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 Flag

The Polish flag is a rectangular banner featuring the colours of the national coat of arms: white and red, with a 5:8 proportion. Occasionally, a version with the emblem placed on the white stripe is used – primarily by Polish diplomatic missions and as the civilian ensign of Polish naval units.

The Polish national colours are one of the few in the world with heraldic roots. They originate from the coats of arms of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which were united under the Union of Lublin (1569) to form the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth for over two centuries.

This heraldic origin was formally recognized in 1831 by a law passed by the parliament of the Kingdom of Poland. It stipulated that the national bow would consist of the colours of the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: white and red.

After regaining independence on November 11, 1918, the Polish flag’s design was officially established by an act of the Polish parliament (Sejm) on August 1, 1919: ‘The colours of the Republic of Poland are white and red in two parallel horizontal stripes – white above, red below.’ I

In 1921, the Ministry of Military Affairs released a guide specifying the shade of red as crimson.

Source: 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.

COVER N. 570 - POLAND

Postmark: Gdansk 50 - ZA - 24.03.205

Posted on the 24th March; Received on the 9th April 2025

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It is Easter time. Although not a believer, I cannot fail to understand the importance that Easter has for Catholics all over the world, myself having been raised in what was (and still is, even if not as much as it was 60 years ago) a country deeply rooted in the Catholic faith.

Easter is a time of rebirth, a time of renewal. For me, it is another way of saying spring, and I do believe that both events occurring at more or less the same time, is not a matter of chance or coincidence…

So Happy Easter, to those of faith and  Happy Spring to those who lean more towards a spirituality driven by the cycles of nature and the return of the swallows.

And Dziękuję bardzo, Roman, for your nice Easter cover. Happy Easter to you too.

Stamps, left to right:

- 20 g stamp for international service, issued on 03OCT2028,  dedicated to the Via Carpathia, a transnational road scheduled to open in 2025, linking Klaipėda, Lithuania to Thessaloniki in Greece. 

- "S" tariff stamp, part of a set of two, (1 regular mail; 1 priority)  illustrated with images of Easter Bunnies, issued on 25FEB2025.

- Just like Easter Bunnies, decorated eggs (and not that decorated; in Portugal, for instance, the thing is Chocolate Eggs!) are very typical of the season.

For a number of years, Polish post issued a series of definitive stamps dedicated to decorated eggs from cities of Poland.

The "A" tariff stamp is part of the two stamp issue of 2019, dated of 18MAR2019, and it features a beautiful oklejanka (a type of Easter egg decorated with paper cuts (?) glued onto it) from the city of  Łowicz.

The Postmark hails from the famous city of Gdansk. 

COVER N. 517 - POLAND

Postmark:  66. Wrzesień Jeleniogórski, Pokaz kolekcjonersko-filatelistyczny Jelenia Góra 10.09.2024

Posted on the 12th September; Received on the 3rd October 2024

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A cover from Poland with a nice cancellation from a philatelic show which Roman tells me is held every August/September in the town of Jelenia Góra (Stag Mountain), in the southwest of Poland.

Dziękujemy, Roman!

Thanks to Roman's notes I understand that each year the local Philatelic Circle organises a show within the scope of a larger local event, called "Days of Jelenia Góra", for which a cancellation is designed, highlighting an interesting objet related to the town. 

This year, for the 66th philatelic show, the chosen landmark selected to be featured in the special cancellation was a monument to a young stag (the stag being of course present in the town's coat of arms) which is just one of several stag statues which, Roman tells me, exist in Jelenia Góra.

Stamps:

- Continuing, most appropriately, on the stag theme, Roman used a 3.9 Zloty stamp issued on 10MAY2023, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Polish Hunting Association.

- The 2 Zloty stamp on the right corner was issued on 14OCT2023, on the occasion of the  250th anniversary of the funding of what is considered to be the first ministry of education ever created: the Commission of National Education, established on the same date in 1773 in what was then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, its first chairman being the bishop of Vilnius, Ignacy Massalski, whose portrait illustrates the stamp.

- As I understand it The Pocztowy Dar Foundation is social responsibility organisation,  established within the scope of the  Polish Post, with the aim of providing social help for particular situations.

The 4.70 zloty stamp on the cover illustrated with its logo  is dedicated to it and was issued on 04DEC2020.

Further to the commemorative cancelation, the cover contains a regular postmark from the Jelenia Góra post office, dated of the 12, September.

COVER N. 470 - POLAND

Postmark: Kriptoznaczek Cyfrowa rewolucja w filatelistyce (Crypto-currency - Digital revolution in Philately) Wroclaw1 16.05.2024

Posted on 16th May; received on the 12 June 2024

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Crypto-stamps... the way forward for the hobby or just another way to create a speculation bubble?

