[excerpted from the press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
2022 Children’s Welfare Stamps

Date of issue: 10 October 2022
Appearance: sheetlet of five special stamps in five different designs, marked with ‘1’, the denomination for mail up to 20 g in weight destined for delivery in the Netherlands, with a € 0.48 surcharge
Item number: 420960
Illustrations: Tim Artz, Nijmegen
Design: Ellen Hagenaars, Amsterdam
Colouring: Dorith Graef, AmsterdamOn 10 October 2022, PostNL will issue a new stamp sheetlet with Children’s Welfare Stamps marked with ‘1’ for destinations within the Netherlands. This year, the five stamps are dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Donald Duck magazine. Since 1924, PostNL has been issuing Children’s Welfare Stamps to raise money for projects aimed at improving the welfare of vulnerable children. This is achieved by adding a € 0.48 surcharge to each stamp. The proceeds from all surcharges will be used for projects developed by the independent Stichting Kinderpostzegels Nederland. The foundation is committed to giving children in both the Netherlands and in other countries a chance of a better life. To make this aid possible, the foundation organises, among other things, the Children’s Welfare Stamps campaign. The campaign has been listed in the Dutch National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2017.

This year, more than 140,000 pupils from the last two years of primary schools will be taking orders for the Children’s Welfare Stamps from 28 September up to and including 5 October. PostNL will deliver all orders from 11 October. The proceeds from the 2021 campaign amounted to 8.5 million Euro. This year’s Children’s Welfare Theme is ‘give children the wind in their sails.’ Some children have difficulty concentrating or lack self-confidence due to personal circumstances. As a result, they do not manage to achieve their full potential. The Stichting Kinderpostzegels helps these children by, for example, coaching them individually or training them to increase their self-confidence and motivation.

The first Dutch Donald Duck weekly magazine was published on 25 October 1952, 70 years ago this year. In other countries, similar monthly or weekly magazines had already existed for some time, such as Topolino in Italy, Micky Maus in Germany, Mickey Magazine in Belgium and Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories in the US. Over the first few years, the Dutch pages were alternately printed in colour and black-and-white, but in 1954 the first issue appeared entirely in colour.

The current Donald Duck magazine is published by DPG Media Magazines B.V. in the Benelux. Nowadays, most of the stories in the magazine are conceived and drawn in the Netherlands. According to DPG Media, Donald Duck weekly magazine is the largest family and men’s magazine in the Netherlands, with a circulation of over 200,000. Through the use of both offline and online media, the magazine’s brand awareness is almost 100%, and the loyalty of its readers is incredibly strong.

This year, the Museum of Comic Art in Noordwijk aan Zee has organised a special exhibition dedicated to the Netherlands’ most cheerful weekly magazine until 30 October 2022.

Previous Dutch Disney Issues
This isn’t the first time PostNL has issued stamps and stamp products featuring Walt Disney characters. In 2009, for example, a stamp booklet dedicated to the 101 Dalmatians appeared, followed in 2010 by the first issue in a long-running series of personal stamps starring Donald Duck. In 2012, PostNL issued a 12-part series with post sets featuring cards and stamps about Donald Duck in relation to the 12 Dutch provinces.

Background
Pascal de Smit, Director of Stichting Kinderpostzegels: ‘For the first time in the long history of Children’s Welfare Stamps, they feature a true international cartoon hero: Donald Duck, and with a story to boot. We see May help Huey with his homework: children helping children. Louie, April and June go to school without a care in the world: this is the mission we are so passionate about.’

Ferdi Felderhof, editor-in-chief of Donald Duck magazine: ‘These Children’s Welfare Stamps are truly the icing on our anniversary cake. We are incredibly proud that Donald Duck and his family are appearing on the Children’s Welfare Stamps. There are few magazines for young people that are read by multiple generations. We want these stamps to exude that family feeling and the happiness of children too.’

The Design
The 2022 Children’s Welfare Stamps feature various characters who appear in the comic strips in Donald Duck magazine. The sheetlet includes four equally sized stamps and one double-sized stamp in the middle. The following inhabitants of Duckburg make their appearance: Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey and Louie, April, May and June, Chip and Dale and Neighbor J. Jones.

