Activities

The first topic of the meeting, which was attended by nine people this time, was the trade fair in Ulm, the results achieved and the results of the survey of the working groups by the BDPh, above all the (current) impossibility of organising a stamp fair in northern Germany similar to those in Ulm or Munich.

Initial ideas for giveaways or items to be purchased to mark the 10th anniversary of the ArGe Baltikum in 2025 were discussed. In addition to motif postcards, individualised stamps were also discussed. Please send any further suggestions to the board!

Thanks to a small dealer at HAFNIA in Copenhagen, the list of rare Estonian 8 centi leopard stamps as single frankings has now been extended to over 10 items.

Finally, Thomas Löbbering reported on the testing of a Rakvere counterfeit using state-of-the-art equipment.

Overprint forgery Rakvere - not a one-off proof!

Our monthly video chat, where anyone with an interest in Baltium philately is welcome, takes place on every first Saturday of the month at 17 h CET (more technical information on this here).

Next date: December 7, 2024

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87 points and thus (national) gold for the ArGe web (third place out of 13 in the category "Websites") and 86 points and thus also gold for the BALTIKUM (seventh place out of 26 in the category "Newsletters, Magazines") - this is the result of the 5th BDPh ArGe Literature Competition 2024 for the ArGe Baltikum.

We were also successful with third place in the Rauhut Prize for Literature 2024 in the "Websites" category. This is endowed with 100 €, which will go to the association's treasury.

This is a great overall success and a fitting tribute to our active team!

Exhibition stand and staffing

With 44 working groups present at the trade fair, it was to be expected that the small rented conference room would not be sufficient for a meeting with the BDPh board. Frank Blechschmidt announced the results of the ArGe survey (see the latest issue of "Philatelie"). Spontaneous wishes were expressed by those present: annual face-to-face meetings of this kind for 2 hours in Ulm (plus virtual meetings in between). Otherwise, there was a lot of talk about the fairness of contributions and representation options for working groups in the BDPh. BDPh President Alfred Schmidt could imagine participation options, but would need people from the working groups who are willing to actively participate in the BDPh.

As a result, Ulm was once again as diverse as every philatelist is unique - there is almost nothing that does not exist!

The ArGe Baltikum had travelled to the event with a five-man stand (from left to right): Reinhard Heinrich, Olaf Hoffmann, Thomas Löbbering and Torsten Berndt; not in the picture: Friedhelm Doell (who took the photos).

In addition to more or less material, which individuals were able to purchase from the dealers for their own collections, the greatest benefit for our visitors was the expert information and for the stand staff, as always, the conversations and exchanges with many old and new acquaintances, friends and each other.

Soooo long was the list of wishes from the working groups that Frank Blechschmidt from the BDPh board presented

Foto: Siim Lõvi/ERR

Source of information: Estonian State Broadcasting Corporation (ERR) www.err.ee/1609490329/tulevikus-saab-omniva-pakiautomaadiga-ka-kirju-saata

We have already reported on the removal of letterboxes due to reduced usage and the expansion of the parcel machine network in Estonia. Omniva announced current developments in mid-October:

There are actually 369 parcel machines in Estonia (or about one for every 3,650 inhabitants) with around 30 devices added each year. On the other hand, around 50 letterboxes, which are hardly used anymore, were removed each year. There are currently still 970 letterboxes in Estonia (which is about one per 1,450 inhabitants – by way of comparison, at the end of 2023, there were about 5,650 people per packing station and about 780 per letterbox in Germany).

For those who are interested: the exact location of Omniva parcel machines and letterboxes in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania can be found on this continuously updated map: www.omniva.ee/abi/kaart, where you have to click on "Pakiautomadid" for parcel machines and "Kirjakastid" for letterboxes at the bottom left.

In recent years, letterboxes have been moved ever closer to parcel machines. The addition of a letterbox flap to parcel machines is also currently being tested. "If we find a suitable prototype, we can immediately use it on a larger scale in Estonia," Kristi Unt, head of Omniva's logistics and delivery network in the Baltic States, told ERR.

The current state of planning for the PhilLat26 exhibition was presented (see separate announcement).

