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Postage stamps and philately of Finland
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A Christmas tale
It was the night before Christmas. The greatest stamp collector of all times was sitting comfortably in his chair, sorting some new stamps to his album. Suddenly the harmony was disturbed.
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Finland 2002 Lion definitive postage stamp - original vs. reprint
Reprints are the salt of the earth for many stamp collectors, and below pair of modern Finnish Lion definitive stamps introduces a recent variety that is somewhat easily available. The original 1€ stamp was released in 2002 as the common workhorse of Finnish postal system, and a reprint came out in January 2013 (and is becoming more and more common as old stocks have been finally consumed). According to official statement of Finnish Post the reprint should be identical, only the die-cut of the sheet has been improved. But like so many times there's more to the story.
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Review of Lape Finland Concise stamp catalogue 2015
Recently I ordered a box of new stock books from a clearance sale, and as a freebie I received two copies of LAPE Finland Concice Stamp Catalogue 2015. For a dealer out-of-date copies such as these they may be dead inventory, but as a collector I definitely love a cheap (or as in this case free) upgrade. Retail price of LAPE Concice has been about 20€ several years, but as the catalog comes out annually, older copies are somewhat easily available and sell for pittance locally. Usually the highest cost of obtaining Finnish catalogs is not the price of book itself, but postage and delivery costs.
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The insanity of collecting for completion (or why most stamp collectors simply draw a line on the sand)
I don't usually write about upcoming new issues, but this caught my radar and 'touched' something. In few days time Finnish Post will be releasing something even more controversial than Tom of Finland stamps. In commemoration of the upcoming FINLANDIA2017 stamp exhibition 6,000 unsold specimens from the 1988 exhibition stamps have been overprinted with new 'forever domestic' face value. So that the life of common collector would not get too easy in trying to chase a copy from their mail, the stamps will be sold at price of 30€ each (postal value 1,30€ + surcharge of 28,70€ to aid the exhibition). And to make copies even more difficult to find, only 2,000 stamps will be offered to public through website sales only, the rest will be sold at the exhibition area only. I wish I could now say 'april fools', but sadly the dark side of the force (or lets be honest, greed) seems to have taken over common sense here in Finland.
...(852 words,3 images, 21 comments)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2017
This is my last blog entry for the year, and as customary I want to wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2017 to readers of SCB around the globe. At the same I also like to share this years Finnish Christmas stamp as well as some general thoughts about Christmas time in certain stamp collectors life.
...(816 words,4 images, 14 comments)
Marginal notes about postage stamps of Finland
In this part of marginal notes about stamps we're heading to my home country Finland. The topics include stamps of 'Kekkoslovakia' followed by stamps of Eastern Karelia Military Administration, reprint of 2004 Sibelius stamp, Finnish bus parcel (Autopaketti) issues, perfins, marginal watermarks and much more. As always, hope you enjoy the philatelic tidbits ahead.
...(1118 words,9 images, 6 comments)
Rare modern postage stamp - a difficult but not impossible combination
If you haven't been living inside a stamp cave for the past month, then you've likely read or heard at least some news about the recent Australian 30 Adelaide emergency provisional stamps selling for insane amounts. This is a prime example of a modern day stamp market getting red hot when an unexpected modern rarity surfaces. Of course this is just top of the iceberg and below I'll share three other less known modern day stamp rarities that 'almost made it' big time.
...(866 words,3 images, 4 comments)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2016
This is my last blog entry for the year, and as customary I want to wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2016 to all the readers of SCB around the globe. As long time readers of the blog know, I always end the year with introduction of recent Finnish Christmas stamps.
...(329 words,3 images, 8 comments)
Cancellation forgeries on Finnish stamps
Possibly the most dangerous stamp forgery type involves fake postmarks. With them you’ve got 100% legit stamp, but the postmark on top of it is either complete fake or fraudulently used genuine canceller. Many of you readers may know that for example the German inflation era stamps are a minefield for cancellation forgeries, but how many of you did know that the same applies for classical stamps of independent Finland as well?
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How to implement a postage stamp that is an utter catastrophe from stamp collector point of view
During the Easter I did quite a bit of stamp soaking on my own as well as with my youngest daughter (she's eight by now and shows promising interest towards the world of stamp collecting). Though I did enjoy the father-daughter sharing a common hobby, I must say that there was a bit of dark cloud over these sessions.
...(546 words,3 images, 9 comments)
Finnish Parliamentery ballot cancellation
As Finland is having 2011 Parliamentary elections today, here is a bit of related philatelic cinderella: a ballot cancellation. Likely, this is the most commonly used “official document” cancellations in Finland. That said, it is one of the rarest ones too, as the election ballots, envelopes etc. sealed with this are destroyed afterwards.
...(84 words,1 images, 4 comments)
Misdated postal markings and a Finnish Zeppelin cover
Recently I’ve been asked several questions about Finnish stamps, so I decided to focus on topic and share some peculiar Finnish items from my collection.
...(303 words,3 images, 6 comments)
Finnish Christmas postage stamps 2010
I'm having a busy week at work & home, so this will be a very short note simply displaying some of this years Finnish Christmas postage stamps, that I purchased earlier today... This year Finland's official Christmas issue consists of 3 designs:two of these are for domestic rate greetings (0.55€), additionally there is a 1st class stamp for regular letter rate/international postage. All are (hopefully soakable) peel & stick stamps.