The action takes place in Donald Duck’s house and front yard. The illustrations on the stamp sheet feature various recurring themes of Stichting Kinderpostzegels Nederland, including children helping each other and every child getting to school safely. The illustration continues on the edge of the sheet, which also features the logos of 70 years of Donald Duck, the Children’s Welfare Stamps campaign, and PostNL. On the stamps themselves, the denomination and the surcharge are printed in the top left-hand corner, with the country (Netherlands) in the bottom right-hand corner.

Just like last year, the illustration on the Children’s Welfare Stamps was created by comic strip artist Tim Artz from Nijmegen. While Tom Puss and Olivier B. Bommel took centre stage in 2021, Donald Duck plays the lead in 2022. The focus on the Disney comic characters coincides with the 70-year anniversary of the most cheerful weekly magazine in the Netherlands: Donald Duck.

Every child in our country is introduced to Disney sooner or later. ‘You can’t avoid it,’ says Artz. ‘You’re bound to bump into it at some point. I was about 6 years old when I first watched Disney cartoons on België 2, including episodes of the animated series “Duck Tales” and short films from the 1930s and 1940s. I loved them all. Later, we also had a subscription to the magazine at home and I started collecting albums with the best stories. These were drawn by Carl Barks. That’s when I became a true fan.

‘Barks was not only a very good artist, but also a proper storyteller. Just like Marten Toonder. Barks created Duckburg characters like Scrooge McDuck, Neighbor Jones, Gyro Gearloose, the Beagle Boys, and so on. All incredibly fascinating.’

Artz published his drawings on Internet forums, so his talent was quickly noticed, first by Disney, later by the Toonder Company. ‘I now work for both. The comics I create for Disney have a strong cartoony character. It’s mainly slapstick. I can have a lot of fun with it, also by adding my own details and little jokes.’

The basic idea for the illustration on the 2022 Children’s Welfare Stamps came from the editorial staff of Donald Duck magazine. ‘They provided me with a sketch of the house, with Donald standing in the door. Other Disney characters had also been put where the other stamps were supposed to go. I started to elaborate on that, also by adding new characters. Like Neighbor Jones on the edge of the sheet on the left, for example. And Chip and Dale on the edge of the sheet on the right. In the original sketch, Scrooge McDuck was missing. I included him because to me he is an important figure in the Duckburg stories. ’

More about Children’s Welfare Stamps
Children’s Welfare Stamps were first issued in 1924 to give children orphaned due to the Spanish flu a safe home. The rich history shows many milestones. Stichting Kinderpostzegels Nederland helps thousands of children become more confident, in both the Netherlands and beyond.

Technical Details
Stamp size: 4 stamps measuring 36 x 25 mm and 1 stamp measuring 36 x 50 mm:
Sheet size: 144 x 75 mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Glue: synthetic
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black
Print run: 1,232,000 sheets
Format: sheet of 5 stamps in 5 different designs
Illustration: Tim Artz, Nijmegen
Design: Ellen Hagenaars, Amsterdam
Colouring: Dorith Graef, Amsterdam
Printing company: Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number: 420960:

[excerpted from the PostNL press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
World Animal Day

Issue date: 4 October
Sheet of five stamps in five different designs marked ‘Internationaal 1’, the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for delivery outside the Netherlands
Design: Sandra Smulders – Vormgoed, Gouda
Item number: 820057

With the issue of the World Animal Day stamp sheet on 4 October 2022, PostNL highlights the celebration of this unique day dedicated to animals. World Animal Day was introduced in 1925 and has been celebrated in the Netherlands since 1930. On the five stamps, five different animal species draw our attention to animal welfare, along with practical tips on how we can offer help to animals in need. These stamps are marked ‘Internationaal 1’, the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for delivery outside of the Netherlands.

The World Animal Day stamp sheet features five postage stamps in five designs within the fixed frame of the personal stamp. The stamps feature photographic portraits of different animals, with

• ducklings,
• a goat,
• a seal,
• a cat and
• a hedgehog

from left to right. On all pictures on the stamps, the animal looks at the viewer, just like the dog on the edge of the sheet. The square green text logo of World Animal Day is featured alternately on the top right and bottom left of the stamps. The short texts on the tabs below the stamps give practical tips on how people can truly help animals. This is the first time PostNL has issued a sheet of personalised stamps with tabs. To the right of the large portrait picture of the dog on the edge of the sheet, the call to help us is featured in large letters. To the left of the dog appears the same World Animal Day text logo as on the stamps, with the date, 4 October, below it. The top left features the international logo of World Animal Day: a hand holding a globe that radiates sunbeams, featuring silhouettes of different animal species.

