Cyprus stamps - Auctions, Buy It Now and various collectables

It's been a bit of a mad week at work and I haven't had too much spare time over the weekend as I wasn't very well.... Came down with a rotten cold on Friday which kind of mucked up the weekend :-(


So, time to do some updating methinks.


First off - Cyprus Stamps News


We've just this week added the new Cyprus 2011 Christmas stamp issue to our website. You can order in advance (pre-order and pay before Wednesday 9th November) and have them dispatched to you on the First Day of Issue which is Friday 11th November.  


Yes, Cyprus postal services have changed the stamp release schedule - again! 
They were originally due for release on Wednesday 9th November. But a phone call to the philately department this morning confirms all is as per the latest leaflet we received.


There will be a set of 3 stamps with values of €0,22c, €0,51c and €0,68c plus Official First Day Cover and a set of 3 Maxim Cards.
The stamps will also be available as full sheets (8 stamps per sheet). We are offering the sets and full sheets in either Mint or CTO (Cancelled To Order on first day of issue). 
Simply choose the correct type when you make your online purchase from Cyprus Stamps website.


The images below are taken from the official stamp issue leaflet as we don't yet have the originals to take a direct scan from.

Description:
Birth of Christ:
The €0,22c stamp, depicts a detail from a mural of Birth of Christ (1740-1750) from the Cathedral Church of Agios Ioannis.

Christmas Decorations:
The €0,51 and €0,68 cent stamps depict the celebratory, joyous message of Christmas, that is traditionally represented on Christmas decorations.


Not the most exciting of Christmas stamps we've seen but they do appear to follow a similar theme of the last 2 Christmas issues with the snowball and snowflake decorations....

An Interesting "Find"

We recently acquired the 2011 Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue and noticed some new Cyprus stamp catalogue variation listings. This of course made us check through our existing collection and it seems we have this variation (one kind only which is listed as SG50a - Mint and Used). A lucky find for us :-) 

The 3 listings are:

Cyprus SG40a 1896 Half Piastre 

Cyprus SG50a 1902 Half Piastre

Cyprus SG62b 1904 Half Piastre

What's the difference with SG50a, I hear you ask? 

Well, I can tell you it's referred to as a "large S" in Piastre. The top curve of the "S" is taller than the letter "T" and there is a slight "blot" at the end of the top curve where the letter ends.

We will be listing them on eBay very soon so keep an eye on our stuff!

Click to see our Cyprus stamps eBay auctions where we have a few interesting postmark items listed. They may be of interest to those who collect rural postmarks.

I'm thinking we may set up a new category of Rural Postmarks of Cyprus as they have their own particular niche. What do you think, would it be of interest to you?

We do have some nice eBay collections of stamps from north Cyprus (Turkish Cypriot) in the form of mini sheets. We're offering these at an exceptional price so if you're a collector, don't miss out on them!

Major overhaul at Cyprus Stamps website

I've been busy this weekend and have made some major changes to our Cyprus Stamps online shop and website.

For those who visit us regularly and have purchased in the past you may notice now the NEW drop down menu links to our Shop Categories for Cyprus Pre-Republic, Cyprus Republic and North Cyprus / Turkish Cypriot stamps.

By hovering your mouse over the categories you will see the further sub-categories under these headings. So for example if you were  looking for Cyprus Republic 1980's stamps or covers all you need to do is hover over the Republic of Cyprus category to open up the sub menu and click on 1980's which will take you to the list of all the categories for the year of interest: First Day Covers, Sheets - Mint & Used, Stamps - Mint, Stamps - Used and Year Packs.

Take a look now and enjoy collecting Cyprus stamps!

Cyprus Stamps NEW 5th October 2011 issue - The Children's Stamp.

The Hare & The Tortoise Cyprus adhesive stamp issue was released today, Wednesday 5th October 2011 by the Cyprus Post Office.

For the very first time since 1965 the Cyprus Post Office have not released an Official First Day Cover for this particular issue - probably because of the type of stamp. The stamps are adhesive stamps in a booklet format.

First day covers are produced by machines and therefore must have encountered difficulties with these "sticker" type stamps. As a general rule, the Cyprus Post Office release between 8,000 - 9,000 First Day Covers!

Based on this information, Cyprus Stamps website have produced their very own Unofficial First Day Cover envelopes and we expect these to become very rare, so grab them while you can!
Only a very limited supply is available on our website.

The tortoise and the hare - Aesop's Fables (The Children's Stamp of Cyprus for 2011)

One day the hare was ridiculing the tortoise over its slow-moving pace. The tortoise, unmoved, turned towards the hare and said:

"Let us have a race and see who is faster!"

The hare burst out laughing listening to the tortoise but accepted the challenge. The race was fixed for the following morning. The fox gave the signal and the race began.

The tortoise began walking, slowly of course, but at a steady pace towards the finish line. The hare, seeing his opponent's slow rhythm and certain of his victory, lay down under a tree in the middle of the course and fell asleep. When he woke up it was too late because the tortoise had reached the finish line and had won the race!

Moral: "He who is modest in life achieves his goals in the end".
Text: Aesop's Fables
Source: Stamps and Philatelic Services, Cyprus Post

Design-Artwork: Ioanna Kalli, Nicosia 
Size of adhesive stamp booklet: 9 x 22 cm 
Quantities: 
€1,70: 30000 
Printing method: Litho-offset on adhesive paper 
Printer: Giesecke & Devrient Matsoukis S.A. Greece 

Image shows the front and back (containing the stamps) of the booklet.

The stamps are described as "adhesive" and a set comprises of 5 single stamps, each with a value of €0,34c. The set is produced in booklet form.