The 2024 Polish stamp program has been announced and … we can always expect change ups through the year. The last 2 months of 2023 saw major changes in the program, including a extensive redo of December. But that’s the nature of stamp programs, new events push their way into view and stamps are pushed off to another year.
First a bit of housekeeping. One change readers can look forward to is how postcards are presented. Poland offers an extensive stamp and postcard program each year. I couldn’t help feeling postcards were getting lost in the shuffle and being added to the page, at the last minute. To correct this, they’ll be spun off onto their own page in the coming weeks. This will also help the pages load a bit faster.
2024 sees a couple of old friends returning. Among them is the ever-popular Chinese New Year stamp. This year, it’s the dragon and it’s a good bet Andrzej Gosik will be back as designer. Birds of Polish Parks are tentatively set for a February release. This series takes the place of the older Birds of Poland sets that ran for a few years. Maciej Zdziarski’s photography graced both the covers and the stamps of the first set.
Andrzej Gosik’s Beneficial Insects series enters its third year. He’s a designer with an astonishing deal of depth, pivoting from the heavily detailed Chinese New Year issues to the clean and beautiful exploration of bugs.
Crypto stamps will be the issues to watch once again. I’ll be making a bigger effort to include better details to accompany what Luc provides over on – Crypto-Stamps.org. His page is rapidly becoming the go-to site for crypto and NFT philately. 2024 will be Poland’s 3rd year for crypto releases. A name that should be familiar by now provided the artwork for both the regular stamp and the cyberpunk inspired NFTs for In the Sky. Andrzej Gosik’s beautiful balloons translated into a fantastic NFT!
I’m still wrestling with how to approach NFTs. The creativity behind their designs deserves more than a short entry and, like the postcards they get lost in Poland’s large program. There is a possibility I’ll include a short page devoted just to Poland’s Cryptos and NFTs with a backlink to Luc’s page for expanded details. I’ll decide when the first one arrives. You’ll know when a link appears on the 2024 program page.
In the meantime, we have a structure all laid out for the coming year. And as usual, details will slowly fill in.
Cheers,
Catpaw
January
100th Anniversary of Władysław Grabski’s Currency Reform
topic: history
stamp, FDC, cancel, sheet of 8 offset
The Mark, the Lech and the Zloty, or how Poland’s currency was born – Polish History
Designer: Jarosław Ochendzan
Release date: January 30, 2024
February
I Love You
1 stamp, FDC, cancel
rotogravure
This stamp uses the art of paper folding, or origami.
Designer: Agnieszka Sancewicz
Release date: February 7, 2024
Chinese Zodiac Signs – Year of the Dragon
topics: lunar new year | holidays
1 stamp, FDC, cancel, sheets of 8
offset
Designer: Andrzej Gosik
Gosik is a mainstay in the Polish stamp program. He has designed nearly 300 stamps, including the first Zodiac stamp in the current series 2020 Year of the Rat.
Release date: February 14, 2024
Birds of Polish Parks
topics: fauna | wildlife
4 stamps, sheets of 8, 2 FDCs, cancel
offset + stochastic
- European greenfinch (chloris chloris) European Greenfinch – eBird
- common chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) Common Chiffchaff – eBird
- great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) Great Spotted Woodpecker – eBird
- Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) Eurasian Wren – eBird
Photographer: Maciej Zdziarski Zdziarski is a combination of journalist, photographer, activist, poet and ardent bird watcher. He has authored a number of books, including On the wings. On People, Birds and the Joy of Life (Znak Horyzont, 2022, ISBN 978-83-240-7792-2), which won the 2023 Pen of Literature competition and Good night, Auschwitz. Reportage about former prisoners” (ed. Znak Horyzont, Kraków 2016). His bird photographs were used in the 2022 stamp issues: Birds of Polish Parks and Birds of Argentina and Polish.
