Five iconic New Zealand native trees will be featured on five gummed stamps to be issued 1 February 2012.

Each of the beautiful species is depicted in a detailed illustrative style and the scientific name of each species is included in the design.

The individual stamps in this issue are as follows:

60c – P?hutukawa
The p?hutukawa is a species of Metrosideros, and is often referred to as the New Zealand Christmas tree due to its display of bright red, pollen-producing stamens in summer. The undersides of the leaves and flower buds are densely furry with white hairs. Although it is widely cultivated throughout the country, in nature it is restricted to the northern North Island, mostly in costal habitats.

$1.20 – Cabbage Tree
The cabbage tree (Cordyline australis) or tï kouka is found throughout New Zealand in moist soils and swamps. It is a tall, much-branched tree, and has long, narrow leaves with many parallel veins. The abundant small white flowers are attached to the branching stems of large inflorescences, and the fruits are white to purple berries.

$1.90 – K?whai
The vibrant k?whai tree is most conspicuous in spring, with its large golden-yellow flowers. Its flowers are bird pollinated and the petals are arranged in a sort of tube to contain a sufficient quantity of nectar. Sophora microphylla is widespread and grows near streams and at lake edges.

$2.40 – N?kau
The n?kau (Rhopalostylis) is the furthest south palm in the Southern Hemisphere. It is impressive in height, and the top of the trunk is crowned by a spreading cluster of enormous leaves divided into leaflets. Flower clusters arise below the crown of leaves and form bright red berries. Where the n?kau is plentiful it gives the feeling of a tropical forest.

$2.90 – M?nuka
The m?nuka (Leptospermum scoparium) is a widespread shrub that sometimes grows to a small tree. Its leaves are very small and quite sharply pointed, and it is abundant with small white flowers (although pink and red varieties are cultivated). The m?nuka is well known for the dark, strongflavoured honey it produces.

The Royal Mail will for the first time have a stamp issue to mark the Lunar New Year. A generic self-adhesive Smilers Sheet with the Fireworks stamps will be released on 20 January 2012.

No first day cover will be available as Royal Mail does not regard this as a new issue.

The Disneyana on Stamps Society is the 90th study unit affiliated with the society during its 62-year history.

The Disneyana on Stamps Society is an organization of topical philatelists collecting stamps, first day covers, meters, cancels, and other philatelic items relating to Walt Disney and his legacy.

Membership is free! Members have access to the newsletter Disnemation, which will be published online six times a year.  For more information, check out the website:

http://www.disnemation.8m.com/home.htm

The AmericanTopical Association’s 162nd handbook entitles Handbook of Disney on Stamps by William Silvester is scheduled for publication by March 1.

To be released in a pane of 12 self adhesives on 23 January 2012. This will be the first day of the Dragon Year.

The first day ceremony will be held in San Francisco, CA.

UPDATE: I received notice that the stamps will be released 20 January 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Kazakhstan issued  a se-tenant block of eight stamps on 14 December 2011 featuring urban birds.

The birds featured are: black thrush (merula furdus), titmouse (parus major), magpie (pica pica), grey crow (corvus cornix), myna (acridotheres tristis), rook (corvus frugilegus), blue pigeon (columba livia), sparrow (passer domesticus).

The USPS will issue six nondenominated Spectrum Eagle coil stamps on 3 January 2012.

The stamps will sell for 25¢ each in the self-adhesive format.

Singapore Post will issue on 5 January 2012 a set of 3 stamps to celebrate the Year of Dragon. A special collectors sheet containing two stamps and a self-adhesive sheetlet of 10 stamps will also be made available.

New Zealand Post will issue a set of 4 stamps and a miniature sheet on 5 January 2012 to celebrate the Chinese Lunar Year of the Dragon which begins on 23 January 2012.

The Republic of Belarus will release a set of 3 stamps featuring Pigeons. A sheetlet containing 2 sets of the 3 stamps will also be available. Special cancellation for the first day cover will be available at the main Post Office in Minsk.

Date of issue: 28 November 2011

Taiwan Post will issue a set of 2 stamps and a souvenir sheet to commemorate the Year of Dragon which starts 23 January 2012.

The two stamps have denominations of NT$3.50 and NT$13.00, and the souvenir sheet has a denomination of NT$12.00. They will be released on 1 December 2011.

The 27th Asian International Stamp Exhibition will be held in Wuxi, China for 5 days from 11 November 2011.

There will be 1300 frames of exhibits and 100 dealer stands all in the spacious Wuxi Taihu International Expo Centre.

New Zealand Post will be issuing a miniature sheet containing 3 circular kiwi stamps with a picture of a panda.

Azerbaijan issued on October 28 a set of 4 WWF stamps featuring the Short-toed Snake Eagle. The stamps are available in miniature sheets of 4 and 8 stamps. The 8 stamps (2 sets) miniature sheets comes in 2 different design versions.

