
I wrote last week of a bunch of business reply envelopes that arrived in the mail while I was out of town in October. Since I posted, a couple more have shown up, one from Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and the other from Parkinson’s Foundation.
The VFW envelope has five different stamp-sized designs printed on it. They picture a church, a cardinal, a snowman wearing a hat and scarf, children around a Christmas tree in the snow, and three dogs with their heads stuck out of a vehicle window.
Veterans of Foreign Wars business reply envelope
The BRE from Parkinson’s Foundation has three deisgns. The first design is horizontal and may depict an abstract sort of “P.” The other two designs are vertical; of those, one is highly abstract, while the other features what may be a stylized representation of a microscrope.
Parkinson’s Foundation business reply envelope
And that’s that. Obviously, I had a much shorter list to work through this time than last.
Free City of Loffburg fantasy stamps tied to Adanaland
Today, I’m writing about some stamps that have been in my queue for several weeks now. They came to me by way of England’s Alan B., the creator of Adanaland stamps, but this block purports to be from the Free City of Loffburg.
Free City of Loffburg fantasy stamps
According to the approval card on which the block is mounted, Loffburg was mistakenly excluded from the terms of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty of 1890, the agreement by which Germany gained control of Heligoland and German East Africa in exchange for recognizing British authority in Zanzibar. It was subsequently declared a free city and became a member of the Adanaland Commonwealth.
These stamps are, of course, fantasy creations through and through. Loffburg doesn’t really exist! Nevertheless, the designs seem appropriate to the time period in which they supposedly originated, and they’re certainly not something you’re likely to run across every day. This sort of material is, to me, one of the things that make stamp collecting fun!
