EUROPA NEWS MARCH - APRIL 2007 378-1 EUROPA NEWS · EUROPA NEWS MARCH - APRIL 2007 378-1 EUROPA...

EUROPA NEWS MARCH - APRIL 2007 378-1

EUROPA NEWS APS - BULLETIN OF THE EUROPA STUDY UNIT - ATA

MARCH - APRIL 2007 NUMBER 378

EUROPA STAMPS EUROPA STAMPS

ITEM PAGE

New Issues 2-5

Europa Briefs 6-13

The Philatelic Legacy of the Marshall Plan...

14-16

Simplon Pass & Tunnel 17

New Postmarks 18

New Issues List 19

News from PostEurop 19

50 years of Danish Sol-diers Helping the UN

20

Membership Information 20

2006 Executive Secretary’s Report

21

2006 Treasurer’s Report 21

Member Advertisement 21

Winners of the Europa 2006 Design Contest

21

Forward Calendar 22

Final Accounting, Auction #107

22

Comments Received from Members in Annual Poll

23

Unit Information 24

Handbook Update for 2006 Insert

WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE?

Don Smith reports that ESU member #2088, ALEXANDER EFTHYMIOU from Athens, Greece, has passed away. He was a great supporter of the Unit auctions and placed many item in them for sale. Don also reports on the passing of ROD MCGLOTHLIN, member #2222, from Pasadena, Maryland, and ROSEMARY ZACHMAN, member #2074 of Temper-ance, MI. We are saddened by the losses.

dress should anyone desire more information about the Europa Study Unit. More informa-tion about the VN-VE Club and its bulletin “Grenzenloos” please contact the Secretary, Mr. J.M. Snellenberg, Porfier 9, 3831VL Leusden, Netherlands. MARSHALL PLAN FILMS - Sandra Schulberg, is a filmmaker and tireless advo-cate for the films of the Marshall Plan, a se-ries of propaganda flicks the United States made for European audiences to sell them on democracy, shared economic goals and the hope of a new, peaceful Europe built on the ashes of the ruined old one. See “The Good Old Days Of Selling Democracy - Marshall Plan Films Offer History Lesson In Public Relations” by Philip Kennicott, Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, January 27, 2007; Page C01.

ANNUAL POLL, BEST DESIGNS - By vote of the Unit members, the top three vote-getters in the annual poll were Switzerland, Gibraltar and Faroe Island. See page 21.

UPCOMING UNIT MEETINGS - The Unit will meet in conjunction with the NTSS in Dallas. The Unit meeting will be on Sat-urday, June 16, from 1 - 3 PM according to a listing in the current Topical Times. I hope to see many of you there.

Left: Cover franked with Germany’s new issue commemorating that country’s assumption of the Presidency of the European Union. Courtesy of Mr. Friedrich-Karl Oetker. Right: Cover with single franking of the 2€ stamp from Luxembourg. Cover courtesy of Mr. Uwe Kensing.

ANNUAL SUPPLEMENT - Don smith has put together the 2006 annual supplement of Europa stamps. It can be found as an insert with this issue. If you like it, please send Don a “thank you.” DISCOUNT COVERS - Based on an ad in Linn’s, I looked up Discount Covers on-line at http://discountcoverstore.com. I found lots of Europa covers in the “Thematic” section of this electronic store. All covers are priced at either $1.25, $2.50 or 3.75. It’s a good place to shop. GRENZENLOOS - True to his word, Max Molenaar, the Editor of the Grenzenloos Bul-letin republished The Council of Europe Art Exhibition article in English, that first ap-peared on the pages of the Europa News. Grenzenloos is the bulletin of the VN-VE stamp club (United Nations - United Europe). The article started with a paragraph written by Max, giving full credit to the Europa News. He also included Don Smith’s ad-


NEW ISSUES

JERSEY - A set of 4 stamps on the Eu-ropa 2007 theme of the 100th anniver-sary of the Boy Scouts. # 34p - Adventure. # 37p - International Friendship. # 42p - Developing Young People. #74p - Changing the World for Good.

# Day of Issue: March 6, 2007. Designer: Colleen Corlett. Printing: Four-color, offset lithography, by the Österreichesche Staatsdruckerei GmbH in sheets of 10 stamps (2 across x 5 down). Format: 40 x 30mm. Quantity: Not given. Other Items: Mint and CTO stamps, official first day cover envelope and a presentation pack.

On 22nd February 1857, Robert Ste-phenson Smyth Baden-Powell was born in Paddington, London. One of ten chil-dren born to the Reverend and Henrietta Baden-Powell, he was named after his godfather, Robert Stephenson, the son of the famed railway pioneer George Ste-phenson. His father died when Robert was only three years old leaving Henri-etta to bring up their large family alone. Henrietta was obviously a formidable woman who had great ambitions for her offspring. Throughout his childhood, Robert treated life as an adventure and learned something from every experi-ence. Many of these experiences would later be used as part of the Scouting Movement activities. Robert Baden-Powell - or B-P as he be-came known - was asked by the founder of the Boys Brigade to devise a scheme to involve a greater variety of ways in which to train boys in good citizenship. In 1907, twenty-two boys from all walks of life were invited to Brownsea Island in Dorset, England to take part in an experimental camp. This was the begin-ning of The Scouts. The first Scout troop in Jersey was founded in October 1908. It was based at St. Simons Church and within ten weeks of its inauguration, the troop s number had swelled to one hundred members. The Island of Jersey has a substantial Scouting community which is looking forward to taking part in the various centenary celebrations that will be held during 2007. Debbie Dry-land is the Co-ordinator for the 2007 Centenary Year of Scouting celebrations in Jersey and she very kindly provided the following information on Scouting in the 21st century: "More than 28 million Scouts around the world will be celebrating the Centenary Year of Scouting in 2007. Scouting has a presence in almost every country in the world and 2007 will be celebrated at local, national and global levels with opportunities to unite in shared objec-tives and participative events. Key dates for events in 2007 are:

World Scout Jamboree, 27th July-10th August 2007, Hylands Park, Essex in England. The 21st World Scout Jamboree will bring together 40,000 Scouts and Guides aged between fourteen and eighteen and a half years. Over 150 countries are ex-pected to take part. Sunrise Ceremony, 1st August 2007. Scouts around the world will gather at dawn to renew their Promise and wel-come the second century of Scouting. The continuation of Gifts for Peace. A major part of the world-wide centenary celebrations is the idea of Gifts for Peace; Scout projects that involve young people in practical activities to promote peace by addressing issues that affect young people directly. The strategy of Scouting and brand for the next century is a four-fold ideology - Adventure, International Friendship, Developing Young People and Changing the World for Good. Activities for Scouts will enable young people from every race and religion to unite in a shared commitment to promote a peace-ful world, improve and respect nature and the environment, address community issues and promote and improve the quality of Scouting as a positive contri-bution for good in the world. The four-fold Scouting brand encourages Adventure to promote participation and enjoyment in outdoor activities, The acquisition of skills traditionally associ-ated with Scouting helps build confi-dence in young people to explore their abilities, take responsibility, be self-sufficient, to understand the realm of risk and to make suitable preparations that will prepare them for the unexpected life events they will encounter in their adult lives. The acquisition of such skills as map-reading, tying knots and camping enable young people to venture safely further afield and undertake a range of personal expeditions and physical chal-lenges.

EUROPA 2007

continued on page 3...


NEW ISSUES (continued)

International Friendship encourages Scouts to unite the world in acceptance, peace and understanding irrespective of race, nationality, religion, culture, ability or beliefs by promoting international contact in an exploration of different ways of living in other communities. Scouts are encouraged to take part in activities that will bring them into con-tact with Scouts around the world, to learn about others, to share in their cus-toms and pastimes and make lasting friendships. This enables Scouts to grow into tolerant adults able to share positive experiences with others without fear of prejudice of difference. Developing Young People is essential to prepare them for the challenges of adult life by helping them acquire skills, behaviors and attitudes likely to lead to a positive and successful life by providing opportunity, variety and, overall, fun. To recognize the changing face of the world within which we live by adapting to technological, global and environmental changes whilst maintaining the positive values of community and acceptance. Finally, Changing the World for Good encourages young people to recognize their gifts and contribute to their local and global communities by enabling them to celebrate their achievements and those of others, irrespective of differ-ence, in a fun, trusting and supportive environment. To develop awareness about themselves and respect for others across age, race, ethnic, religion and cultural differences by promoting shared and team assisted activities. Young peo-ple are encouraged to take an active part in the values of Scouting by coming to-gether in membership in a world-wide family that welcomes boys and girls of different physical abilities and back-grounds. The opportunity to attain Scout awards and badges within the Scout program is a means to a greater and hoped for end aligned to the values of Scouting; they are not necessarily an end in themselves. The achievement of getting a badge is a

tangible event in the experience of each Scout in celebration of the skills, knowl-edge and performance they have demon-strated in the course of their develop-ment and participation in life." The four stamps, painted by artist Col-leen Corlett, will be issued on 6th March 2007. Two of the four stamps will bear the Europa logo. Artist, Colleen Corlett, has illustrated the Jersey Scout Centre, located at St Ouen, on her painting for the Presentation Pack.

