Dove of peace − the embroidered stamp
“It’s time for action. The action is PEACE. Spread the word. Spread PEACE.”
Yoko Ono, imaginepeace.com
Peace, such a significant word. We all want peace and to live in peace. On a personal level, it can be about feeling content, having peace within yourself. We wish for peace in our neighbourhood and in our country. Yet, we know that conflicts and unrest are ongoing, that people and countries are fighting.
We and our postal network stand for world peace, which we support through the international stamp project Dove of peace. Read more about the embroidered stamp on page 10.
Johanna Finne DESIGN & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
Åland Post Stamps
2025 exhibition series
This year, Åland Post Stamps hits the road to meet new and loyal collectors at three stamp events in Finland and Sweden. At each fair, we offer an exhibition card, stamp, and cancel.
The 2025 exhibition series was inspired by road signs and public outdoor art. For each exhibition location, visual artist Minna Öberg from Åland has illustrated a work of art that is related to travel and motion. At the end of the year, you can buy this year’s exhibition cards and stamps in individual packs.
Stay tuned to alandstamps.com!
Numbered edition!
Collect zodiac series in unique album
On 23 October, we conclude our popular stamp series interpreting the Chinese zodiac, each horoscope animal illustrated with an Åland twist. To celebrate the completion of the series, we have produced a specially designed presentation album that gives you a great overview of the entire series.
The album holds all zodiac stamp issues, from the 2014 Åland sheep to the 2025 Horse issues, mounted by hand in protective plastic mounts. In addition to the stamps, the 34 pages of the album present the story behind the stamp series, artist Martin Mörck and his sources of inspiration, as well as descriptions and facts about each
issue. The solid quality collector’s sheets are elegantly kept in place by gold-toned book screws, which give an exclusive feel. The strictly limited edition is 300 albums, so secure your album today! Send the order coupon on page 15 by post or email to stamps@alandpost.com. We reserve the right to run out of stock.
Åland Zodiac Postage Stamp
Series 2014–2025, album
Date of issue: 23 October 2025
Edition: 300
Size: 305 × 225 mm
Price: €82
MÖSS – MICE
ORM SNAKE
On 23 October, we release the final miniature sheet in the series featuring Chinese horoscope animals. Created for the Year of the Horse, artist Martin Mörck has captured horse life at an Åland stable where equineassisted therapy plays a central role.
Horse completes zodiac series
On Åland, you find around 1,000 horses, mainly kept as companion and hobby animals. This year’s edition was inspired by the Stall JoY riding school in Samuelstorp, Hammarland, where hippotherapist Jeanette Eriksson offers equine-assisted therapy.
“Stall JoY started as a dream when my partner and I bought a small farm in 2001. Over time, we’ve created a safe and motivating environment where you can train with horses. Horses and nature awaken many senses and emotions and can provide physical, psychological, and social support in rehabilitation and habilitation. We’ve had many horses over the years and currently have three half-bloods, a Fjord Horse, a Tennessee Walking Horse, an Icelandic Horse, and a small Finnhorse. Just like humans, horses have different personalities and experiences, allowing clients to find their favourite horse that they appreciate and want to get to know,” Jeanette says.
A tenant on the farm is the association Stall JoY Handicap Club, which offers horse activities for people with disabilities. In the upper right corner of the miniature sheet, two horses pull the association’s customized carriage, purchased with Åland Post’s 2008 Christmas seal grant.
With this year’s miniature sheet, Martin Mörck finalizes his artistic zodiac mission, that has been ongoing for nearly ten years. “The horse was quite difficult to get a grip of, perhaps because this was the last motif in the series and thus the end of something I’d been working on for almost a decade. I placed the stables in the background and added a circular bridleway with, among other things, grazing horses and pheasants inside the circle. In this way, I could add different activities along the bridleway, creating both movement and depth. The inclusive philosophy of the riding school inspired me, allowing my creativity to flourish. The zodiac series has been a long, wonderful project filled with challenges, creative solutions, joy, and passion,” Martin sums up.
Date of issue: 23 October 2025
Artist: Martin Mörck
Design: Johanna Finne
Edition: 25 000
Denomination: €7.20
Stamp size: 60 × 50 mm
Sheet size: 170 × 95 mm
Paper: 110 g/m²
Perforation: 13 per 2 cm
Process: 4-colour offset
Printer: Cartor Security Printers
Martin Mörck (born 1955) is one of the most renowned artists and engravers of stamps and bank notes in the world. This year’s miniature sheet is his 19th stamp issue for Åland Post.
