Before its impromptu conversion to a submarine, the Russian warship Moskva attempted to menace Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island. One of the soldiers responded to the threats using International Sign Language, and the moment was captured on camera. Now it’s the Ukrainian post office’s latest stamp design, and it sold out immediately and is being resold for over $100 each.
I think we can all agree with the sentiment.
It’s unfortunate that the Ukrainian government or people aren’t benefiting from the revenues on resale. Perhaps the Ukrainian Postal Service can re-issue the stamp?
I would expect Ukraine to make some bucks from sale of the stamp directly to collectors. Governments have classically profited by designing and selling colorful stamps to philatelists, far in excess of what their residents would need for mail.
Here are two stamps from opposing sides in the 1980s Iran hostage crisis. I have the Iranian one, not because I agree with the sentiment but as a part of history.
[nitpick] No, the soldier responded with “Russian warship, go f*** yourself” over the radio. No sign language involved. Not captured on camera. The stamp is based on a drawing made by a Ukrainian artist Borys Grokh commemorating the event but not intended to be an exact replication of it. [/nitpick]
Ah, thank you for the correction. I heard about this story from my mother, and saw the stamp, but didn’t read too far into it otherwise. That’s probably even more badass, since it would have been unlikely for anyone on the ship to discern the digital communication.