I have to admit: I still have not totally understood the concept. That is, I suppose that the process is simple: one buys a crypto-stamp, which besides the postage stamp itself, which can be used for what a stamp can be used for... (bonjour, Mr.  de La Palice), gives you the right to obtain an electronic token (an electronic stamp), which you can collect, in an electronic album somewhere in the cloud, this stamp being able to be traded as any financial asset (that is bought and sold)... the value added generated by demand being the interesting factor for this particular piece of electronic "thingery"... Pure speculation, nothing more than this, or am I wrong?

For the time being, I think I'll stick to the old physical scheme of things and concentrate on the traditional paper stamps that we all come to appreciate so much. After all, my first and single experience with this immaterial medium went very wrong, as I mentioned  here.

All this a propos a beautiful cover that I got from Poland with two of the stamps that are being issued as crypto-stamps by Poczta Polska, for which I have to thank Roman. Bardzo dziękuję, Roman!

Roman included a note saying that he had sent me the cover because of the fine aviation related cancellation, and I do concur with him, both the stamps (although the balloons are totally fictional) and  the cancellation are very nice.

The balloons had been the subject of a 4 stamp issue dated of 18OCT2023, which Roman kindly sent me on the official First day covers, (covers  # 360/361). 

The commemorative cancellation  highlights the two Crypto-Stamps issued by Poczta Polska, the already mentioned balloon issue and the previous one "Poland in Space" dedicated to the Polish participation in ESA satellite projects, which Roman has also kindly sent me  (cover #199)

The 2,35 Zloty stamp on the right corner was issued on 31MAR2025, celebrating the Oscar for best foreign language film won by Ida, a Polish film directed by Paweł Pawlikowski. This particular stamp was also issued with a se-tenant label attached to its left or to its right, replicating a frame of the actual film.

POSTCARD N.136 - POLAND

Postcard sent on the 29th March, received on the 10th April 2024

Postcard image: Kudowa-Zdroj
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Kudowa-Zdroj is a Polish city located in the southwest part o the country, right on the border with the Czech Republic, famous for the mineral waters that have been used since the 16th century with therapeutic aims, especially for heart and circulatory ailments.

I  got this very nice card from Kudowa-Zdroj without knowing who was its sender, and at first I thought it was again an under cover operation of my Secret Santa last year, but no...😀 so here's the correction:

The ghost who walks went through Poland in one of his usual forays into foreign territory and kindly dropped a postcard addressed to myself at one of the local post offices. So danke sehr herr Phantom! Next time please sign it off 😀😀👍

Several Spa centres are featured on the images on the card. From left to right we have: 

- Zameczek sanatorium, dating from the 18th century;

- Teatr "Pod Blacha", a covered promenade area built in 1902;

- Verde Montana Hotel, a quite recent facility, dating of 2008;

- The square in front of Zameczek sanatorium;

-  The Polonia Sanatorium, which I would think would also date of the 18th century.

- Safran, Crocus sp, one of my favorite flowers, is featured in the 20 grosz definitive stamp of the flowers and fruits series,  issued on 06JUL2016.

- The "Priorytetowy S" tariff stamp, issued on 18JUN2023, celebrates the 550 years of Przeworsk Basilica, or Collegiate Basilica of Holy Spirit, which like its adjacent monastery of the Order of the Holy Sepulchr, dates back to 1393.

A nice stampmark celebrating the 650 years of Kudowa-Zdroj is also included on the back of the postcard.

COVER N. 372 - POLAND

Postmark:  Carillony Gdańskie Tradycja od 1661 r. Renowacja Dbałość Radość Słuchania GDAŃSK 50 27.11.2023

Posted on the 27th November; received on the 11th December 2023

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Another of Roman great covers always with nice stamps and postmarks. Dziękuję bardzo, Roman.

The beautifully illkustrated 3,90 Zloty stamp issued on 08NOV2023, showing a dancer in her traditional cosume, commemorates the 75 years of the Mazowsze Ensemble  - Państwowy Zespół Ludowy Pieśni i Tańca "Mazowsz - a celebrated Polish Folk Song and Dance Group.

Postage was completed with  a 20 g stamp for international service, issued on 03OCT2028,  dedicated to the Via Carpathia, a transnational road scheduled to open in 2025, linking Klaipėda, Lithuania to Thessaloniki in Greece. 

Although I don't speak Polish, It would seem that the Postmark was issued in celebration of the renovation of a Carillion in Gdansk or of the Gdansk Carillion Festival.,,

COVER N. 364 - POLAND

Postmark: Miasto Smoka (City of the Dragon) Orneta 09.11.2023

Posted on the 9th November; received on the 21st November 2023

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Puff, the magic dragon, meets Dino on this Polish cover, courtesy of Roman, whom I thank, as usual. Bardzo dziękuję, Roman!

