Iceland No Longer Issuing New Postage Stamps

On a recent visit to Iceland, we visited the local post office to see what stamps we could buy for my husband’s collection. We were disappointed that there weren’t any 2023 stamps for us to buy. The postal clerk told us they don’t have any current issues because, in 2019, Iceland announced they would stop issuing new postage stamps.

In 1873, Iceland issued the first stamps when it was part of Denmark. On June 17, 1944, Iceland became an independent republic.

After 90 years in operation, Iceland Post’s Stamp and Philatelic Department (Postphil) was closed. The CEO states huge deficits as the reason for closing. In 2019, the CEO of Iceland Post cut back on everything that was not profitable for the company including Postphil. He said that the number of philatelic customers had decreased yearly, leading to a deficit for Postphil. He said they had a stock of stamps that would last many years and probably would have enough until the last letter was sent. But if more stamps are needed, it is possible to re-print stamps.

The exclusive right to distribute letters ended for Iceland Post in 2019.

We hope other countries don’t follow this trend. We like looking at the new stamps that are issued!

Original Photos by Pat Hensley