I forgot to post that the results from Portugal came in last week. There are 2 varieties: one (bottom) with the postmark of 24 Aug, another (top) with an additional first-day of cancellation that accompanied the stamp release last year.
My article about the genesis of the Stamp Out War project was chosen by The Stamp Forum members to feature on the American Philatelic Society’s website!
It’s such an honour and a timely recognition, as the auction of the remaining 2022 Ukraine Support Maxicards is currently held by Vancouver’s All Nations Stamp and Coin. Last week, we had 2 maxicards sold at $110 each! I am really grateful to everyone who has contributed to this project.
P.S. The Stamp Forum is where this project emerged in the first place. I got into Postcrossing only later upon @Dorinco 's suggestion.
Because by the regulation, Mexico Post staff can only cancel stamps that are postally used, so @Mexicomagico find a creative way of going around the rule:
Received last week: the Italian postmark was not very neat, but we still got a number of usable maxicards – one of them with an attached barcode. Apparently, it’s something typically Italian to collect the latest issues with the attached barcode.
So far only the maxicards realised in 2022 have been auctioned off, so I have posted about the weekly auction result in the 2022 thread.
We have had several maxicards sold at more than $100 (CAD), with the highest price realised per card being $150. And the average price archived so far is close to $50 per card. Pretty impressive!
I predict that the trend will continue with the 2023 edition, because this year we have people from ‘rare’ countries joining to create these precious maxicards.
I don’t know if you are planning to do a 2024 version, but FYI Australia released a sunflower stamp (unrelated to Ukraine) a few years ago. It’s part of a set called ‘Farming Australia’. I don’t know how available they are now:
They were not that available at the time I looked for them; I was only able to get 2 copies of this stamp to create 2 Australian varieties of Ukraine support maxicards.
This year, the 24th of August falls on a Saturday (and next year it’s a Sunday), so the scale of the project will be much smaller, focusing on countries where post office remains open on the weekend. To this date, I have China, Hong Kong, Turkey, and Costa Rica confirmed.
There are post offices in Canada open on a Saturday or a Sunday, located in some rural communities, as well as in outlets such as at Shoppers Drug Mart in Ontario, as well as variety stores. This may also be the case in other provinces or territories, so don’t give up on the idea in Canada.
In the past, I’ve been able to arrange for postal workers to cancel a stamp on a particular date, if needed. I usually arrange this in advance.
Stay tuned … you are the first to know … I am working with my local post office to get a special cancellation. After all, my local post office is home to Postcards to the Front (Canada).
If we are successful with this little dream, … good news! They are open on Saturdays!
Indeed, my post office at the pharmacy is also open on the weekend, though without special (Ukraine-related) postmark … But I think we have produced enough of Canadian varieties in 2022 that the market is a bit saturated for Canada … Same thing with US cards that are easy to make.
Right now, I want to concentrate on the 2026 edition for which I need to recruit artists around the globe to create Ukraine support artworks based on their country’s yellow flower stamp design. So far I am the only ‘professional’ visual artist (meaning that I have gotten public recognition – i.e. art grant – for my artworks) in the group. I am having a hard time to speak to other artists (I am not that well connected in the art world, to be honest). My announcement on an art forum doesn’t seem to be working …
Anyways, this is the description for the 2026 edition:
These cards have made the most difficult journey I know of – they were previously sent twice to me from Iraq, but returned to the sender for being ‘unclaimed’ after months of travelling. On the third and last trial, I asked the sender to send them with a tracking and signature requirement. They finally made its way to Montreal!
No one knows what happens to these cards all these months following the project’s execution date, 24 August 2023. I kind of doubt that they have travelled outside of Iraq the two previous times, because if they had been in the hand of Canada Post, they should have been delivered to me like so many other SOW results from all over the world, but I never received any notification for the two previous deliveries.
The auction of the 2023 edition of the Ukraine Support Maxicards is now entering the 4th week. On the 3rd week, interests have been built up and competition became fierce among the bidders. Our 3 cards – Czechia, Falklands Islands and Greece – were all sold at a price higher than $100 CAD!
Many thanks to @hs87, Peter, and @AMystery for your participation (the Greek participant is not a Postcrosser)!