From Iron Maiden to Beethoven: Stars on stamps

The UK's Royal Mail has revealed images of 12 new stamps paying tribute to Iron Maiden. The influential heavy metal band appears on eight stamps featuring their legendary performances worldwide, while four other stamps depict the group's grim mascot, Eddie (picture), described by the postal service as "a pop-cultural icon in his own right." The stamps will go on sale on January 12. 

In 2022, Deutsche Post issued a stamp paying tribute to David Bowie, who died of cancer on January 10, 2016. The influential singer lived in Berlin in the late 70s. The stamp features a picture by US photographer Greg Gorman. For its special editions, the German postal service takes suggestions from the public.

Once a theme for a new German stamp is accepted, graphic designers can submit their ideas in a competition. Some celebrities simply take the design into their own hands, as was the case for German rocker Udo Lindenberg in 2018 for the collection "Udo's 10 Commandments." The proceeds went to the Boniface Association, a charity supporting social projects for women and children.

In 2001 Deutsche Post issued a stamp dedicated to Audrey Hepburn. But her family objected to the choice of photo showing the Hollywood icon smoking. The 14 million stamps that had already been printed had to be destroyed. A rare few survived — and became extremely valuable. A single stamp fetched €135,000 ($153,000) at an auction in 2005, and a pane of 10 stamps even reached €430,000 in 2010.

In 2006 the Austrian post issued a special stamp with singer Falco, who died in 1998 at the age of 40. He is dressed up as Mozart, a reference to his superhit "Rock Me Amadeus" from 1985, which to this day remains the only German-language single to have reached number one of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Austria had already dedicated a stamp to its star in 1994.

An art advisory board decides on the drafts of the stamps. For deceased celebrities, the winning design must be coordinated with their heirs and estate administrators — ideally ahead of printing, as the Hepburn case taught us. The stamp for Beethoven's 250th anniversary in 2020 features a stylized version of a famous portrait of the composer by Joseph Karl Stieler.

Postage stamps also document the passing of time. This special stamp with the portrait of German singer and actress Hildegard Knef was issued in 2003, a year after her death. At the time, a standard letter could be sent within Germany for 55 cents. That now costs 85 cents.

Ernie and Bert proudly presented the 2020 series of stamps dedicated to the stars of the German spin-off of the beloved US children's show, "Sesame Street." Along with Bert, Elmo, the Cookie Monster and Ernie, the German version of the show also has the puppets Samson and Tiffy as main characters.

Special postage stamps with prominent personalities are popular around the world. Pop stars like Michael Jackson have been immortalized in several countries. This design from a US stamp was reproduced as a mural in Rio de Janeiro, where he had shot the video for his single "They Don't Care About Us" in 1995.

Many international stamps celebrating stars are colorful and cheerful. This US postage stamp from 1993 honors rock 'n' roller Buddy Holly ("Peggy Sue"), who died in a plane crash in 1959 at the age of 22. Most pictures show Buddy Holly smiling, like the image on the stamp above.

And of course there have been stamps paying tribute to the King of rock 'n' roll all around the world — there's even one from the Pacific island state of Palau. In 1992, the US Postal Service proposed two possible designs for an Elvis Presley stamp. The design depicting him much younger won.

Special postage stamps often celebrate national success stories, like this 2009 series featuring Australian Academy Award winners Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman and Geoffrey Rush. Launched in 1997, Australia Post's annual Legends Awards stamps commemorate people from the country who have made significant contributions to the world.

In 2021, the UK's Royal Mail issued a special edition featuring numerous superheroes and villains from the DC Comics universe. They were designed by British comic book artist Jim Cheung, known for his work on the Avengers series — published by DC's competitor, Marvel Comics.

In January 2022, the British postal service honored The Rolling Stones with 12 special stamps. The band celebrated its 60th anniversary that year and remains among "the most enduring rock groups of all time," the Royal Mail said. The Stones have created some of the most iconic and inspiring albums in modern music and are renowned for their groundbreaking live performances, it was noted.