Living beings

Click here for other design errors


Move the cursor over the small pictures for an enlarged view


Missing leg
A camel with only three legs, or seven legs for two camels, it is up to you to choose…


FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFRICA 1946



Hand with six fingers !
It is well known that President Roosevelt was a philatelist, but have you ever heard that he had 6 fingers at his left hand ?


MONACO 1947



Missing finger.
Witch with only four fingers at both hands.


GERMANY 1951



Missing leg.
Missing leg : only seven legs for two horses.


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1946



Missing finger.
The player with a white and red shirt misses a finger at his right hand


GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 1961



Female christmas child.
Cover of an airmail letter. Take a discreet look at the baby, it is a GIRL !


UNITED KINGDOM



Inverted and corrected ears.
After this stamp has been issued, it was discovered that the poor man had inverted ears. Fortunately for him, the stamp has been corrected.


AUSTRIA 1934



Impossible way of moving
A dog never moves his left or rights legs at the same time, but crossed.


UNITED KINGDOM



Big steps, small traces
Despite their big steps, these strange little men leave small traces in the snow.


GREENLAND 1962



Two identical left shoes.
Ask this man to uncross his legs, you will see that he is wearing two identical left shoes.


GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 1964



Strange acting chinese.
This dancing elderly Chinese puts his right arm and right leg forward at the same time.


CHINA 1987



Broken little finger
Impossible way to spread fingers, even for a well trained sportsman


MONACO 1952



Two missing legs.
All flying insects, including bees and wasps, have 6 legs.


DENMARK 1987



Fast growing beard !
A clean shaven Columbus in sight of land. But a while later, after landing, wearing a magnificent full beard.


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1893



Strange proportions
The horse is much too big compared to the size of its horseman (or the man is much too small compared to the horse).


ROMANIA 1964



Too much fingers
The fame of this billiard player was partly due to the fact that he had lost one finger at his right hand.


AUSTRALIA 1981



Big head
Comparing to the size of the baby, the head of the mother is far too big.


FRANCE 1939



Galloping horse
A galloping horse never moves its legs like this !


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1960



Strange runners
One of the runners puts her 2 arms in front of her, another one holds her 2 arms behind her back.


GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 1970



Giant camel
Compared to the rider, this camel would at least be 20 meter long !


AUSTRALIA



Missing legs
Only six, maybe seven, but certainly not eight legs for those two horses.


BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA 1918



Strange position
Impossible why to shoot the bowl without falling, with the right foot in front instead of the left one.


BRITISH GUYANA 1931



Missing finger.
Only four fingers at the right hand


CANADA 1947



Impossible position
The Olympic rings are linked into a chain : thus the right hand of the athlete in the middle should be in front of the yellow ring, and the left hand of the right athlete should be in front of the green ring.


CHINA 1984



Impossible age
Gerontolists generally agree that there have never been authenticated cases of human beings reaching such advanced ages.


COLOMBIA 1956



Missing front leg
This horse clearly has got three hind legs, and only one in front !


CHINA 1990



Strange tail
On the cover and on the stamps of this booklet, the rabbit has its tail pointing to the ground. In fact, rabbits have their tail pointing upwards, even in China !


CHINA 1987



Strange handshake
An unatural and even impossible way to shake hands


CZECHOSLOVAKIA 1945



Missing toe
Only 4 toes at the right foot.


FRANCE 1946



Wrong blood circulation
Incorrect presentation of the human blood circulation : there should be one down and one return path, both splitting somewhere in the middle of the body.


HUNGARY 1973



Two left hands
Two left hands, and and impossible way to hold the rifle with the left arm.


GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 1967



Missing wing.
From this place, the second wing of the lion should have been visible.


ITALY 1952



Inverted feet.
Diver with inverted feet.


JAPAN 1985



Wrong hight.
President Kennedy was a lot taller than the Mexican President Mateos.


MEXICO 1964



Female angel.
Angels are supposed to be sexless, but this Mexican angel obviously is equipped with a nice breast.


MEXICO 1958



Wrong front flippers.
The seal has been criticised because de front flippers were shown clawed. The stamp was redrwn some years later.


NEWFOUNDLAND 1866



Missing legs
Crabs have 8 legs, two are missing on the Mauritanian stamp.


MAURITANIA



Geant fish.
Geant fish, too heavy for one man, with a very strange tail.


POLAND 1947



Hair miracle
General Artigas was almost bald when featured on a stamp in 1883. In 1910 however, he looked much younger with his nice black hair


URUGUAY 1883



Missing finger
Only four fingers at the right hand. The design was corrected.


URUGUAY 1900



Strange grip
Impossible use of such an heavy hammer


VENEZUELA 1964



Impossible position
Impossible position of the right arm during a jump. And where is that other arm ?


