Sharing the world's most UNUSUAL and strange stamps.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 30 May 2016 11:34

No - this stamp issued by Spain in 2016 did not catch on fire - this is how it was issued to commemorate 75th anniversary of the fire at Santander.

The city suffered a massive fire in 1941 fanned by strong southern winds that led to the fire continuing for two full days.
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Michael Beharry · Post by **Michael Beharry** » 01 Jun 2016 10:27

tonga2 wrote:S/S issued by Jersey in 2015 and printed on pure silk

.

I'll be looking for this one, thanks for pointing it out.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 01 Jun 2016 18:06

PRINTED ON SILK

In 2015 Singapore issued three S/S each printed on silk

Stamps perforated with no serial number

Stamps perforated with serial number at top right

Stamps imperf with serial number at top right

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tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 02 Jun 2016 20:36

PRINTED ON SILK

Hong Kong 2015 Year of the Ram - printed on silk

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 02 Jun 2016 20:39

Canada 2015 - $5.00 S/S showing Canadian flag - printed on rayon

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tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 02 Jun 2016 20:58

PRINTED ON GLASS

Now for something really different.

One of our Stampboards members advised me that on June 10 2016 Austria will issue the world's first stamp printed on GLASS

Thanks Norbert for alerting us to this new issue.
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Eli · Post by **Eli** » 04 Jul 2016 07:16

tonga2 wrote:Now for something really different.

One of our Stampboards members advised me that on June 10 2016 Austria will issue the world's first stamp printed on GLASS

Thanks Norbert for alerting us to this new issue.
.

Here is the new stamp on a cover posted from Austria to Israel by SB member Matmex:

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 05 Jul 2016 03:57

Nice cover Eli - I didn't think it possible that the glass stamp could be cancelled but it does look like the postmark is over the stamp and envelope. Well done to Matmex for making the nice cover.

maxiewawa · Post by **maxiewawa** » 19 Jul 2016 16:16

I wonder how you get hold of some of these. Do you just go to your local post office, slap a bill on the table and ask for a sheet of silk stamps?

Also, it changes the definition of 'stamp' somehow. Any flat piece of material with a country's name on it and a number might be called a stamp if it was created by the postal service of a country. Obviously some aren't meant to be attached to envelopes.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 20 Jul 2016 08:02

Maxiewawa, most can be purchased through the country's online post shop, or from new issue dealers, and I have also found some on Ebay and Delcampe, and all but a handful can be used on letters. The stamps printed on porcelain and glass are pretty much impossible to postmark, although I have lately seen a few covers showing usage of the Austria glass stamp which has been successfully cancelled.

arangama · Post by **arangama** » 13 Sep 2016 02:34

Branches of Friendship issued in 2011 by Finland on Valentines day which is also Friendship day in Finland. The stamp is free form stamp with colorful peculiar birds sleeping on their own branches.

maxiewawa · Post by **maxiewawa** » 14 Sep 2016 12:51

Which part is the actual stamp? I'm talking about the Finnish Branches of Friendship. Just the birds in their nests? I ask because it looks like there is a long horizontal part which appears perforated.

arangama · Post by **arangama** » 14 Sep 2016 23:21

Hello maxiewawa yes the stamp extends to the branches too. Here is a image of the individual stamps.

Source of the image is from Internet hope it is ok.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 16 Oct 2016 09:09

DIAMONDS ATTACHED

For the sake of completeness, I will give details of the set of 10 silver stamps with a small diamond affixed to each stamp issued by the Netherlands in 2014, but this issue has already been discussed in some detail in a previous thread which can be found here:-

https://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=50195

The stamps evidently could be used as postage to pay for a registered letter within the Netherlands, but I wonder who would take the chance of sending one on a letter through the mail when they cost so much and with a fair likelihood of being stolen along the way.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 16 Oct 2016 18:02

