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Sunday 25 April 2021

1805) "Endangered National Wildlife"Romania: EUROPA - 2021: Romfilatelia (Romanian Post) has issued a set of two Stamps of the values of 3.40Lei and 19.50Lei featuring critically Endangered Romanian Wildlife - The European Mink and The Great Bustard respectively: Date of Stamp set issue: 22.04.2021:

1805) "Endangered National Wildlife"Romania: EUROPA - 2021: Romfilatelia (Romanian Post)  has issued a set of two Stamps of the values of 3.40Lei and 19.50Lei featuring critically Endangered Romanian Wildlife - The European Mink and The Great Bustard respectively: Date of Stamp set issue: 22.04.2021:

About Europa 2021 - Stamps:

EUROPA Stamps are special stamps issued by European postal administrations. 

They bear the official EUROPA logo, a PostEurop registered trademark under the aegis of PostEurop in which Europe is the central theme. 

EUROPA stamp issues are among the most collected and most popular stamps in the world and have been issued for over 60 years.

Every year a new theme is assigned by PostEurop and all participating countries issue stamps with their own interpretation of the theme. The theme for 2021 is "Endangered National Wildlife"

More about EUROPA Postage Stamps:

EUROPA Postage stamps (also known as Europa - CEPT - European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations - until 1992) are special stamps issued by European Postal Administrations/Enterprises and bears the official EUROPA logo, a PostEurop registered trademark under the aegis of PostEurop in which Europe is the central theme.

EUROPA stamps underline cooperation in the posts domain, aimed at promotion of philately. They also build awareness of the common roots, culture and history of Europe and its common goals.

As such, EUROPA stamp issues are among the most collected and most popular stamps in the world.

Since the first issue in 1956, EUROPA stamps have been a tangible symbol of Europe's desire for closer integration and co-operation.

In 1993, PostEurop became responsible for issuing EUROPA stamps.

When CEPT decided to focus more on telecommunications in 1993, PostEurop took over the management of the Europa issues. The CEPT logo was replaced by a new logo created by PostEurop i.e. the word "EUROPA" leaning towards the right hand side.

Each year, PostEurop's "Stamps & Philately Group" selects the EUROPA stamp theme:

1993 - Contemporary Art

1994 - Great Discoveries

1995 - Peace and Freedom

1996 - Famous women

1997 - Tales and legends

1998 - Festivals and National Celebrations

1999 - Nature Reserves and Parks

2000 - Common Design. Tower of 6 stars

2001 - Water - Treasure of Nature

2002 - The Circus

2003 - Poster Art

2004 - Holidays

2005 - Gastronomy

2006 - Integration through the eyes of Young People

2007 - Scout Centenary

2008 - Writing Letters

2009 - Astronomy

2010 - Children Books

2011 - Forests - International Year of Forests

2012 - Visit …. (for instance "Visit Finland" etc.)

2013 - Van of the Postman - Postal vehicles 

2014 - Musical instruments - National musical instruments

2015 - Old Toys

2016 - Ecology in Europe - "Think Green". Common Design

2017 - Castles

2018 - Bridges

2019 - National Birds

2020 - Ancient Postal Routes

2021 - Endangered National Wildlife

2022 - the theme will be "Stories & Myths". 

About Europa 2021 - "Endangered National Wildlife Stamps issued by Romfilatelia (Romanian Post):

This year’s PostEurop stamp theme is ‘Endangered National Wildlife’, and Romfilatelia has depicted two found in Romania, which are critically endangered:

These beautiful stamps feature species that are locally registered from critically endangered through to near threatened.

The Stamps:

Romfilatelia has put into circulation, on 22.04.2021 a postage stamps set of two stamps, illustrating two endangered species of the Romanian Fauna: i) the European Mink and ii) The Great Bustard.

Also, on the postage stamps and labels, elements visible only in ultraviolet light are printed. At the bottom of the stamps an animal footprint has been printed with ink that is only visible under a UV Light.

i) The European Mink ("Mustela lutreola") - Postage Stamp of Lei 3.40:

The first postage stamp of the issue, with the face value of Lei 3.40, illustrates the European mink (Mustela lutreola).

The mink lives near water, in swampy areas or near rivers, spending a lot of time in the water, looking for food. 

It is a medium-sized mammal (30-40 cm long), with a slim, elongated body and limbs with interdigital webbing, which helps it to swim. It is a predatory species; it feeds on fish, amphibians, crustaceans, small mammals.

Once widespread throughout Europe, the mink has today become one of the rarest and most endangered mammals on our continent. In some Western European countries, it has disappeared since the eighteenth century, and today it exists in only a few countries, including Romania. On the IUCN Red List (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the mink has the status of a critically endangered species – meaning it is only one step away from being declared extinct in the wild.

One of the causes is the destruction of the habitats of this species. Many vertebrate species have suffered from fragmentation and restriction of wetlands, to which water pollution has been added.

In Central and Western Europe, a major problem was the introduction of a foreign species, the American mink, which competed with the European mink for food resources and spread diseases that also infected European minks. 