@morckmartin
Horse tracks run across the first day cover, while, on the maximum card, the horse canters freely, a feeling also captured in the special cancel. On the first day cancel you see a hand gently caressing the horse.
Gustaf Erikson ran the world’s largest shipping company from Åland. His company archives is now included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. On 25 August, we celebrate his legacy with a stamp bearing the UNESCO logo. Juta Policja is the artist.
Archives of maritime icon
On 24 May 2023, the Gustaf Erikson Shipping Company Archives was included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, which includes over 500 archival and library heritage items from around the world. The GE-archives is an invaluable source of knowledge about the last days of commercial sailing, and UNESCO’s recognition underlines its great international importance.
Gustaf Erikson (1872–1947) and his sailing vessels made Åland globally known. When competitors focused on motor vessels, he saw opportunities for large sailing ships on the wheat trade between Europe and Australia. He ran a unique apprentice operation, recruiting sailors from Åland and the rest of the world.
The archives comprises the period from 1913, when shipmaster Erikson went ashore and bought his first ship, the Tjerimai, until 1947. During his 35 years as a shipowner, he owned some 70 ships, almost 40 of which were sailing vessels.
Part of the archives is today preserved in the Åland Maritime Museum, but the majority, just over 13 shelf metres, is at the Åland Provincial Archives and includes logbooks, accounting documents, photos, telegrams and letters from officers, many with the shipowner’s marginal notes. Erikson kept in close contact with the shipmasters who were expected to report on matters large and small.
This is artist Juta Policja’s first stamp illustration.
“I felt both proud and nervous about the assignment. Everything related to the sea is close to my heart, but to summarize, in a small space, the life of a legendary person and his contribution to the world’s maritime history was a challenge. Studying the archives, photos and books about his fleet, I decided to highlight the most important elements in the stamp: Erikson, his first ship Tjerimai and the impressive archives. On the first day cover and maximum card, I complemented the story with more symbolic elements such as a lighthouse, an albatross, and a figurehead,” Juta explains.
Sources: www.arkivet.ax, head archivist Åke Söderlund
Gustaf Erikson Shipping Company archives
Date of issue: 25 August 2025
Artist: Juta Policja
Design: Johanna Finne
Edition: 30 000
Denomination: Världen
Stamp size: 40 × 30 mm
Sheet size: 184 × 264 mm
Stamps/sheet: 2 × 12 stamps
Paper: 110 g/m²
Perforation: 13 per 2 cm
Process: 4-colour offset
Printer: Cartor Security Printers
On the first day cover you see authentic archival material forming sails on a mast. The logo of the shipping company adorns the first day cancel. On the gutter of the stamp sheet you see Gustaf Erikson’s marginal notes on a letter from the captain of the Archibald Russell.
The maximum card shows an artistic interpretation inspired by the history of the shipping company. The special cancel depicts an albatross.
Juta Policja is a Latvian artist living on Åland for 10 years. She describes her artistic style as realism with a touch of magic. She paints everything from landscapes and still lifes to modern icons.
@jutapolicja
In connection with Åland hosting the 34th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in Mariehamn, we release a colourful stamp by artist Bo Söderlund, illustrating autonomous Åland’s place in the Baltic Sea region. The day of issue is 25 August.
Baltic Sea states meet on Åland
Since its inception in 1991, Åland has been a member of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC), a forum for political dialogue between parliamentarians from ten national and seven regional parliaments and five parliamentary organizations operating around the Baltic Sea.
This year, Åland will be hosting the annual BSPC conference, gathering around 200 participants in Mariehamn from 24 to 26 August. In connection with the conference, BSPC’s youth forum and ReGeneration 2030 will also be arranged. The conference theme is The Baltic Sea – Our Lifeline. Cooperation, Security and Sustainability. The agenda includes issues such as shipping, fisheries, the marine environment, energy security, hybrid threats, as well as peace and security.
“For Åland, it is both an honour and an important event to host the conference. We are committed to BSPC and value good relations and the opportunity to strengthen cooperation with the parliaments of our neighboring countries and international organizations around the Baltic Sea. Being involved in discussing complex and
important issues with these actors is an asset,” says Benjamin Sidorov, committee secretary at the Åland Parliament and secretary for the Åland BSPC delegation.
Since the autumn 2024, Åland member of parliament Alfons Röblom is president of the BSPC. He describes the forum as Åland’s widest arena for networking and interparliamentary work.
“Through the BSPC, we do not only have the opportunity to place Åland on the map and lift autonomy as a government system, but can also raise important issues from an Åland perspective in international contexts,” Alfons says.
