[from the PostNL press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
String Instruments

Appearance: Ten personal stamps in ten different designs, marked with ‘Nederland 1’, the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for delivery in the Netherlands
Design and photography: Bart de Haas, The Hague
Date of issue: 7 November 2022
Item number: 820060

PostNL gives an overview of ten distinctive string instruments from both Western and non-Western musical traditions. The featured instruments are part of the Kunstmuseum Den Haag’s music collection. All photos were taken by graphic designer Bart de Haas from the Hague, who also designed the stamp sheet. The ten personal stamps in ten different designs are marked with ‘Nederland 1’, the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for delivery in the Netherlands. The validity period is unlimited

Each stamp features an overall image and a detail of a string instrument. The picture of the detail continues on the right or left-hand sheet edge. On the stamp, the pictures are connected by a pattern of white circles of different sizes. Each string instrument has its own background colour with a colour gradient. On the sheet edge to the left and right, the picture fragments are separated by a horizontal strip of which the colour is derived from the picture below. The colours on the top and bottom sheet edge are also derived from the stamp colours. The names of the string instruments are shown alternately at the bottom on the left and right-hand side of the stamps. The sheet edge next to it features the name of the country or area where the instrument comes from. The PostNL logo is printed at the top on the left-hand side of the stamp sheet; the logo of the Kunstmuseum Den Haag, the name of the designer Bart de Haas and the item number are printed at the bottom on the right-hand side.

The stamp sheet was designed by graphic designer Bart de Haas from The Hague. He took pictures of the ten featured musical instruments at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag. The museum manages a collection of more than 3,800 musical instruments, which was started by Daniel François Scheurleer (1855-1927).

Scheurleer not only collected musical instruments but also manuscripts, books, prints, drawings and paintings with a musical theme. Over time, the collection was expanded significantly to include non-Western and electronic musical instruments. ‘Milly van Houten-de Kom was a great help when I was researching string instruments,’ De Haas explains. ‘She is responsible for managing the huge collection of the Kunstmuseum. I also sought the advice of Frits Zwart, former music collection curator at the museum.’

De Haas wanted to feature a balanced mix of Western and Non-western instruments. ‘They have not been placed opposite each other, but distributed diagonally from left to right across the stamp sheet. After all, the essence of music is the link between them. The stamps feature string instruments from all over the world. From Europe, of course, but also from Africa, America and Asia. The shape of the instruments varies. The harp is a multi-stringed, complex, large instrument. The rubab, on the other hand, is a small instrument with only a few strings. The soundboard of the kamancheh featured is made from the shell of an armadillo. I was keen to show plenty of variety. Also when it came to the playing method, strumming versus bowing. That is why some stamps feature the bow as well.’
The String instruments 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.

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
Appearance: personal stamp with denomination Nederland 1 for letters weighing up to 20g with destinations within the Netherlands
Edition: 5000
Item number: 820060
Issue date: 7 November 2022

[excerpted from the PostNL press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
World Post Day 2022

Issue: Dag van de Postzegel 2022 (World Post Day 2022)
Date of issue: 17 October 2022
Format: sheet with ten stamps in two different designs, marked ‘Nederland 1’ for mail up to and including 20 grams destined for delivery within the Netherlands
Item number: 421061
Design: Sandra Smulders, Vormgoed, Gouda
Source: Filatelie Informatief

The Dag van de Postzegel is an annual international event. It is not celebrated on the same day in all countries, although this is usually on the first Sunday after 9 October: the founding date of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). The UPU sets the rules for the international movement of mail between its member countries. PostNL will be highlighting the Dag van de Postzegel with the issue of a stamp sheet on Monday 17 October. Previous issues in the Dag van de Postzegel series often coincided with the POSTEX annual stamp show – an international event with swap meets, exhibitions and other special gatherings.

