In 2020 the joint stamp series of the European countries is dedicated to the theme of ancient postal routes. On the 8th of May 2020 Latvijas Pasts plans to release two new stamps in this series that depict the delivery of postal items by horse transport and bicycle. The new stamps will first be available for purchase at the post offices of the largest cities, as well as in the e-shop of Latvijas Pasts https://veikals.pasts.lv/. Those interested in the first day cancellation options are invited to contact us by writing to the e-mail address: filatelija@pasts.lv.
The stamp with a face value of € 1.35 corresponds to the postage of letter-post items in the weight class up to 20 grams to the countries located in zone 2. In turn, the stamp with a face value of € 1.42 covers the postage of letter-post items in the weight class up to 20 grams to the countries located in zone 3. The individual print run of each stamp is 104,000 copies.
The release of the stamps is accompanied by the issue of a special cover with a print run of 1,000 copies. The stamps and the cover have been designed by the artist Ludis Danilāns.
On one of the stamps the artist depicts the delivery of post by horse, telling us about the ancient history of hundreds of years, when letters and other valuable things were delivered by special postal riders. The other stamp features the delivery of post by bicycle – although the use of bicycles in the postal sector started more than 100 years ago, this way of delivery also enjoys popularity among postmen today.
The originator of the Europa series stamps is PostEurop Association, and the stamps of this series with a single logo and a common theme for entire Europe have been issued since 1994. In previous years the themes of the Europa stamps were dedicated to ornithology, literature, natural attractions, travel, postal transport, old toys, eco-friendly lifestyle, castles and railway.
