Posti issues colorful Finland in NATO stamp Sept. 6

By Molly Goad

On Sept. 6, Finland’s postal administration, Posti, issued a new stamp to commemorate Finland’s recent membership in NATO.

Finland became the 31st North Atlantic Treaty Organization partner on April 4, 2023, when the stamp design collaboration began.

Designer Ilkka Karkkainen arranged the colors of each NATO country’s flag in stripes to symbolize the community of NATO countries.

“Characterized by Scandinavian style, the design is simple yet informative and striking,” Karkkainen said.

Finland submitted its NATO application on May 18, 2022. According to NATO, “Finnish cooperation with NATO was historically based on its policy of military non-alignment and a firm national political consensus. This changed in 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”

NATO Allies signed Finland’s Accession Protocol on July 5, 2022, after which all 30 national parliaments ratified the country’s membership. (For more information, visit NATO’s website.)

The nondenominated stamp pays the domestic letter rate (currently €2.30) and is sold in panes of 10. Finland in NATO stamps include what Posti calls “a 2D barcode, which makes the mechanical sorting of items easier.”

The stamps were issued Sept. 6, along with stamps for Finnair, the Finnish Museums Association, Christmas, and Posti’s 2023 Art Award. (See “Finnish stamps celebrate anniversaries, Christmas,” in the Aug. 21 issue of Linn’s Stamp News for details.) Posti held a first-day-of-issue event Sept. 6 at the Helsinki Main Post Office with the stamp designers on hand to sign their products.

Posti plans to commemorate Sweden’s NATO membership with a stamp, but at the time of this writing, that agreement is pending.

Visit Posti’s online shop for more details.

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