[2] The 'E' stamp pays the letter rate to Europe. It pictures a sculpture of a thistle by artists Frank Pottinger and Tim Chalk. The thistle became the national floral emblem of Scotland when a barefoot invader stepped on a thistle and screamed from the resulting pain, alerting the defenders to his whereabouts. The date and place where this occurred, however, is lost to history.

[2] The 2nd class definitive shows the »Giant's Causeway« , located on the coast of County Antrim . It is one of the most important landforms in the world and was recently awarded »World Heritage« status. The causeway proper is a mass of hexagonal basalt columns packed tightly together. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. The columns were formed as lava cooled slowly, creating a uniform pattern. Royal Mail calls it an »instantly recognizable« feature of Northern Ireland. The name stemps from a legend of the origin of the causeway: a giant named Finn McCool, the Ulster warrior and commander of the King of Ireland's armies built it to confront a bad-tempered Scottish giant named Benandonner. A similar formation can be found at »Devil's Postpile« in California, USA.

[2] The 68p airmail stamp pictures the Tudor rose. The rose was developed from the combination of the red rose, representing King Henry VII (*1457, r. 1485, † 1509) and the Lancaster family, and the white rose of his wife Elizabeth (* 1466, r. 1487, † 1503) and the Yorks. The marriage ended a series of long and bloody dynastic wars for the throne of England, known as »The Wars of the Roses«. The Tudor rose became the universal symbol of the Tudor dynasty and is commonly seen today representing England.

[2] The English 2nd class stamp features the Lion of England. The lion has been a symbol of courage, strength, and nobility since the Middle Ages. After it was used as a symbol by King Henry I, known as Henry Beauclerc, (* 1068, r. 1100, † 1135) and by King Richard I (* 1157, r. 1189, † 1199), known as »Richard the Lionheart« because of his courage in battle, it was adopted by the English monarchs and used ever since.

Source: Larry Rosenblum, USA

[2] The stamp paying the 2nd class rate shows the Scottish flag. The design is taken from a painting by Anton Morris. The design of the flag is the Saltire Cross, a white X-shaped cross on a blue background. The saltire cross was the type of cross on which St. Andrew, Christ's first convert and missionary, was crucified by the Romans at Patras, Greece, in 60 AD. In about 750 AD, St. Rule of Patras, a Greek monk, was told to take several bones of St. Andrew and travel to the westernmost part of the known world. He took them to a place near the present Scottish town of St. Andrews and erected a shrine. Soon after, the Picts (then one of the native tribes living in the area of today's Scotland) saw a huge saltire cross shining in the blue sky. Taking this as a divine omen, they defeated the other tribes living there in battle and brought unity to what is now Scotland. The Cross of St. Andrew became the national flag of Scotland.

Source: Larry Rosenblum, USA