150th anniversary of the Finnish stamp

A miniature sheet of three stamps to mark the 150th anniversary of the Finnish stamp, along with a nice covercommemorated this wonderful event. Thank you Pia for this fabulous FDC.

 Heraldic lion on postage stamps. The heraldic lion of Finland adorned the jubilee issue for the 150th anniversary of the Finnish postage stamp in 2006. In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Finnish stamp, a miniature sheet was issued on 27 October 2006 in scintillating red, blue and gold, on the theme of the lion coat of arms of Finland on Finnish stamps. The miniature sheet includes three stamps with values 0.70, 1.40 and 0.95. The jubilee sheet was designed by Päivi Vainionpää and was printed in a run of 220,000. In addition to these, a special numbered edition of 3,000 was printed of the jubilee item, with the lion printed in genuine 22-karat gold.

The lion coat of arms is a vital part of the history of the Finnish stamp: with a few brief exceptions, it has always been the picture on the definitive stamp. A number of designers have contributed their own versions of the stamp. The designer of the jubilee sheet, Päivi Vainionpaä, aimed to bring together a time-honored heritage and state-of-the-art technology: she has used on the jubilee sheet both old lion stamp originals and modern-day refinements of specialist printing technology.

Miniature sheet. The 95-cent postage stamp on the sheet is a cropped image of a ten kopek oval stamp. This was one of Finland's first stamps, from 1856. On the jubilee sheet it is portrayed stylishly: in red foil and embossed. The heraldic lion of Finland from 1930, drawn by designer Signe Hammarsten-Jansson, is shown on the 70-cent stamp. The white lion is embossed on a dark-blue background. The middle stamp on the sheet, with a face value of 1.40 Euro, is a section of the coat of arms stamp drawn by designer Pirkko Vahtero in 1975. The cropping, letterpress and gold foil bring out the lion strongly, with sculpted features on a dark-blue background. On the numbered series of miniature sheets, 22-karat gold is used to print this lion.