Cambodia Stamps And Philatelic Items

Thanks for sharing, LaoPhil; nice to see the interesting background on some of these issues. I also collect Cambodia up to 1970. Have you ever found any of the early souvenir sheets? (Scott 15A/16A)

Hi, Andyrich, glad to meet a Cambodian stamp collector. The set of the three early SS's is the only item missing in my collection (I collect too up to 1970).

How do you keep your stamps? I created my own album pages for all issues from 1951 to 1970. No problem to share with you if interested. Regards, Eli

You did a very nice job with those pages! What size are they when printed? If you have an electronic copy I would certainly be interested; and thank you. Currently I just use Steiner pages for everything except the US and Israel. Also collect Laos and South Vietnam as well as a bunch of other countries.

Andy

Andy,

I just sent you an email message.

On May 30, 1967, the Kingdom of Cambodia issued a set of stamps shows the Royal Ballet dancers. A Cambodian FB friend told me that the dancers performing the legend from Khmer mythology called Khachong Sang. I didn't find a lot about it, only that the story tells about a young lady, Neang Rachana, kidnapped by Ngous. Fortunately, I found the original photos used to design three of the stamps:

Lovely post, Eli

Thanks, Rod!

Activities of Sangkum Reastr Niyum (People's Socialist Community), issued by Cambodia on September 1, 1960:

The Sangkum Reastr Niyum ("People's Socialist Community") was a political organization set up in 1955. The Sangkum party was established after Sihanouk abdicated from the throne in 1955 in favor of his father Norodom Suramarit, with the intention of concentrating on politics. The Sangkum retained control of the government of Cambodia throughout the first administration of Sihanouk, from 1955 to 1970.

The Sangkum Reastr Niyum regime, headed by Sihanouk, launched several five-years development plans and Cambodia was developed in many fields during this period especially education, agriculture, industry, infrastructures, health and building as depicted in this set of stamps.

Norodom Suramarit was born in Phnom Penh in 1896 to Norodom Phangangam and Prince Norodom Sutharot, son of King Norodom. Suramarit was married to Princess Sisowath Kossamak, daughter of King Monivong.
In 1955, Suramarit and Kossamak were crowned as King and Queen of Cambodia, after King Norodom Sihanouk, Suramarit's son, abdicated from the throne. Suramarit remained King until his death in 1960. His wife, Queen Sisowath Kossamak remained Queen Mother of Cambodia. She died in 1975 in Beijing, PRC.

Coronation of King Norodom Suramarit and Queen Sisowath Kossamak, definitive set of 15 stamps issued on November 24, 1955. There are three different designs:



On April 30, 1960, After the death of King Suramarit (April 3), two of the stamps were reissued with black frame:

The Bayon is a richly decorated Khmer Buddhist temple at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom

The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and smiling stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. These faces have been associated with the Hindu God Brahma because of the four faces looking in different directions but archaeologists also associate it with Buddha despite the jewelry, crown marking which are not associated with Buddha.

The Bayon on engraved stamp from 1966 and a set of three issued in 2001:




Two items from the French era show the Bayon temple, an old postcard and 1931 French Indochina banknote:


Photo of the Bayon I took in 2004:

Lovely material, Eli. Enjoyed that post.
Beautiful postcard.

Thanks, Rod! will post more about the Bayon temple.

One of the most Cambodian beautiful and attractive sets, IMO, is the one shows traditional artisans issued on February 1, 1965. It shows weaver, engraver and basket weaver:

The railroad from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville in the south coast of Cambodia was constructed with the assistance of the governments of France, West Germany and the PR of China. The construction lasted for a decade and the new line inaugurated in 1969. The new railroad cut down the reliance on Saigon port of Vietnam and Khlong Toei port of Thailand.

To publicize the inauguration of Phnom Penh – Sihanoukville railroad, a set of four stamps was issued by Cambodia on November 27, 1969:

Map of the New Railroad
Designed and engraved by Thourk

Phnom Penh Railway Station
Designed and engraved by Lim Sinh

Diesel Locomotive and Country Station
Designed and engraved by Lim Sinh

Sihanoukville Railway Station
Designed and engraved by Thourk

Fruits of Cambodia, Engraved by Claude Durrens and issued by the Kingdom of Cambodia on June 4, 1962:

Green Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum)
Sugar Apple (Annona squamosa)
Purple Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana)

The Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO) were the games set up by Indonesia in late 1962 as a counter to the Olympic Games. The GANEFO established for the athletes of the so-called "emerging nations", mainly newly independent socialist states. The second GANEFO were held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 1966 with participation of 17 nations from Asia only hence it was named "First Asian GANEFO". The GANEFO organization collapsed in 1970.

This set, designed and engraved by Georges Bétemps, was issued on November 25, 1966 to publicize the second GANEFO held in Phnom Penh:

The rest stamps of the set show stone reliefs from the Bayon temple:



First Day Cover with commemorative postmark:


Statue of the Bayon on 1956 Banknote:

The Kouprey (Bos sauveli) is a wild, forest-dwelling bovine species found mainly in northern Cambodia. The Kouprey became endangered animal due to uncontrolled hunting by locals and soldiers for meat, horns and skulls for use in traditional Chinese medicine and loss of habitat due to agriculture and logging activity.

The first conversation measures taken for the Kouprey were ordered by Prince Norodom Sihanouk in 1960, when he declared the Kouprey as the national animal of Cambodia, partly due to its mystique, gave it protected status and declared three major reserves for its conservation.

Although the conservation's efforts, the Kouprey population severely reduced in the last decades and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed it as critically endangered and possibly extinct.

Kouprey, issued by Cambodia on March 3, 1964:



Nice used FDC: