This sounds like a very interesting project: find postage stamps of the world that point to an element in the Periodic Table, directly or indirectly.
That is exactly what Larry G. French from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, had done, and writes about here and says:
“A premium was attached to identifying stamps on which element names and symbols or some other chemical notation appeared. I also attempted to include as many nations as possible while ensuring a good blend of people, places, applications and scientific fields was represented. For some elements (typically those with great economic significance such as gold and aluminum) there were many options to select from. Conversely, the frustratingly chemically similar lanthanides and actinides and the ephemeral super heavy weight chemical division posed a more significant challenge, one requiring deep digging and a creative license“.
At first blush, I know of several stamps in my South Africa collection that refer to gold or have the mineshafts of gold mines on them. There is also a set of South African stamps from 1984 with symbols for chromium, manganese, vanadium* and titanium on.
*Atomic number 23, and the stamp appears in the table above.
Here are the descriptions of the stamps in the table:
1 Hydrogen – North Vietnam
Test of Chinese hydrogen bomb;
nuclear chemistry in hydrogen bomb
2 Helium – U.S.S.R.
Tokamak fusion reactor
Will fusion ever become a viable clean energy source?
3 Lithium – Bolivia
Salar de Uyuni Salt Flats; Lithium resources for battery production/resource development in underdeveloped economies
4 Beryllium – Brazil
Emeralds; Legal battle over ownership of 180,000 carat Brazilian Bahia emerald
5 Boron – Turkey
Colmanite CaB3O4(OH)3 H2O; boron production
6 Carbon – Austria
Petrochemical industry, carbon compound; energy, carbon emissions, global warming
7 Nitrogen – France
Alkaloids, quinine discovery;
medicines from plants, malaria
8 Oxygen – Switzerland
Ozone; protective effects of ozone layer, ozone depleting chemicals, atmosphere
9 Fluorine – France
Moissan discovery of fluorine; role of fluorine in the Manhattan Project, uranium enrichment
10 Neon – U.S.A
Las Vegas neon sign; neon lights
11 Sodium – Turks and Caicos
Salt Cay; Importance of salt mining in history of Caribbean nations
12 Magnesium – France
Victor Grignard; Organometallic chemistry, Nobel Prize
13 Aluminum – Greenland
Cryolite Na3AlF6 Hall-Heroult process;
history of aluminum & aluminum refining
14 Silicon – Swaziland
Havelock Asbestos Mine; health impacts
15 Phosphorus – Nauru
Phosphate Mining; resource utilization in underdeveloped economies
16 Sulfur – Poland
Sulfur Production; Ottoman “Gunpowder Empire”
17 Chlorine – Cambodia
DDT Insecticide; pros and cons of DDT use throughout its history, malaria
18 Argon – Sweden
Argon compounds in Crab Nebula
Noble gases are not inert; detection of chemical species in outer space
19 Potassium – East Germany
Justus von Liebig; plant nutrients, law of the minimum
20 Calcium – Aden
Lime burning; manufacture of building material
21 Scandium – Russia
MiG-29; alloys aerospace applications
22 Titanium – Senegal
Titanium dredging; resource utilization in underdeveloped economies
23 Vanadium – Rep. S. Africa
Vanadium production; steel additives
24 Chromium – Zimbabwe
Chromite; stainless steel
25 Manganese – Gabon
Manganese production in Moanda;
