Week #2016.50 on SébPhilatélie

Monday 12 December: demonetisation and new notes in high inflation Venezuela.
In his Sunday 11th show, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced the demonetisation of the 100 bolivar notes by the next Thursday. In the current inflation inhabitants need "bricks" of these notes to buy the low number of things available, mostly imported.

The 100 bolivar note picturing Simon Bolivar in its 2007 version when three zeroes were cut off (Bank Note Museum).

Maduro and his predecessor Chavez are well known for creating shows... This rushed demonetisation is one of them: while he accused foreign mafias in Colombia to possess lots of these notes, the Central Bank of Venezuela had already announced early this month the printing of new notes from 500 to 20'000 bolivars. Two new coins to be introduced for the former note values.

But, on Thursday the people discovered the new notes weren't there... After two days of demonstrations, looting and illegal border crossing to Colombia to buy goods and food, Maduro reported the demonetisation until January 2nd, blaiming the sabotage of the operation by foreign powers.

If you still believe him, 80% of all 100 bolivar notes have been retrieved by banks... If the new notes aren't there, how is the Venezuelian daily economy working today?

Tuesday 13 December: Demonetisation in India: as many printed as police seized?
Believing The Times of India police and fiscal departments are catching a lot of dishonest people who can't prove how they earned kilograms of precious metal, lakhs and crores of olf and new notes.

And here is the problem for the Supreme Court of India and some politicians: how can thiefs get as many brand new banknotes while the Reserve Bank's printers can't allow one billion common people get their hands on them???

Not a problem for the current government that believed in digitisation of payments from now on.

Saturday 17 December: Can Mayotte become a French département?
A documentary broadcast Sunday 11 on France Ô asked the question: can Mayotte, the little Comorian archipelago who wished to continue to be French, manage to apply all French laws like any other département?

Kalathoumi Bacar, a postwoman, has driven the roads of Chiconi and delivering mail for the past 35 years despite uncertain identities of the destinees and no street names (Zed Production for France Ô).

As an introduction to civil registry and cadastre problems, Séline Soula and Romain Fleury for Zed Production followed Kalathoumi Bacar, a postwomen with 35 year of service. A La Poste's yellow veil under her quad helmet, she drives and walks all king of roads and streets in Chiconi.

Every day she tries to find to whom deliver mail when people have two identities, a traditional built name and a French built administrative one since 2000-2010. No speaking about the slow movement of creating streets names and enforcing their use on mail.

Sunday 18 December: three philatelic reports on Saint-Pierre and Miquelon tv and radio this Autumn.
The local public station Saint-Pierre et Miquelon 1ère continued to follow every step of the philatelic activities in the French overseas collectivity.

This finishing Autumn: the SPM stamps at Paris stamp show early November, philatelist Jean-Jacques Tillard back from Taipei with a new Large Gold medal with a new collection, and a seasonal report at the Saint-Pierre post office where Christmas parcels are back in tons.

Week #2016.09 on SébPhilatélie

Two articles of the French blog weren't translated or adapted here this past week. Here are summaries.

Wednesday March 2nd: The Crawford Library soon in the comfort of your home.
The March issue of The London Philatelist was sent with a supplement on the Crawford Library wrriten by British Library retired curator David Beech. He summarized the life and bibliophile generous passion of James Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford - he gave his libraries of astronomy and philately to the nation.

Ex-libris of the Bibliotheca Lindesiana, commonly known as the Crawford Library or libraries (around 1900).

But the main parts of the booklet is how the Curator worked on the preservation of the Crawford Library from 1983 when he started his career at the Philatelic Collections of the British Museum, collections later moved into a new institution and building, the British Library.

On 30 May 2016 the next stage will be launched at the International Stamp Show in New York: a large part of the Crawford Library will be available on-line through the Royal Philatelic Society London managed Global Philatelic Library.

Wait for the red "British Library" sign, but for now you can look into the catalogue. It's believed the Library contains 95% of all philatelic publications of all kind by the beginning of the 20th century... Wait...

Addendum on Thursday 24th March 2016: The London Philatelist supplement can be read as a pdf file through the Global Philatelic Library website.