SAN MARINO - A souvenir sheet of 4 values.

# 4 x 0.65 - Council of Europe logo and San Marino crest.

Date of issue: January 23, 2007. De-signer: Valerio Pradal. Printing: Off-set, by Cartor Security Printing, in sheets of 4 stamps. Format: 48 x 30mm (stamp) and 78 x 150mm (sheet), perfo-rated 13 x 13. Quantity: 120,000 sheets. Other: No further information.

From the San Marino press release...

PRESIDENCY OF THE COMMIT-TEE OF MINISTERS OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

After the striking of the Medal and con-sidering the importance of the half-year November 2006 – May 2007 Presidency of the Council of Europe by the Republic of San Marino, a commemorative souve-nir sheet will be issued.

The Council of Europe was established in 1949, it is based in Strasburg, it gath-ers 46 member states and it was created with the purpose of safeguarding human rights and parliamentary democracy, and of guaranteeing the supremacy of law, reaching agreements on a continental level to harmonize social and juridical procedures in member states and pro-moting the awareness of the European Identity based on shared values that go beyond cultural differences.

The Council of Europe is led by the fol-lowing main bodies: a Committee of Ministers, that is made up of 46 Minis-ters for Foreign Affairs or their perma-nent diplomatic representatives in Stras-burg (i.e. ambassadors / permanent rep-resentatives) and is the organization’s decision making body; a Parliamentary Assembly, that gathers 630 members (315 regular members and 315 substitute members) coming from the 46 national Parliaments and observers from the Par-liament of the candidate State, chaired by René van der Linden; a Congress of Local and Regional Authorities that comprises a Chamber of Local Au-thorities and a Chamber of Regions, chaired by Halvdan Skard; and finally a Secretariat consisting of around 1800 officers, led by its Secretary General, Terry Davis.

The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Member States assume the rotating six-month Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers. The rotation follows the English alphabetic order of the countries concerned. The transfer of the Chair-manship from the

PRESIDENCY OF C of E COUNCIL OF MINISTERS


continued from page 2...


NEW ISSUES (continued)

Russian Federation to the Republic of San Marino took place during the meet-ing of the Ministers’ Deputies on Wednesday, 15 November 2006. Start-ing from this date and until May 2007, San Marino will have the Committee of Ministers’ Chairmanship.

During the meeting, Fiorenzo Stolfi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of San Mar-ino, illustrated the Chairmanship’s pri-orities for the next six months. The three main priorities are: to promote the inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue; to defend and develop human rights and fundamental freedoms, particularly through enhanced effectiveness of the monitoring mechanism of the European Convention on Human Rights; and to strengthen co-operation with the other international organizations.

The 23rd January 2007 will not only be the issue date of the souvenir sheet enti-tled "Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe", but it will also be the date of the presentation of the souvenir sheet in Strasburg. The souvenir sheet is made up of four stamps that show the San Marino flag on the left, the "C" logo of the Council of Europe on a blue background with the 12 stars of the European flag on the right and the legend "Presidency of the Com-mittee of Ministers of the Council of Europe November 2006 - May 2007" on the bottom. The stamps also bear value, name of the printing Institute, issue year and name of the drawing’s author.

The stamps and other philatelic products can also be purchased on our website.

Alain Poher was born on the 17th April 1909 in Ablon-sur-Seine, Val-de-Marne, a small town on the outskirts of Paris, (in what was at the time the French depart-ment Seine-et-Oise). He obtained a Bachelor of Law and then a Diploma (political science) from the ecole libre des Sciences politiques, became a civil engineer of mines and joined the French Ministry of Finance as a drafter. After having been seriously injured at the front in 1940 he became a French Resistance fighter as part of the Libera-tion-Nord network. In 1944 he chaired the Ministry of Finance Liberation Com-mittee. In 1945 he was elected as Mayor of Ablon-sur-Seine, a post he would hold until 1983. He was Chef de Cabinet (Head of Pri-vate Office) for Robert Schumann, the Minister of Finance, from June to No-vember 1946 and was elected in Seine-et-Oise as Member of the first Council of the Republic from 1946 to 1948. During this time he was appointed Rapporteur-General for the Finance Commission of the Council of the Republic. In 1948, he was named Secretary of State for Finance and Economic Affairs and then as Secretary of State for the Budget in Schumann's and Queuille's respective governments. After holding the post of Commis-sioner-General for German and Aus-trian Affairs from 1948 to 1950 he became the French delegate and Presi-dent of the International Ruhr Au-

thority between 1950 and 1952. Re-elected MRP Senator for Seine-et-Oise department in 1952, he chaired the Council of the Republic and then the Senate for over forty years. He was Secretary of State for the Armed Forces (Naval) in Felix Gaillard's gov-ernment from 1957-1958 and member of the Assembly of the European Communities from 1958-1977. He chaired the Christian Democrat Group in the Assembly of the Euro-pean Communities from 1959-1966 and then the Assembly itself from 1966-1969. During his twenty-four years as Presi-dent of the Senate (1968-1992) he tem-porarily became Acting President of the Republic twice, in 1969 and 1974. On this second occasion he promulgated the European Convention on Human Rights. Finally, he chaired the Associa-tion of Mayors of France from 1974-1983. At the senatorial elections in 1995, he chose not to stand for reelection as Sena-tor of Val-de-Marne. He died in Paris on the 9th December 1996. FRANCE - Date of issue: December 2, 2006. De-signer: Marc Taraskoff. Printing: Multicolored, by Pierra Albuisson in sheets of 48 stamps. Format: 35 x 26. Quantity: Not given. Other: No fur-ther information but you can expect the usual products from La Poste.

ALAIN POHER

concluded on page 6...



NEW ISSUES (concluded)

MONACO - # 2.30€ - Map of Europa with country flags forming country outlines plus Europan Flag and text indiocating that the stamp was released to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the European Acadamy of Philately.

Date of issue: Not given. Designer: Jean-Paul Véret. Printing: Multicol-ored, offset, in sheets of 6 stamps. For-mat: 52 x 40mm. Quantity: Not given. Other: No further information but you can expect the usual products from La Poste. ROMANIA - A souvenir sheet of 8

stamps and one label. Joint issue with Bulgaria. Date of issue: Designer: Printing:

Format: Quantity: Other: No further information.

LUXEMBOURG - A booklet of two panes of 4 different stamps each, se-tenant. All stamps depicting deer # “A” rate (currently 0.50€ - Deer

Date of issue: January 30, 2007. De-signer: Lombard & Associates. Print-ing: Multicolored, offset, by Joh. En-schedé, in panes of 4 stamps. Format: 54.5 x 172 mm (open). Quantity: Not given. Other: No information.

ISLE OF MAN - Two values from a set of 6 stamps commemorating the 100th anniversary of scouting. The set con-tains values of 28p, 31p, 44p, 72p, 83p and £1. However, the Europa stamps (e.g., the two values that have the “Europa” logo on them are the 31p and the 44p.

Date of issue: February 22, 2007. De-signer: M. J. Southall. Printing: Four-color, offset, lithography, on 110 gsm, PVA gummed paper, by the BDT Com-pany, in sheets of 25 stamps.. Format: 28.45 x 42.58mm, perforated 14 x 14. Quantity: Not given. Other: There will be Europa 2007 miniature sheets of 10 stamps, 2 presentation packs, 2 first day covers , Europa 2007 sheet set and a prestige stamp booklet.

EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF PHILATELY

LUXEMBOURG AND GREATER REGION

EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2007

ROMANIA & BULGARIA IN EUROPEAN UNION

EUROPA 2007 - 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF

SCOUTING



EUROPA BRIEFS

MARSHALL PLAN, HOF FAIR - The postal card at figure 1 is similar to one in last issue of the Europa News. This card bears a special cancel used at the Hof, Germany industrial fair sponsored by the European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan).

STRIKE, POSTAL, G.B. 1971 - There was a postal strike in Great Britain in 1971. Some entrepreneurs arranged pri-vate posts to carry the mail. One such example is the cover at figure 2. What makes this cover of interest is the cachet. It spells out how the mail was moved by the private post during the mail strike.

EUROPA 1990, ITALY PRINT VA-RIETY - The stamp at figure 3 comes from Italy’s 1990 Europa set. Note that the brown color is printed well above the black outline of the building façade. Also note that the 800 lire value, the word “Italia,” the CEPT logo and the word “Europa” are also mis-registered.