Release date: February 16, 2024
Butterflies
4 stamps, sheets of 8, 2 FDCs, cancel
offset
- skeletonized leafwing or leaf wing butterfly (zaretyis itys) skeletonized leafwing (Zaretis itys) · iNaturalist
- orange oakleaf, Indian oakleaf (kallima inachos) Orange Oakleaf Butterfly: Identification, Facts & Pictures (butterflyidentification.com)
- common green birdwing (ornithopera priamus) Common Green Birdwing Butterfly: Identification, Facts, & Pictures (butterflyidentification.com)
- Atlas moth (atticus atlas) ADW: Attacus atlas: INFORMATION (animaldiversity.org)
Previous stamps in this series by Andrzej Gosik include 2020 4 stamp set
Designer: Andrzej Gosik
Release date: February 21, 2024
Easter
1 stamp, FDC, cancel
rotogravure
Designer: Poczta Polska
Release date: February 29, 2024
March
25 Years of Poland in NATO
1 stamp, FDC, cancel
rotogravure
Poland has issued 4 stamps in total featuring NATO. Starting with Flags of Poland and other NATO Members (1999), NATO Emblem, Gen. Casmir Pulawski (2001) and NATO Summit Warszawa (2016).
Designer: Jarosław Ochendzan
Release date: March 12, 2024
Europa – Endangered Underwater Life
topics: wildlife | maritime
1 stamp, FDC, cancel, sheets of 12 tête-bêche
offset
The fish on the stamp is a barbel (Barbus barbus). If you look at the image closely, you’ll see the chemical symbols for pollutants in the waters.
Barbels are freshwater fish similar to carp.
Barbels Fish: Everything You Need To Know – Pond Haven
Designer: Bożedar Grozdew
Bożedar Grozdew – Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (asp.waw.pl)
Grozdew also designed Poland’s EUROPA 2021 – Endangered Species / Eurasian Lynx set.
Release date: March 12, 2024
April
230th Anniversary of the Kościuszko Uprising
topics: history
1 stamp on souvenir sheet
offset
Oil painting by Jan Matejko. Fragment of Kościuszko at Racławice held in National Museum in Krakow The Battle of Racławice: How did Kościuszko defeat the Russians? – Polish History The Kościuszko Uprising has appeared on 3 other Polish sets starting with the 150th Anniversary of the Kosciuszko Uprising in 1944 and Scythes, Symbol of “Kosciuszko Uprising” in 1994.
Designer: Paweł Myszka
Release date: April 20, 2024
Beneficial Insects
topics: fauna
2 stamps, 2 sheets of 5 + label, FDC, cancel
offset + stochastic raster
- Seven-spotted ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) ADW: Coccinella septempunctata: INFORMATION (animaldiversity.org)
- Autumn anglerfish (Aeshna mixta) – also called a migrant hawker. Migrant Hawker – British Dragonfly Society (british-dragonflies.org.uk)
Designer: Andrzej Gosik
Gosik has designed the 2021 and 2023 Beneficial Insects stamps.
Release date: April 26, 2024
1st Armoured Division – Odyssey of Freedom
1 stamp, sheets of 12 tête-bêche
offset
Designer: Jarosław Ochendzan
Release date: April 30, 2024
May
80th Anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino
1 stamp, FDC, cancel, sheets of 8
offset
The II Korpus Polskich Sił Zbrojnych na Zachodzie fought at Monte Cassino. The Polish Free Corp helped break the German defences and on May 18, 1944 they raised the Polish flag over the Abbey Ruins while Platoon leader Emil Czech played the bugle call during its raising. This image became a symbol of hope for Poland. The legacy of Monte Cassino: 80 years on (rmx.news)
Designer: Jarosław Ochendzan
Release date: May 18, 2024
European Tree of the Year 2024
1 stamp, FDC, cancel
rotogravure
common beech or Polish beech – Heart of the Garden
The Heart of the Garden was this year’s winner of the International European Tree of the Year competition). Winning 39,158 of the 174,112 votes cast, this is Poland’s third win in a row!
