Imaginary country

An imaginary country or fantasy country is often important in mail art, as it issues its own artistamps.

It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between an imaginary country, which does not even attempt to make any colourable claim to sovereignty, and a micronation, which does. To further confuse the issue, some micronations later convert to imaginary countries, such as Porto Claro.

There are also imaginary unions[?], such as the International Union of Mail-Artists (IUOMA). In mail art the union has turned into a real thing with their own site and their own discussion group.

See also: Aerican Empire, Fictional realm, IUOMA.