MARSHALL PLAN TRAIN CAN-CEL - The Marshall Plan Train stopped in the town of Iserlohn, Germany on November 17-18, 1950 as a part of its first German voyage. Someone there obtained the train cancel on each of 4 semi-postal stamps. That set of stamp is now worth a lot of money, even in used condition. The EBay sellers opening bid price of almost $200. See figure 4.

SLOVENIA BEGINS USING THE EURO - Slovenia switched to the Euro on January 1, 2007. The Euro replaces

the Euro replaces the Tolar as the unit of currency. A €1 souvenir sheet is sched-uled to be released to mark the ocassion. As of this writing, the Euro was valued at $1.32. TRANSPORTATION MINISTERS CONFERENCE 2000 - The souvenir sheet at figure 5 was issued by the Czech Republic in 2000 to commemorate a meeting of Europe’s Transportation Ministers.

EUROPA 1956, LUXEMBOURG - The registered cover at figure 6 is over-franked with the complete set of Luxembourg’s 1956 Europa stamps. The cover was offered on Ebay with an opening bid of $9.00. This is not a first day cover, having been posted in October. Quite a price difference between the M-NH and used set!

EURO BAU 76 - Cancel courtesy of Mr. Uwe Kensing.

Figure 1. German postal card with Hof Fair spe-cial cancel.

Figure 2. Cover cachet explaining how mail was moved during the 1971 Great Britain postal strike.

Figure 4. Iserlohn town cancel from the Marshall Plan Train on good German semi-postal set.

Figure 3. Europa 1990 stamp from Italy with huge color mis-registrations.

Figure 5. Czech souvenir sheet for a 2000 meeting of European Transport Ministers.

Figure 6. Complete set of 1956 Luxembourg Eu-ropa stamps on a registered cover.

Figure 6a. Exhibition cancel.



EUROPA BRIEFS (continued)

EUROPA 1961, ITALY VARIETY - The 70L value of Italy’s 1961 Europa set at figure 7 is cropped from a block of 4. The central dove has the variety known as the “crest.” Look at where the arrow is pointing and you will see that there is a mark on the top of the dove’s head.

UNITED EUROPE, ITALY ECU DE-NOMINATED - The stamp on the maximum card at figure 8 was issued by Italy I 1991. It commemorated United Europe. The stamp is denominated in both lire (750) and ECUs (European Currency Units (0.48).

EUROPA 1965, GUERNSEY-ALDERNEY SHET - In 1965, Guern-sey-Alderney used the designs of an ear-lier stamp set to produce the souvenir sheet at figure 9. The sheet contains 5 values and was printed in black and green. Each stamp is overprinted with the words “Europa 1965 can each con-tains a likeness of John F. Kennedy. An inscription on the sheet states that “Europa 1965 remembers J.F. Kennedy.”

EUROPA 1964, GUERNSEY-ALDERNEY OFFSET - The item at figure 10 is the reverse side of a souvenir sheet issued by Guernsey-Alderney for Europa 1964. The black printing on the sheet has been completely offset on the back of the imperforate sheet.

EUROPA 1956, INTERESTING COVER - The cover at figure 11 in the next column was sent from Ebingen, Germany to Neukirche, Switzerland. It is franked with a pair of 40opf values of Germany’s 1956 Europa stamps. The posting and receiving marks are both on the front of the cover. I do not know the meaning of the “Nachnahme” mark. It may have something to do with a de-clared value as a “16DM” manuscript is at the upper left corner of the cover.

MARSHALL PLAN POST AND POSTAL CARDS - The lot of 5 postal cards at figure 12 was offered on EBay with a “Buy-it-now” price of $37.50. There was no image of the reverse sides of the cards so I could not tell if they were post cards or postal cards. In any event, a nice lot of Europa-related items.

Figure 7. “Crest on Dove” variety on 70L value of Italy’s 1961 Europa set.

Figure 8. ECU denominated stamp issued by Italy in 1991.

Figure 9. Europa 1965 imperforate souvenir sheet from Guernsey-Alderney.

Figure 10. Europa 1964 imperforate souvenir sheet from Guernsey-Alderney with offset wording on the reverse side.

Figure 11. Europa 1956 franked cover sent from Germany to Switzerland.

Figure 12. A set of 5 cards depicting winning designs in the Marshall Plan poster contest of 1950.





EUROPAFRIQUE, DAHOMEY DE-LUXE SHEETS - The items at figure 13 are deluxe sheets released by7 Da-homey to commemorate EuropAfrique. He sheets were seen on EBay with open-ing bids of “buy-it-now” prices ranging from $6-$9. I think those are good prices for someone looking to add differ-ent types of material to a collection.

EUROPA 1962, USED AS POSTAGE DUE - The “T” mark has been used uni-versally to indicate that postage is due on an item. Most of the time, payment of a charge, is evidenced by affixing postage due stamps in the amount due, to the item. However, in at least one case, shown at figure 14 in the next column, a Swiss postage due charge was paid by putting the “T” mark on 1962 Europa stamps with a face value of 3.20sf. An interesting use of Europa stamps.

EUROPA 1996, VATICAN IMPERF - The stamp at figure 15 is an imperforate upper right margin copy of the 850L value of Vatican City’s 1996 Europa set.

ADENAUER, SENEGAL 1992 - In 1992 Senegal produced a set of 4 stamps honoring Konrad Adenauer. The set commemorated the 20th anniversary of Adenauer’s death. The set was pro-duced in perforated and imperforate con-dition. Figure 16 in the next column shows the imperforate set. It was seen on EBay with an opening bid of $6.99.

EUROPA 1960, G.B. CYLINDER BLOCK - In addition to collecting a single stamp of the Europa issues, you can expand your collection with addi-tional items, such as shown at figure 17. It is a lower right sheet margin cylinder block of 6 of the 1/6 (high) value of Great Britain’s 1960 Europa set. Note the cylinder marks on the bottom and the registration mark to the right. Just an-other way to collect Europa stamps.

EUROPA UNION IN 1925? - I have shown the card at figure 18 on the next page, before in the Europa news. How-ever, I have now seen a scan of its other side. That means the card can be dated and its mailing point and the address can be determined.

Figure 13. EuropAfrique deluxe sheets from Da-homey, offered for sale on EBay.

Figure 14. 1962 Swiss Europa stamps with a “T” mark indicating use as postage due stamps.

Figure 15. Vatican City 1996 imperforate Europa stamp.

Figure 16. 1992 imperforate set from Senegal, honoring Konrad Adenauer.

Figure 17. Cylinder block of 6 stamps of the 1/6 value of Great Britain’s 1960 Europa stamp set.





From the address side of the card, we can see that it was mailed from Vienna on what appears to be 31 ?? (VIII?), 1925. The card is addressed to Danzig where a receiving mark with a date that appears to be September 3, 1925. There is a boxed etiquette to the left center but I cannot read it. That mark bears differ-ent Vienna (Wien) cancel from the ones canceling the stamps. A manuscript mark in red at the top left indicates that a part of the air route should be on a first flight from Vienna to Leipzig. A hand-stamped “Flugpost (airmail) mark in black, can also be seen. After all that, the thing of interest to Europa collectors is the other side of the card.

Here is what I learned when I ‘Googled” for information: “Europa Union (Airlines, ed.) was founded on 7th May 1925 during a setup meeting at Dresden. The participating airlines were members of the previous Transeuropa Union and the Nordeuropa Union as well as several airlines, which were already supported by Junkers Luftverkehr during their foundation. The idea of Europa Union was to merge the two large European networks in Northern and Central Europe as well as the Inner German net-work into one large European wide net-work. Flight plans between the previous separated unions should be harmonized and a common financial clearing proce-dure should be introduced between all partners of the Europa Union. Europa Union was founded as a Kommanditge-sellschaft KG with 50.000 RM. The funds were raised up to 10 million RM on 7th September 1925.

The initial foundation members were the current members of Nordeuropa and Transeuropa Union plus Schlesische Luftverkehrs A.G, Oberschlesische Luft-verkehrs A.G, Luftverkehr Ruhrgebiet A.G., Bayerische Luftverkehrs A.G., Badische Luftverkehrs GmbH and West-flug GmbH as new Junkers partners of 1925.

Discussions for further extensions to the South were on its way in 1925 in Italy, Spain and Portugal. The TOMTASCH joint venture with the Turkish Govern-ment also saw the development of a Turkish air transport system. Junkers Luftverkehr was even planning a link to this local network in 1925 via Greece. The 1925 operations were already planned by TREU, when Europa Union was born. TREU also continued to plan the 1925/26 winter operations. But on 1st October 1925 the shareholders de-cided to dissolve the Transeuropa Union on 31st December 1925 after absorbing it into Europa Union.