Orneta is a town in northern Poland and the fact that its coat of arms is occupied by a flame thrower, can be traced to the a legend according to which, in ancient, ancient times, there lived a Dragon  in Orneta who would eat all living creatures he could set its eyes upon.

Eventually, the mean creature would be defeated by a brave knight, but its spirit would live on forever in the city's coat of arms, which can be seen on the beautiful pictorial postmark with which the stamps on the cover were cancelled.

On to the stamps:

It all seems so long time gone now and yet...

Just last weekend, one of my daughters phoned saying she was not feeling that well and that she probably had a cold... given that she was to be visit her grandparents I told her "you'd better do an auto-test, just in case".... Bang on... two stripes on  the tester window.

Now just three years ago this would be the sort of news we were all trying to avoid.... 

Today,  in spite of all the usual theory of conspiracy advocates that did and still do their best to negate science, massive vaccination has completely changed the way we deal with the virus, with no more mandatory confinements and the ability to live our lives as normally as we used to before the crisis erupted.

In some countries, Postal administrations were also in the front line trying to raise awareness to the vaccination effort, such as it happened in Poland and in Portugal also.

On 15JUL2021, Poczta Polska issued the 4.7 Zloty with the legend Ostatnia Prosta  #szczepimysie, which I believe translates into "The final stretch - #wevaccinate".

Well done..., says I, who have already gotten my yearly shot, last October.

Dinosaurs... every now and then the craze surfaces, triggered by a movie, a scientific finding, or a toy, as it was the case in the 90s with "Jurassic Park", or an exhibition here at the natural history museum at around the same time which was, at the time, the most visited exhibition in Portugal, ever....

On 25NOV2020, Polska Post issued a three stamp set themed on the prehistoric creatures, illustrated with side images of a particular member of  the order and of its skeleton.

The 3.30 Zloty stamp on the cover is dedicated to the Coelophysis, a small biped carnivore dinosaur that lived  215 to 208.5 million years ago in the territory of what is now the United States of America.

COVERS N. 360/361 - POLAND

Postmark: W przestworzach Warszawa 1 18.11.2023 /Gdansk 50 13.11.2023

Posted on the 13th November; received on the 21st November 2023

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Up, up and away, my beautiful, my beautiful balloon...

I was a kid in my very early teens when there would not be a day without this refrain from the fifth dimension's classic "Up, up and away" airing on the waves of radio station CSB 81 - Clube Asas do Atlântico.

Many years later I would finally have the opportunity of experimenting the incomparable lightness and calm of balloon flying, over the  fairy chimneys of Cappadocia, in Turkey, and the sight of dozens of balloons flying at sunrise over that surreal landscape, every now and then illuminated from within, like a Christmas ornament, as their pilots opened up the burner to get some altitude,  is something I will never forget.

Balloons, for their shape, the way they move and the disproportion between the envelope and the gondola, lend themselves quite well to  fantasy and fiction as Jules Verne so well put it on his Five Weeks in a Baloon, and I am quite sure I've have seen examples of  balloons being used in many a comics story and fantasy fiction book.

Roman knows I am partial to things that fly, so once again he surprised me with two official FDC with a set of four 3,90 Zloti stamps with marvellous fantasy illustrations of balloons, entitled W przestworzach  - In the Skies - which were issued by Poczta Polska on 18OCT2023.

Dziękuję bardzo, Roman!   

Nothing much to say about the stamps other than they are absolutely fictional and beautiful, and that I quite like them.

To post the FDCs Roma used a 20 g stamp for international service, issued on 03OCT2028,  dedicated to the Via Carpathia, a transnational road scheduled to open in 2025, linking Klaipėda, Lithuania to Thessaloniki in Greece. 

COVER N.199- POLAND

Postmark: Gdansk 50 - ZA - 28.12.2022

Posted on the 28 December; Received on the 10th January 2023
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The last of the three covers I got from Poland on the same day, contains the other half of the set that was also used on cover 198, dedicated to "Poland in Space", with four 3,90 Zloty stamps, issued on 06DEC2022. Thanks a lot Roman!

Again stealing the info from ESA's website  "EarthCARE (Earth Clouds, Aerosols, and Radiation Explorer) is a light and radar imaging satellite jointly operated by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the European Space Agency (ESA) as one of the ESA’s Earth Explorer missions. It will develop our understanding of the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting the sun's radiation and trapping the infrared radiation emitted from the Earth’s surface."

and if an image is worth a thousand words, as they say:

Image Credits: esa

The mission is expected to be launched in the current year of 2023 and even If I could not find any direct mention of Poland having a particular role in the project, Poland being a full member of ESA, I'm sure that the connection is there.