Artist Bo Söderlund reveals that he explored several different ideas before the stamp motif took form:
“I tried different tracks, but I finally chose a colourful abstraction of the Baltic Sea map and the flags of the countries. I decided to keep a strict style and work with shimmering colour and shade transitions. I took some inspiration from the work of Swedish graphic artist K.G. Nilson. It’s a fun visual and design language to explore,” Bo says.
Source: www.bspc.net
Åland’s position in the Baltic Sea
Date of issue: 25 August 2025
Artist: Bo Söderlund
Design: Bo Söderlund & Johanna Finne
Edition: 30 000
Denomination: Europa
Stamp size: 35 × 35 mm
Sheet size: 199 × 296 mm
Stamps/sheet: 2 × 15 stamps
Paper: 110 g/m²
Perforation: 13 per 2 cm
Process: 4-colour offset
Printer: Cartor Security Printers
Bo Söderlund (born 1987) is an Åland illustrator, animator, and creator. His first stamp commissioned by Åland Post illustrating the Nordic bat was issued in 2020.
@b0soderlund
The stamp sheet and first day cover feature the BSPC logo, and the flags of the Baltic Sea states create an exciting graphic expression. On the gutter of the sheet, you will also note a ferry trudging across the sea, a motif that reappears in the first day cancel
On 19 September, Åland Post will issue a textile stamp for the first time. The embroidered stamp is part of an international peace project uniting postal services from all over the world in a common message of peace and unity – one stitch at a time.
United for peace
The Dove of Peace stamp project is an international initiative by Philatelie Liechtenstein and Hämmerle & Vogel, where Åland Post has joined ten postal administrations in Europe, the UN, and the Universal Postal Union to launch a unique stamp edition. The common stamp motif is a dove with an olive branch in its beak, a universal symbol of peace.
In a time of uncertainty and conflict, the theme of peace and reconciliation is more important than ever. Like a flying dove, the stamp transcends borders, spreading a powerful message of love, tolerance, and humanity. Peace is not built on freedom and solidarity alone, but also on the will to understand and respect human differences.
The unique textile material of the peace stamp provides a three-dimensional and tactile feel, making it different from traditional stamps. Hämmerle & Vogel has designed and produced the embroidered stamp. Based in Lustenau, Austria, the family-owned textile company has a 100-
year tradition of exclusive textile artisanry. The company was founded in the early 20th century and has specialized in embroidery for the fashion industry, but it has also created embroidered stamps for several postal administrations, including the Austrian Post.
The art of embroidery requires both patience and immense skill, and thus also reflects the daily effort and dedication that peace work entails.
This self-adhesive commemorative stamp is issued simultaneously by all participating postal administrations. Only the country name and denomination distinguish the issues.
Whether you choose to use the stamp for postage or keep it as a beautiful jewel in your stamp collection, you are helping to convey a timeless and important message – united for peace.
Dove of peace
Date of issue: 19 September 2025
Artist: Iris Hämmerle
Design: Hämmerle & Vogel
Edition: 13 000
Denomination: €10
Stamp size: 55 × 43 mm
Material: 100 % recycled polyester (GRS certified) from PET bottles and other plastic waste with adhesive backing
Process: embroidery, fabric
Printer: Hämmerle & Vogel
The first day cover and first day cancel with the same motif as the stamp are produced by Åland Post exclusively for the Åland edition.
Subscribers have priority
Issued in a strictly limited edition, the stamp is only sold as a mint single stamp or on an FDC. You who subscribe to Åland stamps have priority for the edition. Only a few stamps will be available for ad hoc orders, so, it is worthwhile subscribing if you want to be sure to obtain the stamp.
The stamp is automatically included in the subscription for mint stamp series, stamps of the year (delivered in a glassine bag at the end of the year), year set, self-adhesive stamp, and FDC series.
Please note: the stamp will not be included in the subscription for cancelled stamps, except for FDC series and cancelled year set. Are you unsure whether your subscription includes the issue? Log in and check your subscription at subscriber-login.alandpost.com/en/ You can also contact customer service, and we will assist you.
Iris Hämmerle
Christmas is a time filled with warmth, togetherness and generosity. We light candles in the winter darkness, gather around traditions and are reminded of the importance of giving, not just gifts but also of our time and consideration.
