Hands On Stamps

Raised fist and freed bird, printed by photogravure, and issued by Egypt (UAR) on July 23, 1970 to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the Egyptian revolution of 1952, Scott No. 836.

- nethryk

Libya issued a souvenir sheet, portraying a well-known figure, for the 19th meeting of the Organization of African Unity in 1982. I haven't found out where that meeting took place, but Libya was host in 1999. The organization was unable to live up to its original goals and was disbanded in 2002.



(Hi, Nethryk, Whenever I see one of those stamps depicting a clenched fist, I am reminded of Indira Ghandi's words: "People with clenched fists cannot shake hands."

Slovenia issued a stamp for World Animal Day in 2001. Perhaps the fingerprint symbolizes the effect human activity has on animals; somehow the cat doesn't look very happy.

Juan Vucetich (1858-1925), born in Croatia and immigrated to Argentina, was the first to use fingerprints in the field of modern forensics. Stamp for his 150th birthday in 2008.

re the Libya souvenir sheet above:

"The 19th Summit of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) which was scheduled to meet in Tripoli in early August, failed to convene amidst controversy over a number of divisive issues. This Brief Report focusses on: 1)Background Information and Recent History. 2) Controversial issues causing cancellation of the OAU Summit in Tripoli. 3) Conclusion."

http://dspace.africaportal.org/jspu...0No.44.pdf?1

A fingerprint-heart bedded on roses for a special philatelic week in Korea, 2006. One theme of that year's week was marriage: the promise of everlasting love is expressed through two fingerprints overlapped in a heart shape, designed by Shin Jae-yong.




(Hi Crows, Thanks for the additional information! K.)

Spain commemorated 50 years of the Declaration of Human Rights with a fingerprint-heart in 1998.

Traditional examination of a fingerprint with a magnifying glass commemorates the 27th regional Interpol conference hosted by Croatia in 1998. The beautiful old part of Dubrovnik in the background.

The story that goes with these unusual blue prints: "Citizens of Zwolle are known as Blauwvingers (Bluefingers). This dates back to 1682, when the St Michael's church tower collapsed. The authorities were strapped for cash and saw no option but to sell the bells to the neighboring city of Kampen. To make sure that Kampen would not make too much profit from the deal, the local authorities asked a high price for the church bells. Kampen accepted, yet after the arrival of the bells it became clear, they were too damaged to be played. In revenge, Kampen paid in copper coins of four duiten (the equivalent of two-and-a-half cents). Zwolle distrusted Kampen and wanted to be sure they truly paid the entire price. After the rigorous counting of this vast amount of money, their fingers had turned blue from the copper." from Wikip. The sheet and stamps show some of the attractions of this beautiful old city.



Nowadays you can buy finger cookies with chocolate prints in decorative tins such as this one.

Kosovo finally gained independence in early 2008. (I'm not sure what the fingerprint on the contours of the country means, but that tiny eagle with the flying mane represents the Kosovo post office.)

"Co-operation:" Three stylized hands holding an open book, printed by lithography, and issued by Pakistan on July 21, 1965 as one of a set of two stamps commemorating the first anniversary of the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) Pact among Iran, Turkey and Pakistan, Scott No. 217.

- nethryk

Ghana also had a fingerprint for its Interpol 50 years stamp.

50 years of the Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad was commemorated with a fingerprint pattern in writing. "The Administrative Department of Security was the Security Service agency of Colombia, which was also responsible for border and immigration services. It was dissolved in 2011 as part of a wider executive reform, and was replaced by the Agencia Nacional de Inteligencia Colombiana (ANIC)". Wikiped.

The small world of a fingerprint and the whole world on the German stamp for the World Expo in Hannover in 2000.

Just a fingertip, but for the blind so much more! Stamp for the Congress for the Blind in Uruguay 2015.