Romfilatelia will introduce into circulation on Wednesday, July 3rd this year, a postage stamps issue intended for collectors of hunting topics, entitled Hunting Trophies, consisting of 4 postage stamps, a First Day Cover, a philatelic folder with a special block in a limited run printing and a set of 4 maxicards for the pasionates of maximaphily.
Hunting trophies are souvenirs that remain as a symbol of the skill of the hunter and the value of the captured animal. Knowing the history of the trophy, the context in which it was brought down, adds cultural and educational significance. In addition to these, the trophy obtained after facing the hardships of the hunt, becomes a true subject of hunting memories and stories.
Modern hunting gives great scientific importance to game trophies obtained from the wild environment, as they constitute a valuable database for the analysis over long time intervals of the stage of conservation and evolution of somatically expressed characters in the populations of species of hunting interest, the vigour and the exchange of genetic characters between different populations, etc., very useful information for game culture.
Obtention of hunting trophies is done according to strict rules, dictated by scientific reasons, considering mainly the spread of favourable characters for maintaining vigorous, healthy breeding nuclei with normal behaviour characteristic of the species and the elimination of unwanted ones, through actions specific to hunting management. Under this last aspect, selection trophies, generally obtained from tarred specimens, provide equally useful information.
For the systematization and value classification of conventional trophies (represented, depending on the species, by skulls, teeth, furs), evaluation and scoring criteria were adopted at the international level, based mainly on measurements and, additionally, on the general appearance.
The value of Romanian trophies, presented at international exhibitions since the interwar period, placed Romania among the first countries that can demonstrate the quality of hunting management, our country frequently holding world records, some still unmatched, such as the one for the bear fur approved in 1983, or for the chamois presented in this postage stamp issue, (postage stamp with the face value of Lei 6), acquired in Făgăraș and approved with 141.10 points in 1934.
The Carpathian deer trophy (postage stamp with the face value of Lei 13), which held the world record title for many years with 261.25 C.I.C. (International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation) points, originating from Soveja – Vrancea, was approved in 1980.
The deer trophy (postage stamp with the face value of Lei 5), obtained from Drăgănești – Prahova in 1976, held the national record title with 211.67 C.I.C. points, and the boar trophy (postage stamp with the face value of Lei 12), approved with 144.0 C.I.C. points, originates from the Cornuleasa – Ilfov hunting fund.
All these trophies were presented and evaluated at international exhibitions, along with other medalled Romanian trophies.
On the special block of 4 imperforated stamps it was used as a photo source an image from the heritage of the National Archives of Romania.
Romfilatelia thanks Eng. Vladimir Horia Talpeș, Ph.D., Manager within the General Association of Hunters and Anglers in Romania for the documentary support granted to the development of this postage stamps issue.
