“Columbus Welcomed at Barcelona”: The Story Behind a Historic Stamp
Some stamps are collectible. Some stamps are rare but only a few, like the “Columbus Welcomed at Barcelona” are miniature paintings that hold an entire moment in world history inside their tiny frame.
“A Love Letter That Outlived Its Writer”: The Story of the Blue Mauritius
Some pieces of paper carry entire centuries.
The Blue Mauritius, a small square of blue-green ink printed in 1847, is one of them.
Barely an inch wide, it has become one of the most famous postage stamps in the world and it’s not for its perfection, but for its imperfection: a single phrase that made it both a mistake and a miracle.
The Z Grill: America’s Rarest Stamp and the Mystery of Its Tiny Diamonds
In 1868, the U.S. Post Office tried to stop people from reusing stamps by pressing tiny diamond-shaped ridges into them, a process called “grilling.” The rarest of these, the Z Grill, was applied to a few 1¢ Benjamin Franklin stamps. Only two survive today, one locked in the New York Public Library and another once traded for $3 million. What began as a postal experiment became a legend: proof that even the smallest marks in history can hold the deepest stories.
Treskilling Yellow: The One That Made History
The Treskilling Yellow remains not only a philatelic holy grail but also a symbol of the unpredictable beauty of human error.
From its pallet swap to attic discovery, from record auctions to secret private collections, it has transcended what a stamp usually means.
From Islands to Icons: The Story of the Hawaiian Missionary Stamps
In 1851, the Kingdom of Hawaii issued its very first postage stamps. Today remembered as the Hawaiian Missionaries, they are printed on fragile blue pelure paper. These stamps carried the mail of an island kingdom that, while geographically remote was becoming increasingly connected to the rest of the world.
The One-Cent Magenta | The Most Mysterious Stamp in the World
It’s just a scrap of paper — tiny, faded, and roughly cut. But in the world of stamps, it's legendary. Known as the British Guiana 1c Magenta, this tiny postage stamp has traveled continents, crossed centuries, and passed through the hands of kings, murderers, and billionaires. It’s not just rare — it’s one-of-a-kind.
The Inverted Jenny: A Philatelic Legend
The "Inverted Jenny" stamp, celebrated for its depiction of an accidentally upside-down airplane, is one of the world's rarest and most valuable stamps. Originating from a 1918 issue to commemorate the first U.S. Air Mail, its history is as intriguing as its design.
The Penny Black: The World's First Postage Stamp
The Penny Black holds a special place in history as the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. Issued in the United Kingdom in 1840, it revolutionized the postal service and laid the groundwork for modern global communication.