Friedhelm Doell reported in detail on the presentation of Antanas Jankauskas' Lithuania catalogue, which took place the previous Saturday at the Lithuanian Philatelic Society. The catalogue not only includes the new issues since the first edition of 2012, but has also been fundamentally expanded in many areas. Incidentally, it complements the catalogue by Martin Bechstedt, which has a different focus, perfectly. The 2012 catalogue should not be given away either – a number of illustrations were not included in the 2024 edition due to lack of space!

The conversation then turned to the pricing of this catalogue, to book production in general and to the tax treatment of such activities in particular – three of the participants had already had different experiences with this.

The new Michel catalogue for the Baltic States and Finland 2024/2025 was also briefly mentioned – it is good in regards to Lithuania, but contains minor errors for Estonia, which, like every year, will be reported to the Schwaneberger publishing house by our specialists.

Jankauskas catalogue 2024

Read more here at "Catalogues and Manuals"

Our monthly video chat, where anyone with an interest in Baltium philately is welcome, takes place on every first Saturday of the month at 17 h CET (more technical information on this here).

Next date: November 2, 2024

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Our member Aija Pince has announced an international exhibition in Riga, Latvia, for the end of June 2026.

In addition to a FIP or FEPA competitive exhibition with a focus on Latvia and the Baltic States and international dealers, lectures, activities for children (to specifically promote young people in philately) as well as guided excursions to tourist destinations in the area around Riga are planned.

This time we had plenty of topics to discuss:

Martin Bechstedt reported on the financing problems of the Hamburg Philatelic Library following a drastic rent increase.

Friedhelm Doell presented his small collection of mail from Displaced Persons (DP) camps in Germany after the Second World War. Our new member Ed Ambros from Ohio/USA contributed with the experiences of a contemporary witness – his mother-in-law was the head translator in the Augsburg DP camp. It was also possible to provide him with contacts for a professional exchange about the 'Memelland ist frei' ('Memelland is free') overprints from 1939.

Oliver Hanschmidt informed us that a third example of the imperforate 1 Marka Smith-and-Weaver stamp from Estonia has turned up as a single franking on a letter and is now in his possession.

Finally, Michael Wienecke presented a cover that was to be sent from Estonia to Denmark on December 18, 1918, but due to the civil war in Latvia could not reach its destination by land and because of the sea blockade of Estonian harbours by British warships (to prevent the Soviet navy from entering) only in February 1919.

DP-CampMail ('free of charge' in the British occupation zone) from Eutin to Sweden

More here!

Our monthly video chat, where anyone with an interest in Baltium philately is welcome, takes place on every first Saturday of the month at 17 h CET (more technical information on this here).

Next date: October 5, 2024

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The topic of our monthly meeting was, of course, the MARE BALTICUM 2024 exhibition in Tartu (see article below), which many of us also attended.

With a week's distance, it was possible to see more clearly what was good and what was less good, what was a fair assessment of exhibits and where the limits were.

The bottom line is that some participants felt this exhibition was the best they had ever visited (we are talking about philatelists who have been active for decades).

We also discussed a special document from Estonia: sending a letter from parcel station to parcel station. This costs just 3.18 € as a parcel within Estonia (up to 30 kg!), whereas a registered letter costs 6.00 €. More about this in the next BALTIKUM!

Shipping label: from parcel station to parcel station

Our monthly video chat, where anyone with an interest in Baltium philately is welcome, takes place on every first Saturday of the month at 17 h CET (more technical information on this here).

Next date: September 7, 2024

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25 Baltic philatelists posed for the photographer (Renate Feustel); at least 5 others who were in the building at the same time are not in the photo.

The international Jury

The Estonian National Museum

The commissioners (who take care of the exhibits)

Large Vermeil for the BALTIKUM

Front side of the medal

Back side of the medal

Large Vermeil for this Web

An individualized stamp for the exhibition

Tried out all the cancellations...