The last of the four stamps is dedicated to Proba-3 a mission "devoted to the demonstration of technologies and techniques for highly-precise satellite formation flying. It consists of two small satellites launched together that will separate apart to fly in tandem, to prepare for future multi-satellite missions flying as one virtual structure."

Two key tools of the mission are to be supplied by SENER Polska: the Satellite Arresting and Retarding Mechanism (SAHRM) and the Solar Arresting and Retracting Mechanism (SADM). 

The satellites will be launched in 2024.

Postage is again completed with a  20 grosz stamp issued on 06JUL2016 as part of a long running definitive series dedicated to flowers and fruits, depicting a Crocus, the Saffron flower.

The postmark indicates that the cover was mailed from Gdansk.

COVER N.197 - POLAND

Postmark: Gdansk 50 - ZA - 28.12.2022

Posted on the 28 December; Received on the 10th January 2023
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No less than three covers on my letterbox from Poland on the same day. All quite interesting and careful composed as it is the norm with members of the London Cover Circuit Club.

Roman, and in general all the other members of the club who kindly include me in their circuits, always does his best to ensure that the stamps he uses when sending me a cover are in line with my particular interests.

This is something that I really appreciate even though I, most times, have a hard time reciprocating because finding stamps at the post office these days is not an easy task.

In fact, most post offices don't even have  a selection of stamps and rely on self-adhesive definitives, if you're lucky, if not, you'll get a printed label with nothing but a couple of codes a date/time and the value of the tariff, and that's it.

One can always order from the philatelic service, but even that is not a very practical modus operandi since, at least in Portugal, you can only order full sets and not, say, 10 of X, plus 5 of Y and 6 of Z. Plus, it of course takes some time between ordering and receiving the order, so many are the times when I find I should have used a different stamp on a particular cover, but could not, due to pragmatic reasons.

Anyway, the year has passed, my stamp stock is low and I see that the first issue for 2023 will only come out on the 23rd February, so I'll have to make do with what I have at hand in the stock book.

 Against the backgrounds of this state of affairs, always receiving covers careful stamped with my particular interests in mind is nothing short of elating and another measure of how kind and generous people can be. Thanks a lot Roman!

Stamps., left to right:

Crocus, the Saffron flower, is the star of the 20 grosz stamp issued on 06JUL2016 as part of a long running definitive series dedicated to flowers and fruits.

As a matter of curiosity, I had recently received another crocus stamp on a postcard, this time from Belgium.

Incidentally, the flowers and fruits series had five more stamps issued on 2016, these illustrated with a coneflower, a poppy, a lilly, an iris and cranberries.

Poland in Space, is the unifying theme for the four 3,90 Zloty stamps issued on a minisheet on 06DEC2022, of which two can be seen on this cover.

The stamp on the left depicts one of the BRITE satellites launched by Poland.

The  Space Research Center/ Polish Academy of Sciences teamed up with the University of Vienna, FFG/ALR (Austria's Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) under BRITE (BRIght-star Target Explorer) to launch a constellation of six nano-satellites.

The objective of the programme once the constellation of nanosatelittes is fully operational  is to provide milli-magnitude (0.1% error) differential photometry of bright stars. I'll refer you to the project's information os a website maintained by the European Space Agency, since it really is rocket science to me :-)

The two Polish satellites, (nicknamed "Lem" after the late Polish science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem and Heweliusz) were launched,respectively, on November 21, 2013  on a Dnepr-1 vehicle from the Yasny Cosmodrome in Russia and on August 19, 2014 on a Chinese Long March-4B vehicle  from TSLC (Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center), China.

The subject of the second stamp is ESA's OPS-SAT, which according to the Agency itself , being a flying laboratory has the "sole purpose of testing and validating new techniques in mission control and on-board satellite systems".

Of note is also the fact that in order to achieve its mission, the satellite being "only 30cm high, it contains an experimental computer ten times more powerful than any current ESA spacecraft."

Poland was one of the four countries from which originated the members of  the consortium that built OPS-SAT, the others being Austria, Germany and Denmark.

The Postmark, as usual in Roman's letters indicates that the cover was mailed from Gdansk.

COVER N.196 - POLAND

Postmark: BOŻE NARODZENIE (Christmas) Gdansk 50 - 28.11.2022

Posted on the 28 November; Received on the 10th January 2023
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The first month of the year is already half past but cheerful echoes of Christmas still linger in my letterbox, as proved by this letter with great stamps and postmarks. Thank you so much, not only for the stamps, but also for the cards, Roman. I truly appreciated it.

One of the oldest flag carrier airlines around has to be LOT, Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A..

Established in 1928,  LOT took over and furthered the role of the Polish domestic carriers Aerolot and Aero, its first flight having taken place on the 1st of January, 1929.

Such a long standing airline could not make it to this day without having to go  through a lot of fleet changes all through its history.

