Can you decipher this 109-years old writing, in a mysterious (to me) language? Yiddish? "Carta postala" sent by [?] from Jassy [Iaşi], Romania on 14 Dec 1902, to "Louie Haimovici, Forsyth Street 143, New York, America", and arrived on 30 Dec 1902 in New York. Also, I show you MINE FLOWERS on Romanian stamps

Could this be in the Yiddish language?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yiddish

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ia%C8%99i

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City

Please help decipher the message, if you have the knowledge!

Thank you! :)

This might be a gem of a postal card, or it could be a not-so-rare type.

But it's already UNIQUE/UNIKAT/UNICATE because I don't think that the sender has sent any duplicate the same day! :)

==============================

Now I show you some ROCKS that are not gemstones, but they are interesting nonetheless.

Stamp series from Romania, 1985.

FLORI DE MINA means MINE FLOWERS, as they are called in the mining industry.

From left to right, and from the upper row:

5 lei (denomination) - Tetrahedrite, from Cavnic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrahedrite from Cavnic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavnic

In 1717, the Cavnic inhabitants defeated the invading Tatar Horde, and that was the last time when Tatars (not Tartars - a misnomer) invaded Romania.

3 L - Quartz, from Ocna de Fier.

"Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO₄ silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO₂."

Please explore this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartz

"Along with Dognecea area, Ocna de Fier is among the few settlements in the world that supported almost continuous mining for some 4000 years.^[2]

Archaeological evidence shows that mining in the area dates back to the Bronze Age (1900 -1700 BC). The main ore exploited in those times was native copper from the oxidation zone of the deposit. Later on, iron ores brought about a gradual switch from copper to iron mining.

Mining was an activity of the Dacians, the ancient inhabitants of present day Romania. After the Roman conquest in 106, mining was expanded in the Roman province of Dacia. At Berzovis (present day Berzovia, ten kilometres northwest of Ocna de Fier) a Roman metallurgy school, Schola fabrorum, was established, showing the keen interest the Romans had in metal extraction. At Cracul cu Aur (= "Golden Hill" in Romanian), north of Ocna de Fier, old Roman gold mining galleries can still be seen. They look like the much better preserved ones at Rosia Montana ("Verespatak"), in the Apuseni Mountains.

The "Constantin Gruescu" Iron Aesthetic Mineralogy Museum is located in Ocna de Fier".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocna_de_fier

50 b [1 Leu = 100 bani] - Quartz and Calcite, from Herja.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcite

DID YOU KNOW that the biggest regional museum of Mineralogy in Europe is in Baia Mare, Romania?

"Muzeul de Mineralogie din Baia Mare este cel mai mare muzeu regional din Europa, multe dintre exponate fiind considerate unicate mondiale şi valori de patrimoniu."

http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzeul_de_Mineralogie_Baia_Mare

2 L - Gypsum, from Cavnic.

"Gypsum is a very soft mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO₄·2H₂O.^[3] It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale."

"Gypsum is used in a wide variety of applications:

• Gypsum Board^[15] primarily used as a finish for walls and ceilings; known in construction as drywall.
• Plaster ingredient.
• Fertilizer and soil conditioner. In the late 18th and early 19th century, Nova Scotia gypsum, often referred to as plaster, was a highly sought fertilizer for wheat fields in the United States. It is also used in ameliorating sodic soils.^[16]
• A binder in fast-dry tennis court clay.
• Plaster of Paris (surgical splints; casting moulds; modeling).
• A wood substitute in the ancient world; for example, when wood became scarce due to deforestation on Bronze Age Crete, gypsum was employed in building construction at locations where wood was previously used.^[17]
• A tofu (soy bean curd) coagulant, making it ultimately a major source of dietary calcium, especially in Asian cultures which traditionally use few dairy products.
• Adding hardness to water used for homebrewing.^[18]
• A component of Portland cement used to prevent flash setting of concrete.
• Soil/water potential monitoring (soil moisture tension).
• A common ingredient in making mead.
• In the medieval period it was mixed, by scribes and illuminators, with lead carbonate (powdered white lead) to make gesso which was applied to illuminated letters and gilded with gold in illuminated manuscripts.
• In foot creams, shampoos and many other hair products.
• A medicinal agent in traditional Chinese medicine called Shi Gao.
• A medicinal agent in Ayurveda medicine's Rasashastra branch (Indian alchemy) (ref. Rasamruta).^{[citation needed]}
• Impression plasters in dentistry"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsum

4 L - Stibine, from Băiuţ (Hungarian: Erzsébetbánya), a commune in Maramureş County, Romania.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stibine

In Romanian: http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C4%83iu%C8%9B,_Maramure%C8%99

1 L - Native Copper, from Altân Tepe.

"Copper, as native copper, is one of the few metallic elements to occur in uncombined form as a natural mineral, although most commonly occurs in oxidized states and mixed with other elements. Native copper was an important ore of copper in historic times and was used by pre-historic peoples".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_copper

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt%C3%A2n_Tepe_mine

===============

Happy Sunday Stamps meme!

Please visit: http://viridianpostcard.blogspot.com/