An exhibition postal stationary

"Picture of an exhibition"

The Exhibition Program

Friday July 27

11:00 Opening

14:00 Presentation of the 2nd edition of the Estonia Stamp Guide by Martin Bechstedt

15:00 "From polar journey to polar philately"

Saturday July 28

10:00 Meeting of all Baltic philatelists (hosted by ArGe Baltikum)

15:30 Open Philately – a new exhibition class

18:30–23:00 Palmarés (for registered guests, in the Athena-Center, Küütri- Street 1, Tartu)

Sunday July 29

13:00 Award ceremonies

The topic of our monthly meeting was exhibitions – the past DEBRA 2024 in Haldensleben and the upcoming MARE BALTICUM 2024 in Tartu.

Despite 86 points for the BALTIKUM and 87 points for this web www.arge-baltikum.de – and thus two national gold medals –, a strange feeling of incomplete satisfaction remained in addition to pride and joy, which could hardly be put into words.

We are looking forward to the exhibition in Tartu and invite all Baltic collectors to a joint meeting on Saturday July 27, 2024 from 10 am to 12 noon in the adjoining room of the Estonian National Museum in Tartu!

Gold for the BALTIKUM...

...and for the Web of the ArGe

Our monthly video chat, where anyone with an interest in Baltium philately is welcome, takes place on every first Saturday of the month at 17 h CET (more technical information on this here).

Next date: August 3, 2024

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On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the first Song Festival in Lithuania, a Lithuanian Post souvenir sheet was issued on June 28, 2024 with four face values of € 1.55 (each for a standard domestic letter up to 20 g)).

It is the first stamp block in Lithuania to feature a QR code which, when scanned with a simple photo app, leads to the official website of the Song Festival www.dainusvente.lt.

In 2003, the Baltic song festivals were recognised by UNESCO as masterpieces of the oral and immaterial heritage of humanity..

The first song festival took place in August 1924 in the then capital Kaunas. This year's anniversary event was held in Vilnius from June 29 to July 6; here is the special postmark for the first day of issue.

In our monthly video chat, Olaf Hoffmann showed us letterboxes from all over the world, as real photos and depicted on stamps. The designs vary, as do the differences in the destinations per slot and the labelling as a whole.

Further topics were::

– The elaborate procurement of a photo of the Junkers F13 aeroplane leased from Germany with the registration "D 335", with which the Finnish Aero OY carried out ice flights between Tallinn and Helsinki in 1924 (Michael Wieneke)

– Notifications from Eesti Post about restrictions on postal services in 2024 (Friedhelm Doell, see separate news article below)

Our monthly video chat, where anyone with an interest in Baltium philately is welcome, takes place on every first Saturday of the month at 17 h CET (more technical information on this here).

Next date: July 6, 2024

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Foto: Siim Lõvi/ERR

As already partly announced, the Estonian postal company Omniva will reduce further postal services in 2024:

Discontinuation of the PO box service as of May 31, 2024

As part of the reorganisation of its service offering, Omniva has discontinued it's mailbox service after many decades as of May 31, 2024. The service was available to business and private users and last cost &euor;18.30 per month. The only alternative left for customers with such a need is the mail storage service ("poste restante", Estonian "nõudmiseni").

Source of information: https://www.omniva.ee/meie/uudised/koik_uudised/news/omniva-kaotab-nimekasti-teenuse and the personal information of our Estonian member Lehho Jõumees.

When inspecting exhibition sheets,..

...chatting...

... talking shop...

...in lively exchange...

...or during a relaxed chat...

...whether with beer...

...or still without...

Thomas Löbbering

Money and value covers 1864–1945

Martin Bechstedt

Fluorescent overprints on Lithuanian and Latvian stamps

Bernhard 'Tony' Fels

Digital database of modern date stamps of the Republic of Lithuania

The cover shown here illustrates one of the topics of the above video chat: a member asked about the origin of this Latvian postal stationery without nominal value from December 1990, long before Latvia issued its own stamps again. The answer: Mi U2, PS for domestic use.

Other topics were: Questions about the Baltic States on philaseiten.de, new acquisitions by individual members, transport problems of our exhibits on the way to Mare Balticum, discussion about the advantages of video chat (article on this coming soon).

Our monthly video chat, where anyone with an interest in Baltium philately is welcome, takes place on every first Saturday of the month at 17 h CET (more technical information on this here).

