Haypost, the national postal operator of Armenia, has won first prize at the 2019 edition of the pan-European online stamp competition. Haypost is followed by the Turkish Post and Finland's Posti Group Corporation.

The prize was given to the representative of the Armenian post service in Jersey, Channel Islands, United Kingdom, on the sidelines of the PostEurop Plenary Assembly which was attended by about 150 postal industry professionals from over 52 European countries.

The stamp was issued as part of Europa, the annual international joint issue of the member countries of the Association of European Postal Operators (PostEurope). The theme of this year's competition was National Birds and aimed at raising awareness about nature conservation.

The online competition had officially started on May 9.

Armenia was participating with a fully-illustrated postage stamp inspired by Armenian miniatures. The postage stamp depicts the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) sitting on a branch in an environment typical of the flora of Armenia.

The stamp was authored by HayPost artist-designer Ashkhen (Mila) Khandzratsyan.

The Slovenian Post won this year's prize from the jury of philatelic experts.

Haypost said it reaffirms its mission of presenting the Armenian philately to the world and strengthening the Armenian stamp’s position on the international philatelic market.