Stampin' Elton: The Collection

A schoolmaster from England, Rowland Hill invented the adhesive postage stamp in 1837, an act for which he was knighted. The result, called the Penny Black, was engraved the profile of Queen Victoria's head, and remained on all British stamps for the next sixty years. Before the Penny Black stamp ever existed, payment had to be taken in cash for every article to be posted and that had to be done in person at the post office. Hill's stamps made the prepayment of mail postage possible and practical. The first United States general issue postage stamps, stamps for distribution throughout the country, were prepared under authorization of the Congressional Act of March 3, 1847. Postmaster General Cave Johnson initially instructed the firm to use a portrait of recently deceased President Andrew Jackson on the 5-cent stamp and George Washington on the 10-cent denomination. Since then, many stamps have been issued around the world. Some of the most popular types have included sports figures, cartoons, national landmarks, nature images and, of course, celebrities: like Elton. A number of illegal stamps featuring Elton John are in circulation printed by private firms without the knowledge of the postal authorities of the countries concerned. Here's is a selection what Jack Rabbit found on every corner of the world.

1988

Grenada issued a set of eight $1 stamps featuring rock, pop and reggae stars Tina Turner, Lionel Ritchie, Whitney Houston, Joan Armatrading, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Marley, all of whom have had more longevity than is usual in the ever-evolving world of music.

1995

The Tanzanian "Rock And Roll History" sheetlet collection countaining 9 value unmounted mint with music celebrities like Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Buddy Holly, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson and Elton, covering all periods of rock between 50s to nowadays.

2000

Elton John in concert on 6 postage stamps - from Udmurtia, a Russian republic located in European Russia about 1300km east of Moscow and west of the Ural mountains.

Stamp printed in Turkmenistan shows USA stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, Madonna, Mike Myers, Chris Isaak, Michael Jackson, Elton John. As long as Jean Claude Van Damme, Bill Gates, Fidel Castro, Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

2002

In February 2002 Australia Post released a SES sheetlet and CD pack with 4 songs from recent album, Songs From The West Coast, to commemorate Elton John’s ‘A Journey Through Time’ tour. Gift Pack included 10 Elton Personalized stamps. This special pack was sold in a specially designed flowwrapped cover/folder.

'Rock Legends: Elton John' pertaining to be from the Republic of Somalia. The stamp features Elton wearing his 1986 world tour outfits, although there's another version of sheetlet containing set of 4 values unmounted mint. These "stamps" is counterfeit, not valid for posting and has no investment value. Other celebrities are on the collection like David Bowie, Prince, or Michael Jackson, among others, as part of their Rock Legends series.

A fantastic sheet of 9 Mint Stamps to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's 50th or Golden Jubilee, features Elton John, Prince William and Prince Andrew, Soccer Stars like David Beckham, the Beatles, the Royal Ship and more. They were released on Congo or Tadjikistan.

2003

Released in Malta, celebrating Elton's open-air concert in Floriana, Maltapost, as one of the sponsors, has been promoting a personalised souvenir sheet featuring four images of the entertainer, views of him as a young man and in some of his most memorable looks. It has no philatelic or postal worth, except an authentic Malta stamp valued at Lm1.50 reproducing the view of the Marsamxett side of Valletta from the Frama label set.

2004

Printed in Austria, the stamp joined Elton and Lady Diana. Sir Elton John performed at the annual Life Ball in Vienna, late May 15, 2004 and was back in June, again in Wien.



A limited collectors set issued by the Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau on 10th September 2004 to commemorate the 300th Anniversary concert performed at Victoria Stadium on Gibraltar's National Day, comprising of a first stamp mounted in a circular minature sheet & unopened card backing sheet with unique wrap-around presentation picture card featuring superb Elton image & concert info, a second stamp consisting of just the circular sheet plus a third stamp mounted on an official first day cover envelope, all housed in a unique presentation slipcase.

2008

Rock Stars like Elton John, Eric Clapton, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Jean Michael Love and more were released in Komi Republic, Russia, on a 8 Mint Stamps. They were not valid for postage, but they were extremely popular because of their lively and colorful designs.

2011

Sheet of 9 stamps, issued by Djibouti in 2011, displaying famous music stars. Featured celebrities shown include English rock singer-songwriter & pianist Elton John, British pop rock musician George Michael, English musicians from The Beatles John Lennon & Paul McCartney, English vocalist & lyricist Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin, lead rock vocalist from the Rolling Stones band Mick Jagger, Scottish singer-songwriter Annie Lennox, English glam rock musician David Bowie, and English progressive rock lead singer from the band Genesis, Peter Gabriel.

Another sheet of 6 stamps, issued this time by Guinea in 2011, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the birth of Princess Diana. Also featured on the sheet shown include Prince William, Prince Harry, Charles, Prince of Wales, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and Grammy Award-winning English singer & pianist Sir Elton John.

Sources: Mary Bellis from about.com