Digital Stamps

NZ Post presents digital stamp art created in celebration of the New Zealand 1898 Pictorials.

New Zealand was one of the first countries in the world to put pictures of the countryside, birds, and animals on its stamps. These stamps became known as Pictorials, and the first were issued on 5 April 1898, selected from around 2,400 that had been entered into a public competition. Now the art from these historical collectable stamps is available as another world-first - New Zealand’s first NFT stamps.

At the time of issue, these stamps represented a departure from the almost universal use of portrait designs of monarchs or presidents. Each denomination had its own unique design, and they were more attractive and interesting to consumers and collectors. The advantages from both financial and general points of view had been submitted to the Postmaster-General as early as 1894 for a stamp issue that was “symbolic of the land”.

The stamps were all engraved, and their first issue printed by Waterlow and Sons, England, with later supplies being printed in New Zealand from new plates. At the time of issue, New Zealand used British currency, and the original face values of the stamps range from a half penny to two shillings.

Find out more here, and sign up as a digital art collector here to access NZ Post's digital 1898 Pictorials.

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