Illustration of a historical stamp for learning, shown at screen size. Not valid for postage.
How to read it
SUOMI at the top, FINLAND at the bottom.
- 1SUOMI
- 2FINLAND
- Inscription
- SUOMI · FINLAND · 5
- Meaning
- SUOMI is Finnish for Finland; FINLAND is the Swedish (and English) name, as Finland has two official languages.
- Issued by
- Finland
- Today
- Finland
- Year
- 1917. Saarinen lion type, first issued 1917.
- Made by
- Eliel Saarinen (design, died 1950)
One fact
Finland issued its own stamps from 1 October 1917, two months before independence; the lion design is by the architect Eliel Saarinen.
Source and public-domain rule
Creators died more than 70 years ago. Designer died 1 July 1950. Copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years, counted from 1 January of the year after death. Every named designer and engraver of the stamp died before 1 January 1956; any contributor who was never named counts as anonymous, whose term is 70 years from publication, and the stamp was published before 1956. Legal sources: Directive 2006/116/EC, Art. 1(1) life + 70 years; Art. 1(3) anonymous works 70 years from publication; Art. 7(1) comparison of terms for works from outside the EU; Art. 8 terms run from 1 January, Switzerland, Norway.
Scan: Stamp of Finland - 1917 - Colnect 45705 - Definitive series I-Lion type m-17.jpeg on Wikimedia Commons (revision 1155830594), licence templates {{PD-FinlandStamp}} (a public-domain reason different from ours; both are recorded). Downloaded 2026-10-19, sha256 7243fa70a8be…; cropped and cleaned for this site. Facts checked 2026-10-19 against source 1 and source 2. Research record, not legal advice; a human rights review is pending. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
