Design errors

Various crazy errors

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Against the rules An act of Congress of 1875 banned the engraving of likeness of living people upon American stamps. This stamp violated this law, as the two children shown planting a tree were the children of Alvin W. Hall, then Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1932)


Against the rules All countries should be named on their stamps (except Great Britain only bearing the head of the reigning monarch). (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1920)


Against the rules The designer of this series of Literary Classics used his daughters, son and wife as models for those four stamps. This is in violation of the US law stating that no portrait or likeness of any living person is allowed on stamps. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1987)


Against the rules Jim LAMB, the designer of this stamp, used a picture of himself, taken by his wife, to design this stamp. This is in violation of the US law stating that no portrait or likeness of any living person is allowed on stamps. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1993)


Offending card. Postal stationery card with advertisements for beer and tobacco ! A storm of criticism was arousedd and the offending cards were withdrawn. (VICTORIA - 1895)


Missing postcode Booklet with address without postcode, while a campaign was running to promote the use of postcodes. The booklet was replaced, but … the code was wrong, and only corrected when a new booklet was issued. (UNITED KINGDOM - 1971)


Against the rules Advertising on poststamps is against the international rules (GUATEMALA - 1930)


Without string As the Swiss post office does not accept handmade parcels with a string, the same stamp was issued again , this time with a parcel without string. (SWITZERLAND - 1999)


Not allowed This mail bag is much too big, and dragging it over the floor would not be allowed. (FRANCE - 1951)


Missing country name According to the international postal rules, the country name is obligatory on stamps. (FRANCE - 1981)


Too early This stamp issued on October 6th 1990 was already used on a registered letter on October 1st. (SWEDEN - 1990)


Hidden value In modern art, everything is possible. But try to find the value on this stamp in the design ! (AUSTRIA - 1975)


Forbidden string As the Swiss post office does not accept handmade parcels with a string, the same stamp was issued again , this time with a parcel without string. (SWITZERLAND - 1999)


Against the rules Against the rule that only Heads of States appear on stamps while they are living : this stamp shows 3 living pilots by the time it was issued. (CANADA - 1942)


Against the rules According to the French law, living humans should not appear on stamps. Apparently an exception was made for the French champion Jacques Anquetil. (FRANCE - 1972)


No currency The statue of the Hawaiian King Kamehamha I shown on this stamp was in fact modelled from a young Kanakan athlete, named Kaopuiki, as no likeness of the King was known. No mention od the currency, only 5. (HAWAI - 1883)


Against the rules The U.P.U. rules ask to write the facial value of a stamp in Arabic caracters. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1966)


Against the rules The U.P.U. rules ask to write the facial value of a stamp in Arabic caracters. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1969)


Against the rules The U.P.U. rules ask to write the facial value of a stamp in Arabic caracters. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1967)


A bridge too far ? Advertising on stamps is normally not accepted. But advertising for beer and tobacco on stamps from an Arab country, to promote Olympic sports ? (RAS AL KHAIMA - 1972)


Against the rules The U.P.U. rules state that the valmue of a stamp must also be written in figures.> (UNITED KINGDOM - 1985)


Against the postal rules According to the U.P.U. rules, the value of the stamp had to be written as 2, not TWO. This was corrected, together with the removing of what could be described as an heavy beard. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1908)


Missing country name With an exception for Great Britain, all stamps mustg bear the name of their country. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1920)


Mystery country World Cup Championships team, but without the name of the emitting country. (ANGOLA - 2006)


Missing countryname Except for Great Britain, all countries have to mention the countryname on their stamps. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1964)


Too late This stamp was used by the Swedish Postal Museum in 1994, although it had already been put out of service in 1961. (SWEDEN - 1994)


Not valid Stamps marked 'SPECIMEN' are not valid for postal use, but were accepted here on a registered mail. (SWEDEN - 1986)


Against the rules Stamp features a living person (the daughter of the engraver) who is not a Royal. (MONACO - 1946)


Against the rules When this stamp wis issued, the featured persones were still living. This is against the rule that no living peoplke may appear on stamps. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1945)


Against the rules The soldier on this stamp was still living when this stamp was issued, and this was against the rule that no living person may appear on a stamp. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1952)


Against the rules This stamp was made from a photograph. The farmer on the stamp was still living when the stamp was issued, this is against the rule that forbits the representation of living persons on a stamp. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1898)


Against the rules As there was no portrait of this historical person, a living person was taken a model for this stamp. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1937)


Missing countryname This stamp was issued without the country name. This was corrected by an overprint. (PORTUGAL - 1995)


Against the rules Stamp value is not in figures - against the international rules (GRENADA - 1951-3)


Missing country name As the country name was forgotten, a new corrected stamp was issued soon. (CAPE VERDE - 1999)


Missing country name Issued without country name, was soon corrected (MOLDOVA - 2021)