[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Experience Nature – Butterflies of Saba

• Issue date: 30 March 2026
• Format: sheet of 10 stamps in 10 different designs, denomination 1 for items up to 20 grams destined for addresses within the Netherlands
• Item number: 460361
• Design: Frank Janse, Gouda
• Photography: Alamy, Wikimedia Commons (Anne Toal, Annika Lindqvist, Charles J. Sharp)
On 30 March 2026, PostNL will issue Experience Nature – Butterflies of Saba, a sheet of 10 stamps with 10 different designs. Each stamp bears denomination 1 for items up to 20 grams with a destination within the Netherlands. The price for a sheet of 10 stamps is €14.00 (currently US $16.18).

This stamp sheet featuring the butterflies of Saba is part of the multi-year Experience nature series dedicated to the Caribbean Netherlands from 2024 to 2026. Each year, 4 stamp sheets are released, each with 10 different stamps depicting plants and animals found in this part of the Kingdom. These islands boast an extraordinary biodiversity by Dutch standards, with thousands of plant and animal species.

In 2026, the focus will successively be on birds, butterflies, underwater life and flora of the windward island of Saba. The 2nd stamp sheet, Experience Nature – Butterflies of Saba, gives centre stage to the following butterflies:

• Dorantes Longtail
• Mangrove Buckeye
• Julia butterfly (orange passionflower butterfly)
• Caribbean Duskywing
• Ruddy Daggerwing
• Cassius Blue
• Zebra Longwing
• Tropical White
• Orcus Checkered‑Skipper
• Red Rim.

The island of Saba, like Bonaire and Sint Eustatius, has a special status within the Netherlands. Collectively, these three islands are known as the Caribbean Netherlands. Together with Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, they form the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Saba belongs to the windward islands, a term referring to their position relative to the prevailing north-easterly trade winds. Saba lies 30 kilometres [18.6 miles] northwest of Sint Eustatius and 45 kilometres [28 miles] southwest of Sint Maarten. Roughly circular, the island measures about 4.5 kilometres [2.8 miles] across and covers an area of 13 square kilometres [5 square miles]. Geologically, Saba is a dormant volcano with four lava domes. Its slopes descend steeply to the sea, and its coastline is rocky. At 870 metres [2,854 feet], Mount Scenery is the highest point in the Netherlands. The climate is humid tropical, and the island is covered with secondary rainforest.

North of Saba lies Green Island, a small uninhabited rocky islet that also belongs to the island territory. To the south lies the Saba Bank, an underwater coral island. The Saba Bank is part of the Saba National Marine Park, a marine reserve of 1,300 hectares (about 3200 acres) surrounding the entire coastline. Saba also has a national land park of about 43 hectares (106 acres). Butterflies on the island are mainly found in areas where flowering plants occur: in gardens, along the edges of the rainforest, in open spaces in the higher mountain zones and along hiking trails. These habitats are characterised by the necessary supply of food (nectar) and shelter. The variation in altitude and microclimate on Saba contributes to the diversity of the approximately 30 butterfly species found on the island.

Butterflies are an order of winged insects, with a total of approximately 160,000 described species. The collective name is Lepidoptera. This word comes from Greek: lepis means scale and ptera means wings. The literal translation is therefore “scale‑winged insects”. The wings of butterflies are indeed covered with scales that absorb light in different ways, creating the visible colours and patterns. Of all butterfly species in the world, around 265 occur in the Caribbean Netherlands, both resident species and occasional visitors. A study of the butterfly fauna of the Dutch Windward Islands Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten shows that Saba alone is home to around 30 species. This number does not differ greatly from Sint Eustatius, despite the differences in size, habitability and vegetation. Species numbers on Saba are relatively stable, although threats such as habitat loss, the introduction of exotic species and changes in land use may pose risks.

The stamp sheet Experience Nature – Butterflies of Saba was designed by graphic designer Frank Janse from Gouda. All butterflies are portrayed in their natural environment, each on their own stamp. In several locations, the designer added graphic elements derived from symbols used on old topographic maps. These symbols indicate features such as landscape formations, contour lines, vegetation, soil structures and waterways. The design is also characterised by an additional transparent layer featuring monochrome images (both white and coloured) of characteristic flora and fauna from this region. These transparent images are rendered in an almost abstract way, extend across the perforations and link the stamps both to one another and to the sheet border. The following plants and animals are depicted in this way: lantana (top left), Monkey Leaf (top right and centre of the sheet), zebra butterfly (centre right) and the caterpillar of the zebra butterfly (bottom left).

“This island, like Sint Eustatius, is a windward island. They are close to each other and very similar,” says Janse. “Saba is more volcanic, which means more fertile soil. It is also mainly hilly and mountainous, with fewer plains than Sint Eustatius. Both islands have roughly the same number of butterfly species, despite the difference in size and vegetation. In many cases, they are the same species.”