One of our most experienced stamp artists, Jonas Wilén, has created this year’s Christmas stamps and Christmas seals. On the theme of togetherness, he has illustrated hearts formed by letter writing and the joy of skating side by side. Jonas says:
“My inspiration for the theme of togetherness is highly personal, as it is strongly connected to my own emotional life and being together with someone I care deeply for. I wanted to convey that feeling – the joy of sharing an experience with another person. It has been especially joyful working on this edition because I was given considerable creative freedom. Also, the finished stamp designs are close to my original idea and initial sketches.”
On 23 October, we release this year’s romantic Christmas stamps that capture the joy of shared moments and experiences. Jonas Wilén is the artist.
Christmas joy shared is double joy
Christmas is one of the few holidays when we still take the time to send cards. A beautiful Christmas card with a handwritten greeting is a reminder that someone is thinking of us and wants to share the Christmas spirit. Jonas captures the meaning of Christmas when he talks about what the holiday means to him.
“For me, Christmas is an important holiday because it also means a lot to my loved ones. A time of year when you can really be together. Christmas also marks another important thing. It reminds us how nice it is to be generous,” Jonas says.
Sending a Christmas greeting is a simple but meaningful way to spread joy. It’s a nice gesture of kindness. So, why not take a moment in your Christmas preparations, sit down with a cup of mulled wine, and write a few lines to someone you’re thinking of? A greeting in the letter box may mean more than you think.
473 & 474
Christmas 2025
Date of issue: 23 October 2025
Artist: Jonas Wilén
Design: Johanna Finne
Editions: 60 000 & 30 000
Denominations: Julpost & Världen
Stamp size: 36 × 25.5 mm
Sheet size: 204 × 279 mm
Stamps/sheet: 2 × 20 stamps
Paper: 110 g/m²
Perforation: 13 per 2 cm
Process: 4-colour offset + foiling
Printer: Cartor Security Printers
A lone skate with a shoelace forming a heart adorns the first day cover. The first day cancel reflects the same theme.
Jonas Wilén is an Åland visual artist, illustrator and cartoonist who has illustrated stamps for Åland Post since 1998.
@jonas.wilen
2025 Christmas seals
Date of issue: 23 October 2025
Artist: Jonas Wilén
Design: Johanna Finne
Edition: 2 500 sheets of 20 self-adhesive seals
Seal size: 30 × 25.5 mm
Sheet size: 210 × 145 mm
Paper: coated 196 g/m²
Process: 4-colour offset
Printer: Joh. Enschedé
Festive Christmas seals
This year’s Christmas seals harmonize with the theme of the Christmas stamps – togetherness. Decorate your Christmas cards and parcels with the lovely self-adhesive seals that are not only beautiful; they also do good. Every year, the surplus from the sale is distributed to charitable causes on Åland. Organizations, associations or projects that contribute to Åland society receive a share of the proceeds. Previous beneficiaries include the Foodbank, the Åland Group for Borrelia Research, the Red Cross and the 4H Åland District. The beneficiary of the 2025 Christmas seal grant will be revealed closer to the release date in October. Stay tuned to alandstamps.com for more information.
Next subscription delivery
(Note! Preliminary times of delivery)
Delivery Deadline subc.change Contents
October 22 September
Gustaf Erikson Shipping Company archives (1), Åland’s position in the Baltic Sea (1), Dove of peace (1), Horse (miniature sheet), Christmas 2025 (2), 2 maximum cards, Christmas seals, Sepac folder no. 16
Find all delivery times at alandstamps.com/en/pages/stopptider-och-leveranstider.
Exhibitions 2025
In the autumn, Åland Post Stamps participates in the following exhibitions (subject to change):
Nordia 2025, 12-14.9, Malmö, Sweden
Postcard festival, 13.9, Hämeenlinna, Finland
Read more about the theme of this year’s exhibition products on p. 2. At the fairs, you will find the latest stamps and collector’s items from Åland. As official reseller of Posti Finland’s stamps, we also sell the latest Finnish stamps and annual packs.
Special cancellations 2025
Current information can be found at alandstamps.com/en/pages/vara-stamplar, where updated images of the cancels will be posted. To obtain a special cancel on your own pre-franked and selfaddressed covers, please send them to us well in advance of the relevant date. Changes are possible.
Find the current postal tariffs at alandstamps.com/en/pages/portotabell.
Åland Post Ltd Stamps PO box 1100 AX-22111 Mariehamn ÅLAND, Finland
Telephone +358 18 636 639 E-mail stamps@alandpost.com
Editors
Gunilla Häggblom, Johanna Finne, Rebecka Lundén
Text: Gunilla Häggblom
Translation: Kristine Lybeck Sund
Layout: Rebecka Lundén
Printer: Grano
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