Better together

Joint issues first appeared in the 1950s, with postal authorities coming together to produce stamps with a common design and purpose; only the country name and value being different. Usually issued on the same date, these collaborative issues provide an intriguing and rewarding theme for collectors, marking significant moments in history and highlighting fluctuating diplomatic relations.

Of course, as with any philatelic sideline, there are grey areas when it comes to joint issues. If a common design across a number of country’s stamps was instigated by one central authority, such as the United Nations, then the stamps are not considered joint issues. The same would go for those stamps issued by a ruling nation, such as the many imperial designs issued for (rather than by) a particular colonised country. The Kaiser’s Yacht Hohenzollern issues, for example, were issued for a number of German colonies, but these are not strictly joint issues.

And then there are common themes, a growing trend that sees many countries issue stamps on the same topic, but not necessarily with the same design. The prime examples of this topical approach are the Europa stamps, which were initially of a common design (as detailed below) but have been issued on a chosen theme since 1974. This year the theme is ‘Stories & Myths’ and a wide range of countries have issued stamps with their own interpretation of the topic.

The first joint issues

Some suggest the first true joint issues were produced in 1938 to mark the