 It all started First with a fleet of the then ubiquitous Junkers F13 and Fokker F. VII, that would in time be replaced with such remarkable passenger planes as the DC2 and the Lockheed Electra, that served until the end of the 2nd world war. 

The integration of Poland in the Soviet block meant that soviet made aircraft were the rule after a period of acquisition coexistence that lasted until 1962 during which  a mix of soviet and western built aircraft such as the Ilyushin 12 and 14 and the Vickers Viscount and Convair 240 were procured. 

After 1962 and until the collapse of the Soviet Union, only soviet designs  would integrate the fleet that had in the TU 134, which began flying in  LOT's colours in 1968, its first representative of the jet age era.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, LOT became a good Boeing and Embraer customer, its current fleet  being composed of a mix of Boeing 737-800 and Max 8; Boeing 787 type 8 and 9 and Embraer E170/175/190/195 aircraft.

Celebrating the 90th anniversary of LOT,  Poczta Polska (Polish Post) issued on 31JAN2019 the beautiful  5,20 Zloty stamp that can bee seen on my cover. The main element in the stamp, which has the aura of a vintage advertising poster, is LOT's logo, which like many other contemporary logos, (TAP, Lufthansa, BOAC, to name but three,  all outstandingly beautiful, if my opinion can be expressed), evolved around the stylized image of a bird.

To achieve the regular tariff, Roman used a stamp with a face value of   3.30 ZL issued on 17JAN2020, as part of a definitive series started in 2018, dedicated to the cities of Poland. 

The lovely Christmas postmark with the star of Bethlehem and a branch of holly hails from the city of Gdansk, the cradle of the famous Solidarność union. 

COVER N.174 - POLAND

Postmark: Gdansk 50 - ZA 17.10.2022  
Posted on the 17th October; received on the 27th October 2022
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Joint issues are a good idea insofar as they illustrate a common ground  relation between two or more countries,  bearing witness to a shared  goal, feature, tradition, heritage, whatever... Moreover, they are an indicator that the relation, in principle - for one cannot ever be 100% sure about what the future is holding in store - is sound, sustained and sustainable.

Of course they also bear witness to geopolitical considerations. There are some issues that would be as bewildering as well received   if ever they were to see the light of day and  just out of my head I can think of many a pair of countries that I would love to see giving a step forward and issuing a joint issue celebrating their common heritage, goal, tradition, or, even better, their commitment to a peaceful and enduring, sustained and sustainable relation...

we all can, can't we....?

Thank you so much for your nice Cover Roman. A grain of salt can only add flavour to anyone's collection  😀

Salt, sodium chloride, is an essential product, both as a preservative and a nutrient mineral, luckily plentiful in nature ...in some places, that is, since even today it is still used as money in remote areas of Ethiopia, I read somewhere.

Extracting it is an activity that has been carried out for thousands of years, ever since man first discovered that adding salt to food could be a means of preserving it for future usage, making life a little easier for our ancestors.

in general terms, salt is either extracted from the water through evaporation and precipitation  and this can be either sea water or phreatic water that runs through salt deposits such as we have good examples in my own country, or by mining rock salt - in itself a deposit from ancient salty waterways that have long dried up - directly from the earth, as with any mineral..

A salt mine can be a thing of wonder, and I well remember my visit to Salina Turda, in Romania

Salina Turda, Romania

Poland also has some such mines and two of them are so relevant that they were declared  World Heritage Sites by the  UNESCO.

These are the mines of Wieliczka and Bochnia, The latter, according to Wikipedia, has the distinction of being the oldest commercial company in Poland, and the largest salt mine in Poland, having been established in 1248. Salt extraction at the mine ceased in 1990, but it was far from abandoned because the micro-climate in its chambers  characterised by  constant temperature and humidity, and a pure, unpolluted air saturated with sodium chloride, was judged beneficial to certain ailments what led to the creation of a sanatorium, which can accommodate 300 beds. The mine, with a  maximum depth of 468 m,  also has several churches  carved in the salt rock  and its galleries and chambers are not only a tourist attraction but also a site for the  organisation of corporate and indoor sports events.

In Croatia you don't have to go that deep inside the earth's crust to extract salt. In fact it has been  extracted from the Mediterranean water in the Ston region since at least the times when the territory fell under Roman rule, in 147 B,C and the salt pans  of Solana Ston (saltworks Ston) are claimed to be the oldest in Europe, and the oldest active salt pans in the world.

The complex  occupying an area of 429.840 m2 has 58 salt pans divided in 5 sections and 9  crystallisation pans, producing approximately 2,000 tons of salt each year, which with the exception of one named Mundo (World. as a curious note the same word with the same meaning is used in my own mother-tongue)  all are designated by names of saints: Francis, Nicholas, Balthazar, Anthony, Joseph, John, Peter and Paul.

