COVER N.146 - LICHTENSTEIN.

Postmark: 9403 Mauren Fürstentum Liechtenstein 04-08-22 
Posted on the 4th August; received on the 11th August 2022

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Upon returning from my quick summer trip to neighbouring Spain, I was quite happy to find my letterbox hadn't been left untouched and that quite a few covers had been slipped through the slot by my good friend Mr. Postman.

One of them was the one that Vural sent me from one of Europe's smallest states, thus providing me with the chance to add another entry into my list of  countries represented in this humble blog of mine. Thanks a lot Vural.

Lichtenstein is but 25 km long, nested between  Austria and Switzerland but it is one of the richest countries in the world, with a strong economy rooted in industry. I read on wikipedia that it is one of the countries with the most  multinational companies per capita, what is linked to historic fiscal reasons as often is the case with other small  countries.

I once, on my return from a road trip to Munich, had the pleasure of spending a couple of hours in its capital, Vaduz, where, to my surprise, I heard my own language being spoken in a couple of souvenir stores.  I  also remember a brief  passage through the postal museum, even though, at the time, stamps were not a primary concern. 

Stamps left to right:

0,90 Swiss Frank  stamp issued on 03JAN2022. Of note is the fact that this was originally part of a four stamp set issued in 2021 dedicated to songbirds, and what is even more noteworthy is that its face value was downgraded, what comes as a surprise, since price corrections usually go the other way. In fact, the original 2021 stamp had a face value of 1 Swiss Frank.

0,90 Swiss Frank stamp issued on 03JAN2022, as part of a 4 stamp set dedicated to bee species. The bee depicted in this particular stamp is the Andrena hattorfiana, and endangered solitary bee species that is present in most of Europe (although not in Portugal, I believe).

The nice postmark includes a line profile  of a landmark within the commune of Muren, I presume, from where the cover was mailed.