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Miniature Pinscher Index Main page and Index of Breeds |
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not of enough value to mail a letter any more, so to remedy the situation, the local Post
Offices have taken blocks of five "old" printed stamps and overprinted them with
a new image and a new value. The Miniature Pinscher shown above on the left
is one of these "Russian Overprints" from Udmurtia. These stamps come in a
set of five different colored stamps all with the same overprint. Last time that I got in
some overprints, I assumed that they would remain available. I was wrong and I never
saw more copies of those. I expect these to be equally as rare and collectable. There
is no telling how many of the overprints they produced (not many), since they were never
designed to be sold on the world market. They are of value only for a short while until
the actual stamps can be printed. The stamp on the right
was ultimately issued by Karakalpakia with the Miniature Pinscher image
from the overprint from Udmurtia
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Guinea is partial heir to the series of west African empires
that, at their height before the arrival of the Europeans,
cast significant political and commercial influence over many
peoples from Guinea's Atlantic coast to the southern edge of
the Sahara. The empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai spanned
the period from about the 10th to the 15th centuries.
French military penetration into the area began in the
mid-19th century. Guinea became an independent republic in 1958.
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Sharjah is the third largest of the seven states, which form the United Arab
Emirates that became fully independent in 1971. From that time, it has attracted
attention -- first because of its oil reserves and its strategic location but now
in addition to those, because of its program of economic and social development.
In the last quarter of the twentieth century, the UAE has witnessed the creation
of a truly modern welfare state. Education, health care and social services are
available to all citizens.
To the left is a detail of the headstudy of the stamp in the middle of
the souvenir sheet.
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Somalia, also called the Somalia Democratic Republic, is located on the Horn of
Africa, the easternmost part of the African continent. Although it gained its
independence in 1960, nearly constant unrest has kept it
from establishing a lasting presence in the area.
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Tadjikistan plays a fascinating role in the power struggle in central Asia.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the declaration of independence
by the former Soviet republics, Tadjikistan acquired national sovereignty for
the first time in history. Inexperience, in conjunction with a particular
clan-oriented, regional-based, political culture established the foundation for
the prolonged conflict that ensued in post-Soviet Tadjikistan. The intensity of
this conflict has been further fueled by the ethnic and historical externalities
of the unresolved political situation in Afghanistan.
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