Unique identification Mourning stamp Netherlands Prio

On Sunday, July 12, 2026, PostNL is issuing the Netherlands Prio Mourning Stamp on an exceptional issue day. This self-adhesive stamp has Prio as a value indicator instead of 1Due to the datamatrix code on the right side of the square base image, this is the first rectangular mourning stamp of the Netherlands.

As a special feature, the first-day stamp is dated July 12, the day when post offices are closed.

Separate procedure

During the sorting process, the codes are scanned automatically. This ensures that the funeral notice is immediately recognized within the PostNL network and processed with priority.

• Funeral mail franked with a Netherlands Prio Funeral Stamp is therefore handled with priority. The mail item is delivered the next day by the parcel carrier from Monday to Saturday.
• Mourning cards bundled in a special collector's envelope or a single mourning card with a Prio Mourning stamp must be handed in at a post office counter or PostNL Business Points.

Details Mourning Stamp Netherlands Prio

• The added datamatrix code (vertical, narrow & rectangular) is separate from the dusky blue base design.
• This code is a 2D barcode with black and white blocks. Unlike a traditional barcode, this code can contain much more information, such as product type, production batch, security features, or serial numbers.
• A peculiarity of this data matrix code is that they differ in the arrangement of white and black blocks. In other words, there are no stamps with the same code *).
• The dusky blue Netherlands Prio Mourning Stamp has a hint of purple, but is nevertheless predominantly blue as a muted color.
• Security incisions have been made in the stamp, which, according to the press release, “serve as an important feature of authenticity”. Nothing is stated as to why or for what reasons these incisions were made.
• In the area with partial incisions all around (stamped into a narrow vertical and horizontal rectangular shape with rounded ends), the word 'PRIO' appears in one shape, while the other is blank. When removing the cancelled Prio mourning stamp, one of the shapes sticks to the envelope paper. Therefore, peel it off carefully to prevent damage to the stamp.
• Technical details: designer Rutger Fuchs from Amsterdam, issue date July 12, 2026, print run 500.000 sheets with 20 self-adhesive stamps per sheet, price per sheet 65,00 euros and 3,25 euros each (the word 'PRIO' replaces face value indication 1), printer Cartor Security Printers in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom.

*) The difference in codes corresponds to those of the 2024 large-format children's stamp.

Details of earlier Mourning Stamps

Graphic designer Rutger Fuchs faced numerous restrictions and conditions regarding the design of the Mourning Stamp, such as colors (no bright but muted colors) and diversity in religious beliefs. The use of images and symbols also proved to be problematic.

• Fuchs: “That is why I soon embarked on the path of abstraction, with the word 'einder' as a starting point. I arrived at a diagonal line that runs away across the color plane in an upward movement. I broke off the word Netherlands. A reference to the breaking off of life?”
• I also didn't want to use a year, because otherwise the concept of 'timelessness' would be compromised. I insisted on a square stamp design. A square has much more to do with the concept of 'eternity' than a rectangle.
• The Netherlands 2 Mourning Stamp (autumn brown) is intended for heavier mourning letters weighing over 20 grams. The funeral industry considered two Netherlands 1 mourning stamps (grey-green-blue) on a mourning letter undesirable. It would 'disfigure' the letter.