...(129 words,1 images, 7 comments)
A quick review of Norma 2010, a specialized catalog of Finnish stamps
Last thursday I managed to get a copy of "Norma 2010 - a specialized catalog of Finland postage stamps" from nearby public library. So I decided share yet another short catalog review.
...(404 words,2 images, 2 comments)
Happy May Day
In many countries, May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labour Day, which celebrates the social and economic achievements of the labour movement. May day carries also several traditions with ancient origins, that can be shown on stamps.
...(297 words,4 images, 1 comments)
The Faberge stamp booklet
Somewhat related to last post about golden era stamp collectors and philatelists is this Finnish booklet commemorating collector Agathon Faberge. Yes, he was a member of the same Faberge family that created the fabulous Winter Eggs for the Russian czar. But above all, he was one of the first "grand collectors" of Finnish stamps.
...(203 words,1 images, 1 comments)
Finnish Christmas postage stamps 1973-1996: feels like Christmas
I'm a Christmas person. Without a doubt it's the only celebration that I expect seriously year after year. For me Christmas has never been about religion, it's a celebration of family filled with traditions, good food and being together.
...(2462 words,41 images, 4 comments)
Cross shaped self-adhesive stamps from Finland
I just came back from the local post office (outlet) as I had to buy some low value stamps to keep up with everchangin postal rates. I was very heavily suprised to get some of the 2008 "cross-shaped" self-adhesives decipting the Finnish archipelago.
...(132 words,2 images, 8 comments)
Coloring book with images of Finnish postage stamps
My kids did an interesting find from a local second hand store. It's unused childrens coloring book with A4 sized images of (black & white line-drawn) Finnish postage stamps from the 1980's and 1990's.
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Postage stamps people use
I just came in from a walk during which I bought a small mixture of on-paper stamps from a local 2nd hand store. Nothing fancy - just a handfull of totally unsorted stamps from a non-collector. What was inside tells a great story of stamps non-collecting people use for regular postage.
...(211 words,1 images, 2 comments)
Spring at last - Finnish spring flowers on postage stamps
The last few days have been exceptionally warm and finally winter is stepping away even in central Finland. A few days ago I spotted the first coltsfoot grewing up in the middle of snowy our yard trench, then the crocus started rising on our snowy yard lawn and yesterday people started placing flower pots on sunny places. It's finally spring and time to show off some beautifull spring time flowers on stamps (as well as a nice flower stamp specialty I have found).
...(372 words,4 images, 2 comments)
Nordic mythology on Norden miniature sheets
Besides Europa CEPT issues, one of the long time favorites of Scandinavian stamp collectors has been so called Norden-issues. Starting in 1956, the Scandinavian countries have issued "Norden" stamps to commemorate their co-operation in postal services. At first, the stamps all had a common design in all countries, but each country issues different designs with a common theme. Norden stamps are issued nowadays every other year. In 2004, 2006, and 2008 the common theme behind the stamps was Nordic mythology.
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Lighthouses of Finland miniature sheet
The lighthouses of Finland miniature sheet issued in 2003 is yet another work of great stamp design. It features some of the best looking lighthouse stamps I've ever seen.
...(144 words,1 images, 3 comments)
Finland 2007 Eurovision song contest miniature sheet
One of the true signs of spring is Eurovision Song Contest. This year the contest, 54th in order, will be held in Moscow between 12th and 16th of May. Besides being one of the most watched television events in Europe, Eurovision has also a long tradition on philately with various special covers, cancellations and stamps around the Europe.
...(217 words,2 images, 0 comments)
The Imperial Winter Egg by Carl Faberge - Finland Miniature Sheet
For the past weeks I've been mainly showing stamps from the 18th and 19th century. I think it's time to get a fresher look and focus for a while with some modern postage stamps for the next month or so. This week I'll be showcasing some of the modern miniature sheets from Finland. Let's begin with Imperial Winter Egg miniature sheet issued in 2005.
...(150 words,3 images, 0 comments)
Finland Friendship Miniature sheet 1998
After a decade of waiting, I finally managed to get my hands on this Finnish 1998 Friendship greetings stamps miniature sheet (Michel cat. Bl.18, value 7€ for used & mint) with "real" postal usage. Why I highlighted the word real, is that this came on top of parcel from a Finnish stamp dealer some time ago. I don't think that many non-collectors have, or use stamps as old as this for their postage. The stamps on the sheet are 1st class forever stamps.
...(134 words,1 images, 0 comments)
Q&A: Stamps of Finland
Do you have questions about Finnish stamps / philately? Your questions answered.
...( 33 comments).
Article categories
- Generally speaking about stamps, philately and collecting
- Learn the basics of stamp collecting - advice on how to get started
- How to preserve and build a stamp collection
- Philatelic knowledge base
- Stamp forgeries, philatelic fakes and other counterfeits
- Stamp collecting software (inventory programs and databases, online stamp catalogs etc)
- Straight talk about stamp values (both catalog and real world)
- Back of book stamps and other unusual stamp-like items
- EFO-stamps: errors, freaks and oddities on postage stamps
- Q & A - Ask anything about stamps and collecting
- Article index by country and topic
- SCB's Digital Perforation Gauge