Lesson: Commemorative Covers are Lame.

Well, I got the first day cover that commemorates the 35th anniversary of the establishment diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia that I mentioned a couple of posts ago.

Except that it's not a first day cover, it's a commemorative cover, which is a slightly different beast. I guess I should read the news article properly next time!

The difference between the two is that first day covers are specially-designed envelopes stuck on with specially-designed stamps, and marked with a specially-designed postmark. A commemorative cover is a specially-designed envelope... and that's it.

All in all, it's an unremarkable affair, especially if you're used to well-designed first day covers (not that Malaysian first day covers are well-designed... but I digress). Oh sure, a commemorative cover has a stamp printed right on to it but that's just like an overglorified aerogramme. Lame.

On the whole, what a disappointment. I haven't been collecting first day covers for years and was hoping to get back into it with a really cool cover but I guess this was not to be. I was expecting much more effort for something like this. Hopefully the next one will be more interesting but I doubt it. The next theme planned is "Conservation of the Environment" which isn't exactly an inspiring theme.