Crocuses

18 years ago, on the first day of March and Mărțișor (March Amulet), Romfilatelia was established, as the only authorized institution of the Romanian state, vested to make and put into circulation all Romanian postage stamps. It was the year 2004 when, in Bucharest, the 23rd Congress of the Universal Postal Union took place, which has Romania as one of its founding members. It hit the road with a new, trainee team, with the clear determination to establish its credentials as an entity that would change habits, concepts and approaches, succeeding that in the very year of its establishment, 2004, to achieve, after almost four decades, the second and the third joint issue with Belgium and the People’s Republic of China, respectively, stepping decently into the world of international philately (the first joint issue, in 1965, was about the Romanian-Yugoslav collaboration for the construction of the Iron Gates hydro-power complex). Continuing the series of joint issues, Romfilatelia summed-up in its portfolio the collaboration with 31 countries, to which were added the UN Postal Administration and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

In its projects, Romfilatelia began to include original themes dedicated to the Romanian human treasure (elite athletes of Romania, honoured during their lives, personalities of culture, invention, history, spirituality), exceptional contemporary historical events such as: Romania’s accession to NATO, Romania’s accession to the EU. The themes related to flora, fauna, historical monuments, etc. were maintained in a new presentation formula. A major theme related to our modern history included the personalities of the Royal Dynasty of Romania, a theme taken out from philately since 1948.

A series of Romanian philatelic awards followed, having the exceptional debut and great refinement on the occasion of the World Philatelic Exhibition organized in Bucharest, EFIRO 2008. To these were added the collectibles displayed in the philatelic albums, the replicas of the postage stamps made of silver and gilded silver, the apogee being reached in 2018 when the passionate collectors had at their disposal the 22 karat gold replica of the first “Bull’s Head” stamp with a face value of 27 parale.

The Romfilatelia program included philatelic folders and postage stamps albums, as original products for the first time designed and made according to its own artistic and technological concept, which began to be found in the requirements of some prestigious institutions of the country: Presidential Administration, Romanian Parliament, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defence, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Environment and other institutions of the Romanian Government, National Bank of Romania, Royal House of Romania, important higher educational establishments, central and local administration. These products have been established as products of high protocol and as an emblematic reflection of Romania, traveling round the world.

Becoming a true institution for the promotion of culture and the symbol of the country, Romfilatelia has entered into an official, fully deserved partnership with the Romanian Academy, benefiting from the direct help of the highest cultural forum for completing joint projects and actions in which the Romanian postage brand has registered as the main vector.

Prestigious magazines of the international philatelic field and juries of some exhibitions in the field organized by the World Association for the Development of Philately, within the Universal Postal Union, UN body, have awarded Romfilatelia numerous prizes, to which are added diplomas and distinctions that highlight the role as a promoter of the most important fields of the country’s culture and history.

For the exemplary and original manner of creating postage stamps dedicated to the Centenary of the Great Union, the Romanian Presidency included Romfilatelia on the list of prestigious institutions of the country, highlighted for the special activities carried out for this contemporary historical event.

It should be noted that since its establishment, Romfilatelia has been involved, along with ministries, non-governmental organizations, agencies and institutions in the field in campaigns dedicated to helping people in distress, environmental protection, drug prohibition, promotion of programs of national and international interest initiated by UNICEF and the Red Cross.

We wish to assure all those who appreciated our work, whether they are collectors, lovers of culture, art and history, the beneficiaries of our products registered almost entirely as unique, that we will preserve and capitalize on the status, already recognized, as Romanian cultural institution of reference.

On this day of First of March (Mărțișor), together with the message of the symbol of love and devotion transmitted by the crocuses present on the stamps of the issue introduced into circulation, we would like to write the wish:

“Happy birthday, dear friends of the Romanian stamp!

“Happy birthday, Romfilatelia!”

Crocuses

On March 1st, the first day of Mărțișor (March Amulet) and spring, Romfilatelia introduces into circulation the postage stamps issue Crocuses.

Among most people, the crocus is a flower symbol of strong feelings of love and devotion.

Many legends were born about it. One of them shows the two crocuses, the spring one and the autumn one, as two twin sisters, whom the stepmother Earth drove away. One in an early spring, the other in a late fall. Seeing them sore, God turned them into flowers. Since then, they have been looking for each other, without ever being able to meet.

Another legend, sprung from the healing properties of the crocus, has as subject the autumn crocus. The legend has as main character Saint Valentine, who, being imprisoned, fell in love with the blind daughter of a jailer. The saint sent that girl a crocus with miraculous healing powers. The first images that the girl discerned were that of the crocus and that of the ticket he had sent, on which were written the words that became famous, “From your Valentine”. For centuries, Saint Valentine’s execution day, February 14th, has been celebrated as Lovers’ Day.

Signs of spring, the crocuses charm the view through the spots of colour during a season when

trees, shrubs and summer flowering species are still dormant. They are admired plants and a source of inspiration for many artists, being mentioned in world literature and are present in gastronomy and medicine.

Regarding the origin of the genus, current research shows that it is native to North Africa, being found in the Iberian Peninsula, the Balkans and Anatolia.

Crocuses belong to the genus Crocus, a genus belonging to the family Iridaceae, which includes

247 species and subspecies and extends longitudinally from the Iberian Peninsula to China and latitudinally from Poland to the Caucasus and the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula; most species can be found in the Balkans and Turkey.

In Romania, the most common species of the spontaneous flora are the spring crocus (Crocus heuffelianus) and the autumn crocus (Crocus banaticus).

The species Crocus pallasii, Crocus crysanthus, Crocus Flavius and Crocus danubensis are protected by national laws of Romania.

The four postage stamps of the “Crocuses” issue reproduce images of the flowers known as:

Spring crocus (Crocus heuffelianus), illustrated on the stamp with the face value of Lei 2.70. It is very common in mountain meadows and is distinguished by the lilac corolla with a characteristic, V-shaped pattern on each tepal.

Crocus (Crocus danubensis), rendered on the stamp with the face value of Lei 4.50. It grows in dry meadows, especially in the south of the country and blooms in early spring, even in February. It is distinguished by the purple stripes arranged longitudinally on the outside of the tepals.

Golden crocus (Crocus crysanthus), represented graphically on the stamp with the face value of Lei 10.50.It blooms in early spring through meadows and bushes in Dobrogea. The flowers are golden yellow, the name of the species being very suggestive in this respect. Sometimes white flowering plants of the same species can be found.

Autumn crocus (Crocus banaticus) with a face value of Lei 16.00.

It differs from other species of toads in that three of the tepals, the internal ones, are different in shape and color. The outer tepals are lilac-blue. They bloom through meadows, bushes and forest edges in the central and western parts of the country. It differs from the autumn colchicum of the genus Colchicum in the number of stamens (3 in the species of the genus Crocus, 6 in those of Colchicum).

On the first day envelope of the issue is illustrated an blue crocus (Crocus pallasii).

It grows only in Dobrogea, through stony meadows. It blooms in autumn and is very similar to saffron (Crocus sativus), a species of toad from which we have the most expensive spice.