Columbian Issue - History

History

Fifteen of the stamps went on sale Monday, January 2, 1893. They were available nationwide, and were not restricted to the Exposition in any way. This was a larger number of stamps than the United States Post Office had ever offered in a definitive series, thanks to the unprecedented inclusion of stamps denominated $1, $2, $3, $4 and $5: no U. S. postage stamp previously issued had cost more than 90¢. As a result, the face value of the complete set was $16.34, a substantial sum of money in 1893. In approximate 2009 dollars, the set would cost almost $390. As a result, only a small number of the most expensive stamps, especially the dollar values, were sold. Unsold stamps were destroyed after the Columbian Issue was removed from sale on April 12, 1894. Over 2 billion stamps, whose total face value exceeded $40 million, were printed by the American Bank Note Company.

Opinion regarding the Columbian Issue at the time was mixed. The set sold well and did not face the sort of criticism that led to the withdrawal of the 1869 Pictorial Issue. However, approval was not universal. An organization called the Society for the Suppression of Spurious Stamps was created in protest over the creation of this set, deeming the Exposition in Chicago insufficiently important to be honored on postage, while some collectors balked at the Post Office Department's willingness to profit from the growing hobby of philately. Ridiculing the $5 stamp, the Chicago Tribune pointed out that it could used for only one purpose: mailing a 62½-pound package of books at the book rate. The Columbians did not immediately increase in value after being removed from sale, in part due to substantial speculation resulting in a glut of stamps on the secondary market. However, as of 2006, depending on condition, a full set might be valued at $10,000 or more.