Welcome to Friday. What a lovely feeling. The weekend to relax and enjoy some stamps and lots more I hope.

 I got my Hong Kong Post standing order yesterday and it included this. I forgot I had this in the order.  Really stunning and the image really doesn't show the real beauty of the stamps. They are embossed. Click image to enlarge.

These are the

Silver Hot Foil Lunar New Year Animal Stamps – Dragon/Snake/Horse/Ram"
Date of Issue: 24 January 2015

From the Hong Kong Post website :  As the first Lunar New Year stamp issue in a new series released by Hongkong Post, the Silver Hot Foil Lunar New Year Animal Stamps – Dragon / Snake / Horse / Ram consist of four stamps, each featuring the Dragon, Snake, Horse and Ram respectively. With lithography and embossing as well as silver hot foil stamping for the stamps, each animal glitters and shines, adding festive ambience to the New Year.

Well done Hong Kong Post.

Have a great weekend  .. Michael

www.cddstamps.com

Hello, tonight I hope you will enjoy this MS from Hong Kong to celebrate the Year of the Ram, as you can see it is termed here.

This $10 stamp sheetlet showcases a cloisonné ram.  Cloisonné is a traditional Chinese handicraft. In making cloisonné ware, cloisons (fine copper wires) are soldered onto red copper objects in a pattern to be filled in with enamel and then fired, polished and gilded. 

Best wishes.. Michael 

www.cddstamps.com

Hello, well it is Friday and where did the last 12 days go? I really do not know.

The only stamp thinking I have done is mailing orders from my Bidstart sales and enjoying looking at this beautiful MS. It was part of the presentation pack of the China Year of the Sheep issue  which I got from a very kind colleague at work. Very beautiful in my view. Click image to enlarge

Hope to be back writing again. Have a great weekend

Michael
www.cddstamps.com

Hello,    changing themes completely tonight because I was able to get a copy of this  today at the Mong Kok stamp arcade in Kowloon.

Beautiful I think. click image to enlarge then the back arrow to return.

Issued by China on January 5th to commemorate the Year of the Sheep. The Sheep is regarded as an auspicious animal in Chinese culture as I understand it.

The composition of the stamp design symbolises auspiciousness and ever lasting happiness and is to convey people's good wish for the new year.

How important is that for us all.

 Enjoy your stamps

Michael
www.cddstamps.com

Hello, I have been studying more stamps today and these were just two of them.  Can you spot the difference? 

ok I will tell you. Both are SG 440 from the GB George V 1934 - 36 definitive issue and both are normal watermark Block Cypher (W111) 

But, the left stamp has a larger white margin than the right stamp.  Specialised GB catalogue as N 49, termed small format, for the left stamp and N50, termed intermediate format, for the right stamp.

No catalogue price difference as far as I know, but if you have inverted or sideways watermarks you will find there are price differences, and in some cases quite significant.

Always worth checking what look like simple low value stamps for variations.

You can see these and more, including sideways and inverted watermarks in my Bidstart Store  at http://cddstamps.com/bidstart-sales/  if you are looking to fill some gaps in your collection

Have a great philatelic weekend.. Michael

www.cddstamps.com

TGIF and time for a quiz me thinks.  The cover above is close to 20 years old now. Wow!  how time flies.  Australia day 2015  in a few weeks. I wonder what Australia Post will issue this year. I suppose I could look it up but am feeling jaded from a busy week and no time for stamps. :-)

Hope you like it. Reason I am showing it, apart from upcoming Australia Day is that I read a thread on one site about FDC (First Day Covers)  basically saying that FDCs had little to no value now.

Well sadly that is generally true, if one uses the stamp fairs and internet sales to judge by.

The value,  is to you and your enjoyment of owning and completing whatever is your collection.

Not everything has to be judged solely by monetary worth, does it?

Want this cover? Ok the quiz.  No nothing about Australia Day,  tell me what mistake I made in this write up. :-)   lets see who is paying attention.   Email me at cddstamps@gmail.com with your mailing address and first correct answer , the cover will be mailed to you.

have a great weekend  

Michael

www.cddstamps.com    -   where you know you can fill a few gaps in your collection at small prices.

Hint,   click image to enlarge and then back arrow to return here

Hello, just a short post tonight. I have been sorting GB GV. One of my favourite periods. Sadly a lot of my material is Used and the inverted and sideways watermarks are with short perfs as is quite common with these. also a few with light toning as with this SG 428, with a catalogue value of £40

A few now loaded to my Bidstart Store if you are looking to fill a few gaps in your collection. at 5% of cat or less.

I was reading about GV issues and came across this interesting article. Not really to do with the stamps I am talking about but I just thought I would share it with you anyway. Fun read if nothing else.

 best wishes...... enjoy your stamps

Michael
www.cddstamps.com

Hello, well January is off to a fast start isn't it. I even made time over the weekend to list some new GB stock to my Bidstart Store.   Sadly some of the material I was sorting had light toning (mostly thrown in the bin) , and even a few with some damage.  But some people are happy to collect spacefillers. After all, a really nice copy of the stamp above will set you back a few weeks pocket money, or more !!!!!!!!

I have it listed in the Store,  if this is a spacefiller you would like to get. Actually pretty nice apart from the top right corner perf 1mm tear.  It is SG 265 with a catalogue price of  £475  listed as 53783668  in my store along with plenty more Edward VII, some Edward VIII,  GV and early QEII. More being listed over the coming days and weeks, and all being listed for around <5 20="" catalogue.="" div="" nbsp="" to="">

And don't forget the January promotion I have,  for a free copy of the Hong Kong - China Danxia miniature sheet, see previous writing, which you would get if you bought this.

Anyway,  lots more to be listed in coming days and weeks, if only I had more time.

Have a great week.. Michael

www.cddstamps.com

Happy New Year everyone. Seems like ages since I wrote. Christmas and New Year always busy.

I hope you all had a wonderful festive season and holiday season. Here in Hong Kong we have our "real" new year in February. More in that in future articles I expect, when I get some of the Year of the Sheep stamps to show you.

This one below I hope you enjoy. I am starting the year with a special offer to my Bidstart customers because I think you will enjoy owning this beautiful Miniature Sheet .

The first 30 customer orders of US $10 or more (including postage and packing) (one MS per customer) will receive this MS as a welcome to 2015 gift.  You can visit my Bidstart Store from here 

This is the third MS in a series issued by Hong Kong Post to commemorate the amazing natural heritage of China, under the theme of China Danxia.

China Danxia was inscribed on the World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2010.

Have a great 2015.  
Best wishes... Michael
www.cddstamps.com