The importance of Nelson Mandela to South Africa is undeniable. But his thoughts, life and struggles have also been of unprecedented value to the rest of the world. Sometimes you are unexpectedly reminded of this in an unexpected and cheerful way.
Last week I received a card from Brazil with Mandela on it. I was immediately attrackted by the cheerful colors and the smile on Mandela's face. Closer examination of the stamp, taught me that it is a commemorative stamp of his 100th birthday. I had completely missed that at the time.
Of course there are more Nelson Mandela stamps. On Colnect, I count no fewer than 698. A separate thematic collection worthy.
Celebrities are a popular theme to collect. But with many of these releases, the relationship and origin is sometimes questionable, to say the least. They seem more like commercial items than actual postal items. Think of the Disney theme (7987 stamps issued worldwide), most of which had no postal use or weren't even available in the "issuing country". The only reason for issuing is to let collectors spend money on them. But perhaps that applies to many (all?) stamp issued today ...
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