Depicting a delivery car
A jury of nine expert philatelists has selected a Finnish stamp as the most beautiful stamp in Europe. The competition, arranged by PostEurop, was won by a stamp designed by Susanna Rumpu and Ari Lakaniemi, depicting a 1933 model Volvo delivery car and two drivers standing in front of it.
The competition was arranged for EUROPA stamps released in spring 2013. A total of 56 stamps released in different European countries entered the competition, all depicting mail vehicles, in accordance with the theme of the series.
The jury paid particular attention to the originality of the stamp design and technical aspects, such as the quality of the graphics. An important criterion was how well the stamp pleases the average stamp user, as well as philatelists with more interest in the matter.
The nine members of the jury were experts in graphic design and stamps from different European countries, including Germany, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. The president of the jury, which convened in Brussels, was the Belgian philately activist Guy Coutant, the organizer of the distinguished Grand-prix de l'art Philatelique.
"The quality of the entries was high, and we needed three rounds of voting and a lot of debate to choose the winner. In the end, the Finnish stamp was the clear winner in all voting criteria," Coutant explains.
The Mail Delivery Vehicles stamp designed by Susanna Rumpu and Ari Lakaniemi was released on May 6, 2013. The stamp portrays a Volvo LV-70 mail truck from 1933 and two drivers standing in front of it. The color tones of the old black-and-white photo have been adjusted to fit a four-color image. In addition to mail deliveries, the Volvo truck was also used for carrying passengers. Today, the 80-year-old car stands in the Mobilia automobile and road museum.
This year's nostalgic Finnish Christmas stamps have also been designed by Susanna Rumpu and Ari Lakaniemi. The Christmas stamps will be released on November 4.
PostEurop, the association of European public postal operators, has been releasing EUROPA stamps since 1956. The stamps released with the same theme depict the shared European roots, culture, and history of different countries. The new EUROPA logo was adopted in the stamps, favored by collectors, in 2011.
All stamps available for sale are featured in Posti's online shop.
* * *
Europa: Mail Delivery Vehicles
Technical specifications of the stamp
