Today we’ll travel around the world to see some interesting new stamps that were issued in October 2023. We’ll see famous toon and movie characters as well as animals and musical instruments. We’ll travel to Algeria, Australia, the UK, and the USA.

Royal Mail: Harry Potter stamps (2023)

Once again, the Royal mail did the great job. They combined well-known (book ad film) series) with the beautiful design. And, this resulted in one more perfect series of Harry Potter-related stamps.

Harry Potter: The Battle of Hogwarts

UK – 2023/10/19

1^st class

Ron Weasley and The Weasley Twins, Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy,

Minerva McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt, Fenrir Greyback and Scabior,

Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, Lord Voldemort and a Death Eater,

Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, Severus Snape and Alecto Carrow,

Hermione Granger and Molly Weasley, Draco Malfoy and Gregory Goyle

On these stamps, we can see many familiar characters, good ones, as well evil ones. So, no wonder, we’ll see Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Lord Voldemort, Professor Severus Snape once more on stamps.

Harry Potter: The Battle of Hogwarts – Prestige  Stamp Book

UK – 2023/10/19

This time, Royal Mail has gone one step further and issued Prestige Stamp Book. Let’s use their words to describe it:

"A remarkable, fact-filled souvenir, perfect for fans to treasure.

A stunning 24-page publication packed with stories, insights and images exploring the dark magic behind the horcruxes and the Golden Trio’s perilous quest to destroy them and defeat the Dark Lord.

Contains the issue’s 10 Special Stamps, the Miniature Sheet perforated as panes and a Definitive pane of five stamps unique to the issue."

Harry Potter: The Battle of Hogwarts – Collector Sheet

UK – 2023/10/19

1^st class

Hedwig, Aragog, Dobby, Crookshanks, Fawkes, Buckbeak

There are other stamps too, but I would like to focus on one more sheet with 6 stamps depicting “Creatures and Beings”. On these 6 1^st class stamps we can see owl Hedwig, giant spider Aragog, big-hearted house-elf Dobby, Hermione’s cat Crookshanks, Fawkes the phoenix, Buckbeak the hippogriff.

Woodland Animals, Disney and musical stamps

After the Harry Potter stamps, let’s move across the ocean to the USA.

Winter Woodland Animals

USA – 2023/10/10

Forever

deer, rabbit, owl, fox

With the winter season in front of us, the United States Postal Service dedicated 4 stamps to common and famous winter woodland animals – deer, fox, rabbit, and owl.

“Mark the change of the season with 4 beloved animals that live in the woods of North America. The stamps feature a deer, fox, rabbit, and owl. The animals appear with details of their habitat in the winter such as a moon, snow-covered trees, holly branches with berries, and delicate snowflakes.” (usps.com)

Disney in Australia

Australia – 2023/10/03

AUD $1.20

Nemo in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales (Finding Nemo)

Ariel at the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland borders (The Little Mermaid)

Mickey and Minnie Mouse on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Kanga and Roo in the Red Centre, Northern Territory

In October 2023, Australia decided to issue 4 stamps related to 100 year anniversary of the Wald Disney company. 16 October 1923, is now considered as the founding date of the Walt Disney Company.

“Generations of Australians have grown up with Disney. In this exciting collaboration between Australia Post and Disney, four postage stamps have been issued to celebrate a century of our favourite iconic animated characters. Inspired by Disney’s timeless magic, these stamps have been designed to embrace Disney’s history, but with a decidedly Aussie flavour. In these vignettes we see popular Disney characters explore the wonders of our big, beautiful continent, from the tropical north to the southern coast.” (https://australiapostcollectables.com.au/stamp-issues/disney-100)

Traditional Music of Algeria: Ghayta and Zorna

Algeria – 2023/10

2 * 25 Algerian dinar

For the last 2 stamps, I’ve left 2 stamps coming from Algeria related to music. The first one depicts ghayta (rhaita), an instrument from West North Africa, specifically Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania. The second one depicts the zorna group from Algeria

Don’t forget to check the next article where we’ll cover new interesting stamps from November 2023. We can already see some very interesting issues.