Postage stamp design its rule which stated that a country's name had to appear on their postage stamps, so a profile of the reigning monarch was all that was required for identification of Britain's stamps. To this day the UK remains the only country not required to name itself on its stamps. For all other UPU members, the name must appear in Latin letters. The name chosen is typically the country's own name for itself, with a modern trend towards using simpler and shorter forms, or abbreviations. For instance, the Republic of South Africa inscribes with "RSA", while Jordan originally used "The Hashemite
Postage stamps and postal history of Guinea-Bissau Postage stamps and postal history of Guinea-Bissau This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Guinea-Bissau, formerly known as Portuguese Guinea. Guinea-Bissau is located in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west. Stamps of Cape Verde were used in what is now Guinea-Bissau from 1877. The first stamps of Portuguese Guinea were issued 1881, overprinting stamps of Cape Verde. The first series of definitives was issued in 1886. In 1913, the Vasco da Gama commemorative series of Macau, Timor