1893 Columbian Exposition Commemorative Postage Stamps


The first ever US commemorative postage stamps were issued in 1893 in honor of the World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair. Quite controversial at the time they were issued, the stamps also commemorated the 400th anniversary of the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World. They were intended to be moneymakers for the U.S. Post Office but were initially unpopular with Congress, which passed a resolution protesting these new types of stamps as being unnecessary. But despite their high cost (the face value of the entire set was $16.34, about the average weekly wage at the time and a lot of money in those days) these classic stamps were a huge hit with the stamp collecting public.

Sixteen stamps are in this beautiful vintage commemorative stamp set, and each one features a different scene from the travels of Christopher Columbus in Spain and in the New World. As mentioned earlier, the denominations of the stamps were a point of contention: the first class postage rate was two cents per ounce and people could only mail up to four pounds, so the high face value stamps (the $2, $3, $4 and $5 Columbians) were basically unable to be used on mailings unless one wanted to severely overpay the applicable postage charge. But in the end, over $40 million was made on the Columbian stamps.

A used complete set of Columbian Exposition stamps would typically cost more than $2,000 if bought today, while a mint set would cost more than four times as much.