While on the subject of the International Olympic Committee as a permanently functioning organization, mention should be made of those who for many years and frequently under extremely adverse conditions stood at its head. Their names will always be an integral part of the complex history of the Olympic ideals. The first and most imposing of these is the name of Baron Pierre de Coubertin. It is hardly surprising that the gallery of philatelic portraits of IOC presidents issued by the Republic of San-Marino in 1959 begins and ends with deCoubertin, who founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC). But these are far from being the only stamps issued to commemorate the Great Frenchman. The first deCoubertin stamp was issued in October 1939 when postal authority of Haiti issued three stamps. Seventeen years later the French postal designer, R. Serres, prepared a portrait of his famous fellow-countryman against the background of a stadium and the Olympic Flag. This design became subsequently very popular and today portraits of de Coubertin can be seen in combination with a variety of background subjects. The stamp of West Germany shown here honoured this father of Olympic movement.

Back to top