mathematics on stamps

A mathematical stamp has one or more of the following characteristics:

• It depicts a mathematician, or a polymath with a significant mathematical output{{cite journal

| last1 = Boyer

| first1 = Carl B.

| title = Mathematics and philately

| journal = Scripta Mathematica

| volume = 15

| number =

| date = 1949

| publisher =

| location =

| pages = 105-114}}

• It depicts a mathematical concept or mathematical object
• It depicts a mathematical symbol, formula or notation
• It commemorates a mathematical event such as a national or international congress, or an International Mathematical Olympiad
• It depicts the process of mathematics education,{{rp|v}} or a building used primarily for mathematical research or education

Stamps illustrating applied mathematics such as astronomy, ballistics, cartography, crystallography, mathematical art, mathematical games, navigation, perspective in art and spaceflight may or may not be included in a mathematical stamp collection depending on the breadth of view of the collector. Typically such stamps may depict a mathematically related object or instrument, e.g. an astrolabe or a slide rule.

The following types of material are excluded (although they may also be collected by mathematical stamp enthusiasts):

• Postal stationery,{{cite web |title=Postal stationery offers collecting variety |url=https://www.linns.com/news/postal-updates-page/stamp-collecting-basics/2002/january/postal-stationery-offers-collecting-variety-.html |first=Rick |last=Miller |publisher=Linns Stamp News |date=14 January 2012 |access-date=8 May 2024}} e.g. a postcard depicting a mathematician with a non-mathematical stamp affixed
• Cinderella, local, private or personal issues, i.e. unofficial stamps
• Non-postal stamps, e.g. revenue stamps{{cite book|title=Philatelic Terms Illustrated |last1=Mackay |first1=James |edition=4th |publisher=Stanley Gibbons Limited |date=2003 |pages=170 |isbn=9780852595572}}
• Stamps issued by non-existing/unrecognized countries and/or in excess of actual postal requirements

Stamps of Norway, 1929-Niels Henrik Abel4.jpg|Niels Henrik Abel, Norway, 1929

1950 "Avicenna" stamp of Iran.jpg|Avicenna, Iran, 1950

Stamp of USSR 1635g.jpg|Sofya Kovalevskaya, USSR, 1951

The Soviet Union 1957 CPA 2000 stamp, Portrait of Leonhard Euler (1707-1783).jpg|Leonhard Euler, USSR, 1957

Srinivasa Ramanujan 1962 stamp of India.jpg|Srinivasa Ramanujan, India, 1962

Stamps depicting individual mathematicians are often issued by countries to commemorate the birth or death anniversaries of their significant national mathematicians, for example stamps issued by Norway celebrating Niels Henrik Abel.{{cite journal

| last1 = Larsen

| first1 = H.D.

| title = Historically speaking - Mathematics on stamps

| journal = The Mathematics Teacher

| volume = 48

| number = 7

| date = 1955

| publisher = National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

| location =

| pages = 477-480

| doi = 10.5951/MT.48.7.0477

| jstor = 27954992

}}{{cite journal

| last1 = Larsen

| first1 = H.D.

| title = Historically speaking - Mathematics on stamps

| journal = The Mathematics Teacher

| volume = 49

| number = 5

| date = 1956

| publisher = National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

| location =

| pages = 395-396

| doi = 10.5951/MT.49.5.0395

| jstor =

}} Examples are illustrated in the gallery above. Some countries have also issued stamps depicting internationally famous mathematicians such as Isaac Newton{{cite journal

| last1 = Smorynski

| first1 = Craig

| title = North Korea's Newton stamps with a checklist of all Newton stamps known to man

| journal = Philamat

| volume = 21

| number = 4

| date = 2000

| publisher = Mathematical study unit of the American Topical Association

| location =

| pages = 6-12

| doi =

}} or Albert Einstein.{{cite book|title=Albert Einstein on stamps: a catalog |last1=Raddi |first1=Albert |publisher=American Topical Association |location=Greer, SC |date=2020 |pages=168 |isbn=979-8663466219}}

PythagoreanTheoremGreekStamp.jpg|Pythagorean theorem, Greece, 1955

Stamp_of_Brazil_-_1967_-_Colnect_263101_-_Mobius_Symbol.jpeg|Möbius strip, Brazil, 1967

DBP 1977 928 Carl Friedrich Gauß.jpg|Complex plane, West Germany, 1977

Stamp Germany 1998 MiNr2005 Internationaler Mathematiker-Kongress.jpg|Squaring a rectangle, Germany, 1998

Stamps depicting a mathematical concept or object, sometimes combined with a portrait of the mathematician responsible for inventing the concept or object, are generally issued as commemorative stamps rather than definitive stamps. Examples are shown in the gallery above: a 1955 Greek stamp illustrating the Pythagorean theorem, a 1967 Brazilian stamp illustrating a Möbius strip and also commemorating the 6th Brazilian mathematical congress, a 1977 West German stamp illustrating the complex plane and also commemorating the 200th birth anniversary of Carl Gauss, and a 1998 German stamp illustrating squaring a rectangle and also commemorating an International Mathematical Congress.

