Vlad the Impaler (in Romanian, Vlad Țepeș) was a known ruler of mediaeval Wallachia, whose cold-blooded cruelty inspired Bram Stoker‘s “Dracula“. Though the vampirism of Vlad the Impaler is rather a matter of mythology and cult literature alike, his image remains as the arch-vampire.

Though one would say that vampires in general, and Dracula in particular, are not a common thing to see on stamps, we’ve gathered below all known stamps from this topic. Enjoy!

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Ireland

Ireland issued twice Dracula-themed stamps. The first time in 1997, which meant the centenary of Bram Stoker‘s “Dracula“, originally published in 1897.

The second time, it was in 2012, to mark the centenary of the death of Bram Stoker.

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The United Kingdom of Great Britain

Great Britain as well issued twice Dracula-themed stamps. The first time in 1997, under the topic of “Tales of Terror”.

Pictured above: the stamp series (featuring left to right: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Dracula, the Hound of the Baskervilles, and Frankenstein), the First Day Cover and the informative sheet related to the series.

The second time, in 2008, the UK Dracula stamp was occasioned by the commemoration of Hammer films.

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Canada

Though not mentioning nominally Dracula, these Canadian stamps issued in 1997 banked a lot on the popularity of vampires among other creatures of the dark. And who else if not Dracula is the world’s known vampire?

Pictured above: a 4-block and a whole sheet.

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The United States of America

The USA could not have missed the possbility to raise some stamp $ while using Dracula on stamps. The topic chosen in 1997 was classic movie monsters, among which Bela Lugosi‘s 1931 performance of Dracula earned a spot.

Pictured above the 5 item set and the sheet.

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Romania

And which country if not Vlad Țepeș’s own could feature most of the Dracula stamps? The first Vlad Țepeș inspired stamps were issued in 1959, with the occasion of 500 years of historical attestation of the city of Bucharest (București). The Vlad Țepeș of the series is not a cold-blooded criminal, but a founder of a capital city.

Pictured above in the set of stamps and the sheet accompanying the set.

The 1997 EUROPA topic of tales and legends inspired this new set issued in Romania. You can already see the metamorphosis undergone by the founder of the city of Bucharest.

Last but not least, in 2004, Dracula popped up again on Romanian stamps, this time on the occasion of the 23rd UPU Congress in Bucharest. Dracula has been so used in national branding, that it made sense to use his image once again for an international event.

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Stamps featured in post: 41; Period: modern (1959-2012); Pricing: moderate*; Availability: rather available*.

* with the exception of the 1959 Romania sheet; its current catalogue price averages at 200€. Its original printrun was of only 30,000 sheets.