resource utilization in underdeveloped economies
26 Iron – India
Iron pillar of Delhi; rust resistant
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27 Cobalt – Canada
Cobalt-60 radiation therapy; radioisotopes in medicine
28 Nickel – New Caledonia
Garnier and nickel mining; resource utilization in underdeveloped economies
29 Copper – Cyprus
Copper mine; copper production in ancient Cyprus
30 Zinc – Belgium
Jean-Jacques Dony; zinc discovery & refining
31 Gallium – U.S.S.R.
Mendeleev’s notes; history of periodic table
32 Germanium – U.S.A.
Transistors; use in electronic components
33 Arsenic – Germany
Ehrlich Salvarsan Arsenic Drug Syphilis; “magic bullet” concept in medicine
34 Selenium – Sweden
Berzelius selenium sample electron microscopic view; new battery technologies
35 Bromine – Israel
Dead Sea Works, world’s largest bromine supplier; chemistry of bromine production
36 Krypton – France
Metric system centennial; krypton emission line definition of metre
37 Rubidium – East Germany
Kirchhoff discoverer of rubidium; spectroscopy in discovery of elements
38 Strontium – Liechtenstein
Strontianite SrCO3; fireworks
39 Yttrium – Japan
Superconducting YBa2CuOx; superconducting materials
40 Zirconium – French Antarctic
Zircons; use in geological dating
41 Niobium – Uganda
Columbite (Fe,Mn)Nb2O6; “blood coltan” funding for guerilla wars in Africa
42 Molybdenum – North Korea
Fleurus IRE Reactor and Cyclotron
production of Mo-99 for medical application & preparation of Tc-99m
43 Technetium – U.K.
Computed Tomography (CT) Scan; technetium-99m medical imaging
44 Ruthenium – Bophuthatswana
Platinum minerals industry; ruthenium and platinum production, the Bafokeng people “Africa’s platinum tribe”
45 Rhodium – Algeria
Air Pollution; catalytic converters, continued use of leaded gasoline in some third world nations
46 Palladium – Czechoslovakia
Slovnaft Petrochemicals; petroleum refining, transition metal catalysts
47 Silver – Mexico
World’s largest silver producer; history of silver mining in Mexico
48 Cadmium – Hungary
Greenockite CdS mineral; solar cells
49 Indium – Australia
Solar Energy; CIGS solar cells
50 Tin – Thailand
Tin mining; history of tin production in Thailand
51 Antimony – Jordan
Jabir Ibn Hayyan; early alchemical investigations of antimony & other elements
52 Tellurium – Romania
Franz-Joseph Müller discovery; solar cells
53 Iodine – India
Iodine deficiency; thyroid health, iodinated salt
54 Xenon – East Germany
Medimorp anesthesia unit; anesthesia, use as performance enhancing drug
55 Cesium – Norway
North Sea oil rig; cesium brines in oil extraction
56 Barium – Greece
Barite BaSO4 mineral; Why is this mineral named barium & the mineral, barite?
57 Lanthanum – Cuba
Electric car; batteries for electric vehicles
58 Cerium – Sweden
Berzelius birth anniversary; Berzelius’ contributions to chemistry including discovery of cerium
59 Praseodymium – Austria
Carl Auer-Welsbach birth anniversary; discoverer of praseodymium
60 Neodymium – Denmark
Wind power; magnets for wind turbines
61 Promethium – Czech Republic
Bohuslav Brauner birth anniversary; contributions to chemistry including prediction of undiscovered element promethium
62 Samarium – Taiwan
Nuclear reactor; neutron capture/nuclear reactor control rods
63 Europium – Uruguay
Compact fluorescent lighting; How do compact fluorescent lights work?
64 Gadolinium – Finland
Johan Gadolin birth anniversary; discoverer
65 Terbium – Mozambique
Color television; terbium in phosphors
66 Dysprosium – Italy
Sonar; Tefenol-D magnetostrictive sensor for sonar
67 Holmium – China
Chinese rare earths mining industry; paradox of environmental damage in China and production of rare earths for green technologies
68 Erbium – Switzerland
Fiber optics; fiber optic cables
69 Thulium – France
Eye surgery; thulium lasers
70 Ytterbium – India
Rare earths plant; production of rare earth elements from monazite sand
71 Lutetium – East Germany
Earth cross section; recent redating of earth’s crust using lutetium Isotopes
72 Hafnium – Sweden
George de Hevesy Nobel Prize; medical radio- imaging
73 Tantalum – Japan
Hip replacement; biocompatible materials
74 Tungsten – Spain
Bicentennial tungsten discovery, Juan and Fausto Elhuyar; high strength steel
75 Rhenium – Canada
Jet engine; rhenium alloys
76 Osmium – Austria
Carl Auer osmium lamp; incandescence
77 Iridium – Mexico
Mexican dinosaur; iridium and Alvarez Extinction Hypothesis. Yucatán asteroid
78 Platinum – Colombia
Platinum dredging del Choco state; history of platinum production in Colombia
79 Gold – Ghana
Gold mining; impacts of authorized & unauthorized gold mining in Africa
80 Mercury – Hungary
Paracelsus; alchemical symbols
81 Thallium – Macedonia
Lorandite TlAsS2 mineral; Allchar thallium deposit in solar neutrino detection LOREX experiment
82 Lead – Peru
Galena PbS mineral; lead pollution in La Oroya, Peru, one of world’s most polluted places
83 Bismuth – Bolivia
Bismutina Bi2S3 mineral; high altitude mining in Bolivia
84 Polonium – Cameroon
Pierre Curie co-discoverer of polonium; role of polonium in Manhattan Project, “urchin” initiator
85 Astatine – Romania
Horia Hulubei; competing claims to discovery of astatine
86 Radon – Italy
Earthquake anniversary; Radon releases to predict earthquakes?
