Every year, stamp lovers across Europe (and beyond!) come together to vote for the best-looking EUROPA stamp — and the time has come once more! The 2025 competition kicked off last month, and this year’s theme is “National Archaeological Discoveries”.
Archaeological discoveries tell the story of where we come from, revealing some clues about life in centuries or sometimes even millennia past. From cave art and ceremonial masks to statues, jewelry or simple tools, these items help piece together the cultural puzzle of Europe’s shared history.
According to the EUROPA stamps website:
“The highly anticipated 2025 EUROPA Stamps Competition is set to captivate philatelists and history enthusiasts alike with its theme, “National Archaeological Discoveries.” Issued by European postal operators, this year’s stamps will celebrate the extraordinary archaeological findings that have shaped Europe’s rich cultural heritage. The 2025 edition will take collectors on a journey through time, uncovering hidden treasures, ancient civilisations, and ground-breaking discoveries.”
That said, this theme is a little trickier to turn into a visually stunning stamp… and you’ll notice many countries went with a more simple approach, showcasing the artifacts’ photos in minimalist layouts. Still, there’s something compelling about the diversity of objects and the stories behind them — and some designs found really clever ways to bring these ancient items to life!
So come learn a little about what each country chose to highlight, and cast your vote for your favorite design!
Vote for the most beautiful EUROPA stamp! 😍
And as always, we’d love to hear what you think in the comments below! Which stamp caught your eye this year? Did your country make a good pick? What other artifacts would you like to see on a stamp?
57 comments so far
Nice! I voted for Greece. I like the simplicity of it.
San Marino ist my favourite. Colours and Design match perfectly.
I was torn between North Macedonia and Latvia.....in the end, I chose North Macedonia.
My vote is for Bosnia/Herzegovina. The design is imaginative and simple.
My vote : Witches' rock & El jaciment del Roc d'Enclar (Andorra)
So many nice ones it was difficult to choose!
I voted for Bulgaria - who wouldn't want to find a gold coin!, I also liked the Greek one, and the Norwegian dinosaur
Just received the French one and just voted for the Armenian one :)
Does anyone know why Ukraine isn't competing? Or is it that it didn't reveal its stamp yet?
Best theme ever! I collect archaeology stamps, and will be on the hunt for these beauties :)
The German block edition also looks very nice. Unfortunately, it is not available here.
cyprus got my vote! i liked bosnia- herzegonia also
Wow! So many interesting stamps, I voted for the one from Belgium.
I voted for Andorra! beautiful design, great art.
I voted for Slovakia! I thought the design was thoughtful and the choice of colors was delightful. Moldova was my second favorite.
This was a though decision to make but finally I decided for Monaco. But it took some time.
I liked the great graphic image of the woman in the Swedish stamp.
Greece, Isle Of Man, Monaco and Romania were all my favorites! In the end, I had to vote for Greece - the beautiful golden stamp featuring Alexander The Great. :)
I hope I voted for Luxembourg but am unsure since when clicking on “submit” several times nothing happened. The colors and horse head appealed to me. Another design I liked a lot was Netherlands beautiful jewel. But I agree with many of you the choice was difficult.
Very nice to go through the various country stamps . Voted on Armenia stamp.
I voted for Cyprus but I liked Azerbaijan too
I liked Greece, Sweden, Latvia - and voted for Greece.
All of them are so valuable for me.
Good luck
I chose Malta.
Moldova got me vote, but I enjoyed looking at all the entries.
As it has been for years : Belgium made it such an expensive stamp it will never appear on a postcard.
Why do Andorra and Portugal have 2 entries ?
This theme does not excite me at all. That said, I like the stamps from Jersey and Gibraltar - which I am totally unlikely to receive. ;-)
Interesting theme. I´m not such a fan of brown/grey/black as only colours. So my first sight love was Malta with the beautiful blue background and as well beautiful dishes. I took a closer look to the others and liked Georgia, too. But in the end I voted for Malta. Good luck!
I like Norway. And I already bought the german edition when they released it. It's still available in the Post onlineshop.
I voted for Turkiye
My vote has gone to Monako
I was a bit disappointed in how this year's theme turned out to be. My vote went to Sweden. 🇸🇪
this is one of my favorite topics, as each country has a unique historical heritage, and archeology is an opportunity to look into the past, like a mat of time! I hope that I will get at least one stamp:) I liked Greenland, so simple, but it fully reflects the simplicity and silence of the north, and if you start to look, there is a picture on the child's suit ...)
I voted for Bosnia Herzegovina, it is a beautiful design!
I love all of them! The topic perfectly fits to me. I picked Gibraltar, because I'm in love with neanderthals and like the painted background. But at the end, all of them won my heart.
Thank you, thank you very, very much for this article. I recently came across a Czech stamp with a Celt's head and since I am neither a philatelist nor an archaeologist, my first impression of it was: why is it so ugly?
Now that I know its background, I like it. But I have the opposite problem. Since I have carefully read the descriptions of all the stamps, I like them all and I can't decide which one to vote for. 😂😂😂
Kazakhstan was very unusual..I voted for it
I voted for Germany because of the horse but also like Greenland.
Was going back and forth on Gibraltar and Sweden's. Ended up going with Gibraltar because skulls are cool lol.
I wish we had a fun competition like that in the Americas!
The history of the artifacts was very interesting and challenging to choose a favorite. I was drawn to Georgia.
Lots of really great entries! In the end, we voted for Greenland.
Voted! Nice contest!
I voted for Georgia.
I voted for Malta, I love clay pots!
I love these...I voted for Gibraltar
My favorites are Cyprus and Jersey, and in the end I voted for the latter.
I also like the German one, but I didn't want to be accused of bias... ;-)
🇸🇪 the Swedish stamps is my favorite
I voted for Serbia 😍
I voted for Cyprus ♥️
I voted Serbia, very nice !
All of them have beautiful designs, but I chose the Serbian stamp. ❤️ 🇷🇸
Italy has issued 2 Europe stamps one shown in the list ( Ercole) and another one (Apollo). So many beautiful stamps hard to get a choice, but I go for Greenland. Also Malta, Jersey, Moldova, Sweden, Latvia are very nice. Ciao
I liked Latvia and Lithuenia but voted Sweden.
I voted for Sweden, beautiful stamp with the lady. 🇸🇪
It is not a very interesting topic for me, but it is very interesting to See the different approaches! So great!
I voted for Sweden, it immediately Catcher my eyes.
I also like Greenland and Latvia!
I liked a lot from the stamps. I love the German one and Austria too.
@Lejo: "Why do Andorra and Portugal have 2 entries?" - Andorra has 2 postal entities, the spanish and the french and they have different stamps and prices - very interesting country for philatelists. Regarding Portugal: it's actually 3 entries: Açores and Madeira islands and Portugal representing the mainland territory. This is valid for Europa stamps and some special editions, the regular editions are issue only for "Portugal" = whole country.
I can't decide my vote. I LOVE the theme but I don't love most of the stamps...
I picked Gibraltar.
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