A major lack of the two independent unions was their missing integration. Both networks were more or less inte-

grated at Berlin. But not only the flight plans did show little connectivity via Berlin, also there was no financial clear-ing between both unions for passengers, which traveled from one union to the other. There was also no utilization of aircraft or crews flown by the other un-ion. Even there was no marketing of flights for the other union. This became really a problem with the extension of the inner German network in 1925. Ini-tially Junkers tried to concentrate on the TREU network by adding all routes to the network, which entered Germany, i.e. the Malmo-Hamburg route was added to the TREU network even when Dansk Lufttransport was more integrated into the Nordeuropa Union. But finally Junkers decided to fully integrate both unions into one large union called the Europa Union, which was founded in May 1925. It was planned, that Transeu-ropa Union and Nordeuropa Union should transfer their operations into Eu-ropa Union during the second half of 1925. Due to the financial collapse of the Junkers Flugzeugwerke this transfer was not completed before Junkers Luft-verkehr was integrated into Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. in January 1926.”

Figure 18. Front and back of a post card with a “Europa” connection.

Figure 19. Unknown, but not philatelic, item also seen on the web.





CROATIA-IN-EXILE - I can’t remem-ber illustrating the Croatia-in-Exile la-bels at figure 20 before. They are from the years 1972 and 1984. As always, these labels use portions of the real Eu-ropa common designs.

BOSNIA (SARAJEVO) GUTTER BLOCK - Figure 21 is a cross gutter block of 4 stamps issued by Bosnia (Sarajevo) for Europa 2005. An EBay seller was asking for an opening bid of €100 (about $132).

EUROPA 2003, BOSNIA-CROATIA VARIETY - Figure 22 in the next col-umn shown the sheet of 4 stamps issued by Bosnia-Croatia for Europa 2003. The stamp in the upper right corner shown a minor variety in that there is a small white “dot” in the number “1” of the value, better seen in the blown-up illus-tration.

COUNCIL OF EUROPE 2005 - The Council of Europe issued two new offi-cial stamps in 2005. They are depicted at figure 23.

EUROPA 1967, ITALY FDC - The cover at figure 24 is a registered first day cover of Italy’s 1967 Europa set. Of particular interest is the cancel com-memorating the 5th CEPT Conference held in Rome on April 10, 1967. There are two types of this cancel according to the D’Urso Catalogue, types A and B. In the type A, illustrated here, the bottom of the three-line symbols to the left and right of the word “Roma” in the cancel align with the beginning letter “V” in the left inscription and the letter “T” at the end of the inscription to the right. In the type B, the three-line symbols are lower.

EUROPA 1956, ITALY COVER - The item at figure 25 is a registered cover, with the sides slit to show the town re-ceiving mark, back, sent from the Saint Ambrose hospital in Mortara, Pavia to the mayor of the town of Cozzo. The cover is franked with a single 60L value of Italy’s 1956 Europa set. Another in-teresting use.

Figure 20. Croatia-in-Exile labels from 1972 (top) and 1984 (above).

Figure 21. Europa 2005 Bosnia (Sarajevo cross gutter block.

Figure 22. Bosnia-Croatia sheet of 4 stamps for Europa 2003 showing a variety.

Figure 23. 2005 issue of C of E official stamps.

Figure 24. Registered 1967 Europa first day cover (type A) from Italy

Figure 25. Registered cover franked with a single value of Italy’s 1956 Europa set.





EUROPA 1960, G.B. FDC CACHETS - Another interesting way to collect Eu-ropa stamps is on first day covers. For many issues there were a number of ca-chet makers who prepared envelopes to be serviced for Europa issues. Three examples of different cachets prepared for the first day of issue of Great Brit-ain’s 1960 Europa stamp set are shown at figure 26.

CROSS OF THE EUROPEAN CON-FEDERATION OF WAR VETER-ANS - I know that the item at figure 27 in the next column is not a stamp. How-ever, I thought that it would be of inter-est to some of our members. Shown is a medal (cross) signifying membership in the “CONFEDERATION EU-ROPEENNE DES ANCIENS COM-BATTANTS.” The cross is described in heraldic terms as a “Red and white enamel cross quadrate fichée imposed on a gilt Maltese cross decussate, on later-ally-pierced ball suspension; the reverse

inscribed ‘with maker’s mark ‘LR Paris’; on original ribbon of the European Un-ion.” The Confederation was recognized as of public interest by the French gov-ernment on 19 April 1962 and is recog-nized by the Council of Europe in a con-sultative role. Its aim is to strengthen links between both former allies and enemies in Europe, to foster peace, secu-rity, co-operation and friendship and to defend human rights. During the height of the Cold War it acted as a point of contact between the opposing sides and was amongst the leading proponents of the Helsinki Accords. In recent years it has worked to ease the path of the for-mer Soviet bloc countries into a united Europe.

EUROPA 1958, SET OF MAXI CARDS - The two maximum cards at figure 28 are representative of a year set of them seen on EBay. Each country was lotted separately making 7 different lots. Each lot had an opening bid of only €1. I think that it was a mistake to offer the cards separately as people in my opinion, might be more interested in having the entire year set on matched

EUROPA 1959, MAXI CARDS - These cards from Luxembourg are illus-trative of the “Europa brief” written just preceding, for the 1958 Europa stamps. Same information applies.

EUROPA 1973, ITALY OFFSET? - Figure 30 was seen on EBay. It is a used copy of one value of Italy’s 1973 Europa set. While easier to see in color, the stylized post horn (in yellow-orange can be seen on the back of the stamp. The seller claims it is an offset, and it might be. However, the image on the back of the stamp may appear stronger than nor-mal simply because of how it was soaked off paper. Can anyone add to the information about this stamp?

EUROPA 1961, SWISS VARIETY - The 30c value of Switzerland’s 1961 Europa s e t comes in light red and d e e p red (as

Figure 26. 3 examples of first day cover cachets from the many that were produced for the issue.

Figure 27. Cross of the European Confederation of War Veterans.

Figure 28. Pair of Europa 1958 maximum cards from the Saar.

Figure 29. Pair of Europa 1959 maximum cards from Luxembourg.

Figure 30. 1973 Italian Europa stamp with what ap -

Figure 31. 1961 Swiss Europa stamp in light red.

Figure 30. 1973 Italian Europa stamp with what appears to be a partial offset on the back.





EUROPA 1960, SWISS VARIETY - The stamp at figure 31 is one value of Switzerland’s 1960 Europa set. The stamp was printed in blue but the exam-ple shown here is blue-black. A minor, but interesting variety.

EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CUL-TURE, SIBIU - Luxembourg and its Greater Region along with Sibiu/Hermannstadt Romania have been named as European Capitals of Culture, for 2007. See “new issues” for informa-tion on the Luxembourg stamps com-memorating this honor. See page 18. MAIL DELIVERY MONOPOLIES - The European Union plans to end mail delivery monopolies and allow more deliveries by the private sector. Natu-rally, this is a cause of consternation in a number of countries that have raised legitimate concerns about delivery qual-ity, union matters and the like. EUROPA 1995, ÅLAND - Åland’s 1995 Europa stamps can be found in horizontal gutter pairs. I do not know if they can be found in vertical pairs as well. The set at figure 32 was offered on Ebay with an opening bid of about $2.46.

EXHIBITION SHEETS, G.B. 1962 - Souvenir sheets with Europa themes were printed for two stamp shows held in Great Britain in 1962. One show was named “Eurostamp 1962. Three sheets

were prepared with that name. The Eu-ropa stamp designs were similar to the official common design used in 1962. The colors are green/purple (left sheet) and orange/yellow (right sheet) and the 1960 Europa design from G.B. printed with a brown background. A second stamp show was named the London Stamp Exhibition. The sheet prepared for that show was the same as the one with the Europa 1960 design. However, it was printed with a green background rather than brown as was the first sheet.

EUROPA RELATED POSTAL STA-TIONERY, ROMANIA - I ran across the lot of 8 items at figure 34 on EBay. The illustration is very small, but I want to point out that postal stationery can be a wonderful adjunct to a Europa stamp collection. This lot had an opening bid of only $3.95.

COUNCIL OF EUROPE, 1975 IM-PERF - The three stamps at figure 35 were issued by France in 1975. They are official stamps to be used at the Council of Europe. The set in M-NH left sheet margin imperforate copies was offered on EBay with an opening bid of $45.

EUROPA 1997, ROMANIA BOOK-LET - The flag of Europe graces the cover of the Romanian booklet issued for Europa 1997. See figure 36 on the next page. I enjoy looking for booklets as they most often have a Europa-related theme on their covers.

Figure 31. 1960 Swiss Europa stamp in blue-black color.

Figure 32. Åland’s 1995 Europa set in horizontal gutter pairs.

Figure 33. Sheets printed for the Eurostamp 1962 and London Stamp Exhibition 1962 stamp shows.

Figure 34. Lot of 8 Europa related pieces of postal stationery from Romania.

Figure 35. Set of 3 Council of Europe official stamps, imperforate, issued in 1975.




