My National Covers

Every now and then I have the opportunity to add what I call a "National Cover" to my collection.

These are nothing fancy. In fact they are but covers that I print  at home with the flag and coat of arms of a specific country and which I then either send to a fellow collector who is willing to help or give to friends or family or take my own self whenever travelling abroad, in the hope that these might find a way to a local post office to get a stamp and a postmark.

I will be adding these to a new "My National Covers" section in this blog.

If you don't see your country here and are willing to help me add your own country's national cover to my collection, please email me at pnsoares1@gmail.com. 

You'll get a cover from Portugal (if you want I'll be happy to print a Portuguese National Cover just like the ones I print for myself, although in a somewhat larger envelope) and a printed envelope with the relevant symbols printed, so that you can then return it to me.

Thanks a lot.

Note: Whenever possible I will try to transcribe the flag and coat of arms information from the relevant national site. Failing that I'll transcribe from Wikipedia.

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Canada

The Flag

The National Flag of Canada was adopted on January 28, 1965, by proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II. On February 15 of that same year, the new National Flag of Canada was raised for the first time on Parliament Hill.

Every year, on February 15, the entire country celebrates National Flag of Canada Day to highlight this anniversary.

The National Flag of Canada is a red flag, twice as long as it is wide (proportion 2:1, or 64 units in length and 32 units in width or depth, as shown in the accompanying diagram). In its centre is a white square the width of the Flag, with a single stylized 11-point red maple leaf in the centre. The flag is horizontally symmetric.

The maple leaf is one of the most recognizable symbols of Canada, and has been used to represent Canadian identity since the 19th century. 

Red and white are colours that have historically been used by many nations, including those that contributed to the founding of Canada. Many Canadians have come to embrace these colours as representative of natural features prominent in some parts of our country: the white of winter snows, and the red of autumnal maple leaves.

Source: Official symbols of Canada - Canada.ca

The Coat of Arms

The Coat of Arms of Canada, called the Arms of Canada or the Royal Arms of Canada, were adopted by proclamation of King George V in 1921.

The Coat of Arms of Canada display the royal emblems of England, Scotland, Ireland, and France, while also featuring distinctly Canadian symbols.

The Royal Crown that sits atop the Coat of Arms indicates that these are the Arms of His Majesty the King in Right of Canada.

Canada’s motto is A Mari Usque Ad Mare, which translates to “From Sea to Sea”.

In 1994, a circular, red ribbon was added to the Arms, displaying the motto of the Order of Canada: Desiderantes Meliorem Patriam (meaning “They desire a better country”).

Source:  Official symbols of Canada - Canada.ca

The Stamps

The two "Permanent" stamps featuring flowers are the 2024 issue of the ongoing "Flowers" series. They depict :

- Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) - a species of milkweed native to eastern and southwestern North America. It is commonly known as butterfly weed because of the butterflies that are attracted to the plant by its color and its copious production of nectar. (source: wikipedia)

- Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata) - a herbaceous plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, that is native to eastern Canada, the eastern United States and northeastern Mexico. (source: wikipedia)

- The "Permanent" stamp illustrated with the portrait of  Chloe Cooley was issued on 30JAN2023, being that year's issue of the Black History Month series.

Chloe Cooley was a young black woman held as a slave in Fort Erie and Queenston, Upper Canada, in the late 18th-century, as the area was being settled by Loyalists from the United States. Her owner forced her into a boat to sell her in 1793 across the Niagara River in the United States.

This incident was observed by several witnesses, who petitioned the Executive Council of Upper Canada. Although charges were dropped against Cooley's owner, the incident is believed to have led to passage of the Act Against Slavery, 1793, in Upper Canada. It prevented slaves from being imported into the province and provided for gradual abolition of slavery within a generation among those held there. (source: wikipedia)

The Postmark

The stamps were cancelled at the main  Post Office of Quebec City with a pictorial cancel evoking the establishment in 1608 of the colonial outpost of Québec as the administrative seat for New France, the name having been  chosen by French explorer Samuel de Champlain.

I had the pleasure of requesting the use of the commemorative cancel in person, at Quebec's Post Office.

 
My National Covers

Every now and then I have the opportunity to add what I call a "National Cover" to my collection.

