When I originally planned this article, there were only a handful of Covid related stamps. It was going to be a brief look at the pandemic from an historical viewpoint. Well, here we are, 2+ years later and still in the midst one of what will be considered a watershed moment in history and a mountain of stamps documenting it. Currently, I’ve tracked down @ 80 countries with Covid related stamps, and I’m sure I’ve missed some.
Postage stamps are an interesting way of looking at Covid and how it has effected the world. Some are whimsical, attempting to lift people up, another set is deadly serious and depressing. It’s a wide swath of emotions tied up in these designs. And it’s this diversity that makes tracking Covid stamps an intriguing project. While a handful are pretty much cookie cutter designs, many are thought provoking windows on the global stress we’ve all felt. Malta’s January 2021 release documented the faces of Covid we became all too familiar with.
Artists Andrew Micallef (male healthcare worker) and Madeleine Gera (female healthcare workers) did an extraordinary job portraying the sheer exhaustion healthcare workers feel. This ranks as the best set to date.
Austria went with humour. Their October 2020 stamp attempted to de-stress the pandemic and make social distancing manageable on a personal level.
Artist Marion Füllerer worked with Handels GmbH of Vienna (paper manufacturer) to create a useable stamp on toilet paper. Remember when I mentioned stamps are a good way to examine a period of history through philately? This is an example. Every generation that examines this stamp will wonder about (and hopefully research) the Great Toilet Paper Panic of 2020.
Another take on the pandemic presents a different view. Jersey artist Berni Martin focused on the strange sense of stillness that took hold during the first months of lockdown.
With no cars on the roads and no people to disturb them, wildlife like the birds outside Berni’s window, became braver, and the birdsong became clearer and louder. Every day during Jersey’s lockdown, Berni Martin took out a box of paints gifted to her by a friend and spent a few minutes creating, sketching, and painting a colourful bird.
She did this every day for 100 days, numbering each one as she went. The result is a collection of 100 wonderfully colourful birds, each with its own special character and each a symbol of hope and freedom, indicative of everyone’s ambition to remain optimistic throughout the pandemic.
Jersey Post Stamps, Jan. 3, 2021
Finally, there is Turkey’s March 2021 cover. It expressed the sense of loss and grief felt around the world.
I’m not sure who the artist is, but they managed to speak volumes with this image.
This page is a work in progress, one I decided to share even before I round up all the stamps. As time goes on, I will be adding comments to some of the stamps that stand out. I have been chewing over this project since I saw the first Covid related stamps in 2020 and have many thoughts about what has been produced. As it turned out, the project wasn’t a simple one-off kind of job, and has taken much more thought than I anticipated.
Be warned – this is a VERY LONG article. Eventually it may be broken up into multiple pages, depending on how many stamps are produced and if the page bogs down because of it’s size. In the meantime, I’m trying to keep everything on one page for the sake of continuity.
If you have any thoughts to share, you can comment below. I’d be interested in hearing from you.
A
Alderney
8 stamps, FDC, cancel, presentation pack, sheets of 10
offset lithography
This set used artwork from local schoolchildren using the tag #GuernseyTogether. The artists are:
- Year 1 – Kahlan Marriott, age 5 (50p stamp)
- Year 2 – Olivia Le Tissier, age 6 (50p stamp)
- Year 3 – Alexis Drummy, age 8 (68p stamp)
- Year 4 – Danny King, age 8 (68p stamp)
- Year 5 – Joe De Carteret, age 10 (85p stamp)
- Year 6 – Lily- Ella O’Brien, age 10 (85p stamp)
- Year 7 – Oliver Blake, age 11 (95p stamp)
- Year 8 – Phoebe Smart, age 13 (95p stamp)
Designer: Mark Totty
Release date: August 19, 2020
Algeria
2 stamps, FDC, cancel
COVID19
Designer: SÉHINI Ryma
Release date: Feb. 1, 2021 with FDC on Feb. 27 & 28.
