Additional Europa designs display variations on ‘Think Green’ theme: New Stamps of the World

By Denise McCarty

In most years, European postal administrations that belong to PostEurop create their own Europa stamp designs based on a central theme. For 2016, however, PostEurop decided on a common design in honor of the 60th anniversary of Europa stamps.

Doxia Sergidou of Cyprus Post won the contest to create the common stamp design. Based on the subject “Think Green,” the design shows a hand using a paint roller to transform a gray city landscape into a green one, including birds, wind turbines, leaves, and a bicyclist.

In addition to the common design, many postal administrations are issuing Think Green stamps with their own designs.

For example, on the four stamps being issued May 3 by Jersey, the common design and the Europa logo appear on the £1.29 high denomination, and the other three stamps depict words and phrases.

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Rachel MacKenzie, Jersey Post’s philatelic marketing manager, said: “We decided to take a typographic approach to the stamp designs, using words and phrases relating to sustainability and the environment.”

“The words have been arranged in the shape of a head, the island of Jersey and a globe to illustrate that protecting the planet starts with the individual but that it is something that needs to be done together as a community and collectively around the world.” The denominations are 74p, 76p and £1.

Two Degrees North in Guernsey designed the stamps for Jersey Post. They were printed in separate panes of 10 with illustrations of leaves in the selvage.

The Netherlands issued a se-tenant pair of Europa stamps April 25 in a pane of 10. One stamp shows the common design, and the other pictures a bicycle produced by the Dutch firm Vanmoof.

Both stamps are nondenominated, paying the basic international rate. Both also include the Europa logo.

Beukers Scholma created the illustration of the bicycle, and Haico Beukers and Marga Scholma designed the stamps.

Azerbaijan features an electric scooter on its additional Europa stamp. The design by Yauheniya Biadonik depicts a girl riding her scooter through a city park with flowers in the foreground and a green truck and city buildings in the background.

The stamp is nondenominated. Belarus Post reports that the “H” on the stamp means that it pays the international surface rate for letters weighing up to 20 grams. The stamp was issued April 5.

Liechtenstein issued two 1.50-franc Europa stamps March 7. Like the common design, the second design also was created for a competition.

The winning illustration by Aurora Corrado is called “Rethinking Green.”

Liechtenstein’s philatelic office described Corrado’s illustration as showing Earth divided into two parts: one with skyscrapers and industrial buildings in “unfriendly colours,” and the other with a green landscape showing mountains, flowers, trees and a rainbow.

This stamp is printed tete-beche (one stamp is upside-down in relation to the other) in panes of 16.

Gibraltar, Aland, and Switzerland all focused on the brain on their additional Think Green stamps.

The £1.50 stamp issued March 30 by Gibraltar shows the leaves of a tree forming a brain. Pictured above the tree are symbols, including the outline of a smiling face, representing “green” thoughts and actions, according to the Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau.

Giordano Aita and Stephen Perera designed the stamp.

Carl-Johan Listherby’s illustration for the stamp from Aland also shows a tree as a brain, this time inside the head of a person wearing glasses.

The stamp is non-denominated with the inscription “Europa,” indicating that it is for use for mail to Europe. Aland Post will issue it May 9.

BDT Security Printers printed the Gibraltar stamps in panes of eight, and Cartor printed the stamps for Aland in sheets of 30.

The 1-franc stamp from Switzerland depicts leaves inside a person’s green brain. Additional leaves and a butterfly are shown around the head.

Nicola Carpi and Dina Christ designed this stamp. Swiss Post is issuing it May 4 in panes of 16, with eight of each of the two Europa stamps.

Flora and fauna are featured on some of the other additional Europa stamps.

For instance, a stamp issued April 12 by Moldova shows flowers and a butterfly surrounding a green silhouette of a woman.

On a stamp issued April 28, Iceland pictures marine creatures on one half of its design, and ocean pollution on the other.

Denmark issued a souvenir sheet with two se-tenant Europa stamps March 31. It calls the additional design “Thinking Greener.” The Postnord Bulletin describes this design by Jakob Monefeldt and Ella Clausen as two hands “holding our fragile planet which is gently protected by green leaves.”

Other postal administrations added their own touch to the common design by placing additional images in the selvage. On its pane of eight stamps with two central labels, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Croat Administration) continued the gray clouds and green wind turbine from the common design into the selvage. 

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