FourNations Stamp Exhibition Singapore 2022

Ko Toe participated in FourNation Stamp Exhibition Singapore 2022.  The exhibition was held from 16 to 18 December 2022 at Safra Toa Payoh, 293, Lor 6 Toa Payoh, Singapore 319387.  This is the first ever FourNation exhibition after the COVID-19 pandemic.  Together with FourNations namely Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, Vietnam was invited to participate in this exhibition as well.

Ko Toe's new exhibit titled "British Burma Postal Stationeries 1857 - 1937" scored 93 points and won Gold Medal.  The award made this exhibit qualified for international and world stamp exhibitions.  

It is a great opportunity to meet with our philatelic friends and I had a wonderful time. For more information about the exhibition, please browse the Chinese version report by Philately Museum. 

Costumes ~ Bagan Era

Stamps featuring Bagan era costumes are the second sets in the costume series and were issued on 27 Oct 2021.  The set includes two stamps depicting man and woman in Bagan era costumes.  At Yangon GPO, Mandalay GPO and Naypyitaw CPO, the envelopes with cachet are sold at 200 Kyats each.  In addition to the envelopes, the folding card with the design facts is also sold at 200 Kyats each.

Essay 1 by U Aung Than Htay

Essay 2 by U Aung Than Htay

Technical Details of Stamps

Date of Issue : 27 October 2021

Printer : Security Printing Works (Myanmar)

Printing Process : Offset

Stamp Size and Format : 30 mm x 42 mm (Horizontal)

Color : 4

Perforation : 14

Denomination : K200 two designs

Sheet Composition :  50 Stamps per Sheet

Quantity : 300,000 pc per design

Stamp Designers : U Aung Than Htay, Prof Myat Tun Aung

Two official FDCs were produced.

Official FDCs

FDC by Ko Myo Oo

Maxicard set by Ko Thein Tun Kyaw

Last Day of Operation - Mandalay Nantwin PO

We have learnt that Mandalay Nantwin post office was permanently closed in 2019.  Its last day of operation is 31 August.  Ko Sein Min prepared and made some "Last Day of Operation" covers.  Thanks for Ko Sein Minn for his efforts.  Mandalay Nantwin, Man Nantwin in short, has two postmarks used in last day.  I want to record the covers in this post.

Costmes ~ Amarapura

The fifth set of costume series was issued on 29 Apr 2022.  The set includes two stamps depicting man and woman in Amarapura era costumes.  No official FDCs and folding cards were sold.  Collectors made their own FDCs and maxicards.

Technical Details of Stamps

Date of Issue : 29 April 2022

Printer : Security Printing Works (Myanmar)

Printing Process : Offset

Stamp Size and Format : 30 mm x 42 mm (Horizontal)

Color : 4

Perforation : 14

Denomination : K200 two designs

Sheet Composition :  50 Stamps per Sheet

Quantity : 300,000 pc per design

Stamp Designers : U Aung Than Htay, Prof Myat Tun Aung

FDCs

FDC produced by Ko Sein Min, cancelled at Mandalay.

FDC by Ko Aung Kyaw Tun, cancelled at Yangon.

FDC by Ko Chan Myae Aung, cancelled at Mandalay

Maxicards

Maxicard set by Ko Thein Tun Kyaw

The Burma StaMPS Volume 1

Myanmar Philatelic Society initiated publishing the brand new "The Burma StaMPS" journal quarterly.  It is also the newsletter of the society.  Each issue has 20 pages and published in full color.  Ko Toe is the editor of the journal.  The editor hopes Burmese language journal can attract new collectors to philately, and keep the society active. 

 

In 2022, four issues for Jan, Apr, Jul and Oct were published.  The digital copies of the journal is distributed to MPS members.  In Mandalay, Ko Sein Min kindly printed every issues in color and distributed to Mandalay members at no charge.  The editor compiled four issues, together with the contents, author index, subject index and post office index, and produced the softbound printed book.  The whole volume includes 92 pages. 

Indonesia 2022 World Stamp Championship Exhibition

Indonesia 2022 World Stamp Championship Exhibition was successfully held at JIEXPO convention center in Jakarta from 4 to 9 August 2022.  The official hotel is within 5km distance from the exhibition hall.  Shuttle buses were provided between official hotel and exhibition hall every hour.  

Myanmar submitted three exhibits and one literature to this competition.  U Thein Tun Kyaw exhibited his PPC exhibit titled Nostalgia of Burma in British Colonial Time.  His exhibit scored 82 points and won Vermeil medal.  U Toe's PPC exhibit titled People of Burma and Their Lifestyles scored 80 points and won Vermeil medal.  U Kyaw Myint Maung's book "Postage Stamps of Myanmar" also awarded Silver medal with 72 points. It is first time for these three exhibits to appear in FIP exhibitions. 

 U Toe's aerogramme exhibit which won Large Vermeil in China 2019 was awarded the same medal with one point increased (87 points).  MPS members U Thein Tun Kyaw and U Sein Minn attended the exhibition whilst U Toe Kyaw Kyar served as Myanmar Commissioner.  All attendees were invited to Welcome dinner by the Organizing Committee at Bandar Djakarta restaurant on 4 Aug.  The Palmares dinner was held at the Parliament House on 7 Aug.

