$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.

Title: New Zealand Native Trees
Date of Issue: 1 February 2012
Country: New Zealand
Denominations: 60c, $1.20, $1.90, $2.40, $2.90

Source: http://stamps.nzpost.co.nz

The Gibraltar International Chess Festival, now one of the most prestigious open tournaments in the world, began as a much smaller event in 2003. Its popularity has grown year on year, and today well over 300 participants, players of all levels, return to the Rock every January, many calling Gibraltar their favourite event on the chess calendar. For eleven days the festival venue, the Caleta Hotel, is transformed into a hive of chess activity. Arriving here from all corners of the world, players can be sure that old friendships will be renewed, and – win or lose – new ones made.

In a separate development, the first Gibraltar International Junior Chess Festival took place in August, 2011. Children from the UK, Spain, and Gibraltar took part. Over the past decade, thanks to a dedicated teaching programme, many hundreds of children in Gibraltar have received chess tuition at school. One young Gibraltarian, Stephen Whatley, has scored notable tournament successes in the UK, while several other young local players show similar promise, with more juniors keen to follow.

The games featured on the stamps have been specially chosen as representing the best of the many thousands contested in Gibraltar over the past decade. All the players shown are grandmasters. Two are women. Pia Cramling (Sweden) has played in all ten Gibraltar festivals, while Natalia Zhukova (Ukraine) won the top female award in 2010. Michael Adams, Nigel Short (both England) and Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine) are all former Gibraltar champions. Viktor Bologan (Moldova) and Fabiano Caruana (Italy) are elite players with aggressive styles popular with the public. Chess legend Viktor Korchnoi (Switzerland) fought two World Championship matches with arch-rival Anatoly Karpov.

Title: Gibraltar Chess festival
Date of Issue: 23 January 2012
Country: Gibraltar
Denominations: 2p, 30p, 75p, £2

Source: http://www.gibraltar-stamps.com

The show theme “Bridging the World of Peace Through Stamp” is to inspire the effort of world societies in achieving the eternal peace all over the world. More and more we realize that stamp has changed its track from merely a mean of showing payment of mail delivery to valuable collectible items.

“Indonesia 2012″ is expected to become the largest philatelic exhibition ever held in Indonesia. Earlier, Indonesia has successfully conducted philatelic exhibitions in Asia-Pacific three times, namely “Indopex ’93″ in Surabaya (1993), “Jakarta ’95″ in Jakarta (1995), and “Jakarta 2008″ in Jakarta (2008). Indonesia has also been a world philatelic exhibition organizers specifically for teens class “Indonesia ’96″ in Bandung (1996).

INDONESIA 2012 LOGO

Pigeons are known as a symbol of peace as well as a reliable courier letter was carrying an envelope. All around there are plants that represent the ecosystem that we must protect. Entirely described by the batik style.

INDONESIA 2012 MASCOT

The mascot of INDONESIA 2012 is respresented by a prehistoric reptile species called Komodo (Varanus Komodoensis).
The endangered species first lived during the time of dinosaurus millions of years ago and amazingly has survived until today on the island of Komodo, as well as neighbouring island of Rinca, Padar and West Flores of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The mascot shows a Komodo Wearing ‘kain tenunan ikat’ or local traditional hand-woven material and holding a magnifying glass.

The Organizers
The Organizers Secretariat of INDONESIA 2012
Kantor Filateli Jakarta JI.Pos No.2
Jakarta 10710 Indonesia
Telephone & Fax.: +62-21 –3518710
E-mail: filatelis_indonesia@yahoo.com
info@indonesia2012.com

LINKS:
http://www.indonesia2012.com
Federation of Internationale de Philatelie

Source: http://www.hongkongpoststamps.com

Source: http://azermarka.az

Source: http://www.post.ee

Earth Dragon – The Earth Dragon is a kind of Heaven Dragon, which belongs to philanthropic Dragon. With more sensitive affections, he loves the world and the people.

Fire Dragon – The fire Dragon is a kind of Ground Dragon, which is a member of born-beautiful dragons. With born-beautiful appearance and outspoken personality, he has good relations with friends and opposite sex.

