Centennial Olympics - Liberia MINT Souvenir Sheets

Centennial Olympics - Barbados MINT Stamps

Technical Details (of stamps below)
Title: 100th Anniversary of the Modern OLympic Games 1896-1996
Reason for Issue: To promote awareness of the Olympic Games and the participation undertaken by the citizens of BARBADOS.
Values: Stamps 20c, 30c, 55c and $3.
---------Souvenir Sheet $2.50
Designer: Steve Noon, Garden Studio
Printer: COT Printery Ltd of BARBADOS
Process: Lithography
Stamp size: 28.45 X 42.58 mm
Pane: 50 (2x25)
Perforation: 14 per 2 cm
Paper: CA Spiral Watermarked Paper
Souvenir Sheet Size: 70X 90mm Portrait format
Release Date: 2nd April 1996



Olympic Games Postage Stamps

The ancient Games in Greece evolved from legendary conflicts among the Greek gods and the religious ceremonies held in their honour. According to historical records the first Olympian Games were held in 776 BC, but competitions appear to have been held on an unofficial basis long before this.

The Games were held at Olympia, which lies in the plain of Elis, on the banks of the river Alpheus. Initially there was only one event, the "stade" race, which comprised a sprint of 192.27 metres, reputedly 60 times the length of Hercules foot. Other sports were introduced at later date, including the pentathlon which consisted of running, jumping (with the aid of hand held weights), throwing the discus, javelin and wrestling. Chariot racing and boxing were included later.

Victors in the early Games were crowned with wild olive leaves, but they were often richly rewarded by their home states, and some became very wealthy. For reasons not fully understood today, women and slaves were strictly forbidden, under pain of death, from attending the Games.

The Roman Emperor, Theodosius 1 abolished the Games in AD393 because at that time he had banned all religious ceremonies. The Temple of Zeus was burned down in AD426 and in AD521 an earthquake left the area bare except for rubble. Finally, the River ALpheus flooded and buried the entire area under mud and water.

The founder of the Modern Olympic Games is held to be a French noblemean, Baron Pierre de Coubertin. His concept of a revived Games was first prpounded publicly at a lecture at the Sorbonne in Paris on 25 November 1892. In June 1894 he convened an International Conference at Sorbonne, and on 23 June a resolution called for the revival of the Games. They were held every fourth year, the four year period to be known as an Olympiad. At the instigation of Demetrius Vikelas of Greece (the first President of the International Olympic Committee) Athens was selected to host the first Games in 1896.

Greece released the first set of Olympic Games stamps, which included, inter-alia, designs showing boxers taking part in the Ancient Games, and the discus thrower from the famous statue of Myron. The two top values showed the Stadium and the Acropolis. The issue date was 25 March 1896, although the Games did not commence until 6 April 1896. The 12 day difference is accounted for by the fact that the Greeks, at that time, were still using the old Gregorian calendar.

The Games were oficially opened by King George 1 of Greece at the invitation of his son, Crown Prince Constantine, who was the President of the Organizing Committee. The United States were the most successful nation, winning eleven gold medals, one more than the Host Nation, Greece.

The Games proved very popular with the Greek public, but despite strong Greek pressure for the exclusive rights to organize future Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin won agreement to hold the 1900 Games in Paris.



Centenary of the Modern Olympic Games. Mint stamps (20c, 30c, 55c and $3)


Mini Souvenir sheet with Discus Thrower on the $2.50 stamp.
On the Sheet: 100 years of Olympic Games Stamp Designs.

Centennial Olympics - Greece

Mini Souvenir sheet with Athens 1896 on the stamp. Background is the Olympic torch. On the sheet, there is the logo of Atlanta 1996.

Centennial Olympics in Atlanta (1996) - USA MINT Sheet of Stamps

ATLANTA 1996
CENTENNIAL OLYMPIC GAMES


1st Row
Decathlon
Men's Canoeing
Women's Running
Women's Diving
Men's Cycling

2nd Row
Freestyle Wrestling
Women's Gymnastics
Women's Sailboarding
Men's Shot Put
Women's Soccer

3rd Row
Beach Volleyball
Men's Rowing
Men's Sprinting Events
Women's Swimming
Women's Softball

4th Row
Men's Hurdles
Men's Swimming
Men's Gymanstics
Equestrian
Men's Basketball

Centennial Olympic Games - USA MINT Sheet of Stamps

Discus Thrower
Roman marble copy after a bronze original of c. 450 BC by Myron, Museo Nazionale Romano delle Terme, Rome, Italy


CENTENNIAL OLYMPIC GAMES
The Ancient Greek Olympic Games were held every four years from at least 776 BC until 393 AD. Inspired by the original Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France proposed a modern version in 1892. The first Games were staged in Athens in 1896. The 1996 Centennial Games will be hosted by Atlanta.

