Beethoven on Stamps

**This post featuring Beethoven on stamps was originally published on December 17, 2020. It was updated on February 19, 2022.

One of the most beloved and influential composers in all of history is Ludwig van Beethoven. His extraordinary music continues to inspire people from all walks of life. Even more inspirational is his personal story. Beginning at the age of 28, Beethoven began to lose his hearing. He was probably totally deaf by his early 1940s. Yet, he wrote some of his most powerful and extraordinary music after that point.

Beethoven’s birthdate is unknown, but his baptism took place on December 17, 1770 (probably meaning he was born the day before). As 2020 approached, the music world was planning a massive celebration in honor of his 250th anniversary. However, Covid-19 brought an end to these plans.

Beethoven is a favorite feature on stamps. In fact, Beethoven was among seven composers Austria depicted on the first ever postage series devoted to musicians in 1922. A few years later, he made an appearance in a set of stamps featuring famous Germans. Ever since, countries not only in Europe, but around the world have featured Beethoven on stamps.

This post features Beethoven on stamps from my own personal collection. I tend to be attracted to the older stamps including the earliest examples of Beethoven on stamps, but I will continue to update this page as my Beethoven collection grows. In addition, here are some other Beethoven philatelic sites that may be of interest.

Two Old Covers

Before I get into my stamps though, two of the stand out pieces in my Beethoven collection are a couple of old covers. The earliest Beethoven stamp was a part of a set known as The Musicians’ Fund Issue of 1922. These stamps were sold to raise money for musicians and their families who were on hard times. Learn more here. It was exciting to find a cover with four of the stamps, featuring Mozart, Schubert, Bruckner, and of course, Beethoven. The cover was sent to George Hill of Philadelphia, PA, in “Amerika.” In addition, each of the four stamps is tied to the envelope with an illegible cancellation. Unfortunately, there is no indication of who sent this envelope.

The second of my two early Beethoven covers is from Germany. The cover is an advertising or company envelope for Johann Henkel of Lauterbach in the state of Hessen. It advertises his construction and woodworking business. Wonderfully, the cover has six Beethoven stamps that are placed along the right side and then lower right corner of the piece. The stamps each have a value of eight reichspfennig. They are part of the “Famous Germans” stamp issue of that year, Beethoven was actually on two stamps in that series the eight and twenty reichspfennig stamps (see below).

Austria 1922 – Composers

Here are my stamps presented chronologically beginning with the very first Austrian stamp from 1922:

Germany 1926 – Famous Germans

East Germany 1952 – 125th anniversary of Beethoven’s death

West Germany 1959 – Opening of Beethovenhalle in Bonn

France 1963

Togo 1967 – Composer series

Beethoven’s Bicentennial 1970

Rwanda 1971

Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) 1973

One of the more unusual Beethoven stamps is from the country of Upper Volta (Burkina Faso). It is part of a series that celebrates a famous person for each sign of the zodiac. For instance, Beethoven is on the stamp for Sagittarius.

Maldives 1977 – 150th anniversary of Beethoven’s death

Austria 1995 – 225th Anniversary of Beethoven’s Birth

China 2010

2020 issues

The year 2020 was all set to be a major international celebration of Beethoven in honor of his 250th birthday. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, much of the activity around this birthday had to be cancelled. However, the philatelic publications still occurred and countries around the world celebrated this beloved composer. Here are examples from my collection.

Perhaps the most famous issue from 2020 is a stamp souvenir sheet that is also a tiny record that plays Symphony No. 5.