Wood Dragon – The Wood Dragon is a kind of Conquer Dragon, which is the head of all Dragons. He is outstanding talent, rich of challenging spirit.

Title: Lunar year of the Dragon – Macau
Date of Issue: 5 January 2012
Country: Macau
Denominations: 1.50, 1.50, 1.50, 1.50 and 5.00 patacas

Source: www.macaupost.gov.mo

The presence of the dragon in Chinese culture dates back thousands of years. Dinosaur bones unearthed in ancient China are documented as “dragon bones,” and dragon statues and jade badges of rank have been discovered as far back as the fifth millennium BC. Excellent and outstanding people are compared to the dragon, and leaping, swooping dragons operated by a full team of people are a common sight at Chinese festivals.

This year, Canada Post honours the Year of the Dragon—a time of innovation, risk and achievement—the fifth sign of the Chinese zodiac. The dragon in the PERMANENT™, domestic-rate stamp in this series is fully embossed. Gold foil is used prominently in the dragon’s scales. Swirls, a graphic element from ancient Chinese designs, are placed at the bottom of the domestic-rate stamp to represent the water element. The Chinese characters in the top right corner spell out “dragon.”

“It’s always a challenge to find novel ways to showcase the Lunar New Year stamps,” says Alain Leduc, Canada Post Stamp Design manager. “Designer Louis Fishauf, who also designed the extraordinary Year of the Monkey stamp from the first Lunar New Year series, did a great job with all of this year’s stamp products as well. The images are complex and striking, and the foil and embossing techniques are outstanding.”

A fiery red dragon bursts from the water on the dramatic souvenir sheet bearing an international-rate stamp and imagery taken from the domestic stamp. The embossing on the dragon’s head is carved by hand, with touches of foil to give it vibrancy. The background is red, a colour symbolizing good fortune and joy that is used prominently during Chinese New Year celebrations.

Title: Year of the Dragon – Canada
Date of Issue: 10 January 2012
Country: Canada
Denominations: 61c, $1.80

Source: http://www.canadapost.ca

The stamps show the development of the Chinese character for the Dragon, shown fully in the $1.80 stamp, and the way it is derived from its pictorial representation, shown in the 60c stamp.

Paper cut motifs are used to represent the Dragon in the 60c stamp. Paper cuts are one of the most popular forms of Chinese art and are commonly used to decorate windows, lanterns, mirrors, gates and walls during the Chinese New Year celebrations. The Dragon occupies a special place in the Chinese zodiac, being the only mythical creature among them.

Title: Year of Dragon 2012 – Christmas Island
Date of Issue: 10 January 2012
Country: Australia
Denominations: 60c, $1.80

Source: http://shop.auspost.com.au

Being the fifth of the 12 animal signs, those born in the year of the Dragon are often said to possess character traits such as dominance, ambitious and driven. Unafraid of challenges and willing to take risks, Dragons are passionate individuals in the things that they do, and usually in a grand fashion. They have an active mind and show an unfeigned interest in the world around them. While Dragons enjoy being the centre of attention, they also have a brave and charitable side to their personality.

As 2012 is the year of the Water Dragon, Water calms the Dragon’s fire. Water Dragons are able to see things from other points of view. They don’t have the need to always be right. Their decisions, if well researched, are usually better since they allow others to become involved.

It is also in their nature to know how to gain respect, and being in charge or giving orders comes naturally; fortunately, most people accept their authority. But at the down side, they can be quick-tempered and obstinate, and sometimes too outspoken. However, their vibrant, positive attitude is irreplaceable to have around and one can always count on him to support his friends unequivocally in times of need.

Famous personalities born in the Dragon year include Al Pacino, Jeffrey Archer, Bruce Lee, Deng Xiao Ping, John Lennon and Placido Domingo.

Title: Zodiac Series Dragon – Singapore
Date of Issue: 5 January 2012
Country: Singapore
Denominations: 1st local, 65¢, $1.10

Source: https://shop.vpost.com.sg