1896 Athens, Greece
1996, Atlanta Georgia

Olympic Stamps from CHINA

http://angelas-collections.blogspot.com/2008/08/china-1992-8-stamp-set-and-souvenir.html

08-08-08 (August 8, 2008) Olympics

The Olympic Games[1] is an international multi-sport event subdivided into summer and winter sporting events. The summer and winter games are each held every four years (an Olympiad[2]). Until 1992, they were both held in the same year. Since then, they have been separated by a two year gap.

The original Olympic Games (Greek: Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες; [Olympiakoi Agones] (help·info)) were first recorded in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece, and were celebrated until AD 393.[3] Interest in reviving the Olympic Games proper was first shown by the Greek poet and newspaper editor Panagiotis Soutsos in his poem "Dialogue of the Dead" in 1833.[4] Evangelos Zappas sponsored the first modern international Olympic Games in 1859. He paid for the refurbishment of the Panathinaiko Stadium for Games held there in 1870 and 1875.[4] This was noted in newspapers and publications around the world including the London Review, which stated that "the Olympian Games, discontinued for centuries, have recently been revived! Here is strange news indeed ... the classical games of antiquity were revived near Athens".[5]

The International Olympic Committee was founded in 1894 on the initiative of a French nobleman, Pierre Frédy, Baron de Coubertin. The first of the IOC's Olympic Games were the 1896 Summer Olympics, held in Athens, Greece. Participation in the Olympic Games has increased to include athletes from nearly all nations worldwide. With the improvement of satellite communications and global telecasts of the events, the Olympics are consistently gaining supporters.[6] The most recent Summer Olympics were the 2004 Games in Athens and the most recent Winter Olympics were the 2006 Games in Turin. The upcoming games in Beijing are planned to comprise 302 events in 28 sports.[7] As of 2006, the Winter Olympics were competed in 84 events in 7 sports.[8]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Olympics)



Olympic Stamps (1996) from HongKong. A co-host city for some events in the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Stamp Collecting - OLYMPICS

OLYMPIC PHILATELY

In 1896 Greece hosted the first modern Olympic Games and issued a set of 12 stamps, from 1 lepton to 10 drachmae. Although designed, engraved and printed in France, they were wholly Greek in concept. Apart from the 1d and 10d, which depicted the Acropolis and the Parthenon respectively, the designs were derived from ancient Greek Sculptures of athletes, or statues symbolizing the spirit of the Games.
Greece produced a second Olympic set in 1906 but this precedent was not followed by any other host country until 1920, when Belgium issued a set of three, establishing an enduring trend whereby the host nation issues stamps to mark the event. In 1932 the USA became the first country to issue stamps for the Winter Olympics as well. In 1954-5 Australia broke new ground by issuing stamps as advance publicity for the Melbourne Games of 1956. This tradition has now reached the point at which countries begin issuing pre-Games stamps as soon as the winning bid is confirmed.
The Games now include around 30,000 participants, and if you take into account allthe stamps marking the anniversaries of national Olympic committees, as well as the stamps and postal stationary provided for the use of the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland, plus souvenir cards and covers, it is not hard to appreciate what a huge subject this has become.

From the Book:
The Complete Guide to STAMPS & Stamp Collecting
Dr. James Mackay
Hermes House
Annes Publishing 2005
Printed in Singapore

* We bought this book in Singapore back in 2006 but just got to open and scan through it just now. It is in paperback but the pages are of good quality paper and glossy. It covers a wide range of topics and includes "The World Directory of Stamps." It has many beautiful, colorful and quality pictures that give readers and collectors a greater appreciation of the Philately.
On it cover, it is written; "The Ultimate illustrated reference to over 3000 of the World's best stamps and a professional guide to starting and perfecting a spectacular collection."
It is not a catalogue; but it truly is a good reading for collectors (and novices) in building or improving their collections. You really will learn more about stamps and stamp collecting.



SAN MARINO
1960 ROME OLYMPICS
One of our previous items in our auctions