World Animal Day was conceived by journalist and author Heinrich Zimmerman (1888-1942). This animal rights activist and publisher of Mensch und Hund magazine organised the first World Animal Day, which took place on 24 March 1925. In 1929, he moved the date to 4 October. At the 1931 International Animal Protection Congress in Florence, the proposal to celebrate the day on 4 October all over the globe received unanimous support. The Netherlands held its first large-scale celebration of World Animal Day a year earlier, with an impressive parade through the Hague. The choice of 4 October has everything to do with the fact that this date is the feast day of Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), founder of the Franciscan monastic order and patron saint of animals. According to legend, St Francis once preached a sermon to animals and befriended a wolf.
Source: Origin of World Animal Day, Delpher, Dierenbescherming, Heiligennet, Wikipedia

The World Animal Day sheetlet was designed by graphic designer Sandra Smulders from Gouda. Her design incorporates the goals of World Animal Day, the organisation behind the international celebration of World Animal Day. ‘We know Animal Day or World Animal Day mainly as a day on which you do something extra for your pet,’ says Smulders. ‘But it is way more multifaceted than that. I featured the most important facets on the stamp sheet, including the importance of animal rights and animal welfare. And also the practical help we can offer animals in need. In this way, I want to increase awareness of the problems animals can get into and of the fact that we can do something about it.’

Based on these principles, Smulders chose the theme Help Us? as the common theme for her design. ‘This way you appeal to people directly. With such a theme, you must obviously choose images of animals that are looking at the viewer. And that is exactly what the Labrador puppy on the sheet edge and the various animals on the stamps are doing. On the tab next to each stamp is a brief text about practical ways to help animals. That’s the idea behind it, that people actually spring into action.’

The advantage of tabs is that you can tear them off along the perforation and stick them on a card or letter together with the stamp. Smulders: ‘That way you don’t only reach the senders but also the recipients with the practical tips. Of course, there is limited space to tell the whole story, but the key issues around animal welfare are there. It is also quite fitting that I was able to design international stamps for a subject like World Animal Day. It suits the subject.’

Availability:
The stamps are available while stocks last at www.postnl.nl/collect and can be ordered by telephone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number +31 (0)88 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.

Technical Details:
Stamp size: 30 x 40mm (w x h)
Sheet size : 170 x 122 mm (w x h)
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, black
Appearance: personal stamps with the denomination ‘Internationaal 1′, : the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for : delivery outside the Netherlands.
Print run: 5000 per issue
Item number: 820057
Issue date: 4 October 2022

[from a PostNL press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
[Note: On any PostNL in Dutch, look for the <NL at the top of the page, above the search box. Click on the left-facing triangle and you should be offered <EN.]

Date of issue: 22 September 2022
Format: stamp sheet with one crypto stamp marked R for registered mail up to and including 2 kg destined for delivery within the Netherlands
Item number: 420862
Design: David Gruber, Vienna (Austria)
Collaboration: joint issue of a Dutch and an Austrian crypto stamp with a digital twin in the blockchain

On 22 September 2022, PostNL issued the NL crypto stamp, marked with R for registered mail weighing up to 2 kg destined for delivery inside of the Netherlands. Each physical postage stamp has a digital twin in the blockchain. The NL crypto stamp is the first crypto stamp to be issued by PostNL. In addition, it is also the world’s first ever joint issue of a crypto stamp. PostNL and Österreichische Post are simultaneously issuing their own crypto stamp based on the same design, featuring the colours of the respective country’s flag, each with the same symbol but with a different denomination. Another special feature is the fact that collectors can reserve their copy of the NL crypto stamp from 2 September 2022.

Crypto stamps are a recent phenomenon. In 2019, Austria’s national postal service, Österreichische Post AG, became the first postal service in the world to issue a crypto stamp. It was followed by Gibraltar, Croatia, Liechtenstein, Malta, the United Arab Emirates, the UN and Switzerland. With the NL crypto stamp, PostNL is next in line. As is the case with other crypto stamps, each individual NL crypto stamp is linked to a digital twin in the blockchain. Blockchain is a computer technology that uses distributed databases to secure the ownership of crypto money and other digital assets such as crypto art and crypto stamps. These digital items are also known as NFTs, non-fungible tokens. You can view the digital twin of your NL crypto stamp on a computer or smartphone at any time. It is also possible to store it in a digital collection or sell it using a digital wallet.