EUROPA BRIEFS (concluded)

EUROPOL 1962 - The unofficial sou-venir sheet at figure 37 was issued for Europol 1962. The sheet has been dis-cussed in an earlier issue of the Europa News. What makes the one here differ-ent is that the blue color is missing in the right-hand sheet. A correct sheet is shown at the left for comparison.

MAYORS MEETING, FRANCE 1960 PROOF - The item at figure 38 is a de-luxe sheet issued by France in 1960 to commemorate the meeting of European Mayors that took place in Nice.

SMALL EUROPEAN POSTAL AD-MINISTRATIONS (SEPAC) - This organization has announced that, begin-ning in 2007 and every other year there-after, member countries will begin issu-ing omnibus stamps. At present the member countries in SEPAC number these 12: Aland, Faroe Islands, Gibral-

tar, Greenland, Guernsey, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco and San Marino. The omnibus set is scheduled for release on October 1, 2007. San Marino is not participating in 2007. Scenery will be the common theme for the stamps. There are 3 crite-ria for SEPAC membership: Must be a European Postal Administration; Must be an independent Postal Administra-tion; and, Must have a small home mar-ket with 50% or more of its philatelic customers living outside the country. A Special SEPAC Joint Stamp Issue folder will also be issued on 1st October 2007. Entitled ‘Beautiful Corners of Europe’, this folder will contain one SEPAC logo stamp from each of the eleven participat-ing Post Offices. The stamps will be housed in protective carriers secured within the folder which will be decorated with attractive illustrations and informa-tive text from each of the eleven coun-tries.

An official launch of the SEPAC Joint stamp issue and the ‘Beautiful Corners of Europe’ Folder will take place on 3rd May 2007 during the Essen stamp exhi-bition. See figure 39 for a picture of the proposed Aland SEPAC stamp.

FLAG OF EUROPE - The stamp from Germany, shown at figure 40 in the next column has an interesting feature. The Flag of Europe is printed in the upper left corner margin example. I do not know what other selvedge contains, but this item, courtesy of Uwe Kensing of

Luxembourg, is a good example of how to look beyond the stamp for material related to Europa.

NATO, PORTUGAL 1952 - The item at figure 41 is a horizontal, imperforate pair of the low value set from the set of two stamps issued by Portugal in 1952 as a NATO commemoration. The pair was offered for sale on EBay with an opening bid of about $207.49.

CROATIA-IN-EXILE, 1962 - These labels are known in both perforated and as shown here, imperforate condition. This is an upper margin block of 6, showing a portion of the inscription in the selvedge.

Figure 36. Europa 1997 booklet from Romania, with the Flag of Europe on the cover.

Figure 37. EUROPOL 1962 souvenir sheet with blue background color missing.

Figure 38. Deluxe sheet issued by France with 1960 European Mayors meeting stamp.

Figure 39. Proposed Aland stamp for the omnibus issue of 2007 showing the SEPAC logo.

Figure 40. Flag of Europe in the selvedge of a German stamp.

Figure 41. Imperforate pair of 1952 NATO stamps from Portugal.

Figure 42. Imperforate block of 6 of the 1962 Croatia-in-Exile label.



EUROPA BRIEFS

The last installment of the article ended with a discussion of the “War is Over/Reconstruction Now Begins” slogan cancel used by Greece starting in July 1950. There are two types of this cancel, one with thick lettering and the other with thin lettering (figure 27). Only the thick version with a symbol consisting of 9 vertical lines with four diamonds be-low the date/time indicator is shown in the D’Urso Catalogue. A version in the Greek language rather than in English is also known but it is not listed in the Catalogue. I have acquired that cancel on a mourning cover shown here at fig-ure 27a. The English language versions of the cancel all bear D’Urso number G4a and are assigned a rarity factor of 9. An additional, unlisted variety of the cancel includes at the bottom of the cir-cular date stamp, the words “Poste Aeri-enne” in place of the lines and diamonds.

Figure 27a is the Greek “War is Over…” cancel written in the Greek language. In my opinion, this is a rare cancel

Greece was in dire need of aid following World War Two. British aid had all but dried up and Greece was fighting a costly civil war against the communists. Under the Truman Doctrine, Greece (and Turkey) were the first to receive post-WWII aid and that aid was dramatically increased under the Marshall Plan. Greece went above the call of duty in her commemoration of the Marshall Plan. Although the pictures at figures 28 to 33 are of post cards and not postal cards, and as such are non-philatelic, they pro-vide a historical record of the Marshall Plan in Greece. There is no known source of information regarding how many types, views and numbers there are of these post cards. Some have only been recently rediscovered. They are much sought after by collectors of the Marshall plan story and when found, often command high prices. Occasion-ally, they can be found in stamp or post card dealer “junk” boxes. Of particular note on some of the cards, is the symbol-ogy of receiving aid as shown in their pictures. In addition to the cards shown here, I know of others which copy pho-tographs of the result of aid projects such as a new well in a town, chicks being

raised and the like. I know of one other card depicting a sailing ship, with the Marshall Plan symbol at the bow. The ship depicted on the post card arrived in Greece carrying food aid. The post cards at figures 31-33 were all post-marked in May 1951 at APO 206 that serviced the U.S. Mission in Athens. See figure 34.

Figure 27 Thick letters (top) and thin letters (above) of the “War is Over/Reconstruction Now Begins” cancel, D’Urso number G4a,. The thick lettering cover is also the unlisted Air Post cancel

THE PHILATELIC LEGACY OF THE MARSHALL PLAN AS RECORDED BY THE D’URSO SPECIALIZED CATALOGUE OF STAMPS

AND POSTMARKS REFERRING TO EUROPEAN INTEGRATION 1 (continued)

by Stephen Luster

Figure 27a. Greek “War is Over/Reconstruction Now Begins” cancel in the Greek language on a 1950 mourning cover.

Figure 28. Greek post card showing a Marshall Plan trowel putting mortar (in the shape of a map of Europe) on a wall with the mortar coming from a pail bearing the flags of the 18 participating countries. Figure 29. Greek post card showing a sheaf of wheat made from the flags of the 18 participating counties, growing out of a globe with the map of Europe highlighted. The Marshall Plan logo ap-pears in the upper left corner of the card. Figure 30. Greek post card showing a foot clothed in trousers made up of the flags of the participating countries, pushing on a shovel whose handle repre-sents the American flag, turning soil for farming.



Scandinavian countries also received aid under the Marshall Plan An industrial fair held in Stockholm, Sweden in 1950 had an ERP presence. There is nothing in the commemorative cancel from that fair, but scholarly research by philatelists who collect the Marshall Plan in detail, turned up the ERP connection some years ago. Accordingly, the Saint Eriks

Mässen (fair) cancel is listed in the D’Urso Catalogue as number G6. It is reported used from August 26 through September 10, 1950. A 1956 Saint Eriks Fair used an almost identical cancel, but there is no known connection between that fair and the Marshall Plan. Figure 35 is a cover bearing a commemorative cancel of the 1950 fair.

The term “CARE” refers to the private program launched in the United States around 1945, to help Europe’s people recover. The initials C.A.R.E. originally stood for Cooperative for American Re-mittances to Europe. Many years later, the definition of the letter “E” was changed to “Everywhere” taking the CARE program from then on, out of the realm of European philately. While there are many CARE cancels, primarily from the United States, with many show-ing the famous CARE food package, the D’Urso Catalogue, for reasons that are lost to this author, chose to list only one CARE cancel in the Marshall Plan sec-tion. Other CARE meter cancels, but not all of them, are listed in the VMA (various—CARE) section of the Cata-logue. The one CARE cancel listed in the ERP section (G) of the D’Urso Cata-logue is from the Netherlands. It com-memorates 5 years of friendship through CARE, USA. See figure 36. This can-cel was used in three Dutch cities, Am-sterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam. The cancel is known with the date/time mark to the right of the slogan from all three cities and to the left of the slogan from both Amsterdam and the Hague.

The cancel was used during November, 1950, and was given D‘Urso number G6a and assigned a rarity factor of 9.

The Netherlands showed its appreciation for help being received under the Mar-shall Plan when in April 1950, it used a 2-year anniversary slogan cancel. That cancel, was used in Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam, and carries D’Urso number G7 with a rarity factor of 10. See figure 37.

Not to be outdone by its European part-ners, the United States also commemo-rated the Marshall Plan. Two different cancels were used in September and Oc-tober 1950. The first cancel, at figure 38, consisted of four lines with the words “Marshall Plan” appearing on the broken second line, and the words “Partnership for Peace” appearing be-tween the third and fourth lines. That cancel was

Figure 31. Greek post card showing a Greek woman with a bundle of rice. The Marshall Plan logo appears in the lower right corner of the card. Figure 32. Greek post card showing a Greek woman standing on the roof of a rebuilt house waving a Marshall Plan flag. The Marshall Plan logo also appears in the lower right corner of the card. Figure 33. Greek post card showing Greek women in native costume performing a line dance in honor of the rice harvest in northern Greece. The Mar-shall Plan logo appears in the lower right corner.

