Cards From All Over

Hello again, today I will show a bunch of cards from many ( but not all ) of the people who keep this blog going. That's you - the readers who take the time to drop a postcard in the mail to me, someone you have never met. When you think  about it, that's pretty special. So let's get to the postcards.

First up is a card from Monaco, showing various views of Monte Carlo, including car racing in the bottom right.

Meelis used 2 great stamps from a set of 4 issued in 2014. The 2 featured here showcase Gilles Villeneuve (1950-1982), the Canadian racing driver . He spent six years in Grand Prix racing and achieved 6 wins in Formula One. Villeneuve died after crashing at 225 km/h during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder.

Today's second card arrived from Ankara, Turkey. It's a view of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul. Often called the Blue Mosque , for the blue tiles adorning the walls of the interior, it was built between 1609 and 1616. It has one main dome, six minarets and eight secondary domes.

Leslie used a souvenir sheet of 2 stamps from 2015. They  were issued as a Joint Issue with Iran on 18 Feb 2015. The left stamp shows the Green Mosque , built in 1421 at Bursa, Turkey. The right stamp shows the Blue Mosque , built in 1465, in Tabziz, Iran.

Dont't forget to visit Leslie's postcard blog called " the postcard blog ! ". You can see it here .

My next card is from London, U.K. It commemorates the 175th Anniversary of the Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp, issued May 6th, 1840 . This particular card, issued by Royal mail,  shows the Two-Penny Blue , issued 2 days later on May 8th, 1840.

David used a refreshed Penny Black and a refreshed Two Penny Blue , issued on May 6th of this year. The new designs are special definitives  paying the first-class domestic rate, currently 63 pence.

More than 1 million Penny Blacks are estimated to have survived to the present ; enough for every collector who wants an example to acquire one. They range in price from affordable to very expensive depending on condition. I'm lucky enough to have a Penny Black in my collection. It is postally used, lettered MG, and has part of a red Maltese Cross cancellation. Here it is :

A card from Johan is next. It gives us a look at some views of Overijse, a municipality of around 25,000 in Flanders, Belgium. .

Johan used a new 2015 Europa stamp on this card. It was issued on 13 April and his card received a special First Day of Issue cancellation. The stamp is from a set of 2 showing Old Toys.

You can find Johan's blog right here .

A card from France is next. On it we see the Chateau de Blandy - les - Tours , a medieval castle in the village of Bland, France. The castle was constructed between the 13th and 14th centuries.

Dominique used a 2014 stamp celebrating the Marquise de Pompadour and the 250th Anniversary of her passing.

Did someone say Limes ?  That's the focus of this next card, that arrived from Taiwan.

Wei Yi , who contributed to this blog some years ago, sent this card. He wrote that his little daughter picked this card out for me.
As often happens with Taiwan, I didn't have much luck locating information on the stamps, but I'll show them anyway.

Next it's a new addition to my Airline/ Aircraft postcard collection. It's ZK-NCG an Air New Zealand B767-319ER  in a livery highlighting Lord of the Rings and the Airline to Middle Earth, along with the image of Aragorn.

Jean Pierre used 2 stamps. On the left is 1 of a set of 10 issued in 2001 celebrating 100 Years of Moving the Mail. A great Aviation themed stamp. On the right is a 2009 stamp from the Matariki set of 6.

That's it for this update. Thanks for cards going out to Meelis, Leslie, David, Johan, Dominique, Wei Yi and Jean Pierre. Thanks for dropping by and reading , and drop by again soon. Take care.