These are nothing fancy. In fact they are but covers that I print  at home with the flag and coat of arms of a specific country and which I then either send to a fellow collector who is willing to help or give to friends or family or take my own self whenever travelling abroad, in the hope that these might find a way to a local post office to get a stamp and a postmark.

I will be adding these to a new "My National Covers" section in this blog.

If you don't see your country here and are willing to help me add your own country's national cover to my collection, please email me at pnsoares1@gmail.com. 

You'll get a cover from Portugal (if you want I'll be happy to print a Portuguese National Cover just like the ones I print for myself, although in a somewhat larger envelope) and a printed envelope with the relevant symbols printed, so that you can then return it to me.

Thanks a lot.

Note: Whenever possible I will try to transcribe the flag and coat of arms information from the relevant national site. Failing that I'll transcribe from Wikipedia.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Russian Federation / Российская Федерация

The Flag

The existing three-color Russian national flag was adopted by the Order of President Boris Yeltsin of December 11, 1993, replacing it's Soviet-time red predecessor. According to the Constitution, "The national flag of the Russian Federation consists of three equal horizontal stripes - white, blue and red."

This is the third time this three-color flag becomes the national symbol. The first to use it was Peter the Great, who on January 20, 1705 ordered to hoist this flag as a trade one on all Russian ships on Moscow, Volga and Dvina rivers. In those times the lower red stripe symbolized the Earth, the blue stripe - the sky, and the upper white stripe meant the world of God. At the same time, according to the Russian tradition, white color meant nobility, blue - honesty, red - courage and love.

Source: The official state symbols

The State Seal

As a state symbol two-headed eagle first appeared in Russia, those times Moscovia, in the XV-th century. It came from Visantium with Sophia Paleolog, member of the last Visantium Emperor dynasty, who became the wife of Ivan III, the Great Duke of Moscow.

Two-headed eagle remained the symbol of Russian Monarchy and Russian State for more than four hundred years, till the October Revolution of 1917, and regained it's status in 1993 according to the order of President Boris Yeltsin of November 30, 1993.

There are different interpretations of this symbol. The most common version says that two heads of the eagle symbolize that Russia consists of two part - European and Asian, and they are of equal importance for the country.

Source:  The official state symbols

The Stamps

The Stamps with the Russian Federation Flag (33 Rubles) and State Seal (76 Rubles) were issued on 27FEB2026.

The Postmark

The stamps were cancelled with the First Day Postmark for the 2026 Cities of the Golden Ring of Russia, dated of  27MAR2026.

The issue comprises one single stamp with a face value of 65 Ruble, dedicated to the city of Sergiyev Posad, which is the administrative center of the Sergiyevo-Posadsky District in the Moscow Oblast.

My thanks to Vadim for helping me out in adding this cover to my collection.

COVER N. 770 - INDONESIA

Postmark: Malang 06.08.2026

Posted on 6th August;  Received on the 23rd September 2026

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Lately my friend Mr. Postman has been slightly absent from his usual visit to my door, so I was more than pleased to notice that he did call in today, the first day of Autumn, my second most beloved season.  

Let me thus commemorate the end of (well at least in theory, because we're still running in the high 30s Centigrade in some places here....) summer (my most unloved season) with an Indonesian treat.

Not that fast a journey, for it took one and a half months to get to my mailbox, but, then again, Indonesia is not that near and  it did make it through, which is  what really matters.  Terima kasih banyak, Irene, for your lovely cover.

The souvenir sheet with two 2500 rupiah stamps, one illustrated with a Licuala arbuscula, a rare palm species endemic to Indonesia, and the other with a golden-fronted bowerbird (Amblyornis flavifrons), a 24 cm long bowerbird also endemic to Indonesia was issued on 05NOV2006.

Of note is the fact that although this bird had been described by Rothschild in 1895, it was only first photographed in the wild in December 2005.

Also of note is the fact that both these stamps were also issued in conjunction with another two in a  block of four, although with a face value of 1500 Rupiah.

The smaller stamps are part of the second "Waterfowl" issue of 1998, dated of 01DEC1998, comprising 8 stamps. 