National Commissioners

 The Indonesian Philatelic Federation hosted 76th FIP congress on 9 Aug.  U Toe Kyaw Kyar attended the congress as an observer.  Myanmar has yet join the FIP but only FIAP.  Myanmar Philatelic Society donated the Burmese lacquerware tray as a special prize and noted that the prize was awarded to an exhibitor from South Korea.

The exhibition hall was quite lively, always full with young and enthusiastic students visitors. 

Tin Can Mail to Burma

Most collectors will be familiar with Tin Can Mails which is fascinating due to its nature of carrying method.  The cover I want to share with this post is a registered Tin Can Mail sent from doughnut-shaped Niuafo'ou Island of Tonga to Rangoon, Burma.  It was redirected to Rangoon Cantonment upon arrival to Burma.

The cover bears many handstamp cachets made by Walter George Quensell and postmarks.  Quensell created varieties of cachets in different languages and applied to the mails.  These can be seen on the example shown above.  It took about 11 months to deliver the mail to the addressee.  The datestamps on the covers read

• 10 Aug 1939 Put in the sea
• 28 Aug 1939 Niuafo'ou, Tonga
• 6 May 1940 GPO Sydney
• 20 May 1940 Perth, West Australia
• 12 Jun 1940 Rangoon GPO Registration Dept
• 14 Jun 1940 Rangoon Cantonment

The cachet on the upper left corner tell when the tin can containing this letter is dropped into the sea.  It reads "This letter, enclosed in a water-tight tin was put into the sea from the Union Line Cruise Steamer "Maunganui" off Niuafoou or "Tin Can Island", in the Tongan Group - Lat 15° 33' South. Long 175° 39' West. on the 10th August 1939.   G.B. MORGAN, D.S.C. COMMANDER"

Three stamps, recessed-printed by De La Rue, affixed on the cover depicted Queen Salote of Tonga and were issued to commemorate 20th anniversary of her accession.  One of the cachet reads "Jubilee Cover, HM Queen Salote of Tonga, 1918-1938, 11 Octb 1938".  HM Queen Salote Tubou, D.B.E., ascended the throne in 1918.  Regardless of being the philatelic cover, it is lovely and still hard to find one sent to Burma.

New Sri Lanka stamp features Myanmar Flag

 A new addition to the Burmanica collection is the circular shaped stamp issued by Sri Lanka post.  It is to commemorate 60th anniversary of Asia-Pacific Postal Union and Myanmar is one of the members.  As of 2022, APPU has 32 member countries.

Specifications

Date of Issue: 1 Apr 2022

Dimension: 30 x 30 mm

Sheet Composition: 20

Print Color: Four Color Process

Print Quantity: 300,000

Denomination: LKR 45

Shape: Circle

BANGABANDHU 2021 FIAP 1st Virtual International Stamp Exhibition

BANGABANDHU 2021 FIAP 1st Virtual International Stamp Exhibition was virtually held from 10 Dec 2021 to 30 Dec 2021.  The exhibits were hosted on http://www.exhibit.bangabandhu2021.com.  Initially, it was planned to hold as Regional exhibition at Dhaka, Bangladesh.  But, due to COVID-19 situation, it was changed to virtual exhibition.  It was later recognized by FIAP as its 1st virtual exhibition.

BANGABANDHU 2021 was organized to celebrate Golden Jubilee Independence of Bangladesh and to commemorate birth centenary of its founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.  It displayed 543 frames of 160 exhibitors from 21 countries.  

Award Medal

 

Ko Thein Tun Kyaw exhibited his PPC exhibit titled Nostalgia of Burma in British Colonial Time.  His exhibit scored 78 points and won Large Silver medal.  Ko Toe's PPC exhibit titled People of Burma and Their Lifestyles scored 79 points and won Large Silver medal.

Anti-Tuberculosis fundraising labels 1966

These multicolored anti-TB labels are the latest labels produced ever since 1949.  The sheet format is 5 by 4 - four stamps for each designs.  

The designs feature the worker in the fields in the background, and a person in the foreground.  The year of issue and a small lion logo is on the top left and right.

First Row : Chin boy

Second Row: Karen girl (the remarkable  mount Zwekabin is in the background)

Third Row: Kachin girl

Fourth Row: Shan man

Fifth Row: A girl with white hat

For further reading on these labels, please browse https://www.revrevd.com/burma--myanmar.html and go to Label section.

Costumes ~ Ava Era

The second set of costume series is issued on 8 Dec 2021.  The set includes two stamps depicting man and woman in Ava era costumes.  

Technical Details of Stamps

Date of Issue : 8 Dec 2021
Printer : Security Printing Works (Myanmar)
Printing Process : Offset
Stamp Size and Format : 42 mm x 30 mm (Horizontal)
Color : 4
Perforation : 14
Denomination : K200
Sheet Composition :  50 Stamps per Sheet
Quantity : 300,000 pc per design
Stamp Designers :

Two official FDCs were produced.

<More photos of FDCs to be posted>