Goal [of the] European Tree of the Year competition is to draw attention to interesting old trees, as important elements of natural and cultural heritage, that we should value and protect. In the European Tree of the Year competition, in Unlike other competitions, the decisive factor is not beauty, size, or age, but the history and relationships between trees and people. We are looking for trees, which have become an integral part of the community. European Tree of the Year 2024 (poczta-polska.pl)
Photographer for FDC: Bożena Piotrowska
Photographer for stamp: Dawid Słowiński
Designer: Poczta Polska S.A.
Release date: May 22, 2024
Beauty of Poland
6 stamps, 3 FDCs, cancel
offset
- Ethnographic Park in Tokarnia
- Panorama of the Nida River;
- Panorama of Sandomierz;
- Kadzielnia in Kielce;
- Krzyżtopór Castle;
- Castle in Chęciny.
Designer: Paweł Myszka
Release date: May 27, 2024
Protected Plants – Sea Holly (Eryngium maritimum)
topics: flora
1 stamp, FDC, cancel
rotogravure
There are 4 species of Eryngium found in Poland – E. planum and E. campestre – rare taxa, E. maritimum and E. alpinum.. The Sea Holly (Eryngium maritimum) is a protected and endangered plant.
Poland featured the Sea Holly on a stamp in 1957
Designer: Agnieszka Sancewicz
Release date: May 27, 2024
World Bee Day
1 stamp, sheets of 5 + label, FDC, cancel
offset + stochastic raster
May 20 was declared World Bee Day by the United Nations in 2017. World Bee Day | United Nations
Designer: Andrzej Gosik
Release date: May 29, 2024
June
International Children’s Day
1 stamp, sheets of 12 tête-bêche, FDC, cancel
offset
Designer: Agata Tobolczyk
Release date: June 1, 2024
The Round Table and Elections for June 4, 1989 SOLIDARITY
2 stamps on souvenir sheet
offset
Celebrates the first partial free elections in Poland on June 4, 1989
Designer: Agnieszka Sancewicz
Release date: June 4, 2024
National Festival of Folk Bands and Singers in Kazimierz Dolny
1 stamp, sheets of 5 + label, FDC, cancel
offset
The 58th annual Festival took place June 20-23, 2024.
Designer: Poczta Polska S.A.
Release date: June 7, 2024
300th Anniversary of the Birth of Immanuel Kant
1 stamp, sheets of 12 tête-bêche, FDC, cancel
offset
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) is the central figure in modern philosophy. He synthesized early modern rationalism and empiricism, set the terms for much of nineteenth and twentieth century philosophy, and continues to exercise a significant influence today in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics, and other fields. The fundamental idea of Kant’s “critical philosophy” – especially in his three Critiques: the Critique of Pure Reason (1781, 1787), the Critique of Practical Reason (1788), and the Critique of the Power of Judgment (1790) – is human autonomy. He argues that the human understanding is the source of the general laws of nature that structure all our experience; and that human reason gives itself the moral law, which is our basis for belief in God, freedom, and immortality. Therefore, scientific knowledge, morality, and religious belief are mutually consistent and secure because they all rest on the same foundation of human autonomy, which is also the final end of nature according to the teleological worldview of reflecting judgment that Kant introduces to unify the theoretical and practical parts of his philosophical system. Immanuel Kant (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Designer: Jarosław Ochendzan
Release date: June 7, 2024
Stars of Polish Music – Kora
topics: music
offset + UV
Kora (1951–2018) was a celebrated vocalist, poet, and painter, considered a pivotal figure in Polish rock music. She led the band Maanam for over three decades. Their debut album in 1981 included hits like “Szare miraże,” “Żądza pieniądza,” and “Boskie Buenos,” influencing fans’ fashion and style. Songs such as “Boskie Buenos,” “O! Nie rób tyle hałasu,” and “Lucciola” became emblematic of the 1980s in Poland. Maanam released 11 studio albums and was active until 2008, with a hiatus from 1986 to 1989.
Kora was deeply involved in the hippie movement, the Solidarity trade union, and women’s rights initiatives. Her song “Krakowski spleen” metaphorically addressed Poland’s political situation during martial law, expressing a yearning for normalcy and protesting censorship and repression.