The Dag van de Postzegel 2022 issue will have the De Ruyter stamps of 1907 as its topic. The new stamp sheet has ten stamps in two different designs, with the denomination ‘Nederland 1’ for mail up to and including 20 grams destined for delivery within the Netherlands. PostNL is also issuing a stamp album and prestige stamp booklet. The prestige stamp booklet is the twelfth in the series about the history of the stamp in the Netherlands. The information featured in the prestige booklet about the De Ruyter stamps of 1907 was taken from a 1982 article by Gert Holstege in Filatelie Informatief. Filatelie Informatief is the predecessor of the Handboek Postwaarden (handbook for postal values) Nederland. This handbook has been published in instalments since 1994 and takes a scientific approach to the various stamp issues and the history of the postal service since 1850. A new publication on the issues of the De Ruyter postage stamps and postage certificates is currently being prepared for the Handboek Postwaarden. Just like the album and the booklet, the Dag van de Postzegel 2022 sheet was designed by Sandra Smulders from Gouda.

In the year 1907, a set of De Ruyter stamps were issued to mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of Michiel Adriaansz. de Ruyter (1607 – 1676), an admiral of the war fleet of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. The validity period of the De Ruyter stamps only ran from 23 March until 31 May 1907 and they could only be used on domestic mail. The stamps were issued in three equal designs with the postage values ½ cent (blue), 1 cent (red-violet) and 2½ cents (brick red).

The creation of the 1907 stamp design was not exactly a straightforward process. Initially, naval officer Willem Mouton made a pen drawing, derived from a print by Hendrik Bary after a painting of De Ruyter by Ferdinand Bol. To cut costs, the Post Office decided to use letterpress instead of intaglio printing. It turned out that Mouton’s pen drawing was not suitable for the corresponding savings bank stamp format. That is why printer Enschedé had a simplified drawing made as a basis for the wood engraving. The design and the execution of the De Ruyter stamps was met with considerable criticism by both philatelic magazines and the general press.

Due to the validity period of only a few months, post offices were left with large stocks of unsold De Ruyter stamps on 31 May 1907. After extensive consultation, the post office decided to overprint the remaining stamp sheets to turn them into postage stamps for internal use. Postage stamps were intended to recover postage from the addressee in the case of insufficiently franked postal items. After postage stamps were introduced by the post offices on 1 November 1907, it turned out that many collectors bought them at the counter. Post offices had been allowed to sell postage stamps to the public since 1870. At the end of 1907, stamp traders, too, tried to buy large quantities of these imprinted postage stamps for speculative reasons. This led to a lot of criticism, not only from philatelic magazines, but also from newspapers. For this reason, the post office decided to overprint additional De Ruyter stamps to turn them into postage stamps. As a result, some of the De Ruyter-printed postage stamps remained in use at the post office for years.

Design
The 2022 issue features ten stamps in two designs: a cut-out of an engraving with a portrait of Michiel Adriaansz. de Ruyter and a cut-out of a print showing a naval battle between the Dutch and English fleets. A fragment of the print of the naval battle continues onto the portrait stamp. To these original images, Smulders added graphical elements in the shape of wavy red and blue lines. On the portrait stamp, De Ruyter is on the right, on the naval battle stamp, the largest ship in the war fleet is on the left. Both stamps are interconnected by De Ruyter’s hair. In turn, the red hair is intertwined with the blue waves at the bottom of the stamps.

The bottom five stamps of the stamp sheet are rotated 180 degrees in relation to the top five stamps. As a result, the blue waves run in a long strip across the centre of the sheet, right onto the tabs on the left and right. The title of the issue is placed at the top of the stamp using a rubber-stamp font: horizontally on the portrait stamp, vertically on the naval battle stamp. For the country name Nederland, the direction is reversed in a handwriting font.

The original stamp designs:

Admiral Michiel Adriaansz. de Ruyter holding a command staff. Engraving created by Hendrik Bary between 1673 and 1707, after a painting by Ferdinand Bol from 1673. Source: Thijs Verbeek, Amsterdam

Four-Day Naval Battle between the State fleet led by Admiral Michiel de Ruyter and the English fleet led by Admiral George Monck, 11-14 June 1666. Print created by Petrus Johannes Schotel between 1848 and 1855. Source: Thijs Verbeek, Amsterdam

The Dag van de Postzegel 2022 sheet was designed by graphic designer Sandra Smulders from Gouda, who also was responsible for the 2021 and 2020 issues in the series. In this series, PostNL highlights special Dutch stamps from the past.

