2012 Stamp Year

Letters with stamps have a special glow about them when they are lying in the pile of mail on the hall carpet. This glow comes from more than 200 million stamped letters that are sent annually within Sweden.

The stamps issued each year provide a contemporary glimpse of our country in color and exciting designs. The stamps in 2012 cover everything from pop music to opera, meadow flowers to geometric figures and gold Olympians to Raoul Wallenberg.

January 12

Visit Sweden

Coil stamps, 2 motifs, 100 per coil
SEK 12

The theme for the EUROPA stamps are decided by Posteurop, whose members include more than 40 postal organizations. Each member decides which motifs they will use on their own stamps. The 2012 EUROPA stamps will have a tourism theme and one of the Swedish stamps has a view of the capital. Stockholm is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Sweden.

People’s Parks

Booklet, self-adhesive, 4 motifs, 10 stamps
Coil stamps, 1 motif, 100 per coil
Domestic letters

Barbro Svensson, Lill-Babs, is the uncrowned queen of the people’s parks. She held her first performance in 1954 and since then has entertained thousands of visitors at peoples’ parks throughout the country. The stamp depicts her on two separate occasions; the one on the right is a show arranged by Tage Danielsson at a people’s park. One of the songs Lill-Babs sang was There Once Was a Sailor.

Geometric Figures

Booklet, self-adhesive, 4 motifs, 20 stamps
Coil stamps, 1 motif, 100 per coil
Second Class

New stamps with postage for second class letters depict octahedrons, an exciting geometric figure with eight corners. The motif simultaneously gives the impression of architectural precision and organic undulations. The proofs for the stamps are cut out of paper, folded and glued into both two- and three-dimensional octahedrons.

2012 Charity Stamps

Booklet, self-adhesive, 2 motifs, 10 stamps
Domestic letters

The charity stamps allow us to work closely with organizations that in different ways are contributing to the improvement of people’s lives. This year we are shining a spotlight on the Swedish Cancer Society, which uses the funds it raises to finance long-term research. For every booklet of charity stamps that is sold, SEK 10 is donated to the recipient organization.

March 21

Fishing Tackle

Coil stamps, self-adhesive, 3 motifs, 100 per coil
SEK 5, SEK 10, SEK 20

After receiving many requests from our customers and postal agents, we introduced self-adhesive stamps ten years ago. To date, self-adhesive stamps have been sold as booklets or sheets. The stamp depicting a modern fishing reel is now being issued as self-adhesive coil stamps in a convenient, practical box that can be re-used.

Fine Art Photography

Booklet, self-adhesive, 5 motifs, 5 stamps, SEK 12
Coil stamps, 1 motif, 100 per coil, Domestic letters

Gunnar Smoliansky has been called “Swedish photography’s expert in nuances”. His meditative close-up of a leaf in a glassed filled with water sitting on a windowsill is one of five photographs depicted on the stamps in the Fine Art Photography booklet. The remaining four photos are taken by other prominent Swedish photographers and cover a wide range of genres and methods of expression.

Poultry Stocks

Booklet, self-adhesive, 4 motifs, 10 stamps
Domestic letters

Stamps with four types of Swedish poultry stock will decorate many Easter greetings, a tradition that is almost as old as Christmas cards. The designer Thérèse Lindström was inspired by old school posters. One of the stamps depicts the black and white Orust Hen, a breed native to the west coast of Sweden.

The North by the Sea - Life at the Coast

Minisheet, 2 motifs, 2 stamps
SEK 12

Together with seven other Nordic postal organizations we have issued Swedish stamps in the Top of The World of Stamps series every other year since 2004. The current theme is The North by the Sea, and the illustrations for this year’s motif, Life at the Coast, include one of Swedish Coast Guard’s airplanes and the Swedish Maritime Administration’s maintenance vessels.

May 10

Swedish Gold Medal Olympians

Coil stamps, 1 motif, 100 per coil, SEK 12
Coil stamps, 2 motifs, 100 per coil, Domestic letters

One hundred years have passed since the Sunshine Olympics in 1912 at the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm. The stadium’s classic architecture is the background on the stamp depicting the javelin thrower and four-time gold medal Olympian Eric Lemming. There are also stamps depicting two recent gold medal Olympians as voted for by the Swedish people: heptathlete Carolina Klüft and pistol shooter Ragnar Skanåker.

Raoul Wallenberg Centenary

Minisheet, 1 motif, 1 stamp
SEK 12

This year is the year Raoul Wallenberg would have turned 100. His achievements are honored on a minisheet with a stamp depicting two portraits from different periods of his life. The illustrations on the minisheet include a view of Budapest, one of the protective passports issued at the end of the war by the Swedish Legation in Budapest and Wallenberg’s signature.

Font

Stamps in a sheet, self-adhesive, 5 motifs, 50 per sheet
SEK 12

The font on Swedish stamps is always selected in consultation with prominent typographers and complements the essence of the motif. On these stamps the font is in the spotlight. One modern font is which was designed in 1973 by Tom Hultgren. The father of Swedish typography, Karl-Erik Forsberg, is also represented.

Meadow Flowers

Booklet, self-adhesive, 4 motifs, 10 stamps
Coil, 1 motif, 100 per coil
Domestic letters

There are times when it is more common to use letters and post cards to communicate with loved ones. Summer is one example. Who doesn’t appreciate receiving personal greetings on a post card with experiences from a holiday trip? The summer stamps contribute to the experience and this year’s issue depicts meadow flowers.

August 16

Write!

Booklet, self-adhesive, 4 motifs, 10 stamps
Domestic letters

“Writing letters and greetings is the equivalent of giving a bit of your time and one way to show the recipient you care.” This quote is from the artist, Lars Berghagen, member of the Sweden Post Stamp Advisory Committee and dedicated letter-writer. Writing has been loosely interpreted by the illustrator Lovisa Burfitt, whose stamps will certainly inspire many to write a letter.

Textile Design

Booklet, 5 motifs, 10 stamps
Domestic letters

Nature was a never-ending source of inspiration for textile artist Märta Måås-Fjetterström, one of Sweden’s prominent names in this area. The stamp depicts a detail from the June Flowers tapestry, which was made in 1928 at the studio in Båstad where her pattern is still being made. The booklet includes the work of several other influential Swedish textile artists.

November 9

Gustav III at the Royal Swedish Opera

Minisheet, 2 motifs, 2 stamps
Joint issue with France
SEK 12

The theme for this joint issue with France is the opera A Masked Ball by French composer Daniel Auber. The plot of the opera, which had its premier in 1833, revolves around the murder of King Gustav III. The stamp motifs are a portrait of Auber and a dancer in the Royal Swedish Ballet in the role of Gustav III. The hall in the Opera House can also be seen on the sheet.

November 22

Christmas 2012 - Christmas Decorations

Booklet, self-adhesive, 4 motifs, 10 stamps
Christmas letters

A handwritten and stamped Christmas card in the mailbox is a very popular Christmas greeting and always eagerly anticipated. Last year we delivered around 32 million Christmas cards. The motifs of the special Christmas stamps, which we have issued every year since the end of the 1960s, help create a feeling of Christmas for both the sender and the recipient. The arrival of Christmas cards in the mailbox is the start of the Christmas celebration!