Week #2016.45 on SébPhilatélie

Monday 7 November: How much the French philatelic program?
It depends on the definition of "postage stamp of France" you choose in the Charter of Philately, signed by La Poste and the organised philatelic organisations in 2009.

Funnily I add up the November issues face values in actual euro if you wish to buy all stamps, and then lower it in "Charter euro currency" if you accept to limit yourself to the stamps aimed at collectors (value indicated in euro, gummed, perforated, with a phi - the Greek letter - on them).

The French program is quite cheap after all. So: buy it all and just tell the Charter value to your spouse, your friends you want to convert to stamp collecting and, of course, your banker.

English speaking collectors would be interested to know that the French philatelic service will publish its 2016 stamp yearbook in English, with all the phi-stamp around ninety euros. Know that you won't get the postal indicator adhesive booklets and many special minisheets issued for stamp shows.

Wednesday 9 November: Harsh demonetisation of banknotes in India.
Since Tuesday 8pm local time, the population of India is on panic mode after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced all a sudden that 500 and 1000 ruppee banknote would null and void by midnight, that banks would close on Wednesday and start exchanging old notes with the new 500 and 2000 ones on Thursday and be opened all week-end.

How to get rid of it if you collected them too muc in the eye of the Indian revenue administration? Specimen of the 1000 rupee note issued 2000, valueless now (Reserve Bank of India via the Wikipedia in English).

The official goals are to fight counterfeiting and revenues from illegal activities. The fiscal administration will inquire people if they brought high amount of old notes at the bank counters and launch investigations at jewellery and hawala stores in 25 cities, including ones that were trading in these notes after their demise and to check if their gold stocks were lawful.

The new 2000 rupee note, launched on Thursday 10 (Reserve Bank of India).

By following the live coverage of The Times of India of Delhi, the situation has been a mess these past four days in a country whose notes constitues 90% of all payments. Many administrations, energy companies and public transport firms were authorised to accept the demonetised notes for a few days to avoid angering the crowds and to decrease the pressure on bank and postal counters.

Of course politicians comment and showbusiness as usual to criticise the Prime Minister's move and the difficulties he created in the life of the common people. Rumours of the PM's friends warned before began to spread.

Better than the live coverage of the United States presidential election? Not sure.

Friday 11 November 2016: centenary of the Veterant Office and first year after...
This year France commemorates the centenary of the Office for veterans and victims of war, born to fund the help to mutilated soldiers of the Great War. One way was to sell to the public the Bleuets, small blue flowers that were at first in 1916 manufactured by the injured soldiers to help them forget their daily suffering and fright of their return to civil life.

The stamp created by Nicolas Vial, issued Thursday 10 November 2016 (phil-ouest.com, a well-built and serachable database on French stamps).

Artist Nicolas Vial proposed a nightly blue and blood on the Invalides, the veteran home ordered by King Louis XIV, now the Museum of the French Army.

Sadly since January 2015 and one year after the Saint-Denis and Paris terrorist attacks on civilians, this design and symbols strikes different and still present strings.

Saturday 12 November: The history and culture of Algeria by its stamps and press.
How can one discover what is Algeria?

Look at the 19th century engravings and 20th century pictures Kenneth Nilsestuen put to immerse his public in the landscapes at his conference on the colonial postal history of this country. Watch it on Vimeo thank to the Collectors Club of New York.

With two articles in French monthly Timbres magazine, François Chauvin presented stationeries sold by the French Algerian post in 1939 to promote touristic monuments (November 2016 issue) and indigenous crafts (Summer issue). The author explained how well-intentioned French learned persons wished to help Algerians artisans found back the purity of their art... even if chemical colors worked better.

But this two sources worked on Algeria from his colonial past. How to discover it from there?

Every Thursday in his magazine, newspaper El Watan proposes a philatelic article either by Mohamed Achour Ali Ahmed or Arslan Selmane. Their texts present the country with the stamps it has issued since 1962, from the point of origin of the Berber calendar to the tradition to put Presidents  of the Republic on stamps, local craftmanship and heroes of the independence.

How many stamps written in tifinagh, the Berber alphabet?

Every week in El Watan and elwatan.com, section hebdo/magazine, or with the help of Google.