These two salty landmarks were chosen by the postal administrations of Poland and Croatia as the subject for a joint issue dedicated to the "Treasures of the Earth" that began to circulate on 02DEC2021.

The 2 stamps on the Polish issue are denominated both at 4 Zloty and just like their Croat counterparts are illustrated with photographs of the Stan Salt pans - Croatia -  and Bochnia salt mine - Poland.

The Postmark on the stamps informs us that the cover was mailed from the city of Gdansk.

COVER N.161 - POLAND

Postmark: Grodkow 26.08.2022 
Posted on 16th August; received on the 2nd September 2022
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Large stamps call for large covers, and that's what  my friend, Mr. Postman, dropped into my letterbox: a C5 envelope that started its journey in Grodkow, a city in the Southwest of Poland, in the Upper Silesia region, with 8.4 thousand inhabitants as of 2021.

Every time I get a letter from somewhere I do a little spying through my Google spy glasses to see what that somewhere looks like and this only fosters my yearning for travelling...  how could it be different with a town that boasts such a nice Town Hall as I've learned Godkow does?  

I have never been to Poland,(sigh....) but I'm sure that in a not so far future I will have ticked the box. In fact, I have never been to a lot of places even if I have already been to a whole bunch of them.

Traveling is the cinematic expression of reading, both are fundamental learning tools but traveling has the added bonus of calling on the active participation of all of our senses, while reading is much more  an intellectual activity that relies on a direct almost passive channel between the eyes and the brain (watching TV or a movie just takes the process one step further on the passiveness scale...).

Reading is also much easier than travelling from a logistic point of view for obvious reasons and most of the times, we, regular standard issue human beings, do not have the time, the resources or the opportunity to travel as much as we would like, so we find ways to fill in the void.

And that's what a cover from somewhere you have never been to, falling into one's letterbox, exactly does! 

Thank you so much Piotr! Enquiring into the histories and sights disclosed by looking deep into the centre of the stamps on the covers I receive, makes me a richer person ... maybe one day I'll be a  stampillionaire....😀

Stamps, left to right; top to bottom:

The Chinese new year seems to be a highly collectible theme for philatelists, judging from the number  postal administrations all over the world that issue annual emissions dedicated to the theme.

Polish Post (Poczta Polska) is one such case. 

The 3.30 Zloty stamp dedicated to the year of the bull was issued on 26FEB 2021. 

Its 2022 counterpart, a 4 Zloty (ah... inflation...inflation...)  stamp dedicated to the year of the tiger, was issued on 01FEB2022.

Both stamps feature the image of the animal of the year and the legend "Chinese zodiak signs" followed by the identification of the sign of the year: Year of the Buffalo and Year of the Tiger, respectively.

Józef Mackiewicz (1902 – 1985) was a Polish writer whose life crossed through the troubled history of Poland in the 20th century, from its regaining its independence by the end of  WW1 to its loosing it again at the hands of the Germans in the aftermath of the infamous Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, through it becoming a satellite country of the Soviet Union following the end of the WW2 hostilities.

A staunch anti-communist he exiled himself in 1945 first to Rome and then to Munich, where he would see his last days.

According to the references I consulted, his literary production is permeated by realistic accounts of a period in history that was not the finest hour for mankind, be it the hardships of life under soviet occupation or the controversial bombing of Dresden in the late stages of WW2.

Honouring  the 120th anniversary of his birth, Poczta Polska on 01APR2022 issued the 30  Polish grosza commemorative stamp that can be seen on my cover.

At a time when the importance of vaccines could not be more evident, although ironically some beneficiaries of the quantum leap in longevity that vaccines have allowed the human race still care to question it, it is highly adequate that Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) be remembered.

Celebrating the bicentennial of the birth the man who was at the fulcrum of the development of  vaccines to rabies and anthrax, two very democratic and effective killers, and whose works paved the way for the development of so many other vaccines we now enjoy the benefits of, Poczta Polska issued on 07MAR2022 a 30  grosza commemorative stamp with the effigy of Pasteur superimposed on a French Flag. Small images of a syringe and a laboratory flask point us to his achievements in the fields of microbiology and vaccine development.

The "Independent Self-governing Trade Union of Individual Farmers "Solidarity" " was established in 1980 as part of the historic "Solidarity" movement led by Lech Wałęsa  that would eventually see the transition of Poland from the Soviet Union sphere of influence into the blue and yellow starred flag of the EU.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the official creation of this organisation, Polska Poczta Posta, on 12MAY2021, issued the 5 groza stamp of which a pair can be seen on my cover.

The stamp contains the highly symbolic image of a bread loaf and the legend "40. rocznica rejestracij NSZZ Rolników Indivydualnich "Solidarnośc"", which translates into "40th anniversary of the registration of the Individual Farmers' Union "Solidarnośc"" (I'm so glad I have access to deepl.com.... 😀!)