The original De Ruyter stamps were made up of many different pictorial elements that were not very coherent. For the new stamps, Smulders limited herself to a portrait of Admiral De Ruyter and a picture of a naval battle. ‘The portrait of De Ruyter is a reproduction of the same engraving by Hendrik Bary that would have been used in 1907 if intaglio printing had been chosen, ’ said Smulders. ‘The original image of the naval battle did not tie in with my concept. That is why I went in search of a better image with more detail. I found a print of the 1666 four-day naval battle between the Dutch and English fleets.

‘De Ruyter won the battle, by the way.’

While previous Dag van de Postzegel issues were printed in two colours, this is the first year that it will be printed in four colours. For the new stamps, Smulders chose the colours in which the historic De Ruyter stamps were printed.

The stamps are available, while stocks last, in Bruna shops and at the webshop. The stamps can also be ordered by phone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number +31 (0)88 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.

Technical Details:
Stamp size: 40 x 30 mm
Sheet size: 122 x 170 mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: yellow, magenta, cyan and black
Print run: 73,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of 10 stamps in 2 different designs
Design: Sandra Smulders, Gouda
Printing company: Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number: 421061

[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

[from a press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Typically Dutch – Football (“Voetbal”)

Date of issue: 15 August 2022
Appearance: sheet of six stamps in six identical designs
Item number: 420762
Design: Claire Bedon and Edwin van Praet (Total Design), Amsterdam

This issue is the fifth and last in this year’s Typically Dutch series. In 2022, the multi-annual series is dedicated to five sports in which the Dutch excel. The six identical postage stamps will be marked ‘Nederland 1’, the denomination for items weighing up to 20g destined for the Netherlands. The Typically Dutch – football issue was designed by graphic designer Clair Bedon and creative director Edwin van Praet from Total Design in Amsterdam. Earlier this year, stamps featuring ice skating (3 January), hockey (21 March), cycling (4 April) and sailing (9 May) were published as part of this series.

With over 1.2 million members, Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) is the largest sports association in the Netherlands. While the number of men’s footballers remains stable, women’s football has been on the rise for years, with over 160,000 members. Football in the Netherlands has a long history, with the founding of the first football club in 1879: the Haarlemsche Football Club (HFC). One of the founders, Pim Mulier, established the Royal Dutch Football Association (NVAB) ten years later. In 1895, athletics took its own course and in 1929, the football association received the designation ‘Royal’. This marked the birth of the name KNVB. In 1971, the Dutch Women’s Football Association (NDVB) merged into the KNVB.

The Dutch men’s team played its very first international match on 30 April 1905 in and against Belgium. Club-level women’s football in the Netherlands began in 1955. A year later, the Dutch women’s team played its first international match. When it comes to football, the Netherlands has one of the best teams in the world. Based on the situation in June 2022, FIFA (the world football association) positioned the women’s national team in fourth place in the FIFA rankings, and the men’s team in eighth place. The women became European champions in 2017 and vice-world champions in 2019. The men became European champions in 1988 and vice-world champions in 1974, 1978 and 2010. The basis for the Dutch school with the 4-3-3 formation was laid by Ernst Happel from Feyenoord and Rinus Michels from Ajax and the Dutch national team at the end of the 1960s. The most famous national coach in women’s football is Sarina Wiegman, who managed the Dutch women’s team from 2017 to 2021. The names of star players like Marco van Basten, Johan Cruyff, Lieke Martens and Vivian Miedema are known across the world. [PostNL issued a stamp for Cruyff in 2017, one year after his death.]

The stamps featured on the Typically Dutch – Football stamp sheet show an illustration of a footballer in action. With her eyes on the ball, the player moves their right leg backwards to prepare for a shot. In the background, you see a round shape intersected by a horizontal line, symbolising the centre circle of a football pitch. The bottom of each stamp has a white strip containing the sorting hook, the year 2022, the country (Netherlands) and the denomination (1). Both the ball and the heel of the left shoe run into this strip slightly. The same is happening with the footballer’s ponytail in the white strip at the top. The logo for the Typically Dutch series is printed above each stamp, with a folded Dutch banner on the left and right. The picture is repeated in enlarged form on the edge of the sheet. The dominant colour yellow continues on the two tabs on the right. The Typically Dutch logo appears once more on the top edge of the sheet, while the bottom edge features a short explanatory text.

