Finnish stamps have won several international awards in recent decades. Kaj Hellman of Finland runs a business that is well-known among top international philatelists. They compete for medals as resolutely as any Olympic athlete. The only way to get into the big exhibitions is through a severe process of elimination. Ship stamps unique collector's items A shipping line's round stamps on the envelope date from 1895.
Philatelists certainly know Finland and appreciate our stamps, both older and new ones.
There are a lot of countries whose stamps are quite boring - and that applies to more than just their visual appearance. At its most interesting, a stamp can tell about unusual circumstances and history. The stamps that shipping companies issued for their private mail services in the Baltic archipelago around the turn of the 20th century and the stamps franking them are coveted collector's items world-wide. In those days, the State-run postal service did not look after this traffic. The 25-penni stamp for the paddle steamer Runeberg dates from 1894.