Basic Information
Color: Crimson Lake
Subject: Isabella & Columbus
Paper: Soft porous paper
Printing method: line-engraved intaglio on flat plates
Printer: American Bank Note Co.
Perforations: 12
Scott #: 244
Quantity issued: 26,350
Issued: January 1st, 1893
Value
An unused stamp with perfect gum: $2,000-$2,500
An unused stamp with gum and a hinge mark: $750-$1,000
A used stamp: $300-$500
About the Columbian stamps
Exposition cancel
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A view of the Exposition
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A map of the Exposition
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The Post Office display space at the Exposition
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The reasoning behind this issue
On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Landing of Columbus the largest Exposition ever held on US soil was held in Chicago. The Post Office was determined not to miss out on this and proposed a series of stamps to commemorate the event. The purpose behind this was three fold
1) To encourage the purchase of stamps by the public
2) To stimulate the hobby of stamp collecting
3) To make a tidy profit
Production and Distribution
It was estimated that 3 Billion stamps would be sold and between September and the end of December 1892 work progressed on their production.
The Post Office Dept. informed all post offices that they would not be able to order the new series on an 'as needed' basis as was the normal procedure. Instead they would be sent an amount the powers to be deemed sufficient. Plus the department would not accept any returns and they would not be issued any other stamps until they had run out the new series. This caused much complaining by the post office owners, complaints were coming in that these stamps were too big, being twice the size of current issue (this was done to accommodate the expansive designs).
At the Exposition
At the Exposition the Post Office was in the US Government Building and had been given a vast amount of display space. The display cases showcased stamps from the very earliest days of stamps to 1892 both in the US and around the world. Postal cards were sold in every building and of course one could purchase the new Columbian series stamps.
Popular then not so much
At the Exposition
The post offices need not have worried. The stamps proved to be immensely popular. So much so that Post Offices refused to sell the higher values for fear of running out. The price of these skyrocketed as a result. Companies instructed their offices to use the higher values on internal parcels so they could benefit from their sale when delivered to their branch offices. US travellers in Europe were accosted for them, they were even traded on bourses.
And then like all bubbles, it collapsed. Before you knew it the $5 stamps were being sold at a steep discount. Being totally useless for letters, and with a world glut the price dropped like a stone, at one point stamp dealers would only offer 30% of the face value for them.
Usage
#244 earliest known date of use, March 24th 1893
There was no useful purpose for the dollar value Columbians, they were created solely for the purpose to sell to collectors. The profit margin being the difference between the cost of the printing and the value sold.
The Columbian series proved to be immensely popular with the public. The $1 value was the first to sell out. It soon reached a price of $5 each. As a consequence post masters attempted to keep back some for postal use. However companies were instructing employees to use high value Columbians on their internal mail as even used copies were fetching a 50% premium over face value.
What goes up must come down, and the prices crashed, particularly on the high values. The $5 could be purchased at a steep discount as they were almost useless for mail (they served no purpose at all) and folks wanted to get shot of them before the price fell even further.
At the height of the bubble, in 1898, the post office could not find any $1 for themselves as they needed them for sets. Ultimately they had to buy from stamp dealers, swapping the $1 and $2 Trans- Mississippi value for the $1 Columbians at a 1.5:1 rate..
Plates and a Full Pane
#244 was issued with the following plate #'s
CC 107
#244a
#244a Rose Carmine
#244a Rose Carmine
There is no difference in value between #244 and #244a
The Inspiration for the Design
QUEEN ISABEL
"Retrato de Isabel le Catolica"
Juan de Flandes
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
'Portrait of a Gentleman'
Circle of Lorenzo Lotto
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Queen Isabella I of Castile (1451–1504) famously sponsored Christopher Columbus’s 1492 voyage across the Atlantic, expanding the Spanish Empire and initiating colonization of the Americas. While initially hesitant, she, alongside her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon, provided funding and legal authority for the expedition, leading to massive financial and territorial gains, alongside the exploitation of indigenous peoples.
Contrary to the myth that she sold her jewels, Isabella financed the trip primarily through a mix of royal treasury funds, funding from Italian investors, and the town of Palos paying a debt to the crown by providing ships.
sabella stood by Columbus despite his poor governing skills and opposition from her advisors, although she was later disturbed by his treatment of the indigenous people and attempted to protect them, directing they be treated humanely.