The Postmark  tells us that the cover was mailed from Godkow.

COVER N.117 - POLAND

Postmark:  OKR WF COP 1936-1939  11.05.2022 Koszalin 1
Posted on the 11thy May; received on the 23rd May 2022
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Another beautiful cover hailing from Poland, with a nice connection to my theme of choice, aviation. Thank you so much, Roman!

Roman tells me that the special commemorative postmark was issued in connection with the Regional Philatelic exhibition "COP 1936 -1939" that could be visited between 11 -14 May in the Koszalin University of Technology.

The theme of the exhibition was the celebration of the creation and  importance of the Central Industry District during the Second Polish Republic (1918-1939) and also to highlight the role of the Polish defence industry in the 1936-39 period.

The connection between the Central Industry District and aviation is readily apparent in the  image of a Polish Air Force aircraft, (probably a PZL.37 Łoś medium bomber)  flying over working factories (one can tell it by the smoke coming out of the 3 chimneys 😀)

Stamps left to right:

5 Zł stamp, illustrated with the image of a rose, part of a definitive emmision themed on fruits and  flowers that was started in 2015. The stamp  with a rose was issued on 15SEP2015.

50 groz stamp, part of the same definitive emission, depicting a Coneflower (Centaurea cyanus), issued on 20JAN2016 (although the date on the stamp reads 2015).

2.60 Zł, self-adhesive stamp, part of a 5 stamp set of the same denomination dedicated to the armed forces of Poland, issued on the day of the centenary of the armistice of the "War to end all wars", 11NOV2018, This particular stamp is dedicated to the air force and  is illustrated with images of pilots wearing uniforms from the  1st and 2nd world wars.  The remaining stamps are dedicated to the Infantry; the Artillery and Cavalry; the Navy and the contemporary armed forces.

 COVER N.108 - POLAND

Postmark: Special Commemorative Postmark #SOLIDARNIzUKRAINA - MИ З BAMИ (Solidarity with Ukraine, we are with you) 21-04-22
Posted on the 21th April; received on the 3rd May 2022
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In times such as those we ungratefully and ungracefully go through at present, solidarity takes on a concrete and pragmatic meaning and it comes as no surprise that stamps translate this stance. 

Thank you so much, Roman, for this beautiful cover with special cancellation.

Ever since the Russian leadership decided to invade Ukraine, initiating a totally unjustifiable war that has already caused a number of deaths that is unknown but is suspected to go at least into the tens of thousands, Poland, one of its EU neighbours has been at the forefront of the Union's efforts to receive and accommodate all those, especially women and children, fleeing the horror that unfolded over their once peaceful dwellings. 

This much needed solidarity, has meant that millions of innocent people have found at least a safe haven where they can walk with their heads high without fearing that a bullet, shrapnel, a mine, a  torturer or a rapist might find and harm them.

This is the same solidarity that some have missed in the past, though... after all, the world is but one and the bullets bit just as hard in Kiev as in Alepo or Kabul or  any of the other not so mediatic places of human conflict, but seeing it materialise so strongly here is encouraging,  to say the least.

Times like these are prone to foster pride, of all sorts: personal, if you're involved like many Polish people gracefully are; professional, if you belong to any of the professions more involved with the effort, like  health and social care professionals; national, if your country, as a whole, is doing so much to help.

Pride translates easily into symbols, and that's what the S tariff stamp issued on the 23rd March on my cover is about: two arms painted in the national colours of Poland and Ukraine shake hands... "We are with you" legend: strong image, nothing more needs saying.

(as a side note I should emphasize that pride, nationalism, symbols are not a risk free equation, though. Let's take a pure fictional example: one country invades another crying out that the soldiers of the latter are extreme right radicals.... with its action, they turn the object of its action into heroes and martyrs.... heros and martyrs are the staple of symbols... hmmmm, clever move, to say the least...)

The A tariff stamp on the cover was issued on 02MAY2018 and with its "My homeland" theme is a worthy companion, if anything but for semiotic reasons, to the "we are with you" stamp, 

COVER N.60 - Poland

Postmark: Comemorative postmark Przemyśl 1 14DEC21
Posted on the 14th December; received on the 6th january
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Thank you Roman, for a cover with a very nice and clear cancellation mark on the theme of aviation, my favourite!

I tried to find information on the internet about this particular postmark, but I was not lucky. I would like to understand the reason for this particular postmark, because as Roman says in the notes he kindly included, the PZL 50 Jastrząb (Goshawk) was not a very successful aircraft. Its design began in 1936 and the aircraft was intended to be the main fighter of the Polish Air Force. Still, only one prototype was completed and flown, although not finishing the test programme, before the beginning of the second world war, and the project was laid to rest.

