Country Identification of Contemporary Stamps - An Introduction

For novice collectors identifying the country of origin for a stamp can be confusing. Some countries have the country name inscribed in the national language or have their name in their official language spelled out in English. Adding more perplexity is the fact that many countries have undergone name transformations over the years for political and/or other reasons and resulting in different names being inscribed in stamps from different periods for the same country.

The list below focuses on contemporary stamps that have country name inscriptions in a language other than English. The most common example is listed when there are multiple designs. Future posts on country profiles will look at older issues that have other inscriptions:

Country Name (click for link to philatelic bureau)	Flag (Click for location info in google maps)	Stamp Sample (Click for purchase options on eBay)	Identification Hints
Azerbaijan			Inscription reads ‘AZӘRBAYCAN’
Belgium			Inscription reads ‘BELGIË-BELGIQUE’ or ‘BELGIQUE-BELGIË’
Bosnia Herzegovina			Inscription reads ‘Republika Bosna Hercegovina’
Bosnia Herzegovina (Croat)			Inscription reads same as above
Bosnia Herzegovina (Serb)
Brazil			Inscription reads ‘Brasil’
Cape Verde			Inscription reads ‘CABO VERDE’
Central African Republic			Inscription reads ‘REPUBLIQUE CENTRAFRICAINE’
Chad			Inscription reads ‘REPUBLIQUE DU TCHAD’
Comoro Islands			Inscription reads ‘REPUBLIQUE FEDERALE ISLAMIQUE DES COMORES’
People’s Republic of Congo			Inscription reads ‘REPUBLIQUE DU CONGO’
Croatia			Inscription reads ‘HRVATSKA’
Czech Republic			Inscription reads ‘ČESKĂ REPUBLIKA’
Denmark			Inscription reads ‘DANMARK’
Dominican Republic			Inscription reads ‘REPUBLICA DOMINICANA’
Equitorial Guinea			Inscription reads ‘REPǓBLICA DE GUINEA EQUITORIAL’
Estonia			Inscription reads ‘EESTI’
Faroe Islands			Inscription reads ‘FØROYAR’
French Polynesia			Inscription reads ‘POLYNESIE FRANCAISE’
French Southern Antartic Territory			Inscription reads ‘TERRES AUSTRALES ET ANTARCTIQUES FRANCAISES’
Gabon			Inscription reads ‘REPUBLIQUE GABONAISE’
Germany			Inscription reads ‘DEUTSCHLAND’
Great Britain			Head instead of inscription.
Greece			Inscription reads ‘HELLAS’
Greenland			Inscription reads ‘GRØNLAND’
Guinea			Inscription reads ‘REPUBLIQUE DE GUINEE’
Guinea-Bissau			Inscription reads ‘GUINÉ-BISSAU’
Haiti			Inscription reads ‘RÉPUBLIQUE D´HAITI’
Hungary			Inscription reads ‘MAGYARORZÁG’
Ireland			Inscription reads ‘ÉIRE’
Italy			Inscription reads ‘ITALIA’
Ivory Coast			Inscription reads ‘RÉPUBLIQUE DÉ CÓTE D´IVOIRE’
Japan			Inscription reads ‘NIPPON’
Laos			Inscription reads ‘LAO PDR’
Latvia			Inscription reads ‘LATVIJA’
Lebanon			Inscription reads ‘LIBAN’
Lithuania			Inscription reads ‘LIETUVA’
Macao			Inscription reads ‘MACAU’
Macedonia			Inscription reads ‘MAKEДOHИJA’
Malagasy			Inscription reads ‘MADAGASIKARA’
Mauritania			Inscription reads ‘RÉPUBLIQUE ISLAMIQUE DE MAURITANIE’
Morocco			Inscription reads ‘ROYAUME DU MAROC’
Mozambique			Inscription reads ‘MOÇAMBIQUE’
Netherlands-Antilles			Inscription reads ‘Netherlandse Antillen’
New Caledonia			Inscription reads ‘NOUVELLE-CALEDONIE’
Northern Cyprus			Inscription reads ‘KUZEY KIBRIS’
North Korea			Inscription reads ‘DPR KOREA’
Norway			Inscription reads ‘NORGE’
Philippines			Inscription reads ‘PILIPINAS’
Poland			Inscription reads ‘POLSKA’
Russia			Inscription reads ‘ROSSIJA’
Saudi Arabia			Inscription reads ‘SR’
Serbia			Inscription reads ‘CPБИJA’
Slovakia			Inscription reads ‘SLOVENSKO’
Slovenia			Inscription reads ‘SLOVENIJA’
South Korea			Inscription reads ‘KOREA’
Spain			Inscription reads ‘ESPAŃA’
St. Pierre Miquelon			Inscription reads ‘SPM’
St. Thomas & Prince Islands			Inscription reads ‘S.TOMÉ PRÍNCIPE’
Surinam			Inscription reads ‘SURINAME’
Sweden			Inscription reads ‘SVERIGE’
Switzerland			Inscription reads ‘HELVETIA’
Togo			Inscription reads ‘REPUBLIQUE TOGOLAISE’
Tunisia			Inscription reads ‘REPUBLIQUE TUNISIENNE’
Turkey			Inscription reads ‘TÜRKÍYE’
Ukraine			Inscription reads ‘UKRAINA’
Vatican City			Inscription reads ‘VATICANO’
Wallis & Fatuna			Inscription reads ‘WALLIS et FUTUNA’

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Last Updated: 07/2011.