The Soviet Union 1966 CPA 3310 stamp (The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) (16-26.08, Moscow). Emblem - Integral Symbol and Globe. Sum and Union Symbols).jpg|International Congress of Mathematicians, USSR, 1966

Luzinstamp.jpg|Nikolai Luzin, Russia, 2000

Czech stamp 2000 m259.jpg|Fermat's Last Theorem, Czech Republic, 2016

75th anniversary of Mathematical Society of Serbia 2023.jpg|Fibonacci sequence, Serbia, 2023

Stamps depicting a mathematical symbol or formula are frequently depicted together with the mathematician they are primarily associated with. Examples are shown in the gallery above: a 1966 Soviet stamp illustrating the integral, summation and union symbols and also commemorating an International Mathematical Congress, a 2000 Russian stamp illustrating the pi,{{cite journal

| last1 = Egelriede

| first1 = Dieter

| title = About the Number π

| journal = Philamat

| volume = 33

| number = 2

| date = 2011

| publisher = Mathematical study unit of the American Topical Association

| location =

| pages = 3-8

| doi =

}} function and summation symbols and commemorating the life of Nikolai Luzin, a 2016 Czech stamp illustrating Fermat's Last Theorem and commemorating Andrew Wiles's 1995 proof, and a 2023 Serbian stamp illustrating the Fibonacci sequence and commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Mathematical Society of Serbia.

Robin J. Wilson is the leading writer in the field having published a well-reviewed{{cite journal

| last1 = Abbott

| first1 = Steve

| title = Stamping through mathematics (review)

| journal = The Mathematical Gazette

| volume = 86

| number = 507

| date = 2002

| pages = 549–550

| doi = 10.2307/3621187

}}{{cite journal

| last1 = Russ

| first1 = Rebecca

| title = Stamping through mathematics (review)

| journal = Math Horizons

| volume = 11

| number = 16

| date = 2004

| pages = 29

| doi = 10.1080/10724117.2004.12021774

}}{{cite journal

| last1 = Hansen

| first1 = V.L.

| title = Stamping through mathematics (review)

| journal = The Mathematical Intelligencer

| volume = 26

| number =

| date = 2004

| pages = 78

| doi = 10.1007/BF02985663

}} book entitled Stamping through mathematics in 2001, a paper on European mathematical history through stamps,{{cite conference

| last1 = Wilson

| first1 = Robin J.

| title = European mathematics: a history in stamps

| book-title = European Congress of Mathematics

| date = 2023

| publisher = EMS Press

| location = Berlin

| pages = 677–691

| doi = 10.4171/8ECM/28

| isbn = 978-3-98547-051-8

| doi-access = free

}} and also contributing the Stamp Corner column to The Mathematical Intelligencer starting in 1984.

William L. Schaaf published a paper,{{cite journal

| last1 = Schaaf

| first1 = William L.

| title = Mathematics in use, as seen on postage stamps

| journal = The Mathematics Teacher

| volume = 67

| number = 1

| date = 1974

| publisher = The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

| location = Reston, VA

| pages = 16–24

| doi = 10.5951/mt.67.1.0016

}} later expanded into a book entitled Mathematics and science: an adventure in postage stamps in 1978.{{cite book

| last1 = Schaaf

| first1 = William L.

| title = Mathematics and science: an adventure in postage stamps

| publisher = The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

| location = Reston, VA

| date = 1978

| pages = 172

| url = https://archive.org/details/mathematicsscien0000scha

| isbn = 0-87353-122-1

}} From 1979 until at least 2011 the Mathematical Study Unit of the American Topical Association published Philamat: A journal of mathematical philately but this organization is no longer part of the ATA as of 2024. A sample issue is available online.{{cite web

| title = Philamat: A journal of mathematical philately, vol. 33, no. 2

| date = 2011

| publisher = Mathematical Study Unit of the American Topical Association

| pages = 1–12

| oclc = 730257354

| url = https://www.filatelista-tematico-blog.net/wp-content/uploads/Dia_do_pi_about_the_number_pi.pdf

}}

Listings of new issues of mathematical stamps are included in the monthly Scott Stamp magazine and in Linn's Stamp News; they are also available online from October 2010 to date in the Computers and Mathematics section.{{cite web

| title = Stamp programs: by topic

| date = July 2024

| publisher = Linn's Stamp News

| url = https://www.linns.com/insights/stamp-programs/listings-by-topic

}}

{{Reflist}}

• Yardley, Christopher B. (2015). [https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/33142 The representation of science and scientists on postage stamps]. Canberra: ANU Press, ISBN 978-19250-2178-3

{{Commons category}}

• [https://mathematicalstamps.eu/ Mathematical stamps] from the European Mathematical Society
• [https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Miller/stamps/ Mathematical stamps] from the MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive at the University of St Andrews
• [http://users.wfu.edu/kuz/Stamps/stamppage.htm Jim Kuzmanovich's mathematical stamp album]
• [https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/history-mathematics-300-stamps-robin-wilson The History of Mathematics in 300 Stamps] (podcast by Robin Wilson). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpqjiF3WeXA Also available on YouTube]
• [http://www.boergens.de/manfred/marken/liste.htm Manfred Börgens' Mathematische Philatelics (in German)]

{{Topical stamps}}

Category:Stamp collecting

Category:Philately

Category:Topical postage stamps

Category:History of mathematics