Andorra (Es)
1 stamp on souvenir sheet, FDC, cancel
In the Face of Covid: Combat Corona Campaign – Tribute to Everyone’s Effort Against COVID-19
Release date: January 19, 2021
Andorra (Fr)
1 stamp, sheet of 15
Combat Corona Campaign – COVID-19 Awareness
Designer: Klapp
Release date: March 1, 2021
Antigua and Barbuda
Armenia
4 stamps, 4 sheets of 8, 1 sheet of all stamps
Combat Corona Campaign – Thank You to Medical Workers
Designer: Rem Saakyan
Release date: April 16, 2021
Austria
Austria has issued 3 sets
Remember – stay one baby elephant away
Toilet Paper
Designer: Marion Füllerer
Release date: October 30, 2020
—-
1 block in shape of mask
Mini FFP2 Mask
embroidered onto material used in masks
this original brand block is intended to remind with a little wink how easy it is to help protect against infection with a mask. Hämmerle & Vogel, the specialist for embroidery and also for textile stamps, manufactured the stamps from original material produced in Europe for mask production: Two layers of fleece were embroidered in the form of an FFP2 mask and then cut out with laser technology, the loose loops were also embroidered and attached to it in a complex process. Post Ltd.
Designer: David Gruber
Release date: Sept. 16, 2021
—–
Doesn’t hurt at all!
The stamp is composed of “material of sensitive skin plasters, has a “dressing pad” and an adhesive strip that can be peeled off – just like a real plaster” Österreichische Post
Designer: David Gruber
Release date: March 15, 2022
Australia
5 stamps (se-tenant), FDC gummed/minisheet/blank, FD cancel, stamp pack, mini sheet, 5 maxicards, se-tenant booklet of 10, gutter strip of 10, cheques
Combat Corona Campaign – Frontline Heroes
- Healthcare workers
- Paramedic and aged care worker
- ADF and police services
- Postal and delivery services
- Teacher and supermarket worker
Designer: Sonia Young, Australia Post Design
Illustrator: Robert Elliott
Release date: February 16, 2021
Azerbaijan
1 stamp on mini sheet, FDC, cancel
Year of the Ox – Lunar New Year
This design did double duty – the ox represented the Lunar New Year and the bat represented Covid, which was suspected of carrying the virus. I debated whether it belonged here, but given the bat imagery, decided it did.
Designer: Vuqar Eyyubov
Release date: April 1, 2021
B
Bahamas
4 stamps
This is a nice set stressing taking care of each other by taking proper precautions.
COVID-19 and Christmas
- With A Mask We Will Stay Safe
- With Social Distance We Will Stay Safe
- Covering Coughs and Sneezes, We Will Stay Safe
- Washing Our Hands We Will Stay Safe
Release date: October 22, 2020
Bangladesh
1 stamp
Combat Corona Campaign – Campaigning Against COVID-19
Release date: May 19, 2021
Belize
Benin
4 stamps, 1 stamp (5000f) on a souvenir sheet, sheet of 8 with 4 stamps
Release date: December 30, 2021
Bosnia – Herzegovina
Release date: May 8, 2020
Brazil
6 stamps on a souvenir sheet
Combat Covid-19
Release date: July 8, 2020
Burundi
C
Canada
Canada issued a stamp that was made available to postal workers only and a 4 postcard set sent to every household in Canada. I have one postcard and am actively looking for copies of all 4. I’ll post postcard soon. If you have the special stamp and would like to share a scan of it, let me know in the comments.
China – PRC
2 stamps, sheets of 8
Unity of purpose to fight the epidemic
Designer: Wang Huming, Liu Xiangping | 王虎鸣、刘向平
Huming is well known for his Lunar New Year stamps for China, UN, and Jersey
Release date: May 11, 2020
Central African Republic
Chad
Cuba
Curaçao
Czech Republic
D
Dominica
Djibouti
E
Egypt
COVID-19 : Tribute to medical professionals
Release date: October 20, 2020
F
Faroe Islands
2 stamp on a sheet, FDC, cancel
ILA/Covid-19 in the Faroe Islands
Designer: Edward Fuglø
Release date: Sept. 20, 2021
France
G
Gambia
Great Britain
8 stamps, FDC, 2 cancels, presentation pack
Not shown are full sheets, half sheets, postcards
Postmarks: London and Tallents House
Designer: Royal Mail Group
Release date: March 23, 2022
Greece
2 stamps, 2 booklets of 4
Combat Corona Campaign
Release date: June 16, 2020
Greenland
Grenada
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
H
I
India
Indonesia
2 stamps, 1 sheet of 14 with both stamps, FDC, cancel
4 colour offset with 1 invisible ink
Covid 19 Vaccinations
Release date: February 26, 2021
Iran
Isle of Man
8 stamps
Carry us through
Love, Faith, Care, Compassion, Work, Community, Words and Science will #CarryUsThrough
Designer: Ben Glazier
Release date: May 4, 2020
Israel
J
Jersey
8 stamps, FDC, presentation pack, sheets, portrait sheets, landscape sheets, postcards, blocks, pairs
The Flockdown Birds
With no cars on the roads and no people to disturb them, wildlife like the birds outside Berni’s window, became braver, and the birdsong became clearer and louder. Every day during Jersey’s lockdown, Berni Martin took out a box of paints gifted to her by a friend and spent a few minutes creating, sketching, and painting a colourful bird.