According to graphic designer Claire Bedon, the sportsman on the stamp epitomises a professional footballer – someone who runs up and shoots the ball, perhaps taking a free kick or penalty shoot. ‘She radiates strength and is relaxed at the same time. Her strength can be seen in the upper legs and her relaxation is shown in her open hands and the balance she seeks by spreading her arms. It’s obvious that she knows exactly what she’s doing. She has already visualised the shot, and she is about to shoot and score.

This issue is the last in this year’s Typically Dutch series.

Technical Details:
Postage stamp dimensions: 30 x 40 mm:
Sheet size: 170 x 122 mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, black and orange
Print run: 75,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of 6 stamps in 6 identical designs
Design: Edwin van Praet and Claire Bedon, Total Design, Amsterdam
Printing company: Cartor Security Printers, Meaucé-La Loupe, France
Item number: 420762

Available on the PostNL webshop.

[from a PostNL press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Experience Nature – Mount Saint Peter

Date of issue: 13 June 2022
Appearance: sheet of ten stamps in ten different designs
Item number: 420661
Design: Frank Janse, Gouda
Photography: Buiten-Beeld

On 13 June 2022, PostNL will publish the Experience nature – Mount Saint Peter issue: a sheet of ten stamps in ten different designs. The denomination on these stamps is ‘1’, the denomination for items weighing up to 20 g destined for the Netherlands. The stamp sheet about Mount Saint Peter is part of the multi-annual Experience nature 2021-2023 series. In the series, four stamp sheets are issued every year, each comprising ten different stamps. The stamps feature images of plants and animals in unique Dutch nature reserves across the country. In 2022, it is the turn of the provinces of Zeeland, Zuid-Holland, Limburg and Gelderland.

The issue of 13 June 2022 focuses on the chalk landscape of Mount Saint Peter, located in southern Limburg. The stamp sheets issued earlier this year were about Fort Ellewoutsdijk in Zeeland (3 January 2022) and the Nieuwkoopse Plassen in Zuid-Holland (21 February 2022). Later this year, stamps will be issued featuring the Leuvenum Woods on the Veluwe in Gelderland (15 August 2022).

[The site had been mined extensively for construction materials, especially marl, an ingredient in some types of cement.] The quarry is now being developed as a new nature reserve with rare calcareous slopes. Managing the area is a challenging task. Water is pumped from the quarry day and night, and sheep and goats keep the grass short, alternating with mowers. In summer, the calcareous grasslands are full of rare flowers and herbs that attract numerous species of insects, butterflies and birds. The underground tunnel system in the hill itself is a favourite hibernation spot for bats such as the Natterer’s bat, the pond bat and the whiskered bat. Together with the neighbouring Jeker Valley, Mount Saint Peter has been an official Natura 2000 site since 2013.

The Experience nature – Mount Saint Peter stamps feature the following ten residents of this nature reserve: salad burnet, whiskered bat, comma butterfly, wild marjoram, badger, bee orchid, purple starthistle, Eurasian eagle owl, lords-and-ladies and wood white butterfly. Each has its own stamp. The stamp sheet also features many more images of flora and fauna from this area. Translucent images of these have been incorporated into a separate graphic layer on the stamp sheet: the Eurasian eagle owl (top left), the flowers of the common rock-rose (top right), the Old World swallowtail (centre left), the stalk of the common rock-rose (centre), the pincushion flower (centre under centre) and the fruit of the lords-and-ladies (below left and right). These transparent images continue across the perforations and connect the stamps with each other and the sheet edge.

