|
Bull Mastiff Index Main page and Index of Breeds |
|
|
|
|
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 Bull Mastiff shown above on the right
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. On the left is the stamp that was ultimately issued
with the Bull Mastiff image from the overprint, put out by Boshkorkistan.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Republic of Benin. A succession of military Governments ended in 1972
with the rise to powere of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a
government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative
government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in
former Prime Minister Nicephor SOGLO as presdent, marking the first
successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a
democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996
and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged.
|
several local languages are more widely spoken. In 1980 a military coup overthrew
the government and led to economic mismanagement and debt. A democratically
elected government was elected in 1997; however, the war had severely damaged
the economy through the loss of facilities and foreign investment.