Most countries in the world have some format of postal service, but the essential cog in the system – the trusted post box – can often go unnoticed.

From the instantly recognisable red pillars in the UK to some slightly more extravagant designs, all serve the same purpose yet are often very different in appearance.

Here we look at a few of the designs from around the globe, so hopefully you won’t have to spend hours searching next time you’re abroad for somewhere to put your postcards.

UK

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The red pillar box can be found dotted all around Britain and have taken pride of place on the streets for generation after generation – since the early 1850s to be exact.

Each is marked with the initial of the ruling monarch at the time of production, with this particular post box made during the rule of George V (1910-1936).

The ‘R’ stands for Regina for a queen and Rex for a king. Postboxes marked ER VIII are among the rarest, simply because Edward was on the throne for less than a year.

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Following widespread Olympic success in the London 2012 games, many post boxes across the UK were painted gold to mark the achievements.

Sailor Ben Ainslie, heptathlete Jessica Ennis, cyclists Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins, runner Mo Farah and tennis player Andy Murray were just some of those recognised for their gold medal triumphs.

Other post boxes were even painted by members of the public, keen to recognise those who claimed silver and bronze medals – in some instances it led to people have two or even three boxes painted in different locations.

Turkey

 

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It’s safe to say that it’s quite difficult to miss the post boxes in Turkey, since they appear in prominent locations and are a rather glaring shade of yellow.

At least finding one of them shouldn’t be a problem.

Australia

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Being a commonwealth country, Australia’s postal boxes share some similar characteristics to those found in the UK.

Having kept the country connected for more than 200 years, Australia Post has thousands of boxes just like this one in every state.

Brazil

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The roots of Brazil’s postal service can be traced back to the 1660s, although things are very different now to how they once were.

Now, the service handles more than 36 million every day which are then distributed across the country using a fleet of nearly 17,000 vehicles.

The USA

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In countries as large as Brazil and the United States, the role of the postal service cannot be underestimated.

The US Postal Service is relatively young compared to others in that it was only formed in 1971. A similar service existed before that date though, with its roots dating to 1775.

With more than 210,000 vehicles the USPS is the largest civilian fleet of vehicles in the world, picking up post from hundreds of thousands of brightly coloured post boxes just like this one.

Greece

 

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Red and yellow are common colours when it comes to the postal service and the situation in Greece is no different.

Yellow marks the regular boxes for everyday mail while red is reserved as an express service.

Greenland

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While this final example isn’t very practical, the extremely large post box – the biggest in the world – in Nuuk serves as a timely reminder of the nation’s postal service.

 

After all, the service has to cover an exceptionally large area, much of which is uninhabited.