The Snow Leopard: Superb Maxicards (Stamp + Postcard + Postmark — More Or Less Concordant)

Stamp + Postcard + Postmark — more or less concordant, but interesting nonetheless

The point of my story here is to show you a few superb maxicards with Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia), and to invite you to create your own maxicards, with ANY subject, such as this beautiful felid, for example.

The maxicard above was issued in ONLY 300 copies by The Philatelic Bureau of KEP (Kyrgyz Express Post), the second postal operator in Kyrgyzstan.

I have promoted KEP and Kyrgyzstan “all over the Internet”, many times.

I am the founder and admin of 6 (different specialty) philatelic groups on Facebook. See for yourself. For example: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maximaphily

If I had more disposable income, I would buy ALL the maxicards they have ever issued, since they are so masterfully-designed!

The postcard image above is very representative of the subject.

The 2014 postage stamp, designed by Olga Derej (from Moldova, I guess) is a wonderful stamp, capturing the characteristics of the Snow Leopard, including its long, fluffy tail.

The stamp is designed with the country name both in the Cyrillic alphabet, and the Latin one for those unfamiliar with Cyrillic. Smart choice.

The 2015 pictorial postmark is supremely concordant, showing a Snow Leopard head, and the occasion: “The Global Snow Leopard Protection Program”. There are less than 10,000 specimens in the wild.

The locality in the postmark is the capital city, “Bichkek” (?).

No, Anglophones, don’t say Bitch Kek…It should have been Bishkek, since the rest of the postmark is in English. “Bich, please!…”. My general culture overrides that “French” inscription of Bichkek. Trust me. Or google it. Then trust me more.

So, this is a world-class maxicard, supremely-concordant in all aspects! I love it, and thank you again, KEP & Kyrgyzstan!

At the end of this story, see a link to see more about KEP.

Maybe you will go read more about the Snow Leopard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_leopard

Maybe you will go read more about Kyrgyzstan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyzstan

Now, let’s see another example of a superb maxicard with Snow Leopard, from my physical collection. The maxicard above is issued by Jersey Post, from Bailiwick of Jersey, an island and self-governing [UK] Crown Dependency close to the coast of north-west France.

More info about postage/philatelic stamps from Jersey Post: www.jerseystamps.com

Why do I like the Jersey maxicard? Because the stamp is beautifully-designed, even if they opted to not show the tail, focusing instead on the head.

The postcard is lovely.

The postmark is non-concordant, though, as some ultra-orthodox maximaphilists would rush to “Bichkek” about it.

Yes, it features a flamingo, not a Snow Leopard, but…it still is a wildlife subject, so I personally accept it as a nice maxicard, even though it does not surpass the KEP maxicard, with its Snow Leopard depicted in the postmark.

Another criticism that would come from a few hardcore purists of traditional maximaphily is that “Jersey does not have the moral authority to issue a stamp with such an exotic species”.

Well, yeah, I can’t say that the Snow Leopards are roaming through the Jersey shore, or (New) Jersey Shore, or anywhere in Jersey.

Maybe no Zoo in Jersey has one.

Still, in my magnanimity, I accept such a stamp and maxicard as “a salute and homage” about the subject (Snow Leopard), to raise the global awareness.

If the governments don’t allocate enough money for such conservation programs, maybe private citizens from various countries, including Jersey, will donate some money for this good cause.

The above nice maxicard from PR China is an honest attempt to depict in a computer-generated background on postcard the real environment of the (crouching AND usually hidden) Snow Leopard.

The above second nice maxicard from PR China is another honest attempt to depict in a computer-generated background on postcard the real environment of the (resting) Snow Leopard.

This postcard is more clearly a composite image of superposition.

Don’t watch the bottom line of this Snow Leopard; watch its belly line…

The 1990 stamps are nice.

The postmarks are not pictorial. Is the locality related to the subject? I don’t know — “it’s all Chinese to me”. Literally. YOU tell me. Xiexie, if you do!

More info about postage/philatelic stamps from PR China Post: http://english.chinapost.com.cn/

Snow Leopard set of 4 official maxicards issued by WWF on behalf of Kyrgyzstan, from my physical collection. Image used here for philatelic discussion about the postmarked stamps.

Great photo postcards, nice stamps, and non-leopard postmark, again.

But, hey, ALL the WWF postage stamp issues, pretty much, show the Giant Panda logo. I accept and appreciate them. Still, KEP maxicard is #1, here!

But wait, there’s more!

In my physical collection, I have a cool maxicard with a Snow Leopard lovely cub from Suomi (that’s Finland, y’all non-philatelists…).

There are other nice stamps and maxicards “out there” (like The Truth), from USSR, Russian Federation, Republic of Moldova, Kazakhstan, etc.

You can google them, so I can wrap this up.

Please explore:

Now, let’s see if I find a nice image of Snow Leopard on Unsplash.

“Whoop, there it is!”

Yes, anybody can make a splash with such an unsplash image, but…how many can show you here MAXICARDS with such a subject?

Consider finding or designing a stamp and a postcard with any* subject you want (*certain exceptions apply). Then get a simple postmark, if a pictorial one is not available, then BOOM!…You created a maxicard, more or less concordant, for your own enjoyment!

Yes, it can get complicated, but…I can help you.

Tell me your thoughts in the comments.

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