The Macau Post Office will issue a set of 4 bird stamps on 11 September 2011. The birds featured are:
Light-vented Bulbul / Pycnonotus sinensis
Spotted Dove / Streptopelia chinensis
Yellow Bittern / Lxobrychus sinensis
Greater Coucal / Centropus sinensis

As with all WWF stamp issues, there will be first day covers and maximum cards.

The United Nations Postal Administration will be issuing the 2011 Endangered Species stamps on 7 September 2011.

The issue consist of 12 stamps, 3 maximum cards and a special silk cover.

New Zealand Post will be issuing a $15 3D stamp on 7 September 2011 to commemorate the Rugby World Cup. The stamp will depict the Tournament’s prize, the Webb Ellis Cup.

The 3D stamp will be protected forever inside a sealed plastic case, which is mounted within an attractive display card.

The first post office in Hong Kong was opened on 25 August 1841. Hong Kong Post will be issuing a souvenir sheet this August 25 to celebrate the 170th anniversary.

The $10 stamp depicts a red Victorian pillar box and a modern posting box. The background of the sheet show images of the old and current general post office.

The hummingbird on the right of the sheet “symbolises innovation and improvement in our service delivery to the world”.

Niue issued a set of 3 bird stamps on 6 July 2011.

Also released was a miniature sheet produced in the shape of two hega (Vini australis).  Bright green in colour, these parrots are adorned with a blue/purple crown and a red chin, throat, cheeks and upper belly.

Te Puna Whaiora – the New Zealand Foundation for Child and Family Health and Development – specialises in helping at-risk children aged five to 12 to overcome barriers to healthy lifestyles. The 10-cent surcharge on each stamp in this issue goes directly to Te Puna Whaiora’s seven Children’s Health Camps throughout New Zealand.

Date of issue: 6 July 2011

The United States Postal Service will issue a set of 5 stamps featuring Pixar’s cartoons. The first-day ceremony will be held 19 August at the Disney’s D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center.

This set is the first of a two-part series.

Royal Mail will issue the fourth set of birds Faststamps on 16 September, one of three sets to be issued this year.

These will be sold from Post & Go machines at selected Post Offices across the UK.  There are 30 different value/design combinations in total.

The birds depicted in this issue are:
Puffin, Gannet, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Cormorant and the Arctic Tern.

The Royal Mail will issue a set of 8 stamps to mark the 350th Anniversary of the coronation of King Charles II.

As most of the crown jewels had been broken up during the time of the Cromwell’s Commonwealth a new set had to be created for the occasion. The only piece shown here that pre-dates Charles’s coronation is the anointing spoon.

1st Class – The Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross
From 1661 and so called because it is surmounted by a cross. In 1905, it was redesigned to incorporate the Great Star of Africa, the second largest cut diamond in the world. During the coronation, the monarch bears the sceptre with the cross in the right hand.

1st Class – St Edward’s Crown
68p – Rod & Sceptre with Doves
68p – Queen Mary’s Crown
76p – The Sovereign’s Orb
76p – The Jeweled Sword of Offering
£1.10 – Imperial State Crown
£1.10 – Coronation Spoon

Royal Mail unveiled last Friday a set of stamps marking the one year countdown to the 2012 London Olympics.

The 10 first-class stamps, entitled “Get ready for 2012″, will go on sale on July 27, exactly 12 months before the Olympics start. This is the third and final set in the series of Olympic stamps.

I am now on Google+. Send me an email or message if you need an invitation.

To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the WWF, Liechtenstein Post will issue a set of eight hexagonal bird stamps in a sheet on 9 September 2011.

The birds depicted are: Hobby, Redstart, Nightingale, Red-backes shrike, Oriole, Whinchat, Pygmy owl and the Wryneck

Also available will be first day covers and eight beautiful maximum cards.

The South Africa Post Office issued on 15 July 2011 a set of five bird stamps, in sheets of 10, to coincide with the United Nations declaration of 2011 the International Year of the Forests.

Birds shown on the stamps are the green twinspot, olive bush-shrike, Cape parrot, Knysna turaco (lourie) and the African crowned eagle.

On July 28, the USPS will issue 4 Forever stanps (44 cents) to commemorate the service of the U.S. Merchant Marine.

A total of sixty million stamps will be issued in panes of 20.

Date of issue will be 30 August 2011. There will be 4 minisheets, each containing the same 4 stamps but a different background image representing each territory.

Greenland Post have stopped sales of two new definitives issued on 9 May 2011. According to a press release, the stamps are withdrawn because “the printed stamps did not live up to the high quality, which POST Greenland normally delivers.”

The original printings were already delivered to standing order customers. We are waiting to hear what are the differences in the two printings.

The above images are of the new printings.