COVERS N. 679 - FRANCE - DROM-COM - NOUVELLE CALÉDONIE

Postmark: 78e Salon Philatélique d'Automne  2025 - Premier Jour d'émission 6 Novembre 2025 Nouméa Agence Philatélique / Noumea Agence Philatélique Nelle Calédonie 06.01.2026  

Posted on the 6th January;  Received on the 27th January 2026

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What a nice surprise I got today: a letter from the French territory of New Caledonia, a group of Islands located in the Pacific, almost antipodean in relation to the country I write these lines from.

Receiving mail from such uncommon origins is always a pleasure and so,  mon très grand Merci, cher Roland,  pour cette magnifique surprise.

When I had my first bout of stamp collecting, many years ago, I chose to concentrate on the "Fish" theme. I was a teenager and  just arrived in the mainland from my pre-adolescence years in the Azores, where I had developed a strong connection with the ocean and marine life.

I still have some stamps (not many, for resources were scarce)  from that period,  and with time my bond with the ocean and marine life would wither a bit but I still cannot imagine myself living very far from the vastness of the sea, although I now seem to have developed an all inclusive love to everywhere, be it sea, forest, mountain, plain or just the relatively quiet neighbourhood where I live, not that far  from the capital (in distance,  I mean, because in time..... try it at 7 AM on a rainy weekday...)

Anyway, what I meant to say, before  embarking in one of my customaries trains of thought, is that I still adore fish stamps.

And the one on the cover is simply beautiful!

Issued on 11JUN2025, the "International" rate stamp is illustrated with an eloquent depiction of a Zebra Shark (Leopard Shark, the French call it, leaning more towards the nature of its "inherent" adult camouflage) or Stegostoma tigrinum.

The thing is that Zebra shark juveniles do look stripped, not mottled (or shall I say shaken, not stirred?), hence the option for the equine comparison.

This gentle dweller of sandy flats and coral reefs of the indo-pacific region, categorised as an endangered species by the IUCN, has nocturnal habits, this being the period of the day when it is actively feeding on molluscs and crustaceans, and can grow up to 2.5 meters in length.

The stamp is cancelled with the postmark of the Philatelic agency of Nouvelle Calédonie, located in Noméa, the capital, and the cover also bears a first day of issue cachet of the Salon Philatélique d'Automne, which took place in Paris, from the 6th till the 8th November 2025, where Roland was able to deliver it to the care of the Office des Postes et Télécommunications de Nouvelle-Calédonie (OPT-NC).