The first three stamps of 2018 Latvijas Pasts releases in the series The Coats of Arms of Latvian Towns and Municipalities. The new postage stamps depict the coats of arms of Kegums (Ķegums), Rundale (Rundāle) and Seja (Sēja) municipalities. The first day cancellation of the new stamps is scheduled to take place on January 19, 2018 in Riga post office No. 50 in the shopping mall Origo, at Stacijas laukums 2, from 8 AM to 7 PM. The stamps of the coats of arms series are printed on a self-adhesive base.
The stamps are accompanied by the issue of a first-day cover with the print run of 1000 copies. The cover features the map of Latvia, as well as the coats of arms of Kegums, Rundale and Seja municipalities. The design author of the new philatelic issues is the artist Girts Griva (Ģirts Grīva).
The postage stamp with a denomination of € 0.50, corresponding to the regular Class B letter mailing cost within the territory of Latvia, is dedicated to the coat of arms of Kegums municipality. The print run of this stamp is one million copies. The sun in the centre of the stamp symbolizes energy and the first large hydroelectric powerplant in Latvia, whereas the four parts of the coat of arms depict the administrative districts - Birzgale, Tome, and Rembate rural territories and the town of Kegums as the administrative centre of the municipality.
The stamp with a denomination of € 0.57 depicts the coat of arms of Rundale municipality. The face value of this stamp corresponds to the cost of sending a regular Class A letter within the territory of Latvia, and its print run is 200,000 copies. The coat of arms of Rundale municipality portrays a sitting golden lion supporting a shield with its right paw.
The coat of arms of Seja municipality has been issued in the stamp of a denomination of € 1.39, and it corresponds to the cost of sending a registered Class B letter within Latvia. The print run of these postage stamps is 200,000 copies. The coat of arms of Seja is adorned with a golden oak tree including roots on a green background.
The new postage stamps and the cover in the series The Coats of Arms of Latvian Towns and Municipalities can be viewed here.
The series The Coats of Arms of Latvian Towns and Municipalities is being issued since 1994, and is regularly supplemented with several postage stamps issued simultaneously. The complete collection of the stamps of this series can be viewed here.
