(esc-bdph) Even as a child, I was fascinated by the post offices and agencies from all over the world represented at large stamp exhibitions. It was easy to find out about the issue programme of many countries, to get excited about the variety of motifs and forms of issue, and even to post a letter or postcard at one or the other post office, thus surprising those at home with virtual excursions to foreign countries. A total of 20 post offices will be represented at this year’s IBRA in Essen, and Stamperia will also be presenting the issues of many of the countries for which it is responsible. These are Åland, Estonia, Faroe Islands, France, Gibraltar, Greenland, Great Britain, Guernsey, Jersey, Croatia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Austria, Fiji, Romania, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

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As special highlights, some countries even issue special covers or stamps on the occasion of IBRA and many also carry a corresponding special postmark. In the April issue of Philately, we already presented the IBRA souvenir sheet of the Austrian Post. Today in Philately we show you the souvenir sheet from Liechtenstein, which shows the Essen Zollverein coal mine, as well as the postcard from the Czech Post, which focuses on the joy of philately with typical Czech humour.

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