QUARTZ CRYSTAL ATTACHED

25 April 2014 – Hungary S/S with quartz crystal attached – limited issue of 5,000

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 17 Oct 2016 15:58

RED CRYSTALS ATTACHED

10 September 2014 – Niger S/S with red Swarovski crystals attached

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 17 Oct 2016 16:00

RED CRYSTAL ATTACHED

21 May 2015 – Sao Tome and Principe S/S with red Swarovski crystal attached

Perf S/S

Imperf S/S

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 18 Oct 2016 08:14

CRYSTALS ATTACHED

24 September 2015 – Austria world's first leather stamp which also had five Swarovski crystals attached

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 18 Oct 2016 08:19

GREEN CRYSTAL AFFIXED

5 January 2016 - Sao Tome and Principe S/S with green Swarovski crystal attached

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 19 Oct 2016 04:54

GLASS CRYSTALS ATTACHED

25 April 2016 – Hungary S/S with glass crystals attached

Pre-release information
“To mark the fifth anniversary of signing Hungary’s Fundamental Law, Magyar Posta is releasing the red numbered crystal edition of the stamp block entitled Hungary’s New Fundamental Law issued in 2011 in 4 000 copies each. The stamp block will be overprinted with Hungarian inscriptions meaning “Hungary’s Fundamental Law is 5 years old” and “25 April 2016”. The main motif of the numbered philatelic speciality is the Holy Crown of Hungary. The stamp block was made using embossing, twenty-three carat gold leaf and offset printing, and under UV light the inscription in Hungarian “May there be peace, freedom and concord” is visible. The red numbered block adorned by crystals is sold in protective packaging.”

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 19 Oct 2016 18:19

CRYSTALS ATTACHED

8 September 2016 – Maldive Islands S/S with four Swarovski crystals attached

Maharaja Agrasen was a legendary Indian king (Maharaja) of Agroha, a city of traders. The Agrawal and Agrahari communities are descendents from him. He is credited with the establishment of a kingdom of traders in North India named Agroha, and is known for his compassion in refusing to slaughter animals in yajnas. Maldives has issued a beautiful stamp on Maharaja Agrasen to commemorate Maharaja Agrasen’s contribution to the society in terms of following peace, non-violence & abolishing animal sacrifice. The stamp has been issued under the series of “Inventions and Explorations” along with other personalities like Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Christopher Columbus, Charles Darwin & Valentina Tereshkova. The stamp had been done viewing the increasing trade relationship between India & Maldives , to highlight the main business community in the country with age old history. This stamp project had been envisaged & proposed by Shri Dinesh Chand Mittal, Chairman of Mittal Appliance Ltd, Indore. Mittal Appliance Ltd is pioneer in the country to manufacture Blanks for currency coins and they are major supplier of these blanks to Indian Mints in the country & overseas. The stamp has been designed by Mr.Alok K Goyal of A G Impex, Kolkata with many unique features on it. Special Features of The Stamp - is affixed with 4 (four) Crystals - - major portion is decorated with Gold Foiling .

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 20 Oct 2016 15:30

SAND AFFIXED

28 March 2014 – Philippines set of 4 and S/S textured with a rough surface to feel like sand is affixed achieved by tactile printing.

Release information
The Philippine Postal Corp. (PhlPost) recently issued the first quarter topical special stamp featuring Philippine watchtowers embellished with sand.

“This is a tactile stamp because when you touch the actual image of the watchtower, you will be able to feel the sand-like texture,” said Ma. Elenita San Diego, chief of PhlPost’s Post Shop, Philately and Museum Division.

The PhlPost produced 90,000 copies of the watchtower stamp, which will be sold at P25 each. The special stamp features four watchtowers found in Boljoon, Cebu; Bantay, Ilocos Sur; Samboan, Cebu; and Tabaco, Albay.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 21 Oct 2016 03:17

CRYSTAL POWDER AFFIXED

23 June 2014 – France – heart shaped stamp with crystal powder affixed

La Poste issued a heart shaped stamp featuring the world famous glass maker Baccarat. The stamp is issued with heart shaped theme for Valentine’s Day and has a central illustration featuring the Baccarat Heart Chandelier with red crystal powder affixed. A limited edition S/S contains 5 heart shaped stamps with red crystal powder giving a shimmering effect to the stamps.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 22 Oct 2016 03:36

LIMESTONE POWDER AFFIXED

1 October 2014 – Spain – single stamp with limestone powder affixed

Translated from the Spanish Philatelic website
A new series dedicated to ancient cultures remembers people that occupied the Iberian Peninsula and the island territories for thousands of years. The Talayotic settlements and the Taula Torretrencada in Menorca, are a good example of these ancient cultures. As an innovative element is that a light limestone dust from the area where the monuments are is embedded.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 22 Oct 2016 09:39

