Blog Update

Its been some time - scanner issues, then lack of time. Here is a first day cover with a Flamingo Cachet, US scott 3370 (Year of the dragon).

Canadian & US Dragons

This another dual stamp cover by JB Cachets featuring both the US and Canadian Year of the Dragon stamps (and first day cancellations) from 2000.

Austrian Dragon

Here is a cover from Austria, commemorating the city of Klagenfurt. According to Wikipedia:

Legend has it that Klagenfurt was founded after a brave man killed a dragon ("Lindwurm") in the moors around here. A statue in the town center commemorates this.

The cover features a stamp, postmark & cachet all depicting the statue of the lindwurm.

A Chicago Dragon

Here is a cover from the Chicagopex Stamp show in 2005 - it honored the 70th anniversary of transpacific airmails with a dragon postmark. This also has a small dragon cachet for Dragonair, presumably the Hong Kong based airline.

A Milwaukee Dragon

This cover is from a Stamp Show - Milcopex 2003, held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It feature a dragon cachet & postmark, as well as one of the lunary new year stamps from the United States.

US Year of the Dragon (2000) (4)

Here is a first day cover done by David Peterman, one of my favorite cachet makers, featuring a knight fighting a dragon. His covers are available on his web site - check it out.

Draco

This cover from Niger was for a Halley's comet issue, but it includes a cachet of the constellation Draco (the Dragon).

United States Year of the Dragon cover

This is a cover from the United States done for the year of the dragon in 2000, but it isn't a first day cover. It was created for a special "Year of the Dragon Station" postmark dated February 12th, by an unknown cachet maker. (The first day of issue for the stamp was January 6th).

Macau Maxi Card

This is an interesting Maximum card. The postcard itself is from China and it features the design used on the Year of the Dragon stamp from that county in 1988. The stamp on the card however is the Macau issue of the same year.

US Year of the Dragon (2000) (3)

This cover by Kerry Bell Branagan has a very colorful stylized dragon on a background of fireworks.

Jersey Year of the Dragon

Jersey issued this cartoon souvenir sheet for the Year of the Dragon in 2000.

Italian Maxi Card with St. George & the Dragon

The borders of this maximum card didn't scan, but the painting & stamp appear fine. This is an Italian se-tenant honoring Vitorre Carpaccio issued in 1976. The stamps are monochrome, one with St. George, the other the dragon.

US Year of the Dragon (2005)

Here is another First Day Cover from the United States 2005 Chinese Lunar New Year Issue. Because of twelve stamps being issued simultaneously and the designs (other than the denomination) being identical to previous years issues, fewer cachet makers created covers than for the 2000 issue.

This cover contains one of the multicolor postmarks, which were new at the time.

Chinese Year of the Dragon Maxi-Card

Here is a Maximum Card from China featuring the 1988 Year of the Dragon Stamp.

St. George and the Dragon maxi-card

This is a very colorful Maximum Card featuring St. George and the Dragon from Bulgaria. It is also part of the Europa 97 issue.

US Year of the Dragon (2000) (2)

Here's an interesting US First Day Cover from the year 2000, by an unknown cachet maker. It includes an older Chinese stamp along with the Year of the Dragon issue.

Albanian Dragon Cover

Europe has it own tradition of dragons in myth and folklore, going beyond just St. George & the Dragon. Here is an FDC from Albania, part of the Europa 1997 issue focusing on folklore.

Tuvalu

This is a first day cover from Tuvalu, with a souvenir sheet for the Chinese Year of the Rat issued i n 1996. It features a dragon cachet from Hongpex 96, a philatelic exhibition. It also has a hard to see (and all but impossible to see in the scan) dragon cancellation.

US Year of the Dragon (2000)

Here is another first day cover for the 2000 United States Year of the Dragon stamp. This one is by Jet Boy cachets, who issued several different designs for this stamp. Apologies for the scan - for some reason the detail didn't come out well.

US Year of the Dog

As most US collectors know, the USPS issued a series of 12 stamps for the Chinese New Year. This one happens to be from 1994 for the year of the dog. Various cachet makers over the years have occasionally featured a dragon in their design for the first day covers issued in this series. This one is a Bill Norton cachet.