How Does It Work?
Activate the NFC function on your smartphone. Hold your phone near the NL crypto stamp to check its authenticity.

Each NL crypto stamp has a digital twin with a particular colour in the blockchain. There are five different colours, some of which are more common than others. Activate your NL crypto stamp to discover the colour of the digital twin. Scan the QR-code on the front or enter code [1] and code [A] on the reverse at NLcryptostamp.nl [link is to the English-language version].

Design
The stamp sheet with the NL crypto stamp is the size of a bank card and is made of extra strong reinforced paper. The physical stamp has been affixed to the front of the stamp sheet, in the centre. The stamp can be detached along the perforated edges. The background of both the sheet and the stamp feature the stripes of the Dutch flag with an added crystal structure. A pattern of silver tulips runs across the flag.

As was the case with the previous crypto stamp issues by Österreichische Post, the design of this jointly issued crypto stamp features a unique symbol. Designs for the earlier Austrian editions included a unicorn, a whale and a panda. The PostNL and Österreichische Post version features the silver silhouette of a bull’s head in the top left-hand corner. The bull is not just a symbol of courage and perseverance; it also represents ‘bull markets’, which is how the world of the stock exchange refers to rising markets.

The denomination R for registered mail is printed in the top right-hand corner of the stamp and a QR code with a link to the digital twin can be found in the bottom right-hand corner. The country (Nederland) and the year (2022) are printed in the bottom left-hand corner of the stamp. The reverse of the stamp sheet features a number of codes, a QR code and a ‘secret word list’ for viewing, storing and selling the digital twin of the NL crypto stamp in the blockchain. The image on the reverse is the same as that on the front, with the Dutch tricolour, the crystal structure and the silver tulips. The upper right-hand corner of the reverse features the unicorn logo, which has been used as a symbol for crypto stamps since the very first issue by Austria in 2019.

The issue of the NL crypto stamp is groundbreaking for several reasons. It is the first crypto stamp PostNL has ever issued and it is also the first joint issue (together with Österreichische Post) of a crypto stamp worldwide. It is also unusual that collectors and other interested parties were able to reserve a copy through an official presale.

Stephan van den Eijnden, commercial director of PostNL Mail Nederland, agrees that this issue is unusual. ‘We have been receiving a lot of interest since the end of May, when we announced that we would be issuing our first Dutch crypto stamp this autumn. The Dutch are becoming more and more interested in the world of crypto. But until now, the general public only knew of these products by name. With the NL crypto stamp, we are making NFTs accessible to a wider audience. We hope that this will make more people eager to discover this new way of collecting. Because stamps are timeless!’

Van den Eijnden adds ‘ the basic design is the same. But with a different denomination, different flags (of course) and also a different national flower. What the tulip is to the Netherlands, the edelweiss is to Austria.’

Colors
The digital twins are stored in the blockchain in five different colours. The likelihood of getting a particular colour depends on the colour: there are 1,400 red, 9,334 yellow, 18,666 blue, 37,334 green and 73,266 black stamps. So a red digital twin is much rarer than a black one, for example. The digital twin of the crypto stamp is randomly generated. Scan the QR code on the stamp with a smartphone to find out which colour is linked to your NL crypto stamp.

Austrian Version
Österreichische Post will issue its version of the latest crypto stamp – the Crypto stamp 4.0 – on the same day PostNL issues theirs. Its design is very similar to that of the NL crypto stamp, [with] a few important differences.

Availability
The stamps are available while stocks last in Bruna shops and through the webshop and the onchainshop. The validity period is indefinite. More information about the crypto stamps can be found at NLcryptostamp.nl [link is to the English-language version].