Figure 34. All three of the cards above were mailed in May, 1951 from APO 206 which ser-viced the U.S. Mission in Athens, Greece.

Figure 35. Cover with D’Urso cancel number G6 from the August-September 1950 Saint Eriks In-dustrial Fair held in Stockholm, Sweden. Cancel is assigned a D’Urso rarity factor of 10.

Figure 36 Card bearing a D’Urso G6a , rarity factor of 9, “5 Years of Friendship Through CARE” cancel, dated November 9, 1950 and post-marked from The Hague.

Figure 37. Cover bearing a D’Urso G7 cancel, “ 2 years of the Marshall Plan,” dated April 13, 1950 with an Amsterdam cancel, and assigned a D’Urso rarity factor of 10.


THE PHILATELIC LEGACY OF THE MARSHALL PLAN (continued) continued from page 14...


EUROPA BRIEFS

assigned D’Urso number G8 with a rar-ity factor of 7/8 depending on the city of use. It was used in 7 U.S. cities with a total of 15 different post offices re-corded. See Table 3.

The second U.S. cancel was given D’Urso number G9 with a rarity factor of 7/8 depending upon the city of use. It contains the same slogan as the G8 can-cel but in a single box without lines. See figure 39. That cancel was used in four different cities with a total of 9 different post offices recorded, see table 4. A G9 type cancel with a Murray Hill, NJ cir-cular date stamp without date has been seen. It is not recorded and may be a

specimen or proof not put into service. THE MARSHALL PLAN ART CON-

TEST Around 1950, the Marshall Plan spon-sored an art competition in Europe. The purpose of the contest was to get artists to create designs on the theme of re-building Europe. Many thousands of entries were received and judged. The winning entry, by an artist named Reyn Dirksen from the Netherlands, featured a sailing ship named “Europe” being pulled through rough water by wind-billowed sails colored as the flags of the participating European countries. The design is inscribed “all our colours to the mast”. The best 30 designs were also turned into full size posters. Later, the Marshall Plan used several of the win-ning designs on the picture sides of Aus-trian 1S and 30g postal cards. They are shown here as figures 40 through 42.

Figure 38. Cover bearing a D’Urso G8 “Marshall Plan/Partnership for Peace” cancel, dated Septem-ber 10, 1950, posted at Miami, Fla. 1,, assigned a D’Urso rarity factor of 7/8.

Figure 39. Cover bearing a D’Urso G9 “Marshall Plan/Partnership for Peace” cancel, dated October 6, 1950, posted at Richmond, Va. 2, assigned a D’Urso rarity factor of 7/8.

Remainders of the Austrian Marshall Plan postal cards were sold to Pan American Airways (PAA) and Sabena Airlines who overprinted them on their indicia sides and used them for several more years. While sought after in any form, the postal cards, without the airline overprints are the more desirable. Fig-ures 43 through 45 show examples of the postal card indicia sides without and with the airline overprints. Commer-cially used cards are uncommon.

CITY OF USE POST OFFICE DESIGNATOR

Boson, Mass 13, 14

Dallas, Texas 3, 8

Detroit, Michigan 0, 4, 19

Miami, Florida 1, 4

New York City, New York

-

San Francisco, California

2, 9

Washington, DC 13, 19, 28

TABLE 3— CITY AND POST OFFICE USE OF THE

UNITED STATES MARSHALL PLAN CANCEL—

D’URSO NUMBER G8

CITY OF USE POST OFFICE DESIGNATOR

Atlanta, Georgia 1, 2, 5

Chicago, Illinois 19, 22

Los Angeles, Cali-fornia

14, 16

Richmond, Vir-ginia

0, 2

TABLE 4— CITY AND POST OFFICE USE OF THE

UNITED STATES MARSHALL PLAN CANCEL—

D’URSO NUMBER G9

Figure 40. First place design in Marshall Plan art contest incorporated into a 1S postal card from Austria. Figure 41 Another winning design in Marshall Plan art contest incorporated into a 30g postal card from Austria. Figure 42. Another winning design in Marshall Plan art contest incor-porated into a 30g postal card from Austria. Figure 43. Indicia side of Marshall Plan 30g postal card as issued, without airline overprint. Figure 44. Indicia side of 1S Marshall Plan postal card with Pan American Airlines overprint. Figure 45 Indi-cia side of 30g Marshall Plan postal card with Sabena Airlines overprint. To be continued...

THE PHILATELIC LEGACY OF THE MARSHALL PLAN (continued) continued from page 15...


THE SIMPLON PASS AND TUNNEL

The road over the Simplon Pass (2005m), southwest of Brig, was built by Napoleon as a military through route between 1800 and 1808, immediately after he’d successfully crossed the Grand-St-Bernard with an army. These days the old pass road is a modern, Swiss-engineered highway, and the pass itself isn’t really worth a specific jour-ney, with views nowhere near as impres-sive as those from the other great Alpine passes. Napoleon’s headquarters still stands in the Simplon Pass. Simplon Tunnel - While you’re stand-ing on the pass heights, give a thought for those careering at speed on trains through the Simplon Tunnel, some 2400m beneath the Wasenhorn peak just to the east.

This is the longest rail tunnel in the world, entered almost immediately after leaving Brig station and emerging 19.8km later in Italy for the short run to Domodossola (from where Swiss trains connect on the Centovalli line to Lo-carno), and on south to Milan. The com-pletion of the tunnel in 1905 opened up an entirely new train route from London and Paris to Istanbul – the so-called Ven-ice–Simplon Orient Express – which in turn led to a whole new era in pan-European travel. passages every two hundred and seventeen yards were pro-vided both for purposes of ventilation and for taking in and out the various materials.

Most praiseworthy arrangements were made for the care of the men with the view to their suffering no harm from the exposure to Alpine air after working in the heat of the galleries. A large building was fitted up near each entrance, pro-vided with cubicles for dressing, and with hot and cold douche baths. At the top of the building steam pipes were fixed, and each man was entitled to his own private rope and padlock; On April 2, 1905, the visitors and officials from the Italian side, traveling in a miner's train, arrived within two hundred and fifty yards of the "Porte de fer," in the middle of the mountain, six miles or more from either entrance, and com-pleted their journey on foot up to that point. Meanwhile the officials and visi-tors from the Swiss entrance had trav-eled up to the other side of the door. At the right moment this was opened by Colonel Locher-Freuler, and the two parties met and fraternized, embracing one another. A religious dedication ser-vice, conducted by the Bishop of Sion, was then held on the spot, and the Divine blessing was invoked on the tunnel, the officials, the workmen, and the trains, and touching reference was made to those who had lost their lives in the exe-cution of this great work---some forty or fifty in number. Thus was the "Fete de Percement" of the greatest tunnel in the world celebrated. The Unit is still looking for Europa-related articles. Like this one, it can be short. If you have something in mind, please contact Editor Steve Lus-ter. I’ll work with you to get your article in print in the Europa News.

Vatican City has issued commemorative sheets and labels for many Europa-related events. These are just two examples on cover.


NEW POSTMARKS

The following cancels were all sent to us by Oege Weijs of Luxembourg.


NEW ISSUES FROM FEBRUARY/MARCH 2007 SCOTT STAMP MONTHLY

COUNTRY SCOTT # DATE OF ISSUE DESCRIPTION Algeria 1339-40 28-May-05 15th Mediterranean Games Armenia 714a 4-Oct-05 Europa 2005, Booklet 4 each 713-14 Armenia 736-9 28-Mar-06 50th Anniversary Europa stamps (dated 2005)

