Just got my Canada Post Wolves of Canada stamps!

Stunning photos of the four species of wolves found in Canada: 
the Grey Wolf, the Eastern Wolf, the Arctic Grey Wolf and the Coastal Grey Wolf!
 
I purchased the souvenir sheet and a OFDC with a silvery cancel with a Grey Wolf paw print in the design! 

So happy to add these to my Canus lupis topical stamp collection! 

   

... to Janet (and everyone else!) involved in the creation of the Most Excellent Summer newsletter. Job well done, folks! I found the whole thing really interesting, especially learning about the fact that people will collect security envelopes just for the varied designs inside! How cool is that? It's true, Janet, philoogling CAN make you wonder where the day went!

Thanks again! 

for sale

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Hey all! So I've looked around the Forum but don't see anything helpful - is there a way for me to be notified that I've received a Private Message, say by email?

I've noted that I've missed some messages sent to me for several days because the "Private Messages (Unread X, Total X)" little box is over there... in the upper right hand corner... discretely... not doing much to attract attention to itself...   

Anyone? Thanks! Hope you're all having a terrific summer!

In 2023 I wrote a short item for the newsletter about finding an interesting stamp in a box I had purchased from Don Mann when he was Dealer For a Day.

   

I kept looking for information about these stamps, and for a copy of the out of print catalogue of Canadian Cinderella stamps. Not a hugely active search, just Google follow-ups on a quarterly basis …

In 2025, I discovered that the third edition of the catalogue was almost finished. I was able to add my name to the publisher’s waiting list. In May 2026, it arrived! 

   

There was an excellent summary about the stamps:

   

I missed a club meeting in June. Hugh told me Roy had shown him a binder of these stamps, but they were of no interest to him. Hugh SHOULD have told Roy “the woman who has stuck by my side since 1969 and feigned interest in most of my incessant lectures on a wide range of increasingly dull topics would love to see these.” But at least he mentioned it to me …

Thankfully Roy reads his email promptly and the binder was set aside for me to peruse in July.


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And now I feel a bit like Gollum as I hold the book in a close embrace and say “my precious …”

I love the spirit and passion these stamps represent. The government rejects your request for a stamp to honour your history - not once, but twice - so you create your own stamps … 

How can anyone think philately is boring???

Got this interesting cover from one of Roy's recent auctions. 

It's a commercial airmail cover from Buenos Aires to German-occupied Paris that was returned to sender in 1941.

   

It was posted on February 19,1941 and routed by the Axis-controlled Condor–LATI South Atlantic service.

The single-ring CDS reads VIA AEREA*BUENOS AIRES*E*ARGENTINA* inside the ring and 19?FEB41.19½ in the centre.

   

I don't have a comparator, so my working assumption is that the 'E' after Buenos Aires stands for Expedición ... the dispatch section of the Buenos Aires Central Post Office. I don't think it means Exterior based on a discussion I read on an Argentine forum. 

Source: https://foro.filateliaargentina.org/view...t=60&t=601

The 19½ after the posting date would appear to be a time-stamp ... 7:30PM.

   

The typed instructional marking POR AVION – via CONDOR LATI. indicates that it was to be sent by air mail using the Condor-LATI route. LATI (Linee Aeree Transcontinentali Italiane) inaugurated a regular Rio de Janeiro to Italy service in December 1939. Although it extended it's route to Beunos Aires in July 1941, when this cover was sent the connection between Rio and Buenos Aires was supplied by other airlines ... in this case Condor. From Rio it would have travelled via LATI to Cape Verde, Spain and Italy.

The stamps total 1 peso 45 centavos ... not an inexpensive flight.

There is a large purple hand-stamp on the front. It reads, COMMISSIONE PROVINCIALE DI CENSURA TORINO inside the ring and VERIFICATO in the centre.

That is, the Provincial Censorship Commission in Turin and the word 'Examined'. During this examination, the cover was opened on the left side and resealed with a buff-coloured tape [Verifi]cato par censura / TO = Examined by censorship, Turin. 

   

There is evidence that the Italian censor stamp was also applied on the back. It is partially covered by a German examiner tape used over the flap reading Geöffnet = Opened. On the tape is a large black circular hand-stamp with the German Eagle and Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. There is also a lower case 'e' at the bottom of the hand-stamp indicating that the cover was examined in Frankfurt am Main by the Auslandsbriefprüfstelle (Foreign Letter Examination Service) which was one of two offices tasked with examining mail to and from North and South America. Another German hand-stamp, in purple, has been applied with the number '2' under the eagle. Possibly an additional control or examiner's number. 