The 500 rupiah stamps features a Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa), "a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the north and French Polynesia in the east". (cf wikipedia).

The 2500 rupiah is illustrated with a Wandering Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna arcuata) "a species of whistling duck. They inhabit tropical and subtropical Australia, the Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and the Pacific Islands". (cf. wikipedia)

Postmark from Malang, East java.

COVER N. 769 - FRANCE - UNESCO

Postmark: 1946-80-2026 UNESCO 1er Jour  la Poste  Paris  04.09.2026

Posted on 4th September;  Received on the 9th September 2026

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Encore un enorme Merci, Pierre, pour ce jolie pli de l'UNESCO, on an oficial envelope of the organisation!

As quoted from its official internet site "UNESCO is the United Nations organization that promotes cooperation in education, science, culture and communication to foster peace worldwide."

Also quoting from the "About UNESCO" section of its press releases:

"With 194 Member States, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization contributes to peace and security by leading multilateral cooperation on education, science, culture, communication and information. Headquartered in Paris, UNESCO has offices in 54 countries and employs over 2300 people. UNESCO oversees more than 2000 World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves and Global Geoparks; networks of Creative, Learning, Inclusive and Sustainable Cities; and over 13 000 associated schools, university chairs, training and research institutions, with a global network of 200 National Commissions.

The note ends with a quote from the Organisation Constitution:

“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed” 

Sadly, it seems that there are minds that are totally impervious to such a  type of benign construction....

Given that UNESCO headquarters are located in France, The French Postal Operator, La Poste, is tasked with issuing Service Stamps for the organisation.

The latest issue of these is dated of 04SEP2026 and commemorates the 80th anniversary of the organisation, which was born in 145 but would only be formally instituted in 1946 when a 20th UN State ratified its constitution.

The 2.25 € stamp is illustrated with a depiction of the UNESCO Headquarters building in white over a UN Blue background.

Further to the legend 1946-80-2026, the hashtags #Pourlespeuples and #Fortehpeople are included under the logo of the organisation.

The First Day Postmark repeats the legend on top of the organisation logo: a classic temple, with the worlds UNESCO as columns.

COVER N. 768 - TAIWAN

Postmark: TAIWAN R.O.C. 04.08.2026

Posted on the 4th August September;  Received on the 15th September 2026

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Quite happy to receive this nice cover from another infrequent passenger in this blog: Taiwan. 

非常感謝 Su Wu!

- Taoyuan International Airport, the main airport infrastructure of Taiwan, is located in Dayuan, Taoyuan, approximately 40 km west of Taipei, the Capital. 

Opened up to traffic in 1979,  the airport was  initially designated as  Chiang Kai-shek International Airport but it would change its name to the current designation in 2006.

In 2025, TPE (IATA's code for Taoyuan International) processed approximately 47.8 million passengers and it serves as main base and hub for  China Airlines, EVA Air, and STARLUX Airlines.

The two stamps - 2 and 10 Taiwanese new Dollar - illustrated with the image of terminal 1, the former, and the Control tower, the latter,  with what looks to be a departing 747 climbing in the sky, were issued on 31DEC1978.

- Chiang Kai-Shek (1887 -1975) was the first President of Taiwan, a state issued out of the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomitang forces led by him and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party led by  Mao Zedong.

Having lost the war  Chiang Kai-Shek retreated to the Island of Formosa where he would,  so to speak, reclaim the right to the existence of the former Republic of China, which he would lead  till his death.

Meanwhile, the former Republic of China would become The People's Republic of China, which to this claims territorial and administrative authority over Taiwan. 

The 5 Taiwanese New Dollar stamp illustrated with his portrait and a group of people saluting the Taiwanese flag in the background is part of a set of four (2; 5; 8; 10 NTD) issued on 31OCT1986, in anticipation of the celebrations of the centenary of his birth.

COVER N. 767 - AUSTRIA

Postmark: Bregenzer Festspiele 6900 Bregenz 19.08.2026

Posted on the19th August September;  Received on the 14th September 2026

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Vielen Dank Günter for a lovely cover from Austria.