CHAD 1964



Diffferent length.
The right thigh of the kneeling man is much shorter than the left.


SAN MARINO 1924



Huge baby
The baby is much too big comparing to the nurse, and much too heavy to be hold above her.


MONACO 1948



Beardless
It is historically proven that Charlemagne was beardless.


FRANCE 1966



Without gravity
The breasts of this lady seem not to be affected by the gravity.


ZAMBIA 1981



Out of proportion
The legs of this runner are really out of proportion compared to his body


KAMPUCHEA 1984



Not well trained
Unrealistic position for a gymnast in very bad physical condition.


BRAZIL 1957



One too much
Five fingers with one hidden thumb ? Not the exact number for a normal hand.


CHINA 1998



Additional legs
This crab has been featured with at least one additional pair of legs.


ALBANIA 1968



Non symetric
The cat right whiskers are shorter than the left ones.


AUSTRALIA 1971



Pretty woman
The eyes of this local woman seemed a little bit too glazy, so the designer was asked to improve his work before a second issue.


DOMINICA 1963



Missing claws
In this position, the claws of this Gyrfalcon should have been visible.


SWEDEN 1981



Not in line
One of the players needs urgent surgery as his body is not in line with his legs.


IVORY COAST 1990



Missing leg
A camel with a missing frontleg.


CAMEROON 1946



Too big
The size of the beaver's skins that are drying is too big comparing to the man's length.


CANADA 1950



Wrong ears
The elephant shown to illustrate the Ceylon Nature Conservation Week is not an Asian one, but an African elephant with large floppy ears.


CEYLON



Wrong leg
The hoof of the horse is split, this is an horse with legs of an ox.


CHINA 1985



Missing clauws
The tiger on the stamp has only 2 claws at each leg. In fact the fore leg of a tiger has five claws, the hind leg four.


CHINA 1987



Strange tail
Hyena with a very strong tail


CUBA 1964



Wrong color
The Bukkfinch has a black beak, not white as on the stamp


CZECHOSLOVAKIA 1959



Missing leg
Only seven legs for two camels.


FRENCH OCEANIA 1946



Not an African one
The elephant has small rounded ears, more like an Asian than an African elephant, and has misplaced tusks.


GAMBIA 1938



Shaking hands
Strange way to shake hands, with one left and one right hand.


GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 1953



Geese with ears
This well known folk song starts with : Fox, you have stolen a geese. There is however nothing in the original text indicating that the geese should be provided with long ears.


GERMANY 1958



Not quite correct
The young foal's hide has the same light colour as her mare - when it should in fact still have its first dark hide.


GERMANY 1940



Not crossed
Horselegs touch the ground crossed, and not two legs from the same side at the same time.


GERMANY 1969



Wrong gender
The Neanderthaler skull discovered in Gibraltar in 1848 turned out to be the skull of a women.


GIBRALTAR 1973



Bas design
The design of one of the orders of chevalry worn by George V was so bad that instead of an elephant, it mas more like a pig. This was corrected afterwards.


INDIA 1911



Small head
The head is much too small comparing to the size of the body.


SWITZERLAND 1932



Strange
Head is too small comparing to the body. And a strange competition, without boat and competing with a swan.


YUGOSLAVIA 1956



Not Africans
Those elephants are very small eared with a high forehead, thus are not African elephants but Asian ones.


NORTHERN RHODESIA 1925



Missing leg
Only eleven legs for three horses.


SWEDEN 1936



Wrong hairdress
The Olympic jumper Krzesinska Dunska was represented without her very characteristic poneytail.


POLAND 1956



Too big
The rower is much too big for the boat.


POLAND 1955



Missing leg
Only seven legs for two camels.


SAINT PIERRE AND MIQUELON 1946



Wrong position
The elephant seal is wrongly shown with its flippers tucked forward underneath, an anatomical impossibility.


TRISTAN DA CUNHA 1954



Made up
As the female Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) does not differ from the male bird, one of those stamps has to be a 'made up'.


YUGOSLAVIA 1985



Premature commemoration
Stamp issued to mark the National Recovery Act in 1933. But this Act was declared unconstitutional and thrown out by the Supreme Court in 1935. Furthermore a man with a missing leg.


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1933



Flying problems
This angels with only one wing will not fly easily, and the plane without rudders will not fly at all.


CANADA



Wrong direction
The claws of upside down sleeping bats are directed forwards, not backwards


GERMANY 1999



Wrong representation
This Brachiosaurus did not live in water, and his forelegs are too small.

Non-error ?


SAN MARINO 1965



Forearm
Missing forearm


MONGOLIA 1980



Additional fin
This Permit fish has got an extra fin (coming from a small triangular shadow on the photo from whoch the artist made the design).


