A short video depicting a selection of rural postmarks / cancel marks on Cyprus stamps.

As a one country stamp collector my main interest of course is stamps and philatelic items from the country of Cyprus but I realise there are many collectors out there who collect only EUROPA stamps from all countries.

So, with that in mind I thought I would do a spotlight on the Cyprus EUROPA stamps which were released during the 1960s.

I hope you enjoy them!

1962 - Europa "Doves" 19 March 1962

1963 - Europa "Tree" 28 January 1963

1963 - Europa "Cooperation" Emblem (CEPT) 04 November 1963

1964 - Europa "Flower" 14 September 1964

1965 - Europa "Sprig" 27 September 1965

1966 - Europa "Ship" 26 September 1966

1967 - Europa "Cogwheels" 02 May 1967

1968 - Europa "Key" 29 April 1968

1969 - Europa "Emblem" 28 April 1969

To see all of our current availability of the EUROPA stamps of Cyprus including those issued in north Cyprus (Turkish Cypriot) Stamps, Booklets and First Day Covers etc please follow this Cyprus EUROPA stamps link.

I will follow up with the 1970s Cyprus EUROPA stamps issues on a future blog post....

Unfortunately, there will be no Republic of Cyprus stamp issues for 2013 now until:

9 October 2013:
h) "Children's Stamps" - details of this self-adhesive stamp issue will be communicated nearer the time as and when we receive it from the Cyprus Post Office.

The last issue from Republic of Cyprus was released on Wednesday 5 June 2013 - Commemoratives entitled "Organisms of the Mediterranean marine environment"

However, for those who also collect Turkish Cypriot stamps there will be another issue on:

10 September 2013:
5) "Islamic Arts and Culture" - unfortunately, we have no images or other information available for this issue and will not receive them until after the official release date.

We visit the north of Cyprus a couple of times each year so will add these issues just as soon as we can get our hands on them!

Most recent Turkish Cyprus stamp issues we added to the website are listed here below:

• European Football Championship - issue date 29 June 2012
• London Olympic Games - issue date 27 July 2012
• Old Buses and Motorbikes - issue date 22 November 2012

No, not us unfortunately........ but the Cyprus 2012 stamp issues and booklets in A4 hardbacked book format will be making its' way to a lucky new owner in Brazil very soon.

Just as soon as the post office opens, we will be leaving it in the care of Cyprus post to dispatch it.

We're hoping to have more in stock soon.

Today as we were strolling along St Andrew Street (Agiou Andreou) in the old town of Limassol just a street back from the seafront, we fell across a postbox we didn't know existed...

It's surprising what you find when you're not really looking for something isn't it?

Anyway, who can tell me which George this postbox would have belonged to?

How about this for an envelope cover for stamp collectors?

This is how we try to send our items by registered mail....

• We don't just put the barcode sticker on and leave it at that.
• Neither do we print off postage labels.

Collectors at CyprusStamps.com get some cool envelopes with Cyprus stamp issues on them as close to the value of the postage as possible, including of course a Cyprus Refugee stamp.

Well for those who have been keeping abreast of Cyprus and her recent events will be aware it's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride since 15th March.... It's been quite a difficult time for many people with the banks being closed for almost 2 weeks.

Now you may not think that would be too much of a problem but not only were they closed but it also meant that no online transactions were being processed which caused a few issues for us.

1. We couldn't easily keep track of exactly what was coming out of our account.
2. We had to keep a supply of ready cash handy as some places weren't accepting debit cards.
3. We needed to buy in new stock over the internet and we were aware that some transactions weren't being allowed to take place.
4. We are in the process of purchasing another domain name and needed to be able to move funds around as necessary. (More about that soon.....).

Anyway, the banks are now open again, although not now until Tuesday as Cyprus has yet another public holiday on Monday 1st April (Cyprus National Day) also referred to as EOKA Day and Wednesday 3rd April sees the arrival of Cyprus' Easter Stamps.

With that forthcoming public holiday in mind, I thought I would do a bit of a spotlight on some of the EOKA stamps which have been produced over the years along with a potted history which I've taken from Wikepedia. If you want more information on it you will find a link further down to the Wiki page.

Cyprus EOKA stamps:

SG 880 - 882 1995 (40th Anniversary of the EOKA Liberation Struggle 1955-59)

Issued:31 March 1995

SG 998 2000 (45th Anniversary: In Memory and Honour of the EOKA Heroes)

Issued: 9 May 2000

SG 1095 2000 (50th Anniversary of EOKA Struggle)

Issued: 3 March 2005

The 50th Anniversary stamp is a firm favourite with me as it captures the cloak and dagger of the history of the EOKA struggle. Even though it was a relatively short event (in time), the memory lives on and on in Cyprus. It's not the best day to be waving a British flag anyway!

You can find all our available Cyprus EOKA stamps by clicking through the link.

Ideology of EOKA
EOKA was a nationalist organisation with the ultimate goal of "The liberation of Cyprus from the British yoke", presenting itself as "anti-colonialist". Although not stated in its initial declaration of existence which was printed and distributed on 1 April 1955, EOKA also had a target of achieving enosis (union of Cyprus with Greece). Despite this ideology being reflected in many of its members (and chiefly its military leader George Grivas) throughout the armed campaign, it was not of universal acceptance. The head of the political arm of EOKA, Makarios, took a more compromising approach especially during the later stages of the struggle.

Armed campaign
The military campaign officially began on April 1, 1955. On this date EOKA launched simultaneous attacks on the British controlled Cyprus Broadcasting Station in Nicosia (led by Markos Drakos), on the British Army's Wolseley barracks and on targets in Famagusta (led by Grigoris Afxentiou). Thereafter and unlike other anti colonial movements, EOKA confined its acts to sabotaging military installations, ambushing military convoys and patrols, and assassinating British soldiers and local informers. It did not attempt to control any territory, a tactic that according to Grivas would not have suited the terrain and size of Cyprus nor the imbalance of EOKA's conventional military capabilities with respect to the British Army.

More information about the Cyprus struggle can be found on the highlighted link.

Cyprus stamps news - Easter 2013 commemorative issues

On 3 April 2013:
d) The commemorative issue "Easter 2013"

A set of 3 stamps with values of €0,26, €0,34 and €1,71 entitled:
Christ's Entry Into Jerusalem
The Crucifixion
The Resurrection

Also available on First Day Covers.

Technical Information
Design-Artwork: Costas Panayi, Mistero.
Printing method: Litho-Offset on unwatermarked paper
Printer: Giesecke & Devrient Matsoukis S.A., Greece
Size of stamps: 36,5 x 26 mm and 40 x 27 mm

Available soon for pre-order to be dispatched to you on the first day of issue. Look out for them in the New Stamp Issue category.

Today I've added the preliminary list of 2013 North Cyprus (Turkish Cypriot) stamp issues list to the Stamp Issues Calendar.

However, as each issue is released the calendar item will disappear after the event - so you can also find the list below the stamp categories on the North Cyprus (Turkish Cypriot) stamps > 2010's page too!

We now have all of the North Cyprus (Turkish Cypriot) stamp issues from 2012 listed on our website.

The most recent additions are shown below with the corresponding First Day Covers. Available to purchase in the North Cyprus stamps 2010's shop category.

2012 European Football Championship - issue date 29 June 2012

2012 London Olympic Games - issue date 27 July 2012

Old Buses and Motorbikes - issue date 22 November 2012