740 Souvenir sheet above 4 stamps Azerbaijan 823a 1-Mar-06 Europa 2006 booklet pane 2 each 822-3 Belarus 578a/579a 4-May-06 Europa 2006, booklets 7 + label Bhutan 1421-2 06 50th Anniv. Europa stamps (1422a s/s of 2) Bosnia-Herzegovina 535-6 5-Apr-06 Europa 2006 (536a souvenir sheet of 2) Bosnia-Herzegovina 546 5-Jul-06 49th European Table Tennis Championships Bosnia-Herz. (Serb) 276-7 5-Apr-06 Europa 2006 (278a, souvenir sheet 3 each) Bosnia-Herz. (Serb) 284-5 19-Sep-06 European Nature Protection Czech Republic 3311 14-Jun-06 Kamenice Pass (connecting to Switzerland) Denmark 1367-70 10-Nov-06 CoBrA artists’ painting (Joint with Belgium) France C68a 23-Jun-06 Airbus A380 (sheet of 10) Germany B978 5-Oct-06 TransEurope Express Train Iceland 1070 29-Mar-06 Nordic Mythology (souvenir sheet) Iceland 1073-4 18-May-06 Europa 2006 Iceland 1075-6 18-May-06 Europa 2006 self-adhesive Italy 2740 5-Apr-06 Two Republics (In sheet with San Marino 1676) Kazakhstan 511 3-May-06 Europa 2006 Kiribati 884-7a 4-May-06 50th Anniversary Europa Stamps (887a = S/S) Kiribati 893 27-May-06 Concorde (se-tenant set of 2) Kosovo 43-4 20-Jul-06 Europa 2006 Kyrgyzstan 273-8 29-Dec-05 50th Anniv. Europa stamps (278a = S/S of 6) Latvia 651 3-May-06 Europa 2006 Lithuania 811-2 15-Apr-06 Europa 2006 Macedonia 368-9 9-May-06 Europa 2006 Macedonia 370 9-May-06 10th Anniversary Macedonia’s Europa stamps Malta 1244-5 9-May-06 Europa 2006 Nauru 565 10-Oct-06 Concorde (sheet of 12) San Marino 1676 5-Apr-06 Two Republics (in sheet with Italy 2740) Spain 3439-40 12-Sep-06 Europa 2006 Spain 3441 14-Sep-06 Bridges between Spain & Portugal (joint issue-Portugal Sri Lanka 1539-40 2-Feb-06 50th Anniv. Europa stamps (1540a = S/S of 2)

The following e-mail reply was received from Aurelie Valtart of PostEurop, in response to two e-mails I sent to her. The first e-mail I sent conveyed the results of Unit members answers to the question “YOUR OBSERVATIONS ON THE INDIVIDUAL SETS, THEMES AND THE YEAR AS A WHOLE.” My second e-mail conveyed the results of the 2006 popularity poll. “Dear Steve, If you may, I will use the text for our next “In the press” press review. The press review is received by all philatelic departments, so I hope that they will be interested. Kind regards and thanks for the comments received earlier. They are very interesting and will be transmitted to the Stamps and Philately WG. We are now in the process of revising the EUROPA stamps rules of creation, so there might be news to transmit to your members soon. Aurélie Valtat, Communications Manager, PostEurop, Avenue du Bourget, 44, -1130 Brussels, Belgium; Tel: +32 2 724 72 86, Portable: +32 473 975 659, Fax: +32 2 726 30 08, Email: [email protected], Web: www.posteurop.org.”

NEWS FROM POSTEUROP


50 YEARS OF DANISH UN SOLDIERS

force arrived in Egypt on 15 November 1956, with the intention of bringing the Suez Crisis to an end. The Secretary General at the time, Dag Hammarskjöld, asked Denmark and a number of other member states to put troops at the dis-posal of a UN force. Once Parliament had approved the establishment of a Danish UN Command, Danish troops were sent to Egypt and stationed along the Egyptian-Israeli border. The Danes were the very first UN troops to arrive in Egypt, and remained in the area until 1967, largely in Gaza. Over the years, Danish troops have taken part in a num-ber of UN operations all over the world, including in the Congo, on Cyprus, in Namibia, Kuwait, the former Yugoslavia and Eritrea. Danish troops have also participated in operations under NATO command since the early 1990s, includ-ing in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. In 1990, units from the Royal Danish Navy were sent on UN duty for the first time when the corvette Olfert Fischer pa-trolled the Persian Gulf. The Royal Dan-ish Air Force has also played its part in peace-keeping work - and still does - both by transporting Danish units and by playing an active role in operations. The Blue Berets - The “Blue Berets” were founded by a group of UN veterans in October 1968, in order to 'honor the well-organized work of Danish soldiers, observers and police officers in the UN's peace-keeping forces.” The organization now has more than 3,000 members, spread over 17 local departments in Den-mark. Since its founding, the Berets' most important job has been to bring together those who have returned home from peace-keeping and humanitarian missions, in order to reinforce the bonds of comradeship. The Blue Berets also

DENMARK - A single stamp commemo-rating 50 years of Danish soldiers partici-pating in United Nations Forces. # 4.75 - UN logo and eye of soldier. Date of issue: January 10, 2007. De-signer: Ole Zøfting-Larsen. Engraver: Martin Mörck. Printing: Four-color, intaglio, offset, in sheets of 40 stamps. Format: 28.88 x 28.84 mm. Quantity: Not given. Other: Official first day cov-ers. According to the accompanying publicity release... “The Danish armed forces have a long tradition of international military co-operation. The first Danish officers were posted as UN observers in the Middle East as early as 1948, and in 1956 the first Danish units were dispatched on a peace-keeping mission. Since then, just under 92,000 Danish soldiers and auxiliary staff have served in the world's trouble spots. Post Danmark is issuing a stamp to mark their first half-century in the service of peace. It will be issued in recognition of the many soldiers and other Danes sta-tioned abroad as part of a long-term com-mitment to world peace and to the work of the UN, NATO, the EU and the CSCE/OSCE. Danish troops in UN op-erations - The first UN peace-keeping

provide information about the aims and work of the UN, especially their peace-making activities. For further informa-tion, please refer to wwwblaabaret-ter.dk The UN Museum - You can learn much more about the role of the Danes in UN peace-keeping operations at the UN Museum near Padborg. The museum, located in the Frøslev camp, systematically documents Danish ser-vice abroad in the cause of peace. Its exhibits include everything from letters and photographs to uniforms and vehi-cles, alongside accounts of missions in which Danish soldiers have partici-pated. The purpose is to provide a last-ing memorial to the Danish units and individuals who have contributed to world peace by serving with the UN in hot spots around the world. Read more a b o u t t h e m u s e u m a t www.fnmuseet.dk. The information for this article came from Unit corre-spondent Arne Rasmussen of Denmark. He refers to this issue as “MY” stamp. Why, because according to his letter to me, it never would have been issued were it not for his and the Blue Berets lobbying of Post Danmark for just such a stamp. He went on to write that it extremely interesting to be so closely involved in the birth of a stamp.

Official first day cover.

NEW AND RETURNING MEMBERS

#2246 deMars, Roger W., Hawley, PA 18428 #2247 PARISI, Vincent, Stratford CT 06614 #2248 VINES, Dennis S., Waterloo, Ontario, Canada #2249 ROSS, Marian E., Monterey, CA 93940 #2250 Weifenbach, Dennis, Burbank, CA 91504 #2251 Ashcroft, Dennis, Gallup, NM 87301 #2253 VAN Aalten, Martin, Brantford, ON, Canada


2006 EXECUTIVE SECRETARY’S REPORT

Provided by Don Smith, Unit Treasurer

Membership as of December 31, 2005 185 Less non-renewals -18 Membership as of January 1, 2006 167 Less Mid-Year non-renewals -4 Less Death -1 Plus New members/Reinstatements +26 Membership as of December 31, 2006 188

Provided by Dana Roper Unit Treasurer Balance as of January 1, 2006 $ 5867.66 Income Expenses Bank Charge for PayPal 0.96 Auction 465.56 Unit Postage 116.36 Donations 534.00 Europa News Postage 1393.08 Dues 2007.05 Printing cost for Europa News 1831.10 Lit-Back Issues 17.10 Europex 2006 souvenir sheets 71.19 Lit-ESU ss 149.25 Unit Web site 3950 Lit-Handbook CD 42.00 Washington 2006 200.00 Lit-Handbooks 145.00 Lit-Monographs 9.00 Interest Income 42.81 Total Income $3411.77 Total Expenses $3652.19 Income less Expenses ($240.42) Balance as of January 1, 2007 $5627.24

2006 TREASURER’S REPORT

MEMBER AD

Member Anastasios Aravopoulos ( #2113) writes that he is able to provide Europa stamps from Greece and Cyprus as well as the rest of the Europa countries. Mr. Aravopoulos has a convenient order form that can be ordered from him at either 28HS October Street 14, Agia Parasheyi 15341, Athens, Greece, or by e-mail at [email protected].

ANNUAL POLL OF MEMBERS

Each year the Europa Study Unit conducts a poll, asking its members to vote for their favorite three stamps of the current year. The 2006 poll has just been completed at the winners are Switzerland, Gibraltar and Faroe Island. Instructions to the members were: Which of the 2006 EUROPA common theme stamps do you rate the best? Cast your ballot for your favorite set of stamps. In making your choices, consider design, subject matter, artistic merit, execution, and adherence to the theme which in 2006 was "Integration as seen through the eyes of children.”

1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in the Europa Study Unit annual poll to determine “best designs.”


FORWARD CALENDAR

FINAL ACCOUNTING - AUCTION #107

This report was submitted by Don Smith, Unit Auction Manager, whose report and running of the auctions we gratefully appreciate. RECEIPTS: Sale of Members’ Material $780.85 * Postage from Buyers 30.03 Sale of Unit Material 28.35 Donation 1.68 $840.91 EXPENDITURES: To Sellers for Material $663.72 Postage to Buyers 30.03 Additional Postage 9.21 Miscellaneous 2.55 $705.51 PROFIT $135.40 * Some of the material in the auction was donated by Michel Journeaux, Stephen Luster and the estate of Bill Norby.