A direct cause of the decline was hunting, the thick and fine fur of the mink being highly priced.

At present, several large-scale projects are aimed at restoring European mink populations.

One of the areas where there is still a large population is the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDBR).

Romania is carrying out an extensive Conservation Project, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund: “Ensuring a favourable conservation status for rescuing from extinction the European mink population – Mustela lutreola (species of community interest, critically endangered) – from Romania”. 

The project is implemented by the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Administration in partnership with the Danube Delta National Research and Development Institute and includes - 

- restoring natural areas in DDBR affected by construction

- reorganizing tourism in DDBR

- combating poaching

- awareness-raising actions, in all schools in DDBR localities, on the importance of biodiversity conservation.

On the second postage stamp of the issue, with the face value of Lei 19.50, is represented the Great Bustard ("Otis tarda"):

The Great Bustard is the largest bird species in Europe in weight -  adult males can weigh more than 15 kg. (Females are much smaller, weighing 4-5 kg.) Another characteristic of males are the so-called “whiskers”, in fact modified feathers, which grow at the base of the beak and reach their maximum length (about 20 cm) during the breeding season.

The Great Bustard is a Plains bird; it lives in steppe meadows, but also on land cultivated with rapeseed, alfalfa, cereals. 

It feeds on vegetation, insects and small vertebrates. The range of this species extends from Western Europe (Spain and Portugal) to Central and Eastern Asia.

The Great Bustard was once widespread in the Plains of Romania, but the spread of human civilization has profoundly affected this species: the vast desert meadows, where birds lived quietly, have been transformed into arable land, ploughed, irrigated, sprayed with pesticides, crossed by people and agricultural machinery; high voltage lines have appeared, which can lead to the death of many specimens, because the great bustards, despite their size, can fly at high speed. 

To these were added hunting and poaching, the Great Bustard being considered not only a tasty game bird, but also a trophy. 

The Great Bustard is a very vigilant bird and does not tolerate the presence of humans at less than 250 m away, making it difficult to shoot, but people have found ingenious solutions to get closer to the right distance for shooting. 

The peasants hid, for example, behind silhouettes of cows, made of cardboard or wood. Another method was to hunt from the cart: the hunter was hiding under the mats, thus being able to approach the bustards, who were not afraid of carts and horses. 

Eventually, hunting and habitat destruction led to such a drastic decrease in numbers, that in the 1990s the Great Bustard was considered to be extinct in Romania.

In recent years, several specimens have been observed in the west of the country and in Baragan, which most likely belonged to the populations of the neighbouring countries. 

In 2020, it was a surprise to discover a nest with Great Bustard eggs on an agricultural land in Salonta, Bihor County. 

Ornithologists from the Milvus Group Association, one of the most active NGOs in Romania in the field of bird and nature protection, hypothesized that the Great Bustards would have kept at Salonta “one last centre of resistance” and that there would be a small cross-border population of 40-50 specimens, occupying a territory located on either side of the border with Hungary.

So, the Great Bustard also lives in Romania, but it remains a vulnerable species and only through strict protection measures can this magnificent bird populating the Romanian Plains again.

A memorandum was drawn up under the Bonn Convention to conserve the Central-Eastern European Great Bustard population. Romania signed this agreement in November 2000.

A Natura 2000 Protected Area has been designated near Salonta, which bears the name of Cefa Fishery – Radvani Forest. 

Although insufficient in area, it offers at least the advantage that here, investment projects that would adversely affect Great Bustards can be blocked. 

Since 2017, a new package of agri-environmental measures has been implemented within the National Rural Development Programme, which provides compensatory payments for farmers who manage their lands by applying agricultural methods to protect the bustards.

“Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History has helped develop this postage stamps issue.

The Postage Stamps:

The two EUROPA Stamps of Lei 3.40 and Lei 19.50 issued in the set depicting the European Mink and Great Bustard respectively. 

The Miniature Sheet (MS)of Stamps exhibiting two Stamps each of the two Variants.

The Full Sheets (FS) of 32 Stamps each of the two Variants with tete-beche.

In philately, tête-bêche (French for "head-to-tail", lit. "head-to-head") is a joined pair of stamps in which one is upside-down in relation to the other, produced intentionally or accidentally. 

Like any pair of stamps, a pair of tête-bêches can be a vertical or a horizontal pair. In the case of a pair of triangular stamps, they cannot help but be linked "head-to-tail".

Mechanical errors during the process of production can also, result in tête-bêches. During the printing of stamps for booklets, the pages of stamps are usually printed in multiples from a larger printing plate. This can result in tête-bêche pairs.

 Most booklet stamps are printed in sheets, each containing 4 booklets. Looking at such a sheet 2 booklets, one above the other, come in from the left with the other 2 sheets coming from the right which appear to be upside down.

 Where the columns of stamps from each side meet there is therefore a row of tete-beche pars. 

It is unusual for these pairs to find their way into the postal system, as the sheets are cut into individual booklet pages before binding into the distributed booklet. 

A First Day Cover (FDC) shows stylised images of The Great Bustard and The European Mink at left.

