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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Republic of Poland / Rzeczpospolita Polska
The FlagSource: National symbols
The Coat of Arms
The emblem of Poland features a white eagle with outspread wings, a crown, and golden beak and talons, set against a red shield.
The white eagle, probably a white-tailed eagle, has adorned coins, seals, banners, and shields of the Piast dynasty since the 12th century. The crowned eagle first appeared as the state coat of arms in 1295 on King Przemysł II’s royal seal.
The Union of Lublin in 1569 united the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into one state – the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – for over 200 years. Their shared emblem featured a white eagle on a red shield alongside Lithuania’s coat of arms: a knight galloping on horseback (the symbol of the Lithuanian Pahonia). Poland’s national colours, drawn from these coats of arms, were confirmed by Polish parliament (Sejm) in 1831.
The first seal featuring both the eagle and the Lithuanian Pahonia appeared in the 14th century, during the reign of Władysław Jagiełło. As Grand Duke of Lithuania, he initiated the union with Poland in Kreva in 1385.
After the partitions of the 18th century and the dissolution of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, new coats of arms were introduced for the annexed territories. However, the white eagle remained in use in many regions.
After Poland regained independence, it officially reinstated the white eagle as its national emblem in a Sejm resolution of 1919.
After World War II, communist authorities decided that the eagle should lose its crown, deeming it a ‘symbol of sovereignty.’ This change was formalised in 1955. The crown was restored in December 1989, following the fall of communism.
The current coat of arms was designed in 1927 by Zygmunt Kamiński (1888–1969), a graphic artist, painter, educator, and architect. A professor at Warsaw University of Technology, Kamiński also co-founded a school for architectural drawing.
Source: National symbols
The Stamp
On the 1st August of 1994, the Polish Armed Resistance, Armia Krajowa or AK, the largest organised resistance movement in Europe, initiated what would go down in history as the Warsaw uprising. An effort to try to liberate Poland from the Nazi occupiers, timed to ensure that the liberation would take place before the arrival of the Russian army, which was fast approaching.
The uprising although hard fought was unsuccessfull and the Germans would defeat the Polish resistance, after a battle of 63 consecutive days.
In commemoration of the 80th anniversary of this the heroic resistance action, Poczta Polska issued on 01AUG 2024 a souvenir sheet, featuring the 10 zloty stamp on the cover, illustrated with the image of an AK fighter.
My sincere thanks to Roman for his help in me obtaing this cover.
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