Technical Specifications:
Postage stamp dimensions: 43 x 53 mm
Stamp sheet dimensions: 53.98 x 85.6 x 0.79 mm (+/- 0.05 mm)
Paper: Invercote Creato matt 240 g/m2
Special features: PET film for NFC chip, silver metallic, film and varnish
NFC chip: 384 bytes, AES-SUN NDEF security
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset and screen print
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, black
Print run: 140,000 stamps
Format: stamp sheet with one stamp
Design: David Gruber, Vienna (Austria)
Printer: Variuscard GmbH, Vienna (Austria)
Item number: 420862

[from press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Het Loo Palace

Appearance: 10 personal stamps in 10 different designs, marked with ‘1’, the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for delivery in the Netherlands
Design: studio026, Velp
Photography: Het Loo Palace
Item number: 820058With the Het Loo Palace issue, PostNL highlights the reopening of Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn this year after a thorough renovation. The stamps focus on the personal rooms of queens who lived and worked in the palace. The stamp sheet comprises ten personal stamps in ten different designs. Each stamp is marked ‘1’, the denomination for post weighing up to 20g sent to an address within the Netherlands. The design of Het Loo Palace was created by studio026 in Velp.

The ten stamps included in the Het Loo Palace stamp sheet feature cut-outs of colour photographs of the following 5 rooms in the palace:

• Mary Stuart’s bedchamber
• Sophie of Württemberg’s dressing chamber
• Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont’s sitting room
• Wilhelmina of Orange-Nassau’s sitting room and
• Juliana of Orange-Nassau’s bedroom.

Each room is featured on two stamps, one with an overview picture and one with a detail picture. The details depicted are

• a flower holder (Mary)
• a mirror (Sophie)
• a clock (Emma)
• a table centrepiece (Wilhelmina) and
• a suitcase (Juliana).

The overview picture and detail picture are placed alternately above and below each other. Each detail picture is framed by a geometric line pattern, the basic shape of which is derived from a characteristic pattern in the room in question. This basic shape also returns in the four corners of the picture on the overview stamp.

On the sheet edge, adjacent to the detail pictures, the first names of the female residents are printed in capitals. Adjacent to the overview pictures, the names of their spouses are printed in lower case, using initial capitals. A dotted line connects both stamps via the right-hand perforated edge of the stamps. Next to the names of each queen there is a monochrome portrait; an adaptation of a painting that belongs to the collection of Het Loo Palace. The name of the Het Loo Palace (Paleis Het Loo) stamp sheet can be found along the top edge, across the entire width of the stamp sheet. The lower left tab features the logos of PostNL and Het Loo Palace. The right-hand side of the stamps features a brief description of what we are looking at. The bottom of the sheet edge features an explanation of the issue.

Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn was built in 1686 as a hunting lodge for Stadtholder William III and his wife Mary. After their coronation as King and Queen of England, the residence was converted into a palace and expanded with 4 pavilions and a large garden.

Het Loo Palace was used as a summer residence and working palace for successive generations of the House of Orange-Nassau until 1975.

After an extensive restoration to bring the palace and gardens back to their 17th-century state, the building opened as a museum in 1984. The palace was renovated again between 2018 and 2022 and it was reopened 15 April.

The Het Loo Palace stamps highlight the personal rooms of five female residents of the palace: Mary Stuart (married to King Stadtholder William III from 1677 to 1695), Sophie of Württemberg (married to King William III from 1839 to 1877), Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont (married to King William III from 1879 to 1890), Wilhelmina of Orange-Nassau (married to Prince Hendrik of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1901 to 1934) and Juliana of Orange-Nassau (married to Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld from 1937 to 2004).

The principal characters on the stamps are, in chronological >order,

• Mary Stuart
• Sophie of Württemberg
• Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont
• Wilhelmina of Orange-Nassau and
• Juliana of Orange-Nassau.

Said stamp co-designer Anne Schaufeli, ‘For each lady, we chose a room you can visit in the palace, furnished the way it was during their time. Juliana, for example, lived there as a child, but not later on, which is why you can only visit her bedroom. In contrast, since she stayed there the longest, many of Wilhelmina’s rooms have been restored to their former state … It was difficult to choose, they are all beautiful images.’

The same team of Schaufeli and Huub de Lang designed the Netherlands from the Air (2022) Historic Motorcycles (2021) Old postal routes (2020) and 150 years of the Red Cross in the Netherlands (2017) stamps for PostNL.

Technical Details:
Stamp size: 30 x 40mm (wxh)
Sheet size : 170 x 122 mm (wxh)
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, black
Print run: 8,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet with ten different personal stamps marked ‘1’, the : denomination for post weighing up to 20g sent to an : address within the Netherlands
Design: studio026, Velp
Photography: Het Loo Palace
Item number: 820058