STONE POWDER AFFIXED

12 May 2016 – Switzerland – strip with stone powder affixed

From Swiss Post
What is unique about the “Gottardo 2016” special stamp is that it was printed using real Gotthard rock ground into dust. With a route length of 57 kilometres, the Gotthard Base Tunnel is the longest railway tunnel in the world, connecting the north of Switzerland to the south. It will open on 1 June 2016 with a public festival to celebrate. Roughly 28 million tonnes of material were removed from the mountain, of which around 15 kilos of Gotthard rock went to Swiss Post. The rock was ground into dust and then applied in this form to the 104 mm x 37 mm “Gottardo 2016” special stamp using a particular kind of printing with a special varnish

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 22 Oct 2016 18:59

OIL SHALE POWDER AFFIXED

15 June 2016 – Estonia S/S with oil shale powder affixed

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 23 Oct 2016 09:42

STONE POWDER AFFIXED

23 June 2016 – Costa Rica S/S with stone powder affixed

The two stamps show photographs of excavation of stone spheres and pulverized stone particles from the Diquis Delta area are affixed to each stamp.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 23 Oct 2016 18:40

WOOD PIECES AFFIXED

12 November 2014 – New Zealand – Hobbit S/S and the $2.50 stamp – with wood piece affixed to the door

The Hobbit: The Battle Of Five Armies' brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. To commemorate the final film in this trilogy, New Zealand Post has created stamps from Middle-earth. Six of the seven miniature sheets in this set feature scenes from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The seventh miniature sheet contains the Bag End stamp, The Bag End miniature sheet and stamp incorporate a piece of wood from the party tree from the Hobbiton Movie Set.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 24 Oct 2016 08:36

PINE TREE SHAVINGS AFFIXED

October 2015 – Australia – S/S from folder – limited issue of 3,000 – shavings from pine tree affixed

The S/S came from Impressions Battle of Lone Pine Medallion Album

From Australia Post website
The Battle of Lone Pine Medallion Album is an impressive and unique collection and in an Australian first, the folder includes a minisheet featuring shavings from the AWM Lone Pine tree as part of the printing process
The folder contains a wonderfully designed medallion that contains shavings from the Australian War Memorial Lone Pine tree grown from a seed brought back from Gallipoli. Shavings used are from a branch that feel during a storm in 2008
Includes details of the remarkable and devastating Battle of Lone Pine

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 24 Oct 2016 22:02

GLITTER AFFIXED

24 November 2014 – Philippines S/S with glitter affixed

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 25 Oct 2016 12:52

SEEDS ATTACHED

4 December 2013 – Trinidad and Tobago – S/S and sheetlet with seeds attached

Trinidad and Tobago Post has issued a sheetlet for 2013 World Food Day with a sorrel seed attached to each stamp as well as a S/S with a seed attached. The sorrel was selected for these stamps as all parts of the sorrel are edible – the seeds, the roots, branches, leaves, blossoms and the part commonly used in Trinidad and Tobago, the fruit. The sorrel plant can be used for beverages, jams, jellies or for medicinal purposes.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 25 Oct 2016 18:49

SEEDS ATTACHED

6 May 2014 – Jersey – two stamps in the Remembrance set have seeds affixed

Information from Jersey Post website about this issue
A special stamp issue incorporating real poppy seeds will be issued by Jersey Post on 6 May 2014 to help raise funds for the Poppy Appeal throughout the year. The stamp issue consists of six stamps and a Miniature Sheet which feature specially commissioned paintings of poppies to commemorate the historic and significant occasion of the Centenary of the First World War on 4 August 2014.
Poppy seeds have been encapsulated in two of the designs, sealed behind a thin, transparent, bio-degradable plastic cover. The stamps can be used for posting letters as usual but they can also be planted, gradually decomposing as the seeds start to grow, producing the striking red flowers which are so strongly associated with remembrance.
Jersey Post’s Business Development Director, Gary Carroll, explains: “Special seed stamp packs containing the two seed stamps will be on sale throughout May. The packs are priced at £1.50 and, for every packet sold, 75p will be donated to the Jersey Branch of the Royal British Legion. As poppies only grow during the spring and summer months, we are encouraging everyone to grow their poppy stamps during May and June so the flowers are in bloom in time for the 4 August Centenary.”
Jersey Post is encouraging everyone to ‘buy a pack to plant, buy a pack to post’, so that friends and family can also join in and plant seed stamps. Full instructions on how to plant the seed stamps are included in the packet.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 26 Oct 2016 08:58

SEEDS ATTACHED

26 June 2015 – Spain – single stamp with seeds affixed

Spanish post issued a stamp to mark year 2015 as International Year of Soils. The 68th UN General Assembly declared 2015 the International Year of Soils.

