Stamps: Queen Elizabeth is the most pictured person on stamps in history

Since Great Britain issued its first postage stamp in 1840, the royal head of state always has been depicted on the country's stamps. No one has been on more British stamps than Queen Elizabeth II since her accession to the throne in 1952. More so, Queen Elizabeth, who died Sept. 8, has appeared on more stamps issued around the world by members of the British Commonwealth, Britain's former colonies and even independent nations than anyone in history. Billions of stamps have portrayed the queen or her likeness. Many countries are planning new stamp issues to commemorate her death. Great Britain's Royal Mail plans to release a four-stamp set on Nov. 10 featuring portraits of the queen used on a 2002 set honoring her 50th golden jubilee as monarch. Royal Mail also announced Sept. 9 that all stamps bearing the queen's likeness would remain valid for use — including definitive stamps and commemorative stamps. Let's not forget that Elizabeth was a stamp collector in her own right. While perhaps not as popular to her as her beloved corgis, the Royal Philatelic Collection still garnered Elizabeth's attention for decades. The collection, perhaps the most comprehensive of any related to philately of the United Kingdom, originated in 1864 and was transferred through the royal family to King George V in the late 19th century. George, in 1896 as the Duke of York, became president of the Philatelic Society London, now the Royal Philatelic Society London (rpsl.org.uk). George obtained stamps from a variety of sources, building it into 328 60-page so-called "Red Albums." It grew to include the "Blue Albums" during the reign of King George VI and then "Green Albums" under Elizabeth. Valued at $100 million, the collection today is kept at St. James Palace in London. Each monarch has employed a curator to oversee the holdings. Elizabeth made the collection more accessible by allowing segments to appear at major stamp shows around the world, the National Postal Museum in England and during the society's opening meeting of each season. Elizabeth visited the society in 1969 on its centennial and in November 2019 to open its new building. During both visits she signed the same visitors' book. The first stamp to feature Elizabeth was issued long before she became queen. Newfoundland in 1932, then a self-governing dominion of the British Empire, issued a 6-cent stamp in 1932 showing 6-year-old Princess Elizabeth. Additional stamps followed in 1938 and in 1947, the latter marking the future queen's 21st birthday. Newfoundland united with Canada in 1949. Elizabeth's appearance on British stamps came in 1952 with the introduction of a definitive series. Perhaps the most iconic image of Elizabeth is the one that continues to appear on British definitive issues — those stamps that carry the vast majority of mail — in a series that began in 1967. Known among philatelists as the "Machins," the 55-year-old stamp set is named for Arnold Machin, who created six large molds of the queen that were photographed and developed into the portrait that has appeared on billions of British stamps. Royal Mail in 2017 estimated that the Machin portrait has been printed more than 220 billion times in various colors and denominations. "It is said that this image is the most used image that the world has ever seen," Peter Cockburn, Royal Philatelic Society London president, told the BBC. Royal Mail issued a set of eight stamps in various denominations earlier this year to mark Elizabeth's platinum anniversary as queen. They show her dedication to service as seen in photographs dating from 1957 to 2020. Holiday rates take effect As it has in recent years, the U.S. Postal Service will temporarily raise rates for shipping packages during the holiday season. As of Oct. 2, it costs more for first class, priority mail, priority mail express and other package rates. International shipping rates will remain unchanged. Call it dynamic pricing for the busiest shipping period of the year. The rates — too many to mention here — will stay in effect until Jan. 22. More information is online at usps.com or your local post office. Dennis Sadowski can be reached at sadowski.dennis@gmail.com.