Description: This beautiful commemorative postage stamp was issued by the People's Republic of Bulgaria (NR Bulgaria) as part of a visually stunning topical series dedicated to native butterflies. The design showcases the Apollo butterfly (Parnassius apollo), meticulously rendered in its natural colors against a warm, cream-colored background. The butterfly is displayed with its wings fully spread, highlighting its characteristic semi-translucent white wings, bold black spots, and distinctive red or orange hindwing eyespots bordered in black. The country name "NR BULGARIA" runs vertically down the left margin in a clean, black sans-serif typeface, while the scientific name Parnassius apollo is elegant written in an italicized script along the lower center. The denomination of 1 stotinka (abbreviated as "st 1") is clearly positioned in the bottom right corner. This specific specimen features a crisp, partial postmark cancellation in the upper right, adding authentic historical character to its standard line perforation edges.
Circa: 1962
Condition: Used
Notes:
This stamp is highly popular among topical collectors specializing in "Insects on Stamps" or "Fauna" due to its clean, mid-century graphic design style. While it boasts a substantial original print run of 6,300,000 pieces, finding examples with attractive, clear cancellations remains a rewarding pursuit for philatelists. The collaborative design was brought to life by a notable team of artists, including Alexander Balkanski, Anna Hof Veleva, Metodi Velev, Veni Kantardzhieva, and Veselin Tomov, who used photogravure printing to achieve precise color registration. From a biological perspective, the Apollo butterfly depicted is a fascinating alpine swallowtail that lacks the typical "tails" found on its close relatives. Because it lives in isolated, high-altitude mountain meadows across Europe, the species has developed significant variations in its wing patterns depending on the specific altitude and region, making it an enduring symbol of European wildlife conservation efforts.