London 2012 Summer Olympics from Ireland

 

 Last Summer was focused on London hosting the Games of the XXX Olympiad. Many countries have issued commemorative stamps to celebrate this huge sport event. An Post did the same with a series of two stamps: on the left the victory podium to celebrate achievement, success and national pride, on the right five verticals to represent Ireland's proximity to London and the short journey across the Irish Sea. The front of the card shows the official logo adopted for the Games, where Ireland collected 1 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals.

UNESCO Historic Centre from Macau

In 2005 over twenty locations were included in the UNESCO Historic Centre of Macau, which is a unique mix of Chinese and Portuguese style, culture and architecture. Three years later the Macau Postal Service issued a series of 8 definitive stamps to celebrate these World Heritage places. The stamp on the left is part of this series. The one of the right, issued in 2009, represents the old Macau city walls, built in the 16th Century and again part of the UNESCO site.

Signs of the Zodiac from Belgium

 

In January 2011 Belgium Post (bpost) issued a beautiful sheet of stamps dedicated to the 12 signs of the Zodiac. This stamp was used on this maxicard issued in Germany on the 14th October 1982 (30 years old in a few days!). The maxicard celebrated the 400th Anniversary of the Gregorian Calendar, based on a drawing made by Johann Rasch in the XVI century.