Japan 1952 – Southern Cross and the Plough 

Two stamps commemorating the 75th anniversary of Japan’s membership of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) depict the most distinctive star patterns in both the southern and northern hemispheres. The 5-yen stamp shows an idealized Southern Cross above the davits of a ship, representing sea mail, while on the 10-yen stamp the seven stars of the Plough fills the sky over the northern hemisphere of the Earth, with Japan itself at lower left. 

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