The decisions about which plants and animals to depict in this series were made in 2023.

“Because of the overlap between the butterfly species on the Windward Islands, we determined the distribution in advance. This allowed us to assign an equal number of beautiful butterflies to each island.”

Butterflies in flight are difficult to photograph. That is why only photos of butterflies at rest are used on the stamps, most of them with wings spread. “That way they fit perfectly into the landscape‑oriented stamp format,” says Janse.

Technical Specifications:
Stamp size: 40 x 30 mm
Sheet size: 122 x 170 mm
Paper: normal with phosphor coating
Gumming: self-adhesive
Printing technique: offset
Colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black
Print run: 275,000 sheets
Format: sheet of 10 stamps in 10 different designs
Denomination: 1 for items up to 20 grams destined for addresses within the Netherlands
Design: Frank Janse, Gouda
Photography: Alamy, Wikimedia Commons (Anne Toal, Annika Lindqvist, Charles J. Sharp)
Printer: Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number: 460361

Note: PostNL does not sell directly to collectors in North America. Its website refers to a company called Nordfirm, which says it sells Dutch new issues at face value. The Virtual Stamp Club has no connection to this company.

Collectors may also wish to contact the U.S. firm Bombay Stamps, which can also obtain first day covers upon request, with lower shipping fees. The email is sales@bombaystamps.com Again, The Virtual Stamp Club has no connection to this company.

[from PostNL press material] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Dutch Waterlines

Issue date: March 30, 2026Item number: 860029
Designer: Bart de Haas, Den Haag
Photographers: Bart de Haas, Martin van Lokven, Kenneth Stamp, Kim Sterenborg, A.J. van der Wal
Floorplans: Bart de Haas, Johan van der Zwart
Topographic Maps: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

On March 30, 2026, PostNL will issue the Dutch Waterlines stamp sheet, featuring photos and maps of 19th- and early 20th-century defensive works in the Netherlands. The Dutch Waterlines is the collective name for the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie and the Stelling van Amsterdam. By flooding land during wartime, these defensive lines were able to protect the west of the Netherlands against the enemy. The Dutch Waterlines stamps bear the value indication 1 for mail weighing up to 20 grams with a destination within the Netherlands. The design of the stamps was created by graphic designer Bart de Haas from The Hague. The price for a sheet of 10 stamps is €14 (current US$16.28).

In addition to the official issuance program, PostNL has an annual issuance program for framed stamps (“kaderpostzegels”). This program is flexible. Each issue is designed based on a fixed layout, with a fixed number of framed stamps. The stamps are available, while stocks last, exclusively via the webshop and from Collect Club customer service at telephone number 088 – 868 99 00.

The Subject
The New Dutch Water Line and the Amsterdam Defence Line together form the Dutch Water Lines. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a 200-kilometer-long defensive line comprising 96 forts, 6 fortresses, and 2 castles. In wartime situations, the west of the Netherlands could be protected against the enemy by flooding wide strips of land up to knee height. This rendered the land impassable for soldiers, vehicles, or horses, while the water remained too shallow for boats.

Construction of the New Dutch Water Line began in 1815 as an improvement and expansion of the 17th-century Old Dutch Water Line. A new construction phase followed in 1880 with the creation of the Amsterdam Defence Line. Should the enemy break through the New Dutch Water Line, the Amsterdam Defence Line would serve as the last refuge for the military staff, the government, and the royal family. In addition to the system of sluices, dikes, and canals to flood land, forts were built at passages and other strategic locations. The New Dutch Water Line and the Amsterdam Defence Line are among the largest military World Heritage Sites in the world, along with the Roman Limes and the Great Wall of China. The New Dutch Water Line was flooded, either wholly or partially, three times due to threats of war: in 1870 (Franco-Prussian War), in 1914–1918 (World War I), and in 1939–1940 (in the run-up to World War II). The Amsterdam Defence Line never saw active service.

There are 96 forts that are part of the Dutch Water Lines. De Haas has depicted 10 of them on the stamps, based on three criteria: the construction period, the type of defensive structure, and the geographical location.

“Last November and December, I went on five bike rides to view and photograph the forts myself,” de Haas said. Some of the forts were not open in the winter, so instead he used existing photographs. “Cropped sections of all the photos were used, and the photo itself was sometimes edited to emphasize the characteristics of the structure,” he added, “and also to provide a bit more variety, with, for example, sunny shots juxtaposed with dramatic cloudy skies.”

The individual stamps measure 30 x 40 mm, the sheet 170 x 122 mm.

Note: PostNL does not sell directly to collectors in North America. Its website refers to a company called Nordfirm, which says it sells Dutch new issues at face value. The Virtual Stamp Club has no connection to this company.

Collectors may also wish to contact the U.S. firm Bombay Stamps, which can also obtain first day covers upon request, with lower shipping fees. The email is sales@bombaystamps.com Again, The Virtual Stamp Club has no connection to this company.