XANTHE'S
STAMP MAGAZINE

Yesterday Estonia released a new stamp to celebrate Team Estonia's participation in the Winter Olympics next month. There is just one stamp in this issue and it shows a figure skater, some curlers and a slalom skier. I don't know if these represent actual Estonian athletes or whether they are just generic pictures. Team Estonia has been quite successful at the Winter Olympics in the past and since 1992 it has won eight medals including four golds (in cross-country and freest

Monaco's first issue of the year celebrates opera singers. This is not the first year Monaco has done this - in fact, this is part of a series that goes way back to 2020. Below are the stamps from last year. The 2025 set featuring Lina Cavalieri and Lucien Muratore The WOPA website very helpfully gives some information on the two opera singers shown on this year's stamps: Jean-François "Francisque" Delmas (1861–1933) was a renowned French bass-baritone. Trained at the Pari

As I have reviewed two other Chinese New Year sets from New Zealand and the Isle of Man, Xanthe has said I should also take a look at this one from Jersey. It will be released next week, on 27th January. This is quite different to the other two and goes to show how different artists are inspired in different ways. The stamps are designed by Wang Huming and are inspired by traditional Chinese paper cutting and artwork from the time of the Qing Dynasty. The horse is the Fire Ho