Millennium stamp facts for kids
A Millennium stamp is a special postage stamp. Countries issue them to celebrate a big anniversary, like the year 2000. These stamps often show important events or achievements from that country's history.
Millennium Stamps Around the World
Canada's Millennium Stamps
Canada Post made 68 unique stamps for the millennium. They came out as 17 special sheets, each with four different stamps. These stamps were released between December 1999 and March 2000. It was a very quick way to release many stamps!
Fiji's Nature Stamps
The island nation of Fiji created eight stamps. These stamps showed beautiful plants and animals from the island. Four different artists helped design them. One of the artists, Myron Williams, was only fourteen years old!
Great Britain's Millennium Stamps
1999: A Year of Tales
In 1999, Royal Mail in Great Britain released many stamps. They grouped them into 12 themes, called "tales." These themes included Entertainment, Science & Technology, and Sport. A new group of stamps came out each month.
One special stamp in September 1999 was part of "The Farmers' Tale." It showed parks and nature reserves. This stamp was also Great Britain's entry for the Europa postage stamp issue that year.
A very famous stamp in this collection honored Queen singer Freddie Mercury. He was also a big stamp collector! This stamp caused a bit of a stir. It showed Freddie's bandmate, Roger Taylor, in the background. Usually, only members of the British Royal Family were allowed on British stamps while they were still alive. But, Sir Francis Chichester had also appeared on a stamp in 1967 while he was alive.
Other cool stamps featured:
- English football hero Bobby Moore.
- A picture of the structure of DNA.
- A fossil of Archaeopteryx, one of the first known birds.
The "Entertainers' Tale" set included:
- A 19p stamp of Freddie Mercury.
- A 26p stamp of Bobby Moore.
- A 44p stamp of a Dalek from Doctor Who.
- A 64p stamp of Charlie Chaplin.
2000: Celebrating New Projects
In 2000, Great Britain released more millennium stamps. These stamps celebrated projects across the UK that got money from the Millennium Commission. There were 12 sets, with 4 stamps in each set. This made a total of 48 stamps. So, between 1999 and 2000, Great Britain issued 96 millennium stamps!
These stamps showed amazing places like:
- The Eden Project, a huge plant garden.
- The Tate Modern art gallery.
- The National Space Centre.
- The Scottish Seabird Centre.
Ireland's Millennium Stamps
Dublin's 1000th Birthday
The city of Dublin, Ireland, celebrated its 1000th birthday in 1988. An Post, Ireland's postal service, made a special 28-pence stamp for this event. You could buy it alone or in a stamp booklet. This "Dublin Millennium booklet" was the first Irish stamp booklet to have special commemorative stamps. Before this, all booklets only had regular stamps.
Year 2000: Famous Faces and Events
During 1999 and 2000, Ireland issued 24 stamps. These stamps showed famous people from Ireland and around the world. Some of these included Grace Kelly, Nelson Mandela, Thomas Edison, and Ludwig van Beethoven. The stamps also featured important moments in Irish history, like the Flight of the Earls, the Land League, and Irish Independence.
Hong Kong's Gold Stamps
Hong Kong SAR released special millennium stamps made of gold!
Laos's Scenic Stamps
Laos issued a small sheet of four stamps. They showed a beautiful Laotian landscape. The edges of the sheet also had fireworks bursting in the sky.
Tonga: First to the Millennium
The country of Tonga was one of the first places in the world to reach the new millennium. They issued a small sheet with two round stamps to celebrate.
Images for kids
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1999; Freddie Mercury (with Queen bandmate Roger Taylor in background)
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2000; Scottish Seabird Centre
