WADP Numbering System
Encyclopedia
The WADP Numbering System (WNS) is a project referencing postal stamps issued in the world since 1 January 2002. It is monitored by the World Association for the Development of Philately (WADP) and the Universal Postal Union
. Its inventory is made possible by the declarations of the postal administrations participating to the project.
Its publication appeared on a website where visitors can look for an issue by country, date, topic or key words.
The WNS goals are to give stamp buyers and collectors a stamp catalogue of all official issues and to fight illegal stamps
printed without the postal administrations' consent. Since 2002, some developing countries
succeeded to reduce their philatelic program and officially denounce illegal stamps via the UPU.
When declared, each isolated stamp with a graphic difference (in the design, denomination
, color or dimensions) is given a WNS number :
Universal Postal Union
The Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration , the Postal Operations Council and the...
. Its inventory is made possible by the declarations of the postal administrations participating to the project.
Its publication appeared on a website where visitors can look for an issue by country, date, topic or key words.
The WNS goals are to give stamp buyers and collectors a stamp catalogue of all official issues and to fight illegal stamps
Illegal stamps
Illegal stamps are postage stamp-like labels issued in the names of existing independent countries or territories used to defraud postal administrations, stamp collectors, and the general public. Often, but not always, a member nation of the Universal Postal Union will have asked the UPU to issue...
printed without the postal administrations' consent. Since 2002, some developing countries
Developing country
A developing country, also known as a less-developed country, is a nation with a low level of material well-being. Since no single definition of the term developing country is recognized internationally, the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries...
succeeded to reduce their philatelic program and officially denounce illegal stamps via the UPU.
When declared, each isolated stamp with a graphic difference (in the design, denomination
Denomination (postage stamp)
:This article deals with the price of a postage stamp. For other meanings of the word 'denomination' see Denomination .In philately, the denomination is the "inscribed value of a stamp"...
, color or dimensions) is given a WNS number :
- two letters : the country or region's code in the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2ISO 3166-1 alpha-2ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest...
standard, - three digits for the position in the year of issue,
- after a point, two digits for the year (.02 means year 2002).