This site contains over 1200 scanned stamps,
maxi cards and covers, but has been made as "bandwidth friendly" as possible,
loading only thumbnails so you can choose which large images you want to see,
and the lists are broken into multiple pages for faster loading.
** When clicked on, most of our thumbnails open
a small popup window to display the stamp. If you have disabled popups
and/or Javascript, and don't wish to allow either, clicking on the
country name in the stamp list will show all of that country's sea
turtle stamps.
In some cases the thumbnail may show the entire souvenir
sheet but the link will only show the sea turtle stamp itself, or the section of the sheet
with the turtle; and very large sheets may be displayed at a reduced size. This allows
conservation of server space while giving viewers an idea of what the entire sheet looks like.
We list only stamps and souvenir sheets with a
turtle that is discernible to the naked eye, and don't include sea turtle watermarks,
cancellations, or tab/selvedge illustrations. We've chosen not to include a few cartoon
turtles from Cayman, Palau and Slovenia which have no flippers, rather, hands, feet or
legs, even though they may be shown on a beach; this is simply a judgment call on our parts.
Other stylized or cartoon turtles with no flippers are included if their legendary
background is known to define them as a sea turtle.
Postage stamps offer an excellent and novel means
of promoting the conservation of sea turtles, as well as stimulating an interest in their
biology. The popularity of issuing stamps depicting sea turtles has increased considerably
during recent years; when this list was first published in the Proceedings of the Tenth Annual
Workshop on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation in 1990, there were known to be 285 stamps
from 77 countries. The list currently features 1247 stamps (including overprints) from 183
countries and territories.
The green turtle, Chelonia
mydas, is the most popular species, and is featured on 394 stamps, followed by
the hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, on 263; the
loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta, on 134; the leatherback
turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, on 125; the olive ridley
turtle, Lepidochelys olivacea, on 53; prehistoric sea
turtles Archelon or Protostega on 22; the flatback turtle,
Natator depressus, on 19; and the Kemp's ridley turtle,
Lepidochelys kempii, on 15; (again, these numbers include
overprints). The remaining stamps feature what might be called a "generic" or stylized
sea turtle, either not identifiable to a particular species, or shown as a drawing or cartoon.
The majority of the stamps feature the sea turtle as
the subject, with others featuring the turtle as part of the stamp's background
or border design. Many of these stamps are quite beautiful, with some of the more recent additions
reflecting an increased awareness and interest in the sea turtle's behavior, depicting nest digging,
egg deposition and hatchling activity. On the other hand, 12 stamps show turtles being chased,
restrained or stepped on, and 3 of these even show dead turtles killed or being butchered by fishermen,
or entangled and drowned in a fishing net.
The British Indian Ocean Territory, the Cayman Islands,
and the Solomon Islands have one or more sea turtles in their Coat of Arms;
41 stamps show the turtle in this manner, sometimes barely visible to the unaided eye. Sea turtles
on coins or currency are featured on 8 stamps, 11 sea turtle
stamps are in "stamps-on-stamps", and 61 sea turtle stamps
also show maps or globes, other topics popular with collectors.
With only modest expense and effort, it is
possible for the amateur philatelist and sea turtle enthusiast to assemble a substantial
collection of attractive and interesting stamps. (Click to see the most expensive set!) We hope those of you who have already started
collecting will enjoy browsing the information and images included here.