Joint issue stamps honor Express Mail Service Cooperative

By Linn’s Staff

At least 20 postal administrations participated in a joint issue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Express Mail Service (EMS) Cooperative.

The Universal Postal Union created this cooperative to develop express delivery worldwide on Sept. 10, 1999, at its 22nd congress held in Beijing, China. The international service is now available in about 200 countries and territories worldwide.

Most of the stamps in the joint issue were issued on Sept. 10, 2019, the anniversary of the founding date, according to information from the EMS Cooperative.

All of the stamps feature the same basic design that is shown nearby on the €2 stamp issued by Malta.

This basic design includes the EMS logo at the top, a world map in the center and the UPU flag in the lower left. The flag of the postal administration that issued the stamp appears above the UPU flag.

Each stamp also includes a country inscription, the denomination and text that reads or translates to “Delivering Excellence 1999-2019” in one line with “UPU Ems Cooperative” below it. The design was created by the UPU’s International Bureau.

In addition to Malta, the following postal administrations participated in this joint issue, according to a press release from the EMS Cooperative: Chile, Cyprus, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mexico, Mongolia, Paraguay, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Wallis and Futuna.

Some postal administrations may have issued more than one stamp, and other postal administrations may have participated in this joint issue.

Connect with Linn’s Stamp News: 

    Sign up for our newsletter
    Like us on Facebook
    Follow us on Twitter