COVER N. 565 - LITHUANIA

Postmark: Kaunas 43 Lietuva 16.03.2025 

Posted on the 10th March; Received on the 17th March 2025

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A rather curious sending from Lithuania, using an envelope heralding from another time, when the country was still part of the Soviet Union, as attested by the  Copyright notice on the back of the envelope, issued by the Ministry of Communications of the Soviet Union, dated of 1990, the exact year when Lithuania regained its independence.

Good to see Lithuanian stamps on it. The small squares of paper can be a lot of things, it seems… in this case, they are a clear affirmation of sovereignty! Liels paldies, Algis!

Unfortunately, I don't have a clue as to the person honoured by the envelope, since the "Prioritaire" sticker totally obliterated this indication.

- The main stamp on the envelope is a 1 € stamp, issued on 29JUN2018 as part of a self-adhesive six stamp set, all with the same denomination, included in a souvenir-sheet dedicated to Lithuanians across the world. The souvenir sheet was issued on the year that Lietuvos Paštas, the country's postal operator, celebrated its 100th anniversary, having been established in 1918, after the declaration of independence.

- Lithuanian Rulers, is the theme of a three auto-adhesive stamp definitive set, (0.05; 0,20; 1.20 €) issued on 24FEB2024.

The 0,05 €stamp bears the effigy of Grand Duke Vytenis (1295-1316), while the 1,20 € bears the image of  Grand Duke Algirdas (1345-1377).

Incidentally, the 0,20 € stamp that completes the set, dedicated to Grand Duke Kestutis (1300-1382) can be seen on cover #477 .

- The 0,10 € stamp is part of a 3 definitive stamp set issued on 24JAN2025, dedicated to "Samogitian metal artefacts". Samogitia being one of the five specific cultural regions of Lithuania. The artifact chosen to illustrate this particular stamp is identified as a Scaphoid Brooch. I wonder how this could be worn.

The postmark was applied at Kaunas, Lithuania's second largest city.