Stamp Trivia Question:


Question: What is the world's most reproduced work of art in history?

Answer: Arnold Machin's sculpture of the head of Queen Elizabeth II, an image of which is featured on British definitive stamps, with a smaller image being on most other British stamps.


According to an article by Richard Alleyne, only a handful of casts of the bust were ever made by renowned sculptor Arnold Machin. Three of them are kept by Royal Mail but a fourth has been discovered in the closet of the artist's former studio and is to be auctioned off.

Alleyne goes on to say,"The 1966 design is said to be so well-liked by the Queen that she has declined to have it updated and changed over the years, unlike her effigy on coinage. It is still seen on almost every British stamp today and some 320 billion copies have been made over the last 40 years, making it the most reproduced work of art in history."