At top right are affixed the two stamps issued in the set, cancelled with a special Handstamp/Postmark which has The Great Bustard printed in the centre. The Special Cancellation  is of Bucharest Post Office and is dated - "22.04.2021".

Sheetlets of Five stamps and a coupon/label.

The two Maxi Cards.

Special Products:

This Philatelic Album has been presented with a limited run/print of 361 copies and contains a special philatelic block of four imperforated stamps and a label with a circular perforation, the First Day Cover, with the stamp clearly imprinted in foiling, and also a reproduction of a vintage engraving. Elements visible in UV light are printed on the stamps and the label.

The Special Philatelic Block, the First Day Cover (FDC) and the reproduced engraving are numbered from 001 to 361.

Technical details:

Issue Date: 22.04.2021

Designer: George URSACHI

Process: Offset

Colours: 4 Colours (+ ink visibile in UV)

Size: 33.0 mm x 48.0 mm

Stamp Values: 3.40L and 19.50L











Links:

Links to posts on "Endangered National Wildlife" on this Blog, the theme of PostEUROP "EUROPA -2021 theme:







Links to posts on "Ancient Postal Routes" on this Blog, the theme of PostEurop "EUROPA-2020":











16) "Ancient Postal Routes - Within and Outside Europe", Iceland: Two Postage Stamps issued by "Islandpostur" (Iceland Post) in the denominations of ISK 3150: Date of Stamps issue: 07.05.2020

17) "Ancient Postal Routes - the Old Road Majstorska Cesta", Croatia: A Se-tenant of two Stamps of the values of 8.60 HRK issued by Croatian Post: Date of stamp issue: 08.05.2020

18) "Ancient Postal Routes - Historical Postal Routes Thurn & Taxis", Austria" Stamp issue date: 06.05.2020

19) Ancient Postal Routes, Netherlands: Theme of 2020-Europa Stamps: PostNL has issued a 6-Stamp Sheet featuring Ancient Postal Routes followed by Von Thurn und Taxis Postal Services during the 17th to 19th Centuries: Date of Stamp Sheet issue: 11.05.2020

20) Ancient Postal Routes - 2 historic spots on "Tartu-Voru Road" Estonia: EUROPA 2020 theme: "Omniva" (previously "Eesti Post) - Estonian Post - has issued stamps of the value of 1.90 Euro each, featuring two historic stops on the old Tartu-Varu Road: Date of Stamps issue: 14.05.2020

21) "Ancient Postal Routes - from the times of the Imperial roman Empire", Spain: Correos (Spanish Post) has issued a Premium Sheet of six stamps of the value of "B" Tariff each: Date of Stamp issued: 14.05.2020

22) Ancient Postal Routes, Malta: Europa 2020 theme: Malta Post has issued two postage stamps of the values of 0.59 Euro and 2.00 Euro as part of the PostEurop's campaign this year: Date of Stamps issue: 09.05.2020

23) Ancient Postal Routes - the Mounted Messenger and the Stage Coach", Liechtenstein: EUROPA 2020 Theme: Liechtensteinsche Post has issued two stamps of the value of CHF 1.50 each on the theme of Ancient Postal Routes: Date of Stamp set issue: 02.03.2020

24) "Ancient Postal Routes - Via di Zenta", Montenegro: EUROPA 2020 Theme: "Posta Cern Gore (Montenegro Post) has issued a postage stamp of 0.95 Euro: Stamp issue date: 09.03.2020

25) Ancient Postal Routes - Mail Ships "Prince Maximilian" & "Archiduco Ludovico" - 19th Century ", Greece: Hellenic Post (Greek Post) has issued two postage stamps in the denominations of 2.00 Euro and 4.50 Euro depicting the two maritime Postal Ships: Date ofStamp set issue: 08.05.2020

26) Ancient Postal Routes, Portugal: EUROPA 2020 Theme: CTT or CORREIOS de Portugal" (Portuguese Post) has brought out three Postage stamps of the values of 0.86 Euro each on the theme: Stamp set issue date: 25.05.2020




30) "Ancient Postal Routes", France: A postage stamp of 1.40 Euro issued by La Poste (French Post): Date of Stamp issue: 05.06.2020

31) Ancient Postal Routes, Luxembourg: Two Postage Stampsin the denominations of 0.80 Euro and 1.05 Euro issued by Post Lexembourg: Date of Stamps issued: 09.06.2020


32) "Ancient Postal Routes," Belgium: EUROPA 2020 Stamp Theme: A postage stamp of 9.30 Euro, featuring "La chaise de poste" by Eugene Pechaubes" - Lithography enhanced with gouache, issued by Bpost (Belgium Post): Date of Stamp issue: 15.06.2020


33) Ancient Postal Routes, Vatican City State: EUROPA 2020 Theme: Two stamps of 1.10 Euro and 1.15 Euro issued by the Ufficio filatelico e Numismatico -Governatorato, Vaticano featuring ancient postal routes emanating from the Vatican City State during the 6th & 11th Centuries AD

Links to some posts on Romanian currency and philately on this Blog:









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