Endnotes
#1.
DAHLAK ISLANDS - The 7 cancellations available on the
Dahlak Islands sheet are as follows:
1. No cancellation
2. Canceled at Main Base NOCRA - 30 Dec 69
3. Canceled at Forward Base No. 1 - 27 Dec 69
4. Canceled at Forward Base No. 2 - 29 Dec 69
5. Canceled at Forward Base No. 3 - 31 Dec 69
6. Canceled at Forward Base No. 4 - 11 Jan 70
7. Canceled at Rear Base Massawa - 24 Dec 69
These stamps were issued to commemorate the Scientific
Exploration Society of England's expedition to the Dahlak Islands in 1969-70.
#2.
BERNERA ISLANDS - The stamps listed are local post stamps issued for
Great Bernera and Little Bernera Islands, which lie northwest of the Isle
of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Four mailboxes are maintained on the
islands and they are serviced at regular intervals. The mail is collected
and re-mailed at a nearby British Post Office with regular British
postage added.
#3.
ST. PIERRE AND MIQUELON - Although these stamps are inscribed
"Phare de la Tortue", this is apparently an error. According to Don L. Gary,
writing in The Pharos (Vol. 8, No. 6, March 1981), the lighthouse is
known as the "Pointe aux Canons" lighthouse. Mr. J. Lehuenen, of the
St. Pierre and Miquelon Merchant Marines, agrees the name is
"Pointe aux Canons Lighthouse". He suspects that the stamp designers
were working on these stamps and some other lighthouse stamps simultaneously
and the wrong name was inscribed on the St. Pierre and Miquelon stamps.
This has not been confirmed.
The "F.N.F.L." o/p on some of the St. Pierre and Miquelon stamps stands
for "Forces Navales Francaises Libres" or "Free French Naval Forces".
The "Noel 1941" o/p on some of these stamps refers to a Christmas Day
plebiscite ordered by Vice Admiral Emile Henri Muselier, commander of the
Free French Naval Forces.
#4.
SEYCHELLES - All stamps depicting the Seychelles Coat-of-Arms are
turtle stamps because a turtle appears on the Arms. Starting in 1978,
all Seychelles stamps have a very small Coat-of-Arms on them, and thus are
technically turtle stamps. However, since the turtle is indistinguishable
to the naked eye, and since it barely looks like a turtle, even under
magnification, due to insufficient resolution in the printing process, these
stamps are not included in the list.
#5.
STAFFA - This island is in the Inner Hebrides, 7 miles west of Mull
and 6 miles northeast of Iona. The Laird of Staffa has established a
Postal Service which operates daily from April to September. Mail is picked
up and carried by a boatman to British Post Offices on Mull and Iona, where
it is re-mailed with regular British postage added.
#6.
TONGA - Tonga has issued approximately 200 stamps on paper which is
watermarked with a turtle design. Most of these do not have a turtle on the
face of the stamp and are not included in this list.
#7.
ZIL ELWANNYEN SESEL SEYCHELLES (Also spelled "ZIL ELOIGNE SESEL
SEYCHELLES" and "ZIL ELWAGNE SESEL SEYCHELLES") - This group of Islands was
formerly part of the British Indian Ocean Territory. Since being returned
to the Seychelles Islands, they have issued their own stamps, each bearing a
small imprint of the Seychelles Coat-of-Arms. Since the Seychelles
Coat-of-Arms has a turtle on it, every one of Z.E.S.'s stamps is technically
a turtle stamp. However the turtle is too small to be seen by the naked eye
and so the stamps are not included in this list. See discussion of this
problem under Endnote #4. ZIL ELWANNYEN SESEL
SEYCHELLES is listed at the end of SEYCHELLES in the Scott Catalog.
#8.
TRANSDNIESTRIAN MOLDOVAN REPUBLIC - Transdniestria (or
Tranistria) is a region in Eastern Moldova between the Dniester River
and the Ukrainian border. It is populated by a Russian and Ukrainian
majority that objects to Moldovan-Romanian rule. Armed clashes
between Moldovan forces and Trandniestrian secessionists led to
Russian army intervention on behalf of the secessionists in the early
1990's and the proclamation of a Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic
with Tiraspol as its capital. On 13 September 1993 the Presidium of
the Supreme Soviet of the Trandniestrian Moldovan Republic decreed
that postage stamps should be issued for the payment of postal
charges. A peace accord with the Moldovan government giving the
region greater autonomy was signed in 1997. A Russian-sponsored
peace plan for the region was rejected by Moldova in November of
2003 because it would have permitted Russian troops to remain there
until 2020.
#9.
JAPAN - National Pension Revenue Stamps - The "mop-like" material
flowing from the posterior portion of the carapaces of the turtles on the
Japanese Pension Revenue Stamps represents filamentous green algae which is
a symbol of old age. Considering that the stamps were issued for an old age
pension fund, the connection is obvious. The Japanese call these
algae-covered turtles "mino-gam" or "minogame" and some captive specimens
grow extremely long filaments. These Japanese Pension Revenue Stamps are
listed in at least two additional Japanese stamp catalogs and naturally they
have different numbers in those catalogs than the numbers listed here.
#10.
MALAGASY REPUBLIC - Scott C172 - According to Bourquin and Sura, the
small tortoise on this stamp is probably Pyxis arachnoides.
(Bourquin, O. and P. Sura. 1995. Herpetofauna on Stamps. Part 4: Tortoises
and Terrapins. African Herp News, 23: August 1995, pg. 9).
#11.
JAPAN - Japan has issued at least thirteen different postal cards
with images of turtles on the cards (but not on the stamps printed on
the cards). The denominations of the stamps printed on the cards vary from
40y to 50y. Most of the cards have cartoon turtles, but a few have
photographs and line drawings.
#12.
KAULBAUCH ISLAND - Kaulbauch Island is located in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia.
The Kaulbauch Island Local Carriage Service provided mail service to and
from the mainland from 1971 through 1984. Each year a new series of stamps
was issued and during its fourteen years of existence, the local issued a
total of 196 different stamps. Canadian Postal Officials insisted that
these local stamps be placed on the backs of the envelopes when used for
local franking purposes. FDC's with the stamp on the front of the envelope
were prepared for sale to collectors.