In 2014, Kora was awarded the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis, and in 2016, she received the Golden Fryderyk for lifetime achievement. She passed away on July 28, 2018, at the age of 67.
“The World Without Us Was and Will Be…”: Kora Featured on Polish Postage Stamp – PolandDaily24.com
Designer: Agnieszka Sancewicz
Photographer for stamp: Andrzej Świetlik Photographer for FDC: Michał Mutor
Poland See More ARKUSIK
topics: tourism
offset
- Warmian-Masurian landscape with Lake Jędzelewo in Stare Juch. Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship: A Journey Through Nature, History, and Tradition – POLSKA KULTURA
- Kashubian Landscape Park in Łapalice Kaszubski Park Krajobrazowy (kpk.org.pl)
Note a QR code on each stamp. Scan them to access a video about the areas
Designer: Paweł Myszka
Release date: June 21, 2024
Poles Saving Jews
topics: history | WW2
rotogravure
“Nobody knew how the Germans found out that the Kurpiels were hiding Jews.” Stanisława Kucharska, a witness of the events, recollected: “Some said that it was one of the inhabitants who turned them in, others said that Franciszka was buying so many groceries in Przemyśl, paying in cash, that a spy was sent after her who saw what was going on.”
This issue is dedicated to:
Stamp one: Franciszka and Stanisław Kurpiel.
Image courtesy https://sprawiedliwi.org.pl/en/stories-of-rescue/story-rescue-kurpiel-family
On May 21, 1944, the Kurpiel home was surrounded and the family was ordered out of the house. They stood in front, lined up while the Nazis searched for hiding places. When they found all the the Jews, they ordered them to go behind the stable where they were all executed on the spot. 22 people were murdered that day, adults and children:
- Israel Ruby
- Ita (Tonka) Rubin née Feuer
- Jakub Rubin, 12 years old
- Chaim Rubin, 14 years old
- Regina Feuer
- Lola Feuer
- Gena Treuer née Feuer, age 24
- Pepa Feuer, 18 years old
- Henia (Hermana) Feuer, 4 years old
- Lei (Liki) Schattenov
- Gerda Goldman
- Jacob Rebhan, 49 years old
- Anna Rebhan née Schiff, 41
- Basia Rebhan, 13 years old
- Izaak Schmidela (Szmiedela), 39 years old
- Wolf (Bolek) Sternberg, 31 years old
- Jakub Reicha
- Joseph Jonas
- Abraham Spiegel, 46 years old
- Chaim (Imek) Liewers, 45 years old
- Ozjasz Rubinfeld
- Hinda Rubinfeld born 1921 or 1924
Two men, Józef Fabian and Herman Spiegel, managed to escape by crawling through a ventilation shaft and survived the war.
The Kurpiel’s, and 3 of their children, were transported to the Gestapo and held at Przemyśl. The Nazis released the children after 3 days. The Kurpiels were transported to the Lipowica fort where they were executed on June 19, 1944 and buried in a mass grave. A year later, June 7, 1945, family members exhumed their bodies and reburied them in Przemyśl.
Stamp two: Katarzyna Filipek
Katarzyna Filipek Image courtesy https://uprzedzuprzedzenia.org/ludzie/katarzyna-filipek/
Katarzyna Filipek was a widow with 7 children. Despite her financial difficulties, Katarzyna hid the Steinbergs family from the Nazis,
The town’s mayor directed them to the Filipek’s household in the hope that the widow’s house on the sidelines of the village would be a safe hideout. Little Rózia Steinberg begged for help. Katarzyna hesitated at first, as she was fully aware of the consequences one faced for helping out Jews, but allowed the Steinbergs into her barn where they would hide in the attic. Katarzyna Filipek – Humanity in Action
From the spring of 1943 to January 1944, Katarzyna kept the family hidden. Sometime in mid January, the Nazis were alerted to the possibility of Jews being hiding on the Filipek farm. After a search uncovered their attic hiding place, the Stienbergs deportation to Jordanów where it is thought they were murdered.