Technical Details:
Stamp size: 40 x 30mm:
Sheet size: 122 x 170mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Glue: self-adhesive
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black
Print run: 285,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of 10 stamps in 10 different designs
Design: Frank Janse, Gouda
Photography: Buiten-Beeld
Printing company: Cartor Security Printers, Meaucé-La Loupe, France
Item number: 420661

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
250th anniversary of the birth of King William I

Date of issue: 20 June 2022
Presentation: sheet of 6 postage stamps in 3 designs,
marked ‘Internationaal 1′, the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for delivery outside of the Netherlands.
Item number: 420662
Design: Nicole Uniquole, in collaboration with Graphic Design students from ArtEZ University of the Arts, Zwolle

On 20 June 2022, PostNL will issue the 250th anniversary of the birth of King William I stamp sheet to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of the first king of the House of Orange-Nassau. In addition to portraits of King William I and his wife Wilhelmina of Prussia, the stamps also feature the Fulda city palace. William I ruled over the Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda in Germany for several years before becoming king of our country. The six postage stamps will be marked ‘Nederland 1’, the denomination for items weighing up to 20g destined for the Netherlands.

Prince William Frederick (1772-1843), the son of Stadholder William V, ruled over our country as William I, and he was the first king of the house of Orange-Nassau. He was born in the Hague 250 years ago. In 1791, he married Wilhelmina of Prussia. They had five children together, among them the son who later became King William II.

Prince William Frederick ruled as Fürst over Fulda from 1802 to 1806 until the German principality was captured by the French. He returned to his homeland as sovereign in 1813, and in 1815 he was proclaimed King William I of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (present-day Belgium and the Netherlands). In addition, he was also the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

He distinguished himself during his reign by upholding the reforms from the French era and making significant investments in industry, trade and the construction of many canals and roads. In 1840, he abdicated and was succeeded by his eldest son. William I died in Berlin in 1843 and his remains were interred in the Royal Crypt in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.

The 250th anniversary of the birth of King William I issue features six postage stamps in three different designs. For the monochrome images on the stamps, cut-outs were used from paintings depicting William I (Joseph Paelinck, 1819, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam), his wife Wilhelmina of Prussia (Jean-Baptiste van der Hulst, 1833, Royal Collections, the Hague) and a photograph of the Fulda Palace Castle in Germany (Christian Tech, 1980, Petersberg, Fulda). Next to each image on the stamp and on the right side of the sheet edge there is a collage of Maltese crosses in red, white, blue and orange. The stamps also feature the official monogram of William I twice. The tabs alongside the stamps indicate the international Priority designation along with a description of the image on the stamps. The text on the sheet edge provides background information about King William I, the 250th anniversary of his birth and the anniversary exhibition to be held in Fulda from 18 June to 25 August 2022.

Technical Details:
Stamp size 36 x 25mm
Sheet size 108 x 150mm
Paper normal with phosphor print
Gum gummed
Printing technique offset
Printing colours cyan, magenta, yellow, blue and black
Edition 60,000 sheets
Appearance sheet of 6 stamps in 3 different designs
Design Nicole Uniquole, in collaboration with Graphic Design students from ArtEZ University of the Arts, Zwolle
Printing company Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number 420662

[adapted from a PostNL press releasae] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Mail Trains
Issue Date: 16 May 2022

Appearance: 5 personal stamps in 5 different designs, marked with ‘1’, the denomination for items up to 20 grams in weight destined for delivery in the Netherlands
Item number: 820049
Design: Karen Polder, The Hague

On 16 May 2022, PostNL will issue the Mail Trains stamp sheet to mark the fact that 25 years ago on this day, the last mail train travelled through the Netherlands. The denomination on the Mail Trains issue is ‘1’, the denomination for items weighing up to 20 grams destined for the Netherlands. All mail trains on the stamps can be viewed at the Expeditie Posttrein exhibition at the Utrecht Railway Museum held from 17 May to 27 November this year. With a number of special collection pieces, the exhibition gives an overview of mail transport by train from the mid-19th century to 1997, the year of the last mail train journey in our country.

On 16 May 1997, exactly 25 years ago, the mail train made its last journey through the Netherlands. It heralded the end of the important role that the railways had played in mail transport for many years. In the early years, the mail was transported on passenger trains. Later, special mail trains were built. From the 1930s onwards, these often ran at night between the various postal dispatch and sorting centres in our country.

