1893 3c Columbian Commemorative: Flagship of Columbus

# 232 - 1893 3c Columbian Commemorative: Flagship of Columbus

$12.00 - $4,500.00
Image Condition Price Qty
312398
Mint Stamp(s) Ships in 1-3 business days. Ships in 1-3 business days.
$ 79.00
$ 79.00
0
312399
Mint Stamp(s) Fine Ships in 1-3 business days. Ships in 1-3 business days.
$ 105.00
$ 105.00
1
884074
Mint Sheet(s) Usually ships within 30 days. Usually ships within 30 days.
$ 4,500.00
$ 4,500.00
2
312400
Mint Stamp(s) Fine, Never Hinged Ships in 1-3 business days. Ships in 1-3 business days.
$ 130.00
$ 130.00
3
1215545
Mint Stamp(s), Fresh From Sheet Fine, Never Hinged Ships in 1-3 business days. Ships in 1-3 business days.
$ 130.00
$ 130.00
4
312403
Mint Stamp(s) Very Fine Ships in 1-3 business days. Ships in 1-3 business days.
$ 145.00
$ 145.00
5
312407
Used Single Stamp(s) Ships in 1-3 business days. Ships in 1-3 business days.
$ 22.00
$ 22.00
6
312409
Used Single Stamp(s) Very Fine Ships in 1-3 business days. Ships in 1-3 business days.
$ 45.00
$ 45.00
7
312394
Unused Stamp(s) small flaws Ships in 1-3 business days. Ships in 1-3 business days. Free with 15,120 Points
$ 42.00
$ 42.00
8
No Image
Used Stamp(s) small flaws Ships in 1-3 business days. Ships in 1-3 business days.
$ 12.00
$ 12.00
9
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U.S. #232
1893 3¢ Columbian Commemorative

Issue Date: January 1, 1893
Issue Quantity:
11,501,250
Printed by: American Bank Note Company
Method: Flat plate
Watermark: None
Perforation: 12
Color: green
 
The Santa Maria was the flagship of Columbus. It was the largest vessel in his small fleet (measuring 117 feet in length as opposed to the 50-foot length of the Nina and the Pinta), and it was the one on which Columbus sailed.
 
Printed by the American Bank Note Company
The 1893 Columbian Series was printed by the American Bank Note Company. The engraving was done by Alfred Jones and Charles Skinner. The stamps were printed in green ink in sheets of 100 subjects on soft porous white wove paper and perforated 12. 
 
About the Columbian Series
The Columbian Series is a milestone in American history. Its impact on stamp collecting was so great that the series’ degree of completion is often the “yardstick by which a U.S. collection is measured” (Max Johl, 1947).
 
The series was issued in advance of Chicago’s 1893 World Columbian Exposition, an international fair celebrating the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ 1492 arrival in the New World. The series was used to advertise the event – the first time postage stamps were used to promote a commercial event.
 
The 1893 Columbian Exposition stamp series was like nothing before it. The Columbians were the first U.S. commemorative stamps, and they created a worldwide phenomenon. Expertly engraved and generous in size, the Columbians are among the most sought-after of all U.S. stamps.
 
An Instant Hit with Collectors
At the time they were issued, the Columbian stamps were controversial. Collectors eagerly awaited the series, forming long lines to purchase the stamps. Yet many were frustrated by the price of owning the complete series, which equaled more than $2,030 in today’s unskilled labor wages. Some postal clerks refused to sell Columbian stamps because demand far exceeded supply.
 
As a consequence, used Columbian stamps were selling for almost full face value in 1893 – even as mint stamps were officially on sale. The craze for Columbian stamps was even more pronounced in Europe, where collectors hounded American tourists and begged for stamps from their mail. A corner of Hamburg’s stock exchange was devoted to trafficking Columbian stamps. On August 11, 1893, the New York Times reported these transactions were conducted “as carefully as they handled the highest gilt-edged securities.”
 

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U.S. #232
1893 3¢ Columbian Commemorative

Issue Date: January 1, 1893
Issue Quantity:
11,501,250
Printed by: American Bank Note Company
Method: Flat plate
Watermark: None
Perforation: 12
Color: green
 
The Santa Maria was the flagship of Columbus. It was the largest vessel in his small fleet (measuring 117 feet in length as opposed to the 50-foot length of the Nina and the Pinta), and it was the one on which Columbus sailed.
 
Printed by the American Bank Note Company
The 1893 Columbian Series was printed by the American Bank Note Company. The engraving was done by Alfred Jones and Charles Skinner. The stamps were printed in green ink in sheets of 100 subjects on soft porous white wove paper and perforated 12. 
 
About the Columbian Series
The Columbian Series is a milestone in American history. Its impact on stamp collecting was so great that the series’ degree of completion is often the “yardstick by which a U.S. collection is measured” (Max Johl, 1947).
 
The series was issued in advance of Chicago’s 1893 World Columbian Exposition, an international fair celebrating the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ 1492 arrival in the New World. The series was used to advertise the event – the first time postage stamps were used to promote a commercial event.
 
The 1893 Columbian Exposition stamp series was like nothing before it. The Columbians were the first U.S. commemorative stamps, and they created a worldwide phenomenon. Expertly engraved and generous in size, the Columbians are among the most sought-after of all U.S. stamps.
 
An Instant Hit with Collectors
At the time they were issued, the Columbian stamps were controversial. Collectors eagerly awaited the series, forming long lines to purchase the stamps. Yet many were frustrated by the price of owning the complete series, which equaled more than $2,030 in today’s unskilled labor wages. Some postal clerks refused to sell Columbian stamps because demand far exceeded supply.
 
As a consequence, used Columbian stamps were selling for almost full face value in 1893 – even as mint stamps were officially on sale. The craze for Columbian stamps was even more pronounced in Europe, where collectors hounded American tourists and begged for stamps from their mail. A corner of Hamburg’s stock exchange was devoted to trafficking Columbian stamps. On August 11, 1893, the New York Times reported these transactions were conducted “as carefully as they handled the highest gilt-edged securities.”