Saturday March 5th 2016: The mysterious Indian Ocean Philatelic Meetings.
Always named in French it seems, the Rencontres philatéliques de l'océan Indien are largely known to French and British Commonwealth through the 2014 joint issue between six postal countries: remember the turtle?

The six stamps put together in a commemorative document by the French philatelic service (scan by timbredujura.blogspot.fr).

Host to the 6th Rencontres, the French Southern and Antarctic Territories (TAAF) managed to create this issue, sure to be available in France (that is Mayotte and Réunion in the Indian Ocean), at the TAAF postal service to the scientific bases, and the Seychelles Postal Service. Postal agencies' websites of the Comoros aimed at financial and phone services, the one of Madagascar is trying to work since its birth late 2015...

Yesterday, I decided to resolve a problem: what are these Rencontres? What happened in the first five? Was there a 7th meeting in 2015?

Read the Google-only result on the French blog: it seems the idea of a French association, Association philatélique de l'océan Indien, succeeded beyond expectation. I managed to find intelligence about the Rencontres on French overseas départements and in Mauritius: school children and the general public were invited to discover philately through other domains of knowledge on the Indian Ocean nations' cultures and history, while the postal operators discussed cooperation between them.

I hope to find or read more about these Meetings.

Be pessimistic

On the second thought, even British collectors are old disgusting men for the Monaco Postage Stamp Issue Office. In the all new November 2009 Stamp Magazine, the famous model loses her stamps to attract Britishmen to the prestigious exhibition Monacophil, on 4 to 6 December 2009. Yet, on the Côte d'Azur, at worst, she will end clothed with a swimming suit.


In Metropolitain France, the Charter of the Φlately let the French Φlatelic service do whatever he wants. Now, it is the French Southern and Antarctic Territories' Service of Posts and Telecommunications (SPT of the TAAF) that plays the same game. And hop, a highly speculative product non perforated is given to five hundreds happy few (too chics to queue at the next Paris Autumn Stampshow?). And hip, the happy few is happy of the pretty gift, but sad to see the SPT is going back to unperforated bad demons of its Metropolitan older brother. The happy few asks : "So, scandal or no scandal to come?" Then, hypocrites or no hypocrites, the five hundreds future speculators?

Finally, in today's mail, the trimestrial bulletin of the actions of Doctors Without Borders. Little summaries on how received gifts are used to help people around the world, including the nine millions United States dollars from collector (who do not need unperforate pseudo-issues...) Bill Gross. In March 2009, inhabitants of Mayotte chose to make it a French département. The French philatelic pond wondered if it can still issue postage stamps after the process being complete. There may be more urgent tasks: Doctors Without Borders are operating free clinics in the nowadays slums of the future One Hundred and One Département of France.

Overseas news

With a dozen or so stamps issued each year, the Mayotte General Council and its philatelic commission present the French overseas collectivity. A place whose inhabitants chose yesterday, Sunday 29 March 2009, the statute of a complete French département.

This philatelic program shows mainly fauna, flora and the islands' landscapes. The local culture and traditions constitute the second part while institutions and public personalities conclude the list.

In 2011, at the end of the departmentalisation process, will the philatelic autonomy disappear? A common French département can not issue its own stamp. Mayotte's postal service is operated by the oversea service of La Poste.


In Tromelin island, from 27 October to 1 December 2008, an archeologic expedition took place, directed by Max Guérout. As originary from Béziers, he has the privilege of an article in Midi Libre, the regional newspaper, this Monday 30 Mars 2009. The goal of the expedition was to retrieve traces of the L'Utile ship, lost there in 1761. In 2006, the precedent team found traces of habitations from the slaves who were in the ship's cargo.

To know more: the Research Group in Naval Archeology manages a website on Tromelin with a daily blog of the mission. Photographs help to forget the "Iced Saints" and other quick rains of Metropolitan March.

Tromelin and its history, future topics on French Southern and Antartic Lands?


Finally, on the Antilles side: I remember that the postal director in Saint-Martin or Saint-Barthelémy told a French philatelic magazine about stamp issues by late 2007, the year these two islands were separated from Guadeloupe and became two French oversea collectivities. No news since?

And, of course, I can not find the magazine issue.