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!