page_title: Health stamp
section_title: Later issues
hierarchical_section_title: Health stamp / Later issues
caption_attribution_description: English: 1945 New Zealand Health stamp, Charity stamp. Peter Pan statue in London.
context_page_description: Health stamps are a long-running series of charity stamp issued by New Zealand which include a premium for charitable causes in addition to the charge for postal service. Health stamps were issued annually from 1929 to 2016.
context_section_description: A further stamp was issued in 1932, denominated at one penny postage plus one penny health. The "Charity" inscription was  dropped completely in favour of "Health", recognizing that the stamps were supporting the Health Camps. This inscription has continued to the present day, and the stamps (retroactively to 1929) are considered to be "Health Stamps" by collectors and New Zealand Post (the successor organization to the New Zealand Post Office Department). The term "Christmas Seal" is now rarely used in relation to these stamps.
  From 1933 to 1938, a single health stamp was issued each year, denominated as one penny postage, plus one penny health. For several of these years, the health stamp was the only non-definitive stamp issued by the New Zealand Post Office. The 1933 stamp was the first stamp designed by James Berry, another prolific New Zealand stamp designer.
  Section 9 of the Adhesive Stamps Act 1939 replaced the clauses of the 1929 and 1931 Finance Acts under which health stamps were issued, although the powers of the Postmaster-General and Minister of Health were largely unchanged.
  In 1939, two stamps were issued. These were initially printed as ½d+½d and 1d+1d stamps, but due to postage rate changes, the postage denominations were overprinted as 1d and 2d before issue. Two values were issued every year from 1939 until 1973, with the exception of 1955, 1956, 1969, and 1971 when there were three values. Owing to wartime strictures, in 1940 and 1941, similar issues to 1939 were used, issued in different colours (both years) and overprinted with the year (1941 only).
  From 1973, three values became the norm, often with two lower value stamps of the same value issued as a se-tenant pair, with a third higher value stamp. In 1990, the issue reverted to two values, and most years since that time have had two or three values (the exceptions being in 2000 and 2006, with sets of six stamps issued). The 2009 issue of three stamps carried images from earlier issues to commemorate the eightieth anniversary of New Zealand health stamps.
  From 1957, miniature sheets have been issued annually of New Zealand's health stamp issues. Initially these consisted of two separate sheets each containing six stamps of the same value, but since the 1970s one sheet has been issued annually containing the entire set of stamps. Self-adhesive stamps of the lowest value in each year's set have been issued most years since 1996, often in different designs to the gummed-sheet issue. The current (2010) charity surcharge on New Zealand health stamps is ten cents.
  The last health stamps were issued in 2016, and on 27 July 2017 New Zealand Post announced that no more health stamps will be issued due to declining sales and mail volumes.
caption: A 1945 New Zealand "Health" stamp charging 2 pence for postage and a premium of 1 pence for charity.
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