Stamps, left to right:

Not having any aviation related stamps at hand, Roman used two nice ones to serve as the base for the fine cancellations:

5 ZL stamp issued on 19FEB2019, as part of a definitive series started in 2018, dedicated to the cities of Poland, in this particular case the city of Białystok. The image on the stamp is that of the Branicki Palace, originally built between 1691 and 1697 and then refurbished, in Rococo style, between 1750-1771. 

Having sustained heavy damages due to aerial bombings in the course of the second world war, the Palace was rebuilt to his former glory and his now occupied by the Medical University.

´

3.30 ZL stamp part of a 4 stamp with the same face value, issued on 25JUN2019, in minisheet format, dedicated to Polish Clematis varieties. The stamp on the cover depicts the variety 'Maria Sklodowska Curie', introduced in 2014.

COVER N.30 - Poland
Postmark:  - 24JUL2021, Warszawa
Posted on the  21stJuly; received on the 9th August.
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When I went to check my letterbox  today, I could swear propeller noise was  rising from the depths of it….I eagerly opened it to find this beautiful cover sent from Poland. Thank you so much, Roman.

Knowing my interest in all things air, Roman went through the trouble of securing me a cover with a special cancellation commemorative of the 90th anniversary of the Polish Police Aviation branch, which must have been established in 1931, although I could not find any detailed information of this particular air service on the web.

To ensure a suitable landing spot for the large  commemorative postmark, Roman used the two stamps of a set issued on 22AUG2015 both as individual stamps and in se-tenant form commemorative of the 2015 Radom Air Show. 

The Radom air show is the most important air show in Poland and also one of the major airshows in Europe. It takes place every two years at the Radom-Sadkow air base. 

The two stamps have an identical face value of 2.35 Zloty, and both show products of the Polish aviation industry in the form of a  PZL-Świdnik SW-4 light single-engine multipurpose helicopter, which entered service in 2002 with the Polish Air Force, and a single engine, two seat,  turbo-prop trainer aircraft, the  PZL-130 Orlik, manufactured by PZL Warszawa-Okecie , which entered service with the Polish air force in 1994.

A third stamp with a face value of   3.30 ZL was used by Roman on this cover, this having been the first Polish stamp issued in 2020, on 17JAN2020, as part of a definitive series started in 2018, dedicated to the cities of Poland. The other stamp of this series for the year was a 10ZŁ stamp representing the city of  the Żywiec.

The Large circular commemorative postmark shows a Black Hawk Helicopter of which the special operation branch of the Polish Army operates 5 units partially locally built by the PZL Mielec  factory, now a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, encircled by the phrase "90 Lat Lotnictwa Policjinego" (90 Years of Police Aviation) and the date and place of apposition: 24-07-2021 WARSZAWA”.

 POSTCARD N.8 - Poland

Postacard included in Cover N. 19
Potscard image: Kings Castle Wawel, by the Vistula river
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This nice postcard was kindly sent me inside cover n.19. Thank you so much Roman.

COVER N.19 - Poland
Postmark: Gdansk - 21JUN2021
Posted on the  21st june; received on the 9th July.
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And the Atlas continues to unfold... this time, Mr. Postman rang once (he never rings twice, with me...) to deliver a lovely cover hailing from Poland, sent me by Roman, whom I sincerely thank for the stamps used, since I have elected traditional costumes as one of my choice themes.

Before the pandemic hit and turned our world upside down, Poland was on my  list of soon to visit countries, so receiving this lovely cover almost felt like a case of  "If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain" 😀

The beautiful souvenir sheet with a 4.60ZŁ stamp was issued on 11SEP13 as a joint issue Poland/Romania, dedicated to Folk Art - Traditional Folk Costumes, Roman tells me, adding that the Polish costume is that on the right side, representative of the Krakow region. The Romanian costume is typical of the region of the Bistrita-Năsăud, whose capital Bistrita, I have already had the pleasure of visiting.

The 10 Groszy stamp on the left hand corner of the cover is part of a definitive set of 4 stamps issued in 2001 two (1,9 ZŁ and 3 ZŁ) on 28FEB2001  and the other two (10GR and 1.50ZŁ) on 20JUN2001.

The 3.30 ZL stamp was the first Polish stamp issued in 2020, on 17JAN2020, as part of a definitive series started in 2018, dedicated to the cities of Poland. The other stamp of this series for the year was a 10ZŁ stamp representing the city of  the Żywiec

The postmark tells us that the cover was mailed from the city of Gdansk, birthplace of the Solidarność union, led by the former President and Nobel peace Prize laureate Lech Wałęsa,  that was pivotal in the transition of Poland to  democracy after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

added on 13OCT21: 

The Romanian version of the stamp was used on cover 44.