The stamps included in the Mail Trains issue feature five notable Dutch postal trains. The HIJSM 4 ‘Diligence’ (weight 3.2 tons, top speed 45 km/h) is a 1938 replica of the original from 1839, when mail was still sent along with passenger trains. This first-class carriage belonged to De Arend, the first steam locomotive in our country. The NS PEC 8502 (weight 38 tons, top speed 125 km/h) dates from 1938 and had the nickname deukneus (dented nose). The name refers to the chunk that seems to be missing from the nose, required to couple carriages to both electric and diesel electric locomotives. The mail carriage NS P 7920 (weight 43 tons, top speed 140 km/h) started its life in 1952 and was equipped with pigeon holes, mail deposit tables, mail bundle cabinets and mailbag racks. The carriages of the NS mP 3031 (weight 52 tons, top speed 140 km/h) from 1966 were equipped with 3 large sliding doors on both sides to facilitate the quick loading/unloading of rolling containers with mail bags. The last stamp features the Hbbkkss 043-5 (weight 16.5 tons, top speed 120 km/h) which was in use from 1978. These postal carriages, which were used outside the regular timetable, were able to run faster than the 100 km/h that was usual during the day.

Although the last mail train ran 25 years ago, transport by rail is not completely extinct. For example, since February 2022, PostNL has been dispatching a trailer with mail and parcels by rail on the Coevorden-Oslo route every week. PostNL outsources this international transport to a long-distance carrier. This carrier sends a lorry with a trailer to the sorting centre for international mail and parcels in the Hague. The lorry then takes the mail and parcels for Norway to Coevorden railway station, where the trailer is put on the train to Oslo. In Oslo, the trailer is picked up from the train and delivered to Norway Post. PostNL wants to investigate whether this alternative transport can contribute to its sustainability targets. According to initial calculations, the use of a train on this route should lead to an annual reduction of 30 tonnes of carbon emissions.

Each stamp features a cut-out of a photo of a train used for transporting mail. The oldest train dates from 1839 and the newest from 1978. Each stamp has its own background colour with gradient. The background colours on the stamps continue onto the sheet edge. On the stamps, the type numbers of the trains are shown in the top right-hand corner. The upper part of the sheet features a collage of postal items in a rectangular frame. The title of the stamp sheet is printed on the upper left-hand edge of the sheet, the PostNL logo is printed on the upper right-hand edge and that of the Utrecht Railway Museum is printed on the lower left-hand edge of the sheet. The upper edge of the image area on the stamps features a faux perforated border. The same applies to 3 of the 4 edges of the large rectangle on the sheet edge.

The design of the Mail Trains stamps was produced by Karen Polder, a graphic designer from the Hague. For PostNL, she also designed the 2018 and 2021 PostEurop stamps featuring Dutch Bridges and Endangered Bees. The Mail Trains issue was the first time that Polder designed a set of personal stamps. ‘It’s not quite the same thing, because the typography on the stamp frame is a given. This also applies to the images I got from the Utrecht Railway Museum. I asked them whether I could photograph the trains myself. But at the time, not all mail trains that were to be featured on the stamps were present in the museum. By the way, I was happy with the images I was given to work with. They were taken by enthusiastic train spotters who took the photos when the trains were outside. All in daylight, and usually as free-standing as possible. I received a number of pictures of each mail train.’

Selection of trains
The selection of the trains by the experts of the Railway Museum was subject to some discussion, however. Polder: ‘That was mainly to do with the ‘Diligence’ featured on the first stamp. You can’t tell from the outside of the HIJSM that it is a postal carriage. The interior, however, was equipped especially for postal workers. So the Railway Museum sent me alternative photos of a much newer mail train. I did experiment with that, but it was too similar to the other trains. Moreover, the Diligence significantly increased the length of the period we were working with. It easily added a century. So that is why we stuck with the original selection.’

Technical Details:
Stamp size (wxh): 30 x 40mm
Sheet size (wxh): 170 x 122mm
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Print run: 5,000 sheets
Format: sheet of 5 stamps in 5 different designs
Design: Karen Polder, The Hague
Printing company: Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number: 820049

[These are not yet listed on the PostNL website. This link goes to Personalized Stamps in general. We will update this page when the stamps are listed. —VSC]