Portugal — Stamps & Postal Service

Postal Service Overview

CTT Correios de Portugal is Portugal’s national postal service, privatised in 2014. Portugal has a long and distinguished philatelic history dating to 1853, with its stamp programme extending across a vast colonial empire. At its height, Portuguese colonial stamps covered territories in Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Guinea, Cape Verde, São Tomé e Príncipe), Asia (Macau, Timor), and the Atlantic (Madeira, Azores). These colonial stamps used uniform designs — most famously the Ceres series — applied across all territories.

Notable Stamp Issues

Portugal’s first stamp, issued 1 July 1853, depicted Queen Maria II and was engraved by Friedrich Wilhelm Breitkopf. The 1866–1884 Luis I issues are classic Victorian-era stamps. The 1910 revolution and establishment of the republic produced overprinted stamps of great historical significance. The Ceres definitive series (1912–1931), depicting the Roman goddess of grain, was used throughout Portugal and all its overseas territories — creating a unified but immensely varied collecting area across dozens of different colony printings.

Collecting Tips

The Afinsa catalogue (published in Lisbon) covers Portuguese and colonial stamps. The Ceres series across all colonies is a major specialist area — the same design appears in hundreds of colour, denomination, and printing combinations. Madeira and Azores produce their own stamps as autonomous regions. Portuguese colonial classics (Mozambique Company, Angola, Portuguese Guinea) are widely collected. Portugal’s modern stamps include beautiful maritime and Age of Discovery themes.

Part of the Europe Postal Directory.