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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 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia 

/የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ

The Flag

The Ethiopian flag comprises three colors. In the center there is a national coat of arms. The three colors are set horizontally in equal dimension with green at the top, yellow in the middle, and red at the bottom. 

Source: Historys - Embassy of Ethiopia

What the colors symbolise varies depending on point of view. However, generally, red represents the blood spilled in defense of Ethiopia; yellow represents peace and harmony between Ethiopia's various ethnic and religious groups; and green is said to symbolise hope, or the land and its fertility.[citation needed] The colors had historically been used by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (red for faith and power, yellow for the church & peace, and green for natural wealth) prior to their adoption as the colors of the state, likely due to them being easy to produce and common in the Ethiopian landscape

Source: Flag of Ethiopia - Wikipedia

The Emblem

The national emblem is a blue circle with depiction; straight and equal lines of yellow come from all directions and join each other. A star is formed by the straight and equal lines with yellow rays radiating from the joints of the straight and equal lines. The national coat of arms on the flag reflects the hope of the nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia, as well as of its religious communities to live together in unity and equality.

Source: Historys - Embassy of Ethiopia

The Stamp

The 40 birr stamp is part of a three stamp issue (20; 30; 40 birr) dated of 21JUN2023, themed on Ethiopian frogs.

The Hildebrandtia macrotympanum, the animal depicted in the stamp,  is a species of frog in the family Ptychadenidae. It is a rarely seen fossorial frog[1] that is found in southern Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. Common names Somali ornate frog, northern ornate frog, and plain burrowing frog have been proposed for it.

Source: Hildebrandtia macrotympanum - Wikipedia

The Postmark

The unusual rectangular postmark was applied at Lalibela, a town in the north of the country, famous for its rock cut monolithic churches.

A huge "Danke Sehr! goes out to "The Phantom", for this interesting addition to the collection.