TURKS AND CAICOS 1955



Wrong name
Wrong : Francolinus Stephenson - Correct : Francolinus Stephens. The prominent leg spurs have also been omitted.


VIET NAM 1963



Wrong fish
This is certainly not a Tarpon, amongst other characteristics, the Tarpon has a blunt head and only one dorsal fin.


SAINT CHRISTOPHER 1968



Missing leg
Missing leg at the right side


MALI 1966



Missing leg
Missing leg : only seven legs for two camels.


MALAGASY 1946



Missing leg
Missing leg : only seven legs for two camels.


FRENCH GUYANA 1946



Wrong direction
The foal is shown feeding from behind. The correct way to feed is shown on a British stamp and on a picture.


SWEDEN 1946



Bad circulation
The blood circulation in the head and the left leg is interrupted.


FRANCE 2001



Not local
Those are not French Camargue bulls (with vertical horns) but Spanish bulls with horizontal horns.


FRANCE 1995



Out of proportion
Thumb is not in proportion comparing to the other fingers.


SENEGAL 1979



Name and teeth
Wrong : Hyppopotamus - Correct : Hippopotamus. Furthermore, the upper teeth are missing.


GUINEA BISSAU 1997



Wrong ears
The Landrace-pig has pending ears


FRANCE 2017



Too big
This squirrel is far too big comparing to the branch it is climbing on.


BULGARIA



Twice strange
The name 'world jamboree' is at least strange, as a jamboree is already a world reunion of scouts. And such geant squarrels with a rabbit head do not exist, even in Norway.


GRENADA 1975



Strong fingers
Put all the weight of the body on four stretched fingers is even for a well trained sportsdman impossible.


BULGARIA 1964



Bad food
This prey is really too lean, the lion will still be hungry after his meal.


DAHOMEY 1963



Wrong tail
A deer does not have aan upwards pointing tail.


SAN MARINO 1962



One too much
The leaves of an marple tree are never attached by three.


CANADA 1959



Tail
A deer does not have a tail.


GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 1959



Out of proportion
The bird is too big comparing to the plane.


SAINT PIERRE AND MIQUELON



Too small
The size of this tennisball is far too small comparing to the hand.


NETHERLANDS 2012



Wrong direction
An hibernating bat hangs with its claws turned backwards.


TONGA 1992



Strange animal
This cow is completely out of proportions.


UNITED KINGDOM 1999



Leg problems
Horse with a missing, and a broken leg.


SWEDEN 1956



Missing legs
Crab with a missing pair of legs


BRAZIL 1993



Strange hand
Hand with two thumbs


ALGERIA 2012



Strange position
Trained oxes to pull the plow synchroneously ?


SPAIN 1967



Huge leg
With such a huge leg, it should be easy to win teh match.


HUNGARY 1985



Missing finger
Missing finger at the right hand


ISRAEL 1987



Missing fingers
Only four fingers at each hand


CHINA 2009



Missing legs
The number of elefants is not clear, but in any case, a lot of legs are missing.


UGANDA 1991



Too small
The size of the head is much too small comparing to the books.


LAO 1988



Additional fingers
Two men seem the have an additional finger


ALAND 1998



Missing hair
The mustache of this cat is not symmetrical


SLOVENIA 2006



Missing fingers ?
One of the players seems to have only 4 fingers at each hand.


BELGIUM 1987



Additional finger
Six fingers at the right hand with the umbrella.


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1963



Wrong aspect
Centenary of the Japanese National Education : this stamp features a Western looking girl, instead of a Japanese one.


JAPAN 1972



Missing legs
All flying insects, including bees and wasps, have 6 legs. The cover of this booklet shows only 4 legs.


DENMARK 1987



Legs not in balance
A horse moves front and back legs at the same time.


UNITED KINGDOM 1999



Missing legs
Four horses have sixteen legs. At least two are missing here.


NEW CALEDONIA 1973



Wrong cheek
Marilyn Monroe had a birthmark on her right cheek, not on the left side


SAINT TOME AND PRINCIPE 1994



Missing legs
Four horses, but only 13 of 14 legs !


EL SALVADOR 1948



Fingers
Missing fingers


COLOMBIA 1970



Missing legs
A mosquito has six legs


SAINT TOME AND PRINCIPE 1962



Missing legs
A bee has six legs


RWANDA 1982



Wrong side
Thumb at the wrond side of the hand


SPAIN 2020



Too many claws
The Tyrannosaurus rex has only 2 claws, not five.


CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 1988



Missing legs
Wasp with only 3 legs


PHILIPPINES 1988



Missing legs
Not enough legs for six horses


INDIA



Missing legs
Only three legs!


INDIA 1980



Missing members
Not only dangerous for the children, but also a missing arm and leg


CZECH REPUBLIC 2015