In 2010 several Commonwealth countries (52 old-English territories) have started a joint post agency: the Philatelic Collector Incorporated. Countries like Aitutaki, Vanuata, Cook Islands, Niuafo'ou, Penrhyn and Tonga have joined this organization.
The number of affiliated countries is growing, but this fact would not be worth mentioning if the largest country/island in our collection, Isle of Man, had not recently joined this club. This resulted immediately in an arguable issue from the joint countries with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as subject: a block with 1 stamp from each of the 27 affiliated countries. No, not (yet) a motorcycle stamp, but who knows what the future will bring????

The complete block

Detail with in the middle the stamp from Isle of Man

The stamp from Isle of Man

Maldives local issue
The novelty from Maldives, announced in newsletter 123, led to quite some questions that were asked to me. It concerns a remembrance issue of 11 blocks with each 2 stamps of 10 Rufiyaa (= 0.52 €), on the occasion of the celebration of indepence in 2015.
The Maldives (also called Maledives) exist of around 1190 islands, and the republic has become independent of England on July 26th 1965. Thus in 2015 reason for the 50est anniversary. In newsletter 116 we already described the folder that has been issued in relation to this celebration. In it stamps for general use. On the inside of the folder there is, amongst others, an image of a moped or light motorcycle.
According to several sources, every Maldivian family received a set of these 11 blocks as souvenir. The stamps are only valid for shipping of post within the island group.
On each of the stamps is a memorable fact from the 50 years of history of the Republic, with on 1 of these blocks the signing of the jubilee folder by the Leader of the Order of the Rule of Ghaazee, Umar Zahir, and on the connected stamp an image of the folder, and on that folder.....

I don't want to withhold you this nice FDC.
Cesar, an "artist" who, amongst others, makes art by reshaping various articles to cubes in a press, got his own stamp in 1997. Als illustration on the FDC a compressed version of a Mobylette moped was chosen. Do you recognise it??

The last Austrian stamp interesting for us showed us a KTM 125 cc Grand Tourist in the single-seater version.
Plummer Hans Trunkenpolz started in 1934 in Mattighofen a parts shop where he also repaired bicycles, and later motorcycles. His ambitions resulted in 1951 in the first motorcycle that rolled out of his workshop under the name "Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen", KTM. Later, when money-lender Kronreif joined the company, the name became "Kronreif & Trunkenpolz Mattighofen".
After having built a 98 cc light motorcycle, a 100 cc machine followed in 1953. In 1954 the KTM 125 Tourist appeared. The 125 cc engine was extremely reliable (in 1954 the distance Vienna - Paris - Vienna was ridden non-stop on a Tourist in just below 21 hours and 45 minutes) and in 1955 the Rotax engine (in the Netherlands better known as Sachs) was also used in the Grand Tourist version.

Of this machine more than 6000 pieces have been built. The Austrian ANWB, the ÖAMTC, used 28 of these motorcycles, painted in bright yellow and provided with special transport sidecars, in their breakdown service, called the Yellow Angels.
The presentation of the related stamp had, just like with the stamp of the KTM Ponny, been done in the shop of Heinz Kinigadner in Wiesing. Kinigadner, as KTM factory rider world champion 250 cc motorcross in 1984 en 1985, still has a strong relation with KTM. In his motorcycle shop a special post office had been set up and (almost) all FDC's have been cancelled in this Postamt.

Almost, as for the first time a 2nd Postamt in Schloss Mattighofen (Mattighofen Castle) had been used. Off course because this village is the birth-place of KTM. In the castle a room was used to produce also there FDC's.

However, little publicity was made for it, what resulted in a very low number of FDC's with Mattighofen cancellation. Also the Philatelic Service had a limited number of Mattighofen available, and therefore only 1 piece per customer was delivered and in the mean time they have all been sold. Also the black print off this stamp has been delivered in a small amount (also 1 per customer) so also this will become a collectors item.

Sometimes one is blind for certain things on stamps. Recently our secretary discovered a moped on an older issue from our own country, the Netherlands.
In 2013 PostNL paid attention to Dutch traditional costumes on 5 sheets in the series Beautiful Netherlands. Subjects were Bunschoten-Spakenburg, Marken, Walcheren and, together with the collection sheet, North-West Veluwe, but already in the 1st issue in this series (January 27th) was the sheet about Staphorst. The designers Pot & van der Velden elaborated on the Child Stamps issue from 1960, and showed on the stamps various regional headdresses of local young women. All nice, but the part that is interesting for us was between the stamps. There, between the 3rd and 4th stamp, we find a young lady who moves around on a moped.

For the specific lady, Jantje Kuiper-Mulder, the "Naked Ear-iron" put over her cap was certainly not a luxury, because also in that time mopeds reached speeds of well over 20 km/hr. The brand of the moped is hard to determine from this sight angle, but it could very well be a RAP or Magneet. The picture is on loan of the Openlucht Museum (Open Air Museum in Anrhem).

On the collection sheet (date of issue May 21st 2013) no motorized vehicle can be found, but in the Prestige Booklet of the same day we find on the Staphorst page between the 2 stamps a large picture of Jantje.

The booklet (no. 46) clearly explains how the traditional costumes work.

Al together again a nice discovery, with not less than 2 collection items as result.

Okay, okay, I know that most of you don't want to put 4-wheelers in their collection, but for those who want to collect all.....
On a disputable issue from April 21st 2017 Tchad depicted various images used by the fire brigade. The vehicle in the front is a Renault Twizy. An electrically driven singleseater 4-wheeler with limite possibilities for a passenger.

So what??? Well, the thing exists in 2 versions: the Twizy 45 km/hr and the Twizy 80 km/hr. The first is covered by the moped law and thus may be ridden with a moped license, and this puts it in our interest. Things become more crazy all the time.
And as if this is not enough, the same thing is also depicted on 2 other blocks of Niger (2017-11-19) and Sierra Leone (2017-08-30).

And just arrived: another Twizy from Mozambique!

Hans de Kloet

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