87 Francium – France
Discovery by Frederic & Irene Joliot-Curie; work of Marguerite Perey at Curie Institute
88 Radium – India
Marie Sklodowska Curie discoverer; radium therapy in medicine
89 Actinium – Zaire
Trace quantities of actinium in pitchblende; uranium ore from Shinkolobwe mine in the Congo (Zaire) source of uranium for Manhattan Project
90 Thorium – Austria
Auer’s thorium mantle gas lamp; thorium pollution around superfund site(s) Camden, NJ Auer Lamp manufacturing site(s)
91 Protactinium – Sweden
Frederick Soddy; partial credit for discovery of protactinium isotopes, Nobel Prize
92 Uranium – West Germany
Uranium fission; Otto Hahn and discovery
of nuclear fission
93 Neptunium – United Nations
Fallout from above ground nuclear tests; nuclear arms control
94 Plutonium – Israel
Israel’s acknowledged nuclear facility; Israel’s nuclear weapons program, breeder reactors
95 Americium – Ukraine
Chernobyl Accident anniversary; americium in radioactive fallout
96 Curium – Madagascar
Curies in Lab; Curies’ contributions to chemistry; uranium ore for radium production from Madagascar
97 Berkelium – Rep. of Guinea
Ernest Lawrence discovery of berkelium with cyclotron; Lawrence’s role in Manhattan Project; cyclotrons for synthesizing elements
98 Californium – Egypt
Landmine prohibition; neutron source for mine detection systems
99 Einsteinium – Rep. Marshall Islands
Ivy Mike test at Enewetak Atoll; first production element 99; nuclear testing, discovery of synthetic elements
100 Fermium – Italy
Enrico Fermi (with famous mistake in equation on board); Fermi’s role in Manhattan Project
101 Mendelevium – U.S.S.R.
Rutherford and Einstein; production of mendelevium via einsteinium bombardment with alpha particles
102 Nobelium – Hungary
10th anniversary JINR
103 Lawrencium – St. Vincent
Lawrence with first cyclotron; Lawrence’s role in Manhattan Project, cyclotrons for synthesizing elements
104 Rutherfordium – New Zealand
Electrons orbiting Rutherford’s head; Rutherford’s contributions to chemistry & physics, Nobel Prize
105 Dubnium – Poland
20th anniversary JINR; discovery
106 Seaborgium – U.S.S.R.
20th anniversary JINR; discovery
107 Bohrium – Denmark
Niels Bohr; Bohr’s contribution to Manhattan Project, Bohr model of atom
108 Hassium – U.S.S.R.
IUPAC; element naming and disputes including hassium
109 Meitnerium – Austria
Lise Meitner; discovery of nuclear fission
110 Darmstadtium – Canada
Nickel and lead; synthesis of darmstadtium via bombardment of lead by nickel
111 Roentgenium – Egypt
Roentgen and discovery of X-Rays; X-rays in medicine
112 Copernicium – Germany
Hermann von Helmholtz; super heavy element synthesis, GSI Helmholtz Laboratory
113 Nihonium – Namibia – Bolivia
Zinc mining – Bismuth ore; nihonium synthesis from zinc and bismuth nuclei
114 Flerovium – Russia
Georgy Flerov birth anniversary; Soviet nuclear weapons program
115 Moscovium – Czech Republic
60th anniversary JINR; discovery of moscovium
116 Livermorium – Bulgaria
25th anniversary JINR
117 Tennessine – USA create-your-own
Oak Ridge Reactor
118 Oganesson – USA create-your-own
Yuri Oganessian