Philately is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps. For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare or reside only in museums.
Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth century with the rapid growth of the postal service, as a stream of new stamps was produced by countries that sought to advertise their distinctiveness through their stamps.
The economy of Vatican City is mainly supported financially by the sale of stamps, coins, medals, and tourist mementos as well as fees for admission to museums and publication sales. Vatican City employed 4,822 people in 2016.
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects.
The penny, formally known as the cent, is a coin in the United States representing one-hundredth of a dollar. It has been the lowest face-value physical unit of U.S. currency since the abolition of the half-cent in 1857.
Indian postal systems for efficient military and governmental communications had developed long before the arrival of Europeans. When the Portuguese, Dutch, French, Danish and British conquered the Marathas who had already defeated the Mughals, their postal systems existed alongside those of many somewhat independent states. The British East India Company gradually annexed the other powers on the sub-continent and brought into existence a British administrative system over most of modern-day India, with a need to establish and maintain both official and commercial mail systems.
Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal systems. The term is attributed to Robson Lowe, a professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer, who made the first organised study of the subject in the 1930s and described philatelists as "students of science", but postal historians as "students of humanity". More precisely, philatelists describe postal history as the study of rates, routes, markings, and means.
The Indian rupee is the official currency in India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 paise. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve Bank manages currency in India and derives its role in currency management based on the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
Vatican euro coins are issued by the Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Vatican City State and minted by Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS), in Rome, Italy. The euro is the official currency of the Vatican City, although Vatican City is not a member of the Eurozone or the European Union. The euro has been the official currency of Vatican City since 2002. Before that, the Vatican lira was the official currency.
The Department of Posts, d/b/a India Post, is an Indian public sector postal system statutory body headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is an organisation under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world, and India is the country that has the largest number of post offices in the world. It is involved in delivering mail (post), remitting money by money orders, accepting deposits under Small Savings Schemes, providing life insurance coverage under Postal Life Insurance (PLI) and Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) and providing retail services like bill collection, sale of forms, etc.
The history of the rupee traces back to ancient times in the Indian subcontinent. The mention of rūpya by Pāṇini is seemingly the earliest reference in a text about coins. The term in Indian subcontinent was used for referring to a coin.
The Hyderabadi Rupee was the currency of the Hyderabad State from 1918 to 1959. It co-existed with the Indian rupee from 1950. Like the Indian rupee, it was divided into 16 annas, each of 12 pai. Coins were issued in copper for denominations of 1 and 2 pai and 1⁄2 anna, in cupro-nickel for 1 anna and in silver for 2, 4 and 8 annas and 1 rupee.
A postal museum is a museum dedicated to the display of objects relating to the postal service. A subcategory of postal museums are philatelic museums, which focus on philately and postage stamps.
The Bank of Canada Museum, formerly known as the Currency Museum, opened in 1980 on the ground floor of the Bank of Canada building in Ottawa, Ontario. Temporarily closed in 2013 for major building renovations, the museum reopened in a new space on July 1, 2017, in a new building, with a completely new design and concept. It is, however, connected to the main building through the Bank of Canada's underground conference centre.
Devendra Fadnavis is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra since 5 December 2024. He previously served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, alongside Ajit Pawar in the Eknath Shinde government. He previously held the position of Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 31 October 2014 to 12 November 2019. From 2019 to 2022, he served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. He was the President of BJP's Maharashtra state unit from 2013 to 2015. He became Chief Minister at the age of 44, making him the second-youngest in Maharashtra's history after Sharad Pawar.
Amruta Fadnavis is an Indian banker, actress, singer and social activist who is the current Spouse of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for a non-consecutive second term. She was also the Spouse of the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra between 2022 & 2024. She holds the post of vice-president with Axis Bank.
The 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election was held on 21 October 2019 to elect all 288 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. After a 61.4% turnout in the election, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena (SHS) won a majority. Following differences over the government formation, the alliance was dissolved, precipitating a political crisis.
The chief ministership of Devendra Fadnavis began on 31 October 2014 and ended on 12 November 2019, making him the 18th Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Fadnavis was sworn in by the then governor, C. Vidyasagar Rao. His second term started on 23 November 2019 to end on 28 November 2019, sworn in by the then governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari. His second term ended after the 2019 Maharashtra political crisis. A member of the Maha Yuti alliance, he served as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra with Ajit Pawar after the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis. He is currently serving as the chief minister, sworn in by the current governor, C. P. Radhakrishnan on 5 December 2024 for a third term.