Two weeks later the Nazis returned and arrested Katarzyna and Maria Barglik, the town mayor’s wife. First taken to Jordanów, and then to Gestapo headquarters in Zakopane, Katarzyna was subjected to brutal torture and interrogation until February 21, 1944 when she sentenced to death for protecting Jews. She was executed March 6, 1944 and buried in the forest of Nowy Targ. A number of others were executed and buried that day, including Maria Barglik.
Katarzyna’s oldest daughter, Maria Filipek, became the head of the household and took care of her 6 siblings. For decades the children didn’t know what happened to their mother, only that she was taken by the Nazis and never returned. In 1985, they finally found out their mother’s fate after graves were discovered. The remains of Katarzyna and those who were executed along side of her, were exhumed and reburied in a common grave at Nowy Targ.
This unique project pays tribute to the heroes who have shown extraordinary courage and humanitarianism in times of greatest ordeal. The badges are intended to commemorate those who have risked their lives to save others. This is a reminder of an important lesson in courage, empathy, and solidarity that are integral parts of our history and culture.
Agata Tobolczyk | Mam przyjemność podzielić się z Wami moim najnowszym projektem – znaczkami pocztowymi z serii “Polacy ratujący Żydów”. Ten wyjątkowy… | Instagram
Designer: Agata Tobolczyk
Street Art – Attractor | Atraktor
offset
He is interested in constructions architectural and urban forms that challenge perception Observer. In his works, he uses geometric figures, generative structures, references to biomorphism and biomimicry. He is fascinated by parametricity, generating new complex formulas that would allow us to see mathematics in its pure form and create a visual the language of nature. It deals with operating on the system of reality Extended. Sztuka Ulicy – Street Art (poczta-polska.pl)
Artist: Krzysztof Syruć Designer: Paweł Myszka with the help of Marcin Rutkiewicz, President of the Outdoor Art Foundation
Photographer: Filip Bartnicki
July
Polish Olympic Team at the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad Paris 2024
1 stamp, sheets of 9, FDC, cancel
offset
- Sport climbing Women’s speed
Gold Aleksandra Mirosław - Canoeing Women’s slalom
Silver Klaudia Zwolińska K-1 - Fencing Women’s team épée
Bronze
Aleksandra Jarecka
Alicja Klasik
Renata Knapik-Miazga
Martyna Swatowska-Wenglarczyk - Rowing Men’s quadruple sculls
Bronze
Fabian Barański
Mateusz Biskup
Dominik Czaja
Mirosław Ziętarski - Tennis Women’s singles
Bronze Iga Świątek - Sport climbing Women’s speed
Bronze Aleksandra Kałucka - Athletics Women’s 400 metres
Bronze Natalia Kaczmarek
Release date: July 18, 2024
Polish Regional Products – Podhale – Saddle of Lamb
1 stamp, FDC, cancel, sheets of 9
Jagnięcina podhalańska Podhale lamb
This set is a brilliant example of using the entire surface as a canvas. Poland’s post office gives artists free reign to cover the sheets and FDCs and make them an extension of the stamp design. The details in the edges of the sheet are pure delight.
Designer: Agnieszka Sancewicz
Release date: July 29, 2024
Polish Ocean Liners
topics: ships | maritime
3 stamps on souvenir sheet of 10, 3 FDCs, cancel
offset
Transatlantic liners
m/s Chrobry
the last pre-war liner built for the Polish Merchant Navy
Launched Feb 1939 and scuttled May 14, 1940.
- Article from Launceston Examiner in Tasmania. December 21, 1939 shortly after Nazi invasion of Poland
s/s Jagiełło
launched March 1939 and decommissioned November 1973. Built, for the Turkish gov, in the German shipyards at Hamburg. When WW2 began in Sept. 1939, seized control of the ship before it could be commissioned and became part of the Kriegsmarine in 1940.