The stamps shows the contrast of fertile soil with the food produced from it and a forest full of plants, alongside cracked, barren soil resulting from the deterioration of the ecosystem.

The stamp has several petunia seeds inside along with the slogan: “Renew the soil. Plant me”.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 27 Oct 2016 04:36

SEEDS ATTACHED

7 June 2016 – San Marino – one stamp in strip has seeds affixed

From San Marino Philatelic website
The Italian fertility day is celebrated on 7th May. The aim of this set designed by Cristina Chiappini is to enhance motherhood and fatherhood, health and wellness of the unborn child. The three illustrations depict a mother, a father and a baby with a seed shaped body with a germ on the top of the head. On the mouth of the crying baby there are real seeds of dwarf petunia that can be planted following the instruction leaflet that will be delivered with the stamps. The set shows the metaphor of life as an embryo that develops into a plant.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 27 Oct 2016 22:16

FLOCKED FILIGREE AFFIXED

1 December 2014 – Monaco – flocked filigree affixed

From Monaco Post website
Founded in 2004 by HSH Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, Fight Aids Monaco celebrates 10 years of fight against AIDS. Information, prevention and support within respect and non-judgement are the basis of the association which shines on Monaco, on the PACA region but also in the rest of the world through its international cooperation particularly with Burundi and Madagascar. HSH Princess Stéphanie devised a House of Life in Carpentras inaugurated in 2010. It is a place of rest and relaxation that accommodates people living with HIV but also their family. The stamp will be issued on 1st December which is the World AIDS Day. The traditional auction organised by Fight Aids Monaco will be held on the same day.

Printing process: Offset/ flocking/ screen printing

The red heart is the flocked filigree work.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 28 Oct 2016 07:42

EMBROIDERY WORK AFFIXED

12 February 2015 – Malaysia – S/S with embroidery work affixed to the stamp – this is a beautiful stamp – issued in a limited edition folder of 10,000

From Malaysian Club website
Malaysia 2015 Baba & Nyonya Heritage miniature sheet premium stamp in original folder, with embroidery. Limited edition – only 10.000 printed

Nyonya Kebaya
The Nyonya Kebaya first appeared only in the early 20th century. These early versions featured rather simple embroidery work but later, especially from the 1960s onwards, a more exquisite and intricate embroidery began to emerge. While the early Kebaya are hand sewn, the Nyonya Kebaya today is embroidered using the sewing machine with flower motives being the favourite theme. The miniature sheet features a composition of Malaysian fruit motifs with the creative use of contrasting colours. The kebaya featured won the UNESCO Award of Excellence for Handicraft 2012.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 28 Oct 2016 21:27

FLOCKING AFFIXED

2 March 2015 – Central Africa – flocking affixed (the black areas) to two S/S – feels like fur - the two sheets were issued like this

When separated

13 September 2016 – Colombia S/S with flocking affixed

Issued by Colombia Post to commemorate the signing of the Peace Agreement between the Colombian Government and the FARC

The blue section is the flocking (raised velvet feel) affixed to the stamp

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 29 Oct 2016 10:04

FLOCKING AFFIXED

2 September 2015 – New Zealand – fabric affixed (the black jersey)

Information from New Zealand Post website
2015 is the year in which the All Blacks will attempt to reclaim the title of Rugby World Cup champions. To recognise this significant moment in New Zealand’s sporting history, we’ve worked with New Zealand Rugby and its partner, adidas, to bring you a special stamp and coin that epitomises the very essence of being part of the All Blacks - the jersey.

Worn with pride for generations, the jersey has been some variation of a black uniform with a silver fern since 1893, and in 1905 the team became habitually referred to as the ‘All Blacks’. Although the jersey has changed many times over the years to keep up with the intense pace of our national game, the mana of the jersey continues to this day.

Own a piece of All Blacks history
This exciting, innovative stamp contains real fabric supplied by adidas from the All Blacks 2015 Home Replica Jersey. The fabric has been printed on with precision to include the All Blacks logo, the adidas logo and the AIG logo, and then die-cut to replicate the real jersey worn on the field. The jersey is applied to gummed stamp paper, with the complete design replicating a framed jersey.

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 30 Oct 2016 04:03

PLASTIC DOME AFFIXED

20 May 2016 – France – affixed to the stamp is a polyurethane resin football – feels like plastic - issued in a SS

Stamp itself looks like this

The stamp paid for a small letter to any European country

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 30 Oct 2016 16:42

BAMBOO CHIPS AFFIXED

Jan 13 2016 – Taiwan stamp with bamboo chips affixed

A fan-shaped stamp with affixed bamboo chips was issued by Chunghwa Post Co. Ltd., the stamp’s chips featuring a seven-character, eight-line poem in semicursive script by Ming dynasty (1368-1644) painter Wen Zengming.

