What are Peterspost stamps?
25 Mar., 2025, press release
Nowadays, it is still rare to find a country without a state post office. In most countries, private postal or courier companies operate alongside the main postal service (whether royal or republican). However, almost everywhere, only "one post office" uses postage stamps in its work. Many philatelists even (erroneously) believe that it is the state post office that has the "exclusive right" to issue postage stamps. But this is not the case, both legally and in fact.
Each postal operator has the opportunity to use its own stamps. This has been the case since the end of the 19th century, when in some European countries there was a need for alternative letter delivery. And this concerned not only local but also international correspondence. Thanks to outstanding philatelists of the past, this phenomenon of private mail was well studied, and collecting stamps of private postal operators grew from a "simple interest" into a well-organized system, which now has millions of grateful fans
Another thing is that only those who have the official status of "designated UPU operator" for a particular state can use the country's name on their stamps. They can, if they want (!) One of the latest examples is Kyrgyzstan - a country in which "two post offices" simultaneously issue stamps with the country's name. What should be done when one designated UPU operator works in several countries? Let's say, in Sweden and Denmark there is one such private operator - PostNord. And its stamps indicate the name of the operator and the country. Thus, we can distinguish Danish stamps from Swedish ones. But there is another solution in the modern history of international postal communication and philately, the Finnish-Russian PetersPost did something different ten years ago
In 2015, the PetersPost company received a state license to provide postal services in the Russian Federation in compliance with all the rules of the UPU. It opened its post offices in several cities, primarily in the capitals of Moscow and St. Petersburg, hired a staff of postmen and even used its own mailboxes. In the same year, the first Russian PetersPost stamps with denominations in rubles entered circulation. And the following year, 2016, with the opening of the first international mail delivery line between Russia and Finland, the first Finnish PetersPost stamps with denominations in Euros were issued. The stamps of this operator did not have a designation of the state, but they differed in denominations (euro or rubles). As far as we know, there were no cases of "customer confusion" for tens of thousands of delivered letters and parcels
The best specialists in design and printing, consultants of Philatelic Societies were involved in the preparation for the release of PetersPost stamps. This explains not only the originality of the plots, but also the high assessment of collectors and dealers. PetersPost mobile post offices served collectors at World Exhibitions in London and Taipei, Paris and Nanjing, Monaco and Essen. And interest was high everywhere. The most popular service among collectors was the opportunity to receive a letter with PetersPost stamps from Russia or Finland, because PetersPost delivered correspondence to all countries!
Even the COVID-2019 pandemic and the temporary closure of the border between Russia and Finland did not become an obstacle, because the letters were delivered by official transport. But then came the fateful February 2022, and with the beginning of full-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine, PetersPost offices had to be closed. Over the seven full years of work of PetersPost 2015-2022, about 50 sets and single stamps were issued, both definitives and commemorative. Their design is fascinating, many are devoted to popular topics. And although it is not so easy to collect a complete collection, it is still possible! The specialists of our company offer both individual issues and annual sets. However, some whole items (FDC, Maximum Cards, postcards) are almost impossible to find, "dispersed" across collections, and are now available for search only at auctions. In the corresponding section of our online store you can get acquainted with the assortment of PetersPost stamps and place orders
The interesting history of PetersPost stamps, which successfully took their place in world philately, is not over. Following the successful start, the first recognition, catalogues, illustrated albums, we have "insider" knowledge that there will be a continuation. And those collectors who were the first to purchase the initial issues, not only participated in the creation of the "legend" together with PetersPost, but also certainly did not lose in investments. Some 5-10 years will pass, and the "pre-war" PetersPost's stamps will undoubtedly increase in price several times over.
Our specialists will be happy to answer any questions: info@peterstamps.com
