Cyprus Stamps News

A CYPRIOT Philatelist has won first prize in a world philatelic competition using the image of Aphrodite and the Cyprus flag.

Nikos Rangos, President of the Cyprus Philatelic Society, won the "Maximaphily" competition with a card and stamp combination depicting Aphrodite and the Cyprus Flag.

Rangos said yesterday "I am very happy. This is the first time that Cyprus has won a maximum card competition." His entry won the judge's vote, with 42 points, ahead of France (21 points) and Greece and Italy (15 points each).

The French entry depicts two constellations, the "Grus" and the "Indian" as well as the Crane, which was the symbol of astrologers in ancient Egypt. The Greek entry depicts a salad of Tomatoes, Paximadia (Cretan rusks) and Mizithra cheese. The Italian entry shows an image of Australian Motorbike racer Casey Stoner.

"The judges were looking for artistic entries, and also for concordance, which means that the card and stamp must match".

Asked about the prize, Rangos said "I am not sure what it will be. I will have to wait until April when we go to an exhibition in Brussels. They are usually very beautiful prizes!"

Last year, Rangos, who is also the president of the International Commission of Maximaphily, awarded Italian maximum card maker Cesar Realdi a silver statue of Aphrodite for his winning entry.

The competition, held in Rome in October, brought together philately enthusiasts from 45 different countries. The next competition will be held in Portugal in October. Before then however, Rangos hopes to hold an international stamp exhibition in Cyprus.

"We are trying to organise a world expo in November. The Post Office and the Ministry of Commerce have agreed to it, but we have to wait for the cultural services of the Ministry of Education."

Cyprus has a long and distinguished philatelic history, offering an interesting perspective on the islands turbulent history.

The first recorded letter was sent from Famagusta to Constantinople in 1353, during the Venetian occupation.

With the British occupation of the island in 1878, 11 more post offices opened and 10 values of stamps were used.

After 1960 The Department of Postal Services began to issue regular limited series of stamps to portray the islands history and cultural heritage. To date, seven definitive series have been issued, consisting of 97 stamps. 157 special commemorative series, totalling 496 stamps, and 7 refugee series, featuring 7 stamps, have been issues.

Courtesy of Cyprus Mail