She did this every day for 100 days, numbering each one as she went. The result is a collection of 100 wonderfully colourful birds, each with its own special character and each a symbol of hope and freedom, indicative of everyone’s ambition to remain optimistic throughout the pandemic.
Jersey Post Stamps, Jan. 3, 2021
Designer: Berni Martin
Release date: March 3, 2021
Jordan
K
Kosovo
Release date: August 14, 2020
Kuwait
Kyrgyz Republic
Release date: Dec. 30, 2020 reprinted in 2021
—-
2 stamps, souvenir sheet, 2 sheets of 5, 4 FDCs, cancel, 2 maxis
Covid and Us
Designer: Diana Roşcovan
Release date: December 31, 2021
L
Lebanon
Liberia
M
Macedonia
Mali
Malta
sheets of 10
FDC & presentation pack
3 stamps, sheets of 10, FDC, cancel, souvenir sheet
Malta Healthcare Heroes COVID-19
Artists/Designers:
Male healthcare worker – Andrew Micallef
Female healthcare workers- Madeleine Gera
Release date: Jan. 29, 2021
Malaysia
Marshal Islands
Mexico
1 stamp
Release date: November 11, 2020
Moldova
Doctors Fighting COVID-19 – The 125th Anniversary of the Clinical Hospital for Infectious Diseases “Toma Ciorba”
Morocco
Mozambique
N
Nevis
Niger
O
Oman
Solidarity In Face of COVID-19
Release date: June 22, 2020
P
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
R
S
Saint Vincent & Grenadines
São Tomé and Príncipe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
South Sudan
Spain
Spain has issued 4 sets, regular stamps and ATM
1 stamp, souvenir sheet, 6 compostable postcards, pre-stamped, FDC, cancel
POSTMARK PLACE: Madrid and Barcelona
Combat Corona Campaign – COVID-19 Waste Management
This set focused on correct disposal of masks and gloves, the only set to date that has taken time to try and educate the public about why it’s so important to properly discard medical waste.
Release date: March 18, 2021
—-
1 stamp, FDC, cancel
UNHCR Against COVID-19
Designer: ACNUR
Release date: June 18, 2021
—-
1 ATM stamp, FDC, cancel
Mental health and Covid-19
Series: ATM Philatelic Point
POSTMARK PLACE: Madrid
Release date: January 10, 2022
—
General category winner Collective applause by Valencian Ángel Luis González
Youth category winner United against the virus by Jessica Yance Vargas
Series: National Stamp Design Contest
Sri Lanka
Switzerland
Syria
2 stamps
COVID Awareness
Release date: 2020
T
Taiwan
2 stamps
COVID-19 Awareness
Release date: June 21, 2020
___
6 stamps on souvenir sheet, full first day sheet, special full colour illustrated booklet, ticket card
Tribute to the epidemic prevention personnel
Release date: August 9, 2021
Tajikistan
12 stamps
strung together, the stamps spell UNITED
Release date: June 22, 2020
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Turkey
Special envelope, cancel
Release date: March 11, 2021
Tuvalu
U
United Arab Republic
1 stamp on a souvenir sheet
Release date: May 10, 2020
United Nations
V
Vietnam
W
Wallis et Fortuna
Z
Zimbabwe 2021
No information on the designers. If you have any details, please share them. I like the art work on this set and think the artist should be recognised. It’s a classic example of educational stamps – no words needed if the images tell their stories in one frame.
Release date: March 31, 2021
Like thematic stamps? Pick another one from here THEMATICS, EUROPA & SEPAC stamps | Bitter Grounds Magazine
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