POSTER STAMPS AND LABELS OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES

      INTRODUCTION

      STATISTICS

      UNSOLVED MYSTERIES

        SUMMER GAMES
1894 - Modern Games Founded
1896 - I Olympiad - Athens
1900 - II Olympiad - Paris
      - Vignettes of the 1900 Paris Expo
1904 - III Olympiad - St. Louis
1906 - Intercalated Games - Athens
1908 - IV Olympiad - London
1912 - V Olympiad - Stockholm
1913 - Berlin prepares for 1916 games
1914 - 20th Anniversary of Rebirth of Games
1916 - VI Olympiad - Berlin
1920 - VII Olympiad - Antwerp
1924 - VIII Olympiad - Paris
      - Post Cards
1928 - IX Olympiad - Amsterdam
1932 - X Olympiad - Los Angeles
1936 - XI Olympiad - Berlin
1940 - XII Olympiad - Tokyo
      - XII Olympiad - Helsinki
      - New Zealand Centennial Games
1944 - XIII Olympiad - London
      - German POW Games
1948 - XIV Olympiad - London
1952 - XV Olympiad - Helsinki
1956 - XVI Olympiad - Melbourne
      - XVI Olympiad - Stockholm
1960 - XVII Olympiad - Rome

1940 - V Winter Games - St Moritz

 

Official (?) Poster for 1940 Winter Games in St Moritz

After Japan gave the 1940 Games back to the IOC in July 1938, the IOC then decided to give the Winter Olympics to St Moritz, Switzerland, which had hosted it in 1928. However, due to controversies between the Swiss organizing team and the IOC, the Games were withdrawn again.


US FUND LABELS FOR THE (canceled) 1940 OLYMPIC GAMES

(9/1/16 - Philippe Pavard pointed out that these labels, which I show on the 1940 Helsinki page, belong here as well. Thanks, Philippe.)



#1940-F-17a thru 17d and 17/aa thru 17/ad

 
Contemporary ad for 1940-17 stamps!

 
Full sheet of #1940-F-17/ac

DuBois listing:

U.S. Fund Labels:

17. "AMERICAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE HELSINKI - 1940 GAMES - St. MORITZ" above; printer's imprint: "AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY" below design; Vignette: a scene from the 1932 Games in Los Angeles - seven runners on the track, in the foreground; background depicts a portion of the stadium with its arched entrances, flags atop the latter, and seats crowded with spectators; a be-ribboned torch to left side; a be-ribboned USA Olympic coat-of-arms to right side. 41x28mm,perf 12, each label of one color only, as follows: a)red , b)green , c)blue , or d)purple ... each: $1.00

17a. Same as #17 but imperf & without gum ... each: $2.50

17 & 17a issued in sheets of 40(5x8), PM4S, perforations pass through selvage which measures 21 mm at top & bottom and 23mm on sides. The following information is printed on the selvage:

Left side-"V OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES ST. MORITZ, SWITZERLAND. FEBRUARY, 1940."

Right side: "GAMES OF THE XII OLYMPIAD. HELSINKI, FINLAND. JULY 20-AUGUST 4, 1940."

Top: "AMERICAN VICTORY STAMP THE AMERICAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE HAS ISSUED THESE OLYMPIC STAMPS TO HELP RAISE THE FUND REQUIRED TO SEND THE FOREMOST AMATEUR ATHLETES IN THE UNITED STATES TO THE 1940 OLYMPIC GAMES."

Bottom: "THE OATH TAKEN BY ALL COMPETITORS IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES. "WE SWEAR THAT WE WILL TAKE PART IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES IN LOYAL COMPETITION, RESPECTING THE REGULATIONS WHICH GOVERN THEM, AND DESIROUS OF PARTICIPATING IN THEM IN THE TRUE SPIRIT OF SPORTSMANSHIP FOR THE HONOR OF OUR COUNTRY AND THE GLORY OF SPORT."

See "1948-London" label nos. 3 & 3a for a reissue of the above items,with appropriate changes in texts & dates. A notable change occurred in 1948 in that the name "American" was changed to "United States"

1940 Swiss Olympic Committee PRO FINNLAND labels

 
1940-F-W-x1
Fund-raising labels
PRO FINNLAND - 10 Cts. / S.O.C. - C.O.S.
Vignette: Winter scene with hooded Finnish soldier carrying rifle and holding ski poles, Olympic rings
PRO FINNLAND - 10 Cts. / SFAV - ASFA.
Vignette: Winter scene with hooded Finnish soldier carrying rifle and holding ski poles (NO Olympic rings)

The item on the left above was an eBay auction item - the seller thought it must originate around 1950, so it could have been issued for the 1948 St Moritz or 1952 Oslo Winter Olympics, but that was just his quess. I pondered. "PRO FINNLAND" looks like German to me (no other language uses two n's). "10 Cts." could be 10 centimes, so perhaps it's Swiss? And what are SOC and COS? COS could be "Comité Olympique Suisse" and SOC might be Swiss Olympic Committee? But why English? Can't be German, because Committee in German is Komitee, so SOK. And why would the Swiss committee issue a label promoting the Finnish? Just for the record, the Finnish Olympic Committee is Suomen Olympiakomitea, so again, SOK, not SOC.

4/24/16 - I finally found the answer, via Google.
It was issued by the Swiss Olympic Committee in 1939 to support Finland in her battle against the Soviet Union.
Click on the image below for the full story -

I decided this page was the most logical place to put it,
since it depicts a winter scene, and was issued by the Swiss.


I couldn't figure out what the hooded figure was holding - an archery bow?
But Philippe Pavard sent me the image above, of Finnish soldiers in 1939.

      SOLVED MYSTERIES!

      STILL MISSING

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      UPDATE HISTORY

       SUMMER GAMES
1964 - XVIII Olympiad - Tokyo
1968 - XIX Olympiad - Mexico City
1972 - XX Olympiad - Munich

       WINTER GAMES
1924 - I Winter Games - Chamonix
1928 - II Winter Games - St Moritz
1932 - III Winter Games - Lake Placid
1936 - IV Winter Games - Garmisch-Partenkirchen
1940 - V Winter Games - Sapporo
      - V Winter Games - St Moritz
      - V Winter Games - Garmisch-Partenkirchen
1944 - V Winter Games - Cortina d'Ampezzo
1948 - V Winter Games - St Moritz
1952 - VI Winter Games - Oslo
1956 - VII Winter Games - Cortina d'Ampezzo
1960 - VIII Winter Games - Squaw Valley
1964 - IX Winter Games - Innsbruck
1968 - X Winter Games - Grenoble
1972 - XI Winter Games - Sapporo

       OTHER TOPICS
      - U.S. OLYMPIC SHIELD DECALS
      - Workers' Olympics


There were no postal stamps issued for the 1940 St. Moritz Winter Olympics


TOP

I am indebted to Robert J DuBois for allowing me to use images and information from his Catalog of Olympic Labels on these web pages.

All text and images are the property of the author. Any errors are his.
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Created -- 07/27/2013
Revised -- 06/17/2020