COUNTRY USSUE DATE SUBJECT

Slovenia January 1, 2007 Souvenir sheet for Slovenia’s switch to the Euro.

Andorra (Fr) ? 1 stamp for Europa 2007 on the common theme of scouting

Andorra (Fr) ? 1 tryptiche for jumelage between Meritxell and Sabart (Ariège)

Belgium November 17, 2006 Se-tenant pair of Europa stamps on the subject of integration

Bulgaria November 17, 2006 Souvenir sheet for the Post/Ambassador of a United Europe )?)

Bulgaria November 29, 2006 Bulgaria and Romania together in in the European Union. Joint issue with Romania.

Greece February 28, 2006 Patras as a European Capital of Culture for 2006

Greece May 15, 2006 Se-tenant pair of Europa stamps on the subject of integration

Greece May 15, 2006 25th anniversary of Greece in the European Union

Greece May 15, 2006 Eurovision song contest in Athens

Ireland March 22, 2007 50tgh anniversary of the Treaty of Rome

Ireland May 9, 2007 Europa 2007, 2 stamps for the 100th anniversary of scouting

Ireland June 6, 2007 Discovery of the tomb of Saint Cyril

Latvia November 20, 2006 NATO summit meeting in Riga

Luxembourg January, 2007 European Culture ital 2007 - self-adhesive booklet

Luxembourg March, 2007 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome

Luxembourg May, 2007 Europa 2007, 2 stamps on the theme of the scouting centenary

Norway November 17, 2006 2 stamps for Europa 2006 on the subject of integration

Romania November 15, 2006 Bulgaria and Romania together in in the European Union, joint issue with Bulgaria

San Marino January 2007 Presidency of the Committee of the Ministers of the Council of Europe

San Marino April 2007 200th anniversary of the birth of Garibaldi

San Marino June 2007 Europa - 100th anniversary of scouting

San Marino June 2007 Baseball Europe Cup


The following information was compiled by Unit Executive secretary Don Smith. We are indebted to him for putting together the replies to the three questions that were asked in the annual poll.

YOUR OBSERVATIONS ON THE INDIVIDUAL SETS, THEMES AN D THE YEAR AS A WHOLE. “Didn't care for the theme; I don't feel that they all stayed with the theme. One thing I've been down on for several years now are the stamps of Great Britain and their possessions. They always put EUROPA stamps in a set of four to six stamps, but only two of them are actually EUROPA. But you have to buy the whole set; Lots of creative presentations; Haven't had time to really look at them; Very appropriate theme for this day and age. It was hard to pick out three sets (for the opinion poll); Since I collect used stamps I do not have a feel for this year; Disjointed-confused theme; Very mixed lot this year; Nothing outstanding; I wasn't crazy about the theme and thought many of this issue were bland; Too many stamps in too many formats; Odd choice for theme given this year was the 50th anniversary of the first sets; I thought a common design for the anniversary would have been appropriate; The theme didn't seem to inspire much interest or creativity; There was a broad range of interpretations; This year's theme was hard to do by many nations; Those countries hon-oring EUROPA & 50 years, took advantage of collectors in their prices!; I only collect to 1990 used; I do not buy new issues so usually don't see enough of most recent items - say past 2 years - to be able to make a choice; The "theme" may well have been inspiring, but how many politicians had their eyes opened by it?; I have found it impossible to judge issues until I acquire and see them in color and in recent years that has been very difficult because some of the newer countries "run behind." Also, some new issues are very difficult to acquire; The theme of "integration" is ambiguous - countries are all over the map - horses & dogs - black & white cats - music?; Can't wait for 2007 - Scouting!; Good theme but too many variations in design - way be-low par compared to other years; and I can't answer this because this year I didn't get the stamps.”

HOW ARE WE RUNNING THE UNIT

“Excellent Great! In a truly outstanding manner Excellent! Very good; Very good; Fine; Very well indeed! As one who is new to the topic, I'm very pleases with this resource; Thank you! The Unit is well-handled; Very good. Information & articles are excellent; Very well; GREAT! The very best! Great; I get a lot of info out of each newsletter & love the auctions; Excellent; Very interested in eBay sales - compared to what auction houses are paying. Thank you for your hard work in putting together the issues; Very well; Fine; Excellent; O.K.; Excellent; Great! Great; Good; Great! How about an article on how, when and by who was the Study Group created! How many current members, how many countries, plus other info; OK - Info such as Steve's "Philatelic Legacy" is most welcome. Maybe you could have more articles like it? Maybe a page printed from someone's exhibit? Am satisfied - maybe I'll make it to the ATA event in Irving, TX - but at 83+ it's "iffy." No complaints! We need an active official website that posts images of new issues, in color ASAP. The "Newsletter Archives" on line are a year behind; and, Excellent in my opinion.”

HOW CAN WE MAKE THE UNIT OR THE EUROPA NEWS BETTER? “Seems to me you cover in depth new & old issues many with illustrations. ESU includes collectors with var-ied areas of collecting you try over time to include something for everyone; No suggestions - just happy to have news of my favorite topical available. Appreciate new issue listings and annual common issues spread sheet/list. Thanks fellows. r know cost is a factor, but the quality of illustrations is generally fair to poor; Very good as is! Use color and increase the subscription price; I am satisfied! Unknown So far so very good No suggestions Keep up the great work! Fine as is; I think your newsletter is wonderful! How can you make something better that is already tops?

COMMENTS RECEIVED IN RESPONSE TO THE MEMBERSHIP POLL


THE EUROPA STUDY UNIT IS AN ASSOCIATION OF PHILATELISTS DEVOTED TO THE STUDY OF PHILA-TELIC MATERIALS COVERING THE IDEA OF A UNITED EUROPE... EUROPE UNITED IN A POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL SENSE. OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS: PRESIDENT: COL (Ret) Stephen Luster, 19365 Cypress Ridge Terrace, #507, Lansdowne, Virginia 20176. (e-mail [email protected]); EXECUTIVE SECRETARY: Mr. Don Smith, P.O. Box 576, Johnstown, PA 15907; TREASURER: Mr. Dana Roper, 7266 Prices Cove Place, Gainesville, VA 20155; VICE PRESIDENT: Ms. Caroline Scannell, NY; SECOND VICE PRESIDENT: Mr. Bob Locke, MD; SECRETARY: Mr. Alan Cohen, DC; DIRECTORS: The Officers, Mr. Hank Klos, IL and Mr. Dan Shilcrat, AZ. AUCTION MANAGER: Mr. Donald W. Smith, P.O. Box 576, Johnstown, PA 15907. ANNUAL DUES: (Including 6 issues of the EUROPA NEWS): U.S. $10.00, Canada $11.00, Overseas (airmail) $16.00. Dues are payable as of January 1st each year. Dues will be prorated for members joining in the middle of a year. All payments must be made in U.S. Dollars; cash, or a bank draft, or a money order (made payable to the Europa Study Unit) are acceptable. MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, OR DUES PAYMENTS: Send to the Executive Secretary, Mr. Don Smith, whose address appears above.

EUROPA NEWS EUROPA STUDY UNIT BULLETIN OF THE EUROPA STUDY UNIT

(Published bi-monthly in February, April, June, August, October, and December.)

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER: Stephen Luster, 19365 Cypress Ridge Terrace, #507, Lansdowne, Virginia 20176. Telephone number: +1 (703) 729- 2852. Fax: +1 (703) 729-2193. E-mail: [email protected]. CORRESPONDENTS: Peter Alderliesten, Netherlands; M. Heaton, Great Britain; Friedrich Karl Oetker and Wolfgang Lange of Germany; Albert Merkx & Max Molenaar, Netherlands; Arne Rasmussen, Denmark, Oege Weijs and Uwe Kensing, Luxembourg, André Legay, France and Jean-Louis Emmenegger, Switzerland. CONTRIBUTIONS: Contributions of news, commentary, articles, covers, postmarks, and other philatelic information dealing with the subject of united Europe, are always welcome. Materials sent for reproduction will be handled carefully and returned, but at the submitter's risk. The Editor reserves the right to edit all copy. Contributors will be acknowledged. SERVICES FOR MEMBERS: The EUROPA NEWS offers the following services to its members: Three auctions of "Europa" material per year. Write to the Auction Manager, Mr. Donald W. Smith for information on submitting lots. His address appears in the right-hand column. Free buy or sell advertisements in the EUROPA NEWS. Questions and answer column. Estate disposal assistance. Annual supplement to the Europa Handbook listing the past year's common design/theme issues.

EUROPA NEWS Bulletin of the Europa Study Unit Mr. Don Smith P.O. Box 576 Johnstown, PA 15907 Postmaster: Return postage guaranteed if not delivered. Mailed to printer on February 24, 2007

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