Next date: June 1, 2024

Special topic:
Postboxes from around the world (Olaf Hoffmann)

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Torsten Berndt and Wilhelm van Loo in dialogue

The trade fair team in conversation with a visitor

Good attendance, lots of contacts - the most recent PHILATELIA in Munich was again a success all round. The concept of limiting the trade fair to two days simply meant that the visitors were well distributed over both days and there was never a day on which there was more or less low tide, as we often experience at trade fairs with three days. Of course, in the last hours of Saturday and especially on Sunday afternoon, the crowds slowed down considerably. But that happens at all trade fairs. Therefore, it cannot be emphasised often enough that less is more, that both visitors and exhibitors prefer events that run over two rather than three days. The concept of mixing non-commercial and commercial exhibitors and not separating them is just as convincing.

Our trade fair team this time consisted of Friedhelm Doell, Reinhard Heinrich, Olaf Hoffmann and Torsten Berndt.

We not only answered the visitors' questions, but also learnt a thing or two. Who knows, for example, that in the period before the German occupation in the First World War, only comparatively few postcards were produced in Lithuania? There are many offers from Estonia and Latvia, as a visitor specialising in philocartography explained to us, but you have to search a long time for Lithuanian items. Lucky the Lithuania aficionados in our working group, whose albums also contain picture postcards!

The trade fair team, from left to right: Reinhardt Heinrich, Friedhelm Doell, Torsten Berndt and Olaf Hoffmann

On Saturday, a veteran of philately and expertising visited us: Wilhelm van Loo had found his way to Munich from the far west. More sprightly than some people 20 years younger, he wandered around the hall, taking photographs and finding time to exchange ideas. It's not just because of his rich experience that it's always a pleasure to chat to him.

This time, our monthly video conference took place "Live from PHILATELIA". For the team at the stand, the conference camera and audio worked as usual; however, the travelling video message from Friedhelm Doell, who took participants on a virtual tour of the exhibition hall, was received by colleagues at the stand – unlike the external participants – without audio. So there is room for improvement.

With its contemporary concept, the organising trade association APHV has positioned PHILATELIA for the future. At the farewell, the motto was: "Next year, same wave, same place".

As of January 25, 2024, there are 173 post offices and 423 locations in Latvia where postal services are provided on request (www.pasts.lv/en/Category/Post_Offices). In relation to around 1.875 million inhabitants, this currently means one post office for approx. 11,500 inhabitants and a total of one postal facility for some 3,150 inhabitants.

On January 24, 2024, Latvian Post announced that it intends to close 105 post offices (from 176 at the beginning of the year) by the end of 2024, with 12 ceasing their services completely and 93 "changing their format", i.e. also only providing postal services on request. This means that by the end of the year there will only be 71 post offices in Latvia, one for every 26,400 inhabitants. Some residents already have to travel 20 to 25 kilometres to their nearest post office, a distance that will soon double.

In the postal service centres with the "modified format", customers who wish to use postal services must call the customer support telephone number and a postal employee will come to their home the next day.

The reason for the closure of the post offices is the unprofitability of their management for the Latvian State Post. Desperate reactions from the population, such as the offer by the local council of South Kurzeme (Latvia's largest municipality by area) to take over some of the tasks of the postal staff, have so far been unsuccessful, as the Latvian Post is not willing to hand over its offices and competences to the municipality.

My opinion: The times in which a postal system for the general public was seen as a state welfare service are clearly over. Capitalism has arrived in the Baltic States.

Image source: Latvian State Broadcasting Corporation

Also in Estonia, another 10 to 15 post offices will be converted into postal points this year (which are not owned by Omniva, but are operated by local authorities, for example in libraries or shops). Post points are also being replaced by parcel machines. Sending and receiving parcels is the most used postal service at 80%, and with outdoor parcel machines, people are not tied to opening hours. The hoped-for savings amount to 1 million euros per year; up to 10 full-time jobs will be cut in 2024.

Source of information: Estonian State Broadcasting Corporation www.err.ee/1609234572/omniva-vahendab-tanavu-postkontorite-arvu-kuni-kumme-protsenti.