Source:  https://www.postalcensorship.com/example...codes.html

   

Following the Italian and German examinations, the cover appears to have been sent to Marseilles where the following three-line purple hand-stamp was applied:

   

RETOUR À L’ENVOYEUR = Return to sender
RELATIONS POSTALES = Postal relations
INTERROMPUES = Interrupted

I say Marsailles based on a specialist French Postal History study which labels this unframed hand-stamp as the "griffe retour de Marseille" and records its dimensions as:

ETOUR À L’ENVOYEUR — 37 mm
RELATIONS POSTALES — 32 mm
INTERROMPUES — 23 mm

These measurements match those on my cover. According to the study mail addressed to the occupied zone of France (in this case Paris) but entering through unoccupied France was redirected to Marseille where this hand-stamp was frequently applied. It noted that the hand-stamp was applied in red ink until October 1940 and, after that, in purple. The exact reason for the return is not clear as Argentina was a neutral country.

Source: https://www.histoire-et-philatelie.fr/pa...cupee.html

Cheers, Hugh

Note: One marking on the  cover I can't explain is this one. It's not German (too big). Is it an Argentine censor mark? The number of the examiner in Italy? A ghost impression. Suggestions welcome.

   

You may want to bookmark the URL at the bottom of this thread and check in from time to time. Canada has just added 11 EU countries to it's suspended acceptance list. 

Why?

On 1 July 2026, the European Union abolished its customs-duty exemption for low-value commercial shipments entering the EU from outside the bloc. Goods purchased through distance sales and sent in consignments valued at €150 or less are now subject to a temporary flat customs duty of €3 for each distinct tariff classification represented in the shipment, in addition to any applicable VAT.

The phrase “€3 per item” is potentially misleading. It does not necessarily mean €3 for every physical object. Five identical T-shirts, for example, constitute one tariff category and attract €3; T-shirts and a watch fall under two classifications and attract €6. The seller, importer or customs declarant is normally responsible for declaring and paying the duty. This is a customs duty, not the separate EU parcel-handling fee that remains under discussion.

The EU says that almost 5.9 billion low-value items were shipped directly to EU consumers from non-EU countries during 2025. It argues that the former exemption had become unsuitable for the enormous volume of modern e-commerce, encouraged undervaluation and false declarations, and placed EU businesses at a disadvantage. The change is also intended to improve product traceability and the interception of unsafe or non-compliant goods. The rules apply to imports from all non-EU countries rather than being directed specifically at Canada or China.

The €3 arrangement is intended as an interim measure. It is scheduled to remain in place until 1 July 2028, when the EU expects its new Customs Data Hub for e-commerce to become operational. Low-value imports will then become subject to the normal customs tariff, calculated according to such factors as the nature, classification and origin of the goods. The interim arrangement may be extended if the new system is not ready.

Canada Post has now responded by temporarily suspending acceptance for the following 11 EU destinations:

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain.

Canada Post says the new system requires both payment of the duty and more detailed electronic information at the individual-item level. It will continue accepting shipments to the other 16 EU members where Delivered Duties Unpaid ... DDU arrangements remain operationally feasible:

Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.

Under a DDU arrangement, the relevant charges are dealt with at destination rather than being prepaid by the Canadian sender. Canada Post says it is working on compliant solutions for the suspended destinations but has given no date for restoration of service.

There is an important correction to the original Canadian Press/CBC report. That story listed 12 countries, including Italy. Canada Post’s current service notice, dated yesterday July 3 lists only 11 suspended EU destinations and now places Italy among the countries to which service remains available. Its accompanying service table was current at 11 a.m. Eastern time on 3 July.

One further wrinkle may be of particular interest to collectors. The EU measure itself concerns imported goods sold at a distance, not ordinary written correspondence. Canada Post’s operational notice, however, says that it is not accepting “mail and parcels” for the suspended destinations, and its service table lists those countries as entirely suspended rather than merely withdrawing parcel products. Thus, at least according to the current published notice, the interruption appears to include ordinary Letter-post as well as parcels and packets ... even though the underlying customs change concerns goods.

Canada Post advises customers to check its international service-alert page for changes, since destinations may be restored as suitable customs and payment arrangements are introduced.

As for me, I buy things ... but if you sell stamps to Europe this might be a bit of a bother, eh?

Canada Post Delivery Alerts: www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/our-company/news-and-media/service-alerts.page

Cheers, Hugh