European stamps

From the early decades of the 20th century to recent issues, every country on the continent has its own section, from microstates to former Soviet republics.

From the Channel Islands to Central Asia

Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and the Isle of Man sit alongside the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Gibraltar. Further east come Russia, Romania and Poland, then the republics that emerged from the USSR, from Georgia to Tajikistan. The Vatican, San Marino and Liechtenstein have their own sections, as do the UN offices in Geneva and Vienna.

States that no longer exist

The layout follows history. West Germany, West Berlin, East Germany and reunified Germany are kept apart, as are the Saar, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. In West Germany, the 1985 music set (no. 1080/1081) is also a Europa issue.

Europa, a yearly event

Since 1956, participating postal services have issued stamps each year on a shared design or theme. The catalogue offers a selection, not every country: Switzerland in 1959 (no. 630/631), Turkey in 1965 (no. 1741/1742), or Sweden with a souvenir sheet on Christopher Columbus in 1992 (BF22). The EUROPA section gathers them.

Birds, insects and mammals from the East

Wildlife sets from Romania, Poland and Russia are plentiful. Ten Romanian reptiles in 1965 (no. 2100/2109), twelve Polish insects in 1962 (no. 1140/1151). Some sets come in two conditions: the 1967 Soviet mammals (no. 3265/3271) are available mint never hinged or, for less, mint hinged.

Souvenir sheets and airmail

Souvenir sheets are well represented: Gibraltar in 2003 (BF56), Jersey's orchids in 1999 (BF25), Uzbekistan's BF1 in 1993. Airmail carries the PA prefix, as with the 1960 Romanian birds (PA107/PA109). When the title states no condition, the stamp is mint never hinged.

Years and prices

The best-stocked years run from the late 1990s to the mid-2010s, and the year filter goes back to the 1910s. Most sets cost between one and ten euros; the 2000 Jersey coat of arms stamp (no. 919) is over twenty euros. Only the price shown on the listing applies.