Iconic Stamp Series From Around The World

Papua New Guinea Gold Fields Set

Russia 1934 Zeppelin Airmail Set

Great Britain Seahorses and Castles

Greenland Polar Bears

India Gandhi Set

Greece Hermes Heads

Austria Birds Airmails

Malaya "tiger" series

Austria, 1948 Provincial Costumes

Greece, Hermes heads

GB, Wildings (it had to be said)

I collect Denmark, and the set I nominate for most iconic is the "Wavy Line" series. These were first issued in 1905, and bear the Scott design number of A10. The set underwent several changes in perforation, watermark, new denominations and new colors until about 1930, then, in 1933, the basic design was changed slightly with the removal of the tiny hearts which were incorporated into the original design, just above and below the word "Danmark" giving them the new Scott design number of A32. Later still, as prices of postage continued going up and up, higher denominations were added, until by 1981 the first one krone stamp appeared, but rather than put "1 Krone" on the stamps, the designers decided to denominate the stamp as 100 ore. I believe they might have done this for esthetic purposes because the word "krone" would have to have been squeezed together in order for it to fit in the original design. Since then, several more higher denominations have been issued: 150, 200, 270, 300, all the way up to 500 ore issued in 2008. In 2010 a few denominations were issued, including a 500 ore stamp which restored the tiny hearts back to the design, which means that the original design, adjusted for inflation, has now been in use for 105 years. This is probably a record. While not particularly beautiful, I like the design, there is something very comforting about them, a note in Scott says that the three wavy lines represent the three waters surrounding the principal Danish islands. This amazing longevity also supports one of the reasons I collect Denmark, it's because they have such a sensible stamp issuing policy, there are rarely more than about 15 or 20 stamps issued each year, and they nearly always pertain to something to do with the country.

For me, it's Mexico's Exporta series and those Railway Parcel Post stamps from Belgium.

This may be identifying something iconic too soon but they are great stamp series and extremely well-done - American Landmarks series started in 2008 for the Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express stamps. The style is very identifiable and the range of landmarks covered is diverse and interesting.

Although I don't actively collect them, Switzerland C3-C12 are pretty iconic.

Iconic? Not sure how to define this. There are numerous series that I like, but I would not necessarily call them iconic. E.g., I like the recent U.S. Scenic Landscapes (C133-C150) ... but I wouldn't consider them "iconic". To find such series, I think one needs to go back in time. I would likely have to return to the collecting days of my youth when I collected the world, not just the U.S.
Almost any of the UKs KGVI commemorative series of the 30s & 40s should fit the bill. Throw in the Canadian war and peace issues of the 40s. And, of course, there are the U.S. Trans-Mississippis of the 1890s. I'm sure there are others, but too many years have passed & my memory of those world wide stamps has faded.
But ... one other series does come to mind. The Queen Juliana definitives of the Netherlands ... issued sometime in the 40s or 50s. When I first started collecting, these stamps seemed ubiquitous ... especially the 10-cent orange. As was often the case, I decided to research the person depicted upon them. As a result, I gained a profound admiration, not so much for Juliana as for her mother. Queen Wilhelmina, was both a remarkable woman and a truly great monarch who served her country amazingly well during WWII. The world as a whole, not just her native land, is indebted to her.

I feel that this thread would have been very much enhanced with images, so I have included some in my post.

My vote for one of the world's most iconic series must go to the Cape Triangle stamps, which I believe were the first triangular shaped stamps issued anywhere. This is not an area in which I specialise, but I am fortunate to have one or two.



One of my favourite series, and one which I personally consider iconic, are the Rhodesia Double Heads.

This series first issued in 1910 consists of 18 values from ½d to £1. The Stanley Gibbons catalogue devotes 67 major numbers to these but there are significantly more varieties.



Despite having collected these for some time, I do not have a single value of five of the eighteen denominations, the: 2/6, 3/-, 7/6, 10/- and £1.

Popular and scarce, the higher denominations are not cheap even with a fiscal cancellation.

Clive

Love the Double Heads!

Canada #1 and 15, Beaver issues. What's more iconic for Canada than the beaver?

Clivel said that this discussion would be better if we added images so here are a couple of images of my beloved wavy line stamps from Denmark, showing the two variations, with and without the hearts. And I also wish to make a slight correction, I stated that the hearts were restored to the design in 2010, but in going through my AFA catalogue, see that they were added back in 2005, on the 100th anniversary of the first ones.

U.S. 1943-44 Overrun Nations (Sc 909-921)

Germany 1943 Wehrmacht (Sc B218-229, MI 831-842)

The Trans-Mississippi is hard to beat for the US, but I think the Overrun Countries series was kind of iconic. As a kid that series got me thinking….
It was also my very first independent purchase at a brick and mortar stamp shop.