From the display in the booth of Cartor Security Printers at the 2016 Taipei Stamp Exhibition

Postal usage

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 30 Oct 2016 16:46

COD FISH SKIN ATTACHED

26 September 2016 – Faroe Islands stamp with cod skin attached

From the Faroe Islands Philatelic Bureau website
“The stamps were in principle designed as ordinary stamp with texts, values and a small shaded drawing by master engraver Martin Mörck. But the similarity stopped right there. Onto each stamp a square piece of tanned cod skin had been glued. It was not at all grey and dullish, which I to my embarrassment must admit was my initial fear - but incredibly beautiful and patterned with almost metallic colour tones, which change depending on the angle it is viewed from. By looking at several examples I was able to ascertain that they are all different - something the Philatelic Department makes every effort to avoid.
Whatever the case, in September Posta will issue beautiful stamps with skin of cod caught in Faroese waters, supplied by fish exporter Nevið in Runavík, tanned by Atlantic Leather in Iceland and printed by Cartor in France.”

As can be seen, each stamp is different due to the texture and nature of the cod skin.

From the display in the booth of Cartor Security Printers at the 2016 Taipei Stamp Exhibition

Postal usage

steve1491 · Post by **steve1491** » 07 Nov 2016 17:30

On September 9th 2011 Croatian post has issued quite unusual stamp for STAMP DAY 2011, commemorating 20th anniversary of the first stamp of Republic of Croatia issued on September 9th 1991 during the period of separation from Yugoslavia.

The stamp contains QR (Quick Response) code, flat code similar to barcode, which could be decoded by scanning with mobile phone-Croatia Post web site, which is linked to QR code, is opened and you can see information about the journey and the length of journey for each specific stamp, position of the sender and the recipient on Google Map, all many other information about that project.

Additional curiosity with this stamp issue is that each stamp issued, 1000000 stamps were issued, is UNIQUE-each stamps has its own QR code represented with text description bellow the QR code depicted.

I think this is unique practice from any postal authority in the world to issue 1000000 stamps of which each of them is really unique and different to any other stamp from this issue!!!

If somebody is interested, I can arrange the cover with this stamp to be sent through the regular mail; just contact me through my email: zeljko.g.stefanovic at gmail.com.

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steve1491 · Post by **steve1491** » 07 Nov 2016 17:39

On September 16th 1999 Croatian Post has issued its first, and so far the only, metal foil stamp. Stamp commemoration World Day of Protection of the Ozone Layer has a part of inclusion of metal foil within the stamp. Originally planned as the hologram, letter O from O3, within the cloud, is finally printed as metal foil.

Global Admin · Post by **Global Admin** » 09 Dec 2016 02:25

Love the Faroes ones Greg, that you say even SMELL like fish!

aerogi · Post by **aerogi** » 09 Dec 2016 02:34

After seeing a post about the 'fish skin' stamp, I bought this item from the Faroese post. I work for one of the larges Fish companies in the world (in belgium we do the 'value added' part). So I really had to have this item.

It's a pretty cool item. And a nice text that goes along.

But my daughter were not too much impressed though...

Eli · Post by **Eli** » 21 Dec 2016 19:21

tonga2 wrote:As usual Austrian post is coming up with a new, unique unusual stamp.

First ever dress shaped embroidery stamp will be issued on September 22nd.

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Marco (Matmex) sent me this beauty on large cover. Thank you very much, Marco!

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 22 Dec 2016 03:30

Nice to get one on cover.

Azar Ahmadov · Post by **Azar Ahmadov** » 22 Dec 2016 03:55

My favorite theme.

Some amount of unusual stamps collected, but sure majority of them listed in thread

MarkoSK · Post by **MarkoSK** » 17 Jul 2017 03:04

When I read "unusual" first one which comes to my mind is early Uganda.

Paper - sainted paper for sermons
Way of print - by the only typerwriter in the country
"Printer": local reverend
Gum - resin from a tree next to your "house"
cancelation - by a pen or a rayon - date and name (or initials)

...and "30" doesn´t mean 30 cents or annas but cowries = shells, prohibited as a currency a year later

tonga2 · Post by **tonga2** » 01 Aug 2017 12:18

All pictures now restored and kept safely in Imgur.