I think I have already mentioned in these posts of mine  a 33rpm, a Long Play, or an LP, as we used to call the object that is now a must for all the "dedicated followers of fashion" out there, expertly referred to as "a  vinyl", (come on, show us some class.... calling an LP “a vinyl is just as uncouth   as calling a condom "a latex"...) put out by Reader's Digest in the 70s, that was one of my introductions to Classical Music.

Nested amidst the 1st movement of Beethoven's Pastoral symphony, Purcell's Funeral March for Queen Mary in the then totally surprising version of Wendy Carlos (who, at the time, still signed his works as Walter Carlos), Mozart's Andante from the Elvira Madigan piano concerto, one  of Brahms' Hungarian dances and other all time favourites of western classical music, was a track that I couldn’t stop playing again and again.

It started with a low pedal note coming out of the pipe of an  organ which caused so much tension that it alone was enough to put you on alert; then came first a simple soft trumpet phrase, expressing uncertainty, almost fear, doubt, to which the metallic, sharp, cutting cry of the full brass fanfare responded, adding to the mystery and slowly pushing that tension up, guided by the brutal command of the timpani,  like a merciless hortator setting the rhythm  of the rowers in a roman trireme. Finally  that absolutely emotionally devastating climax, drowned in a last monumental clash of the cymbals.

No matter how many times I hear it, the intro section of Also Sprach Zaratustra, written by Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949) in 1896, will always make the hairs on my arms jump to attention.

I was  ten years old when I first heard it. Not in a record but in the opening sequence of Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey. I was underage but I managed to enter the theatre.... after watching the film and almost throwing up during the stargate sequence, totally overwhelmed that I was by the tunnel of colours and the disturbing soundtrack,  I would not sleep for the next three nights.... 

How was I here?

Where would I go from here?

What was I to do here?

Is there a reason for it all?

I still don't know the answers. The monolith still crosses my path, with every forward step I take...

Still, on that last night, I made a decision. I solved my questions with religion and God. 

To this day; more than half a century later.

I owe it to Kubrick.

I owe it to Strauss.

Stamps:

- The 0.62 Euro stamp illustrated with the photo portrait of the Austrian Composer  Richard Strauss was issued on the precise date of  the 150th anniversary of his birth, 11JUN2014.

The composer and conductor is considered one of the central pivots in western classical music, for the transition between the romantic and the modernist eras.

Strauss body of work contains several operas and tone poems, as well as lieder and symphonies.

- Loyalty Bonus Stamps are stamps issued annually, since 2008, by the Austrian Post which are only available to registered stamp subscribers. To this date they have been illustrated with lovely depictions of  flower species.

Günter was extremely kind in using two of these on the cover, that of 2015, dated of 07MAR2015, illustrated with the European pasqueflower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) and that of 2016, issued on 05MAR2016, featuring the Orange Lily (Lilium bulbiferum).

The stamps are cancelled with a commemorative postmark celebrating the 80th edition of the Bregenzer Festspiele,  a performing arts festival which has been held since 1946, every July and August in Bregenz, on the shore of  Lake Constance.

COVER N. 766 - FRANCE - EUROPEAN COUNCIL

Postmark: Conseil de l'Europe - 25e anniversaire du cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues -  Bonjour Hello - 1er Jour  la Poste  67 Strasbourg  04.09.2026

Posted on 4th September;  Received on the 9th September 2026

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Un gros Merci, Pierre, pour ce jolie pli du Conseil de l'Europe!

The French Postal Operator, la Poste is responsible for issuing service stamps for The European Council (and also for UNESCO).

Piere sent me a cover using an official European Parliament envelope of the last such issue, dated of 04SEP2026, the event which it honours being the 25th anniversary of the CECR -  Cadre Européen Commun de Référence pour les Langues (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).

This nowadays widely used system of classification for one's expertise in a given laguage established six Common Reference Levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) for  the evaluation of competences of any given speaker.

The 2,25 € stamp is illustrated with a word cloud which contains the translation of the word "Bonjour" as a greeting form  into several European languages. The Logo of the European Council can be seen in the lower right corner of the illustration.

The First Day Postmark was issued at Strasbourg, the seat of the European Parliament, probably because the E.C. service stamps are issued by the French Postal operator, while the  European Council has it seat in Brussels, Belgium.