Week #2016.47 on SébPhilatélie and other blogs

Monday 21 November: 3rd week of demonetisation in India.
I have continued to follow the implementation and consequences of the demonetisation of 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes in India, announced Tuesday 8 November by Prime Minister Modi.

The main conclusions I end up by reading The Times of India are that daily waged workers in cities and farmers in rural areas continue to struggle because of the lack of liquidity, in the former's bosses' pockets or because their savings-at-home notes are now worthless.

Improvising a lot, Mr Modi's Government seems to play by the ear: encouraging the dematerialisation of monetary payments, enjoying retailers' initiative to dispense new notes from their credit card terminals in their shops, and promising now to put as much notes as possible in the country. Last move was to stop exchanging old 1000 rupee notes over bank counter, to encourage the use of bank accounts and credit cards.

On the winning side police and army confirmed that criminal and paramilitary groups are strangely quiet since November 8th... Too occupied to smuggle their old notes stock to bank counters discreetly... Not enough it seems. The Indian revenue services seems busy checking people and firms putting too much money on their bank account.

Comparison between a normal version (upper one) and the erroneous one (bottom) (Times Now).

On the collectors' side, a second lawful type for the new 2000 note was acknowledged by the Reserve Bank of India: the rush at all printing plants crreated this error that may trouble citizens in the future.

Wednesday 23 November: French philatelic service hired communication agency.
French communication news website CB News announced Insign, "alternative communication solutions agency", just gets two new clients: a chesse protected indication and the French philatelic service, Phil@poste.

The former wishes to be known and have new way of communicating and selling in France and worldwide. Check your magazines and stamp exhibitions next year for the results.

Friday 25 November: Millions to be exchanged next week at David Feldman Autumn Sales.
Philatelic auction house David Feldman will propose a full week of sales starting Monday 28.

The printing plate of the 1847 Post Office of Mauritius (David Feldman).

The gems of the week will be proposed on Thursday 1 December 6pm: the printing plate of Mauritius "Post Office" 1847 stamps and the "Bombay cover" of 1850. Both estimated millions of euros.

The plate was considered lost for three quarter century, hidden in French philatelist and politician Maurice Burrus' estate owned by his niece. Rediscover by her heirs, David Feldman organised a world stampshow tour to present it in London, Singapore and Monaco in 2015, and New York last May.

Blue Mauritius (amazon.co.uk).

Both items are the objects of two brochures written by experts of the Mauritius Post Office, available in pdf format (the plate, the cover). Among the author, Helen Morgan who wrote a book on these stamps.

Saturday 26 November: find Summer again by any means necessary.
After one week of British-Mediterrean weather (always rainy/too hot temperature), the return of sunshine on Saturday made me find many signs that Summer is coming back... Don't believe George R.R. Martin.

Among the signs the colors of the December issue of Timbres Magazine and of its third special geopolitic issue on borders, in newsstand December 13th.

Sunday 27 November at Timbres au type Semeuse: the French stamp printing plant in 1913.
The writer of this French Sower stamp blog found higher quality pictures of a known newspaper report of 1913 in the French National Library website. The journalist visited the French postal printing plant in Paris.

Complement on Monday 14 August 2017: In the Summer issue of Timbres Magazine Gérard Gomez told the story of printing stamps in 1913 from the pictures held by the French National Library.