ZIP Code

The Zip( Zone Improvement Plan) Code Pan was first introduced in the late 1960s, this five-digit number facilitates the sorting of mail.

The first three digits identify a major city post office, and the fourth and fifth digits identify the delivery area of a post office branch.

Philatelic time machine takes you back through 2 centuries

History, nostalgia and man's eternal quest for seizing the moment came together at Karphilex 2017, the three-day philately exhibition that began on Friday, after a gap of about 10 years.

Walking amid rows of steel frames displaying philately materials was nothing less than living an encyclopedia as the stamps and other materials displayed took one on a memorable journey.

Stamps and postal covers stretching across two centuries, covering India's colonial history together with rich culture, welcomed visitors at Sri Raja Rajeshwari Hall on Dr Rajkumar Road. There are also stalls where one can buy rare stamps, postal covers and other materials with many philately shops from across India offering their best collections. The largest collection of stamps focuses on Mahatma Gandhi.

Each stamp became a window to the world as the exhibitors offered to explain their historical circumstances and cultural heritage. Stamps commemorating the British history, freedom struggle, Ramayana, Mahabharata, modern India, cricket as well as progress in science are lined up for visitors.

“Since its inception in 1975, the Karnataka Philatelic Society has been promoting philately as a hobby. Provided India’s rich background, even foreign postal agencies are commemorating Indian Philatelic Society. We need to understand that each stamp has a story behind it,” said K Chaitanya Dev, president of Karnataka Philatelic Society (KPS).

Chief Post Master General, Karnataka, Charles Lobo inaugurated the exhibition as scores of philately enthusiasts waited for the moment on Friday. The first day celebrated ‘Kannada Heritage’ with wildlife conservation and stamp mela, respectively, in the following days....

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/622741/philatelic-time-machine-takes-you.html

Embrace the dark side: New USPS Forever stamps feature classic Disney villains

Disney fanatics, stamp collectors – or even stamp-collecting Disney fans – are all in for a treat starting Saturday.

The U.S. Postal Service will release a sheet of 20 Forever stamps dedicated to 10 classic Disney villains, according to a press release.

With classic bad guys and girls like Scar from “The Lion King” and Maleficent from “Sleeping Beauty,” the collection includes two stamps of each character.

http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/article161521523.html

Dragonflies honored on new set of stamps

NATURE’S own magnificent flying machine, the dragonfly, is being honoured on the next release of Australia Post stamps.

There are five new stamps priced at $1 each featuring the arrowhead rockmaster, the Australian tiger, the beautiful petaltail, the jewel flutterer — like the one being shown by Sharla, 5 — and the scarlet percher.

Australia Post philatelic manager Michael Zsolt said the dragonfly stamps were the most important of the year, having been chosen to feature during Stamp Collecting Month.

“We’ve chosen to showcase dragonflies because they are incredibly eye-catching and important creatures to our ecosystem — but they’re not something a lot of people know about,” Mr Zsolt said....

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/melbourne/dragonflies-honoured-on-new-set-of-stamps/news-story/f3ef4a08ec7d158447a4b2867160a97b

First of their kind solar eclipse postage stamps....

MODESTO BEE: The U.S. Postal Service’s timing couldn’t be better to release the first stamps using thermochromic ink, which changes image when exposed to the heat of a finger.

Jed Tyler, a postal supervisor in Modesto, said when he first tested the stamps – they transform from a solar eclipse image to one of the moon – his fingers were cold. But given the heat wave the area is experiencing, chilly hands are one thing most Modestans won’t be complaining about. And Tyler said that once he warmed his hands a bit, the stamps worked fine.

Tuesday’s first-of-its-kind release of an image-changing Forever stamp commemorates the upcoming Aug. 21 eclipse.

http://www.modbee.com/news/article157170089.html

ATTENTION: It’s time to embrace change and move stamp collecting forward

LINN"S STAMP NEWS: Change rained down on our hobby in the decades that followed World War II and the baby boomer generation.

Currently, the pessimists in our midst seem to be beating the loudest drum: “The end of our hobby is coming.” “Stamp collecting is a dying hobby.”

This is the one that I find the most pessimistic: “There are no new collectors entering the hobby.”

Let’s examine these myths, ramp up the sound of our drum, and embrace the change.

This subject is not new to me. I started writing about it almost 20 years ago when I penned a column titled “Where Have All the Stamp Shops Gone.”

While economics and market forces (two dynamics of change) were shuttering stamp stores, a technological change gave birth to something that would be called the Internet. It would grow up to be the single most important driver in our hobby.

Today, stamp shows are on the brink of facing the same two dynamics stamp shops faced two decades ago.

Unless a show offers something new of interest that will attract a significant number of collectors, they will continue to fade away.

Without a unique reason to attend people, can just stay home and shop online for stamps and postal history.

Dealers who have built their business model around a website and the Internet are flourishing today.

My own business exists today because of my website, not because of the seven shows (down from 34 in 1991) that I set up for every year.

Sales continue to grow even though the amount of time spent working is starting to decline.

Of my revenue, 85 percent comes from my website and the balance from shows. This is the exact reverse of 21 years ago......

http://www.linns.com/news/us-stamps-postal-history/2017/july/embrace-change-move-stamp-collecting-forward.html

HATE MAIL: North Korea’s America-hating postage stamps are mini masterpieces of anti-imperialist propaganda

In North Korea, June 25 is the start of “Struggle Against US Imperialism Month.” 

To celebrate, the pariah state released two striking postage stamps depicting its promised annihilation of America.

The annual event commemorates the beginning of the North Korean military campaign to force American troops out of the South in 1950.

The comic-book-like images aren’t the first attempt to stamp out American imperialism with postage stamps.

The fists, guns, and nuclear warheads pointed at the US Capitol in the new 30- and 50-won stamps are just the latest threats in a long tradition of philatelic propaganda.

North Korea has issued hundreds of politically-themed stamps since 1946, and graphic anti-American motifs began appearing in the 1960’s.

Among the most notable is the 1969 stamp called International Conference of Journalists Against US Imperialism depicting a green-faced Richard Nixon speared by a flurry of fountain pens.....

https://qz.com/1017141/north-koreas-america-hating-postage-stamps-are-mini-masterpieces-of-anti-imperialist-propaganda/

Back to the past: Into a world of postal history and stamps

The Philatelic Bureau in Pune General Post Office (GPO) is a bright room with high ceilings and luminate windows.

There is plenty of paraphernalia lying across the tables, and the display desk which showcases various stamps; exotic birds, transportations of India are some of the popular stamps displayed prominently. The last stamp is on the fragrances of India and displays rose in many colours.

Bombay Philatelic Bureau was the first bureau opened in India on June 21, 1941 and was functioning alone for more than seven years. Later, on August 15, 1948, nine philatelic bureaus were opened in different capitals of India. Now there are 81 philatelic bureaux in operation across India, including the one in Pune which opened on August 28, 1977.

‘My Stamp’ is the brand name for personalised sheets of Postage Stamps of India Post. The personalisation is achieved by printing a thumb nail photograph of the customer images and logos of institutions, or images of artwork, heritage buildings, famous tourist places, historical cities, wildlife, other animals or birds, alongside the selected Commemorative Postage Stamp. “It was first introduced in India during the World Philatelic Exhibition, ‘INDIPEX-2011’. There was considerable demand for it during the exhibition and many requests to resume its printing have since been received.....

http://www.hindustantimes.com/pune-news/back-to-the-past-into-a-world-of-postal-history-and-stamps/story-nMpqReb86RhvWuK63aliFO.html