This past weekend I had a pleasant few hours in Macau and was able to get to the post office to get a copy of their latest issue. One I hope you enjoy seeing.  A miniature sheet and a block of 4 designs.

The theme is  “The Macao Museum of Art”, “Communications Museum”, “Macao Museum” and “Lin Zexu Memorial Museum of Macao” under the stamp series of “Museums and their Collections” between 2003 and 2014.  This issue is the fifth in a series with the  theme  – Maritime Museum”  It was issued on May 18^th.  

The exhibition hall of the Maritime Museum has a distinct shape with a sailing ship as its design concept. The Maritime Museum is three-storey high, with maritime activities of China, Portugal and Macao regions as its major line; it is divided into different thematic exhibition areas: Maritime Ethnology Exhibition area, Maritime History Exhibition area and Maritime Technology Exhibition area.

This block of shows in the Divinity Chu Tai Sin, Octant, Tai To Junk and The Black Ship.

Enjoy your stamps 

Michael  www.cddstamps.com   have a look at my site and visit my online store, maybe you will be able to fill a few gaps in your collection at a very competitive price

Hi, am studying Gibraltar with intention of loading more to the online store. Am finding it a challenge to identify some of the early QV but I think, maybe not?? I have this one correct. SG 18a and it is Mint with full gum and a clean hinge attached and with what I think is the '5' short foot. What do readers thinks?. The scans are a bit deceptive in my view as under magnifying glass the "short foot" on the 5 looks very more pronounced. Thoughts?

michael - cddstamps.com ( oh and FYI the web site is fixed and clean again cddstamps.com

Hello, today, 11 May,  Hong Kong Post issued this  beautiful miniature sheet as part of their World Heritage in China Series.  It shows the "Grand Canal" which was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2014.  I will be using this on the next 10 orders from  my online store  and getting the stamp hand cancelled so you can be assured of a collectible copy  -   just visit me at the SG Marketplace store here,  or go to the Bidstart store  here  and hopefully you will find some stamps, from the 17,000 in stock,  to fill a few gaps in your collection  - everything is listed by SG number and many by theme.

Some details about the Grand Canal:  It comprises 27 sections with a total length of 1,011 kilometres. Running through Central and Eastern China, it embraces the Sui-Tang Grand Canal, the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and the Zhedong Canal as well as several major heritage sites.

It  was constructed in sections from the 5th century BC onwards. In the 7th century AD, the ruler of the Sui Dynasty conceived of the Grand Canal as a unified inland transportation system for conveying grain and strategic raw materials. Today, the Grand Canal not only serves as a major transportation route, but also plays an important role in communication, irrigation and water supply for the regions it flows through.  The Grand Canal has enabled the exchange of supplies between northern China and southern China over the centuries. As the longest and oldest artificial waterway in the world, it testifies to the country's remarkable achievements in hydraulic engineering.

The stamp sheet depicts a picturesque view of the Grand Canal in winter snow, featuring scenic attractions along the waterway such as the iconic Gongchen Bridge at the end of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal in Hangzhou and the Memorial Archway of the Ancient Dongguan Dock in Yangzhou.

Enjoy your stamps, Best wishes   Michael   cddstamps.com

Hello,  I received two letters in yesterdays mail. Some nice stamps some might say. Sadly sellotape over the  definitives, would have been a collectible piece perhaps. And not postally cancelled, again. Well at least it did not have pen scribble all over it.  Issued in 1993 as a self adhesive.  Not bad to use a 1^st class stamp from 1993 which would originally have cost 24p at todays  1^st class stamp rate of 64p I think it is. Perhaps also interesting is that SG 2015 catalogue lists this stamp at £2.50 for a Mint stamp.

The other letter had the white “Label”  (image enhanced so you can see it a bit better) was also nice to see, although of course I would prefer real stamps, LOL. I do like the bottom right hand corner text, “single use only”.  Not quite sure how these can be used given they have date and place already printed on them, but then the thought of reusing these would never have crossed my mind.

Hope your stamps come through the mail as you would wish.

Michael

cddstamps.com