Commemorative Stamps




The word "commemorate" means to honor or remember an event or person of some historical significance. Originally, commemorative stamps were designed to do exactly that, and often depicted a famous person (sometimes together with the "tools of the trade" or other items somehow connected to him or her) or an historical event. For example, the first commemorative stamps that were issued by the United States honored the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. The Columbian Exposition stamps featured various scenes - his fleet of sailing ships, Columbus landing, Columbus and Queen Isabella of Spain, etc. They were issued in 1893 in connection with the World's Columbian Exposition (hence their name) - a World's Fair held in Chicago, Illinois.



Many commemoratve stamps today are still issued to honor significant events or people, but their purpose has evolved over time. Many commemoratives now feature topics or themes which may or may not be historically important. For example, many countries issue now commemorative stamps that feature birds, insects, dinosaurs, horses, dogs, cats, film actors and a plethora of thousands of other topics.



Unlike definitive stamps, most commemorative stamps are printed in limited numbers, and although there are some exceptions, most are only printed once so the likelihood of finding varieties is severely diminished (although some do exist). While definitive stamps are sometimes somewhat boring to look at they are "where the money is" and are collected at least in part because of the possibility of finding a scarce and expensive variety. But commemorative stamps, with their often striking designs, are usually collected for their visual appeal.