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26.02.2021
A stamp in the Latvian Birds series depicting the common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), which was chosen as Bird of the Year 2020 in Latvia by the Latvian Ornithological Society, has been recognised as the most favourite stamp of 2020 in the competition held by Latvijas Pasts and the news portal Delfi. This stamp has received 5,309 votes. The second place with 4,258 votes has been secured by a stamp in the series Unique Exhibits of the Latvian Museum of Natural History, which features special Baltic Sea amber specimens. The third place with 4,036 votes goes to the second stamp released in the Latvian Birds series last year with an image of the hazel grouse (Tetrastes bonasia).
The voting for the stamps released in 2020, which was organised by Latvijas Pasts and Delfi, ran for two weeks, from the 9th of February to the 23rd of February 2021. During this period a total of 71,845 votes have been cast for more than 20 stamps issued by Latvijas Pasts in 2020. In 2020 Latvijas Pasts released fewer stamps than in 2019 due to COVID-19, but on average one stamp received 3,266 votes in the competition for the most popular stamps of 2020, while the average indicator per stamp in the 2019 stamp competition was lower, amounting to 2,894 votes.
All stamps making the top 3 have been designed by the artist Ģirts Grīva.
The stamp depicting the common kingfisher won with a large majority of votes. The difference in votes between this stamp and the second place winner is 1,051. The stamp was released on the 19th of June 2020 with a print run of 100,000 copies, and its face value is € 2.14, which corresponds to the postage of letter-post items in the weight class from 21 to 100 grams to the countries located in zone 2. The Latvian Ornithological Society recognised the common kingfisher as Bird of the Year 2020, and it is one of the most vivid birds in Latvia.
The runner-up featuring special Baltic amber specimens is the sixth and final stamp in the series Unique Exhibits of the Latvian Museum of Natural History. The stamp has a print run of 300,000 copies and a face value of € 2.69, corresponding to the postage of letter-post items in the weight class from 21 to 100 grams to the countries located in zone 4.
The third place has also been secured by a stamp in the Latvian Birds series – it depicts the hazel grouse which can be found in many places across Latvia. Its print run is 50,000 copies and its face value is € 1.27, making it suitable for sending letter-post items in the weight class from 21 to 100 grams within Latvia.
Stamps with images of birds traditionally enjoy popularity with people and rank high in the competitions of stamps issued by Latvijas Pasts. For example, the winner in 2017 was a stamp with the western yellow wagtail, while in 2018 the third place was taken by a stamp depicting the long-tailed tit, one of the smallest birds in Latvia.
This is the fifth time that Latvijas Pasts and the news portal Delfi have organised the competition for the most popular stamp of the last year. Previously, the release dedicated to the Latvian National Armed Forces Navy was recognised as the most beautiful stamp of 2019.
The winning stamps in the competition Stamp of the Year 2020 can be viewed here.
All stamps released in 2020 are available for viewing here.
About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with about 3,200 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.
Additional information:
Gundega Vārpa | Head of External Communications
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; gundega.varpa@pasts.lv
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