Liechtenstein stamps, the cheapest souvenir with the longest story

Of everything you can take home from Liechtenstein, stamps weigh the least and tell the country’s story best, far better than a fridge magnet. To me they’re the most honest souvenir the place has to offer.

Why does such a small country have its own stamps?

From 1852, under the customs treaty, Liechtenstein used Austrian stamps. On 4 October 1911 it signed a postal treaty with Austria that, to underline its sovereignty, gave it the right to issue its own. The first appeared on 1 February 1912, printed by the Austrian state printing works, and the money from selling them went into the national treasury.

Then came a change of partner. Since 1 February 1921 the post has been run with Switzerland, but the arrangement let Liechtenstein keep issuing its own stamps. That’s the heart of it. For a state of 160 km², every stamp travelling the world with its name on was a calling card.

A century of scandal, Zeppelins and speculation

It wasn’t always dignified. Between 1919 and 1922 the government handed production to a consortium that, against its contract, printed errors and varieties by the sackful. The reputation of the country’s stamps suffered, and the government tore up the deal in 1922.

Better years followed. From 1930 there were special airmail flights, including the Graf Zeppelin, with their own stamps and postmarks. In 1960 Liechtenstein took part in the joint Europa issue for the first time, and the print run was so small that the stamp became a speculators’ favourite. The boom lasted until around 1980, when large hoards were sold off and prices collapsed.

One episode is worth knowing if anyone offers you old stamps. In 1998 the government declared almost everything issued up to 1995 invalid for postage, with effect from 31 December 2001. After a public outcry it allowed exchanges in 2001. Today those old stamps are for an album, not an envelope.

Who makes them now

Since 1 January 2006 the state’s stamp services have belonged to the Liechtensteinische Post AG, and today its brand Philatelie Liechtenstein publishes them, although according to the Lexikon the government is still formally the issuer. Its 2026 programme includes issues on the Winter Olympics, 125 years of the Historischer Verein, carnival, views of Schellenberg and the Chinese zodiac, plus a special «Frieden», or peace, souvenir sheet.

Collectors’ societies devoted to these stamps exist in Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein itself, the oldest being the Ring der Liechtenstein-Sammler, founded in Germany in 1930, according to the Lexikon. The Philatelie website lists their contacts, runs subscriptions in which the Europa and SEPAC issues arrive automatically, and answers questions in English on weekdays.

It also sells crypto stamps, with a digital element you collect in an app. The «Party Animals» series, launched in 2025, is limited to 4,500 copies per design and only sold online. Not my thing, but I can see the appeal for collectors.

Where can you buy Liechtenstein stamps?

Here’s the detail hardly anyone mentions. Philatelie Liechtenstein has no shops of its own. It sells online and through selected post offices, naming the Schaan branch and the Vaduz office. Online orders can be collected at the Post’s operations centre, Alte Zollstrasse 11 in Schaan, if you ring at least a day ahead.

In Vaduz, the easiest options are the post office or the Liechtenstein Center, the tourist office, which also sells stamps and does the souvenir passport stamp. I’d buy a couple of this year’s stamps there and send a postcard home with the principality’s postmark on it.

Ordering from the UK is possible, with prices shown in francs or euros. The shop’s front page carries a notice about a new flat EU fee of €3 per customs tariff line on parcels under €150. That applies to EU addresses and says nothing about the UK, so check the final total at checkout, postage included, before you commit to a small order.

Look before you buy

My advice is to call in first at the Liechtenstein Postage Stamp Museum, at Städtle 37 in Vaduz. Entry costs nothing, the doors open seven days a week, and the collection runs from the 1912 first issue to this year’s, with original artwork and printing plates alongside. You come out knowing what you like and don’t buy blind.

For more ideas on what to bring home besides stamps, see my guide to shopping and souvenirs in Liechtenstein.