Trains on stamps, Part 3: stamps from Romania, Dahomey, Guinea-Bissau...and Burkina Faso, too!

Dahomey is now Benin.

Guinea-Bissau: not Guinea, not Equatorial Guinea, not Papua-New Guinea.

Burkina Faso, the country formerly known as Upper Volta.

Romania - roughly a third of it... is a region called Transylvania. :)

That concludes our brief geo-history moment, boys and girls. :)

Trains on stamps, Part 2: SUPERB 6-stamp series + souvenir sheet, from Liberia!

This is one of my most favorite stamp series from my collection!

You don't have to be a train fan(atic) to like this. :)

It's more than "some trains on stamps" - it's also a glimpse into other cultures, other historical periods, looking at those people and their dresses.

This excellently-drawn and designed stamps series was probably NOT manufactured by "the good, crafty people" of Liberia.

Like so many other stamps, they were probably manufactured in another country, wherever the philatelic agent/contractor saw fit to do it.

If you know the truth about it, tell us! :)

Trains on stamps, Part 1: Stamps from Cuba, and one from Nicaragua. From my Showcase Collection (not Specialized Collection)

For me, the best way to enjoy collecting stamps (for educational purposes, not as a financial investment), is by creating a Showcase Collection: at least one stamp (simple, or on cover, or maximum card, etc.) from EVERY subject, theme, topic that interests me or others.

Why a Showcase Collection? 

"For the love of the game"...to promote this hobby - philately. Promoting online and offline.

I also have Specialized Collections, such as "Wild mammals on maximum cards".

For example, I'm not interested in yachting, but I'll keep at least one such stamp, for educational/illustrative purposes.

I'm not saying that I BUY all those stamps: some come free (not "for free" - pleonasm) from various sources.

So I am not spending much, even for those that I buy.

In fact, nowadays I mainly buy maximum cards - on the rare occasions when I buy anything.

Many of the stamps from my Showcase Collection are inexpensive CTOs (cancelled-to-order, valuing at about 25% of a mint stamp), from the days of my youth in Romania.

I am mildly interested in trains on stamps, but I kept a few of those that crossed my path.

In the above image from my stock book of stamps, notice a "stamps on stamps" series. In the lower left corner, there's a depiction of a stamp from the series exemplified by a stamp from that original series.

See that?