Stamps of the modern age

We might state without exaggeration that when it comes to modern stamp production, imagination is the only restriction as to what the post offices around the world can come up with.
In the initial stages of stamp issuance, the watermarks on the paper were the best available protection against counterfeiting. As time went by, the function of the watermark was taken over by new materials and processes where it is no longer easy to decide whether to classify them as paper or ink, or in another category. Furthermore, these new printing techniques are also used to produce special stamp issues.
One of these security features is UV-sensitive ink or fibres, which play a prominent role not only in the production of stamps but also banknotes. These tiny particles invisible to human eye glow under UV light. Their placement in the paper is so unique that they are virtually impossible to counterfeit. Beyond using this procedure as a security component, the world’s post offices publish issues, one after the other, which have to be exposed to UV light to reveal their secrets invisible to the naked eye. Special materials, scents, embroidery, special inks, embossing, special perforation patterns: just some of the ways how post offices can make their stamps unique and more interesting for stamp collectors and the general public.
You can take a look at a selection of highlights from the Hungarian Post Office published over the last almost three decades. We also display the printing technology feats of other postal administrations, which are numerous around the world today. You can see the world’s first stamp printed on metal foil, a Nixon jewellery stamp, one of the Bhutanese record stamps, a block depicting Seuso treasures, a range of scented stamps and a lot more. If you want to know what makes a stamp special, just scan the QR code and you