Lewis Hamilton Celebrated by the Royal Mail with Postage Stamps

Since Lewis Hamilton's Formula 1 triumph couldn't just pass unnoticed, the Royal Mail has thought of a way to reward him. Well, the commemorative prize is surely not as valuable as in the case of Michael Schumacher who has received a $7 million island from Dubai's prince. The gesture of introducing a new set of stamps to celebrate the Formula 1 champion is surely a nice move, albeit a bit unusual, taking into consideration that the Royal Mail has already drawn up the schedule for its 2009 stamps.

The series of six stamps will feature Hamilton and his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 car and will be available for purchase starting with January 15. Yet, prices are rather spicy and fans will have to pay £4.42 for the traditional mint set and £22.50 for a set that comes with a Lewis Hamilton special folder.

The offer doesn't stop here: the Royal Mail is also going to present Lewis Hamilton first day cover package, featuring the complete set of stamps attached to an official pictorial envelope which is postmarked for the first day of the stamp's release. Collectors must  pay  £5.12 for this product.

In addition, the post office will offer for another £5.17 the final collector package which is the F1 champion's presentation pack. This one contains all six stamps attached to a black card featuring a photographic cover with Hamilton and his famous race car.

The British post office receives about 3,000 suggestions each year with ideas for commemorative stamps. Last year, stamps depicting the covers of each of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series of novels were issued in order to attract younger fans to stamp collecting. Other more recent stamps featured James Bond and the Beatles. Hamilton set of stamps is expected to attract many collectors that love motor sports.