The ship changed hands and names a number of times post war, when it was captured by the British. In 1947 it was handed over to Poland and eventually passed on to the Soviet Union when it was found too costly to operate.
Names it sailed under:
- Doğu (1939) Germany
- Lüderitzbucht (1939-45) Kriegsmarine, Germany
- Duala (1945) Ministry of War Transport UK
- Empire Ock (1945-46) Soviet Ministry of the Maritime Fleet
- Pyotr Velikiy (1946-48) Soviet Union
- Jagiełło (1948-49) Poland
- Pyotr Velikiy (1949-73) Soviet Union Black Sea Shipping Company
ts/s Stefan Batory
Build in the Netherlands and operated by Holland America Lines from 1951–1968 under the name TSS Maasdam IV. Sold in 1968 to Polish operators and renamed TSS Stefan Batory. Owned by two companies,
1968–1988: Polish Ocean Lines and 1988–1990: Hellenic Polish Line. Sold to an operator in the Bahamas and ran for 10 years under the name TSS Stefan from 1990 to 2000. Used as asylum housing in Sweden for two years and then sent to Greece.
Scrapped in March 2000.
The Batory appeared in the film – Kochaj albo rzuć (Love or Leave). Was also the ship Lee Harvey Oswald sailed on (under the flag name Maasdam) when he brought his family to live in the US.
The Stefan Batory previously featured on a stamp in 1971 Transatlantic Liner Stefan Batory and 1976 Stefan Batory” and “People of the Sea” monument, Gdynia.
Artist: Adam Werka (1917-2000)
Werka was a Polish painter who specialised in maritime themes.
Designer: Poczta Polska S.A.
Release date: July 30, 2024
August
80th Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising
topics: history | WW2
1 stamp on souvenir sheet, FDC, cancel
offset
Defending their positions at the Church of the Holy Cross at Krakowski Przedmieście in Warsaw.
Eight Books for the 80th Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising | Article | Culture.pl
XVII Summer Paralympic Games Paris
1 stamp, sheets of 9
offset
Designer: Paweł Myszka
Release date; August 9, 2024
Polish Design – Arkusik
Topics: design
2 stamps, FDC, cancel
offset + stochastic raster
“TULIPAN ” armchair by Teresa Kruszewska was originally designed in the 1973. The company, Fameg, re-released the chair in 2020.
Teresa Kruszewska (1927-2014) Polish interior designer, furniture designer, academic lecturer, professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, one of the leading representatives of Polish utility design after World War II. The furniture designed by her, including the TULIPAN armchair, are in the collections of the National Museum in Warsaw, the National Museum in Poznań, as well as the VITRA Design Museum in Weil am Rhein in Germany. For many years, the designer was associated with the Bent Furniture Factory in Radomsko, where many prototypes of furniture designed by her were created.
Teresa Kruszewska (fameg.pl)
PLOPP stool by Oskar Zięty made by FIDU.
The PLOPP stool is an original, iconic object made in FiDU. It is a flagship of Zieta Studio and a symbol of Oskar Zięta’s research into the properties and possibilities of metal. The “Polish Air-Pumped Folk Object” proves how the artistic aspects of the design can be summarized in highly advanced engineering forms. Winner of the Red Dot Design Award 2008, the German Design Council Award 2008, and the Forum AID Award 2009. PLOPP is a manifesto of the FiDU technology and the “controlled loss of control” process. Two ultra-thin steel sheets are welded together around their edges and inflated under high pressure, deforming a 2.5D flat form into a 3D object.
Zieta PLOPP – the design icon. Original. – Zieta Studio
Designer: Agnieszka Sancewicz
Release date: August 30, 2024
Historic Organs in Poland
topics: history | music
Designer:
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Madonnas of Kresowe
topics: religion
Designer:
Release date:
Dinosaurs
topics: big ass animals
Designer:
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200th Anniversary of the Birth of Juliusz Kossak
topics: history | famous people
Designer:
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October
Christmas
topics: holidays
Designer:
Release date:
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