Happy Columbians Day!

John Finch, About.com stamp guide writes about "Columbian Stamps for Columbus Day."

Finch pens, "The Columbian set of 1893 were the first U.S. commemoratives and remain one of the keys to a collection of United States stamps.Interest in them as philatelic items of note has never flagged and their art is such that when they were reprinted in 1992 by the USPS in the Voyages of Columbus souvenir sheets they still had the power to stun modern collectors with their beauty."

Finch goes on to link to a slide show of the U.S. 1893 Columbian Exposition Stamps which was put together by Michael Breen who points out, "Filling the Columbian spaces in a stamp album is a major accomplishments for the U.S. collector, one that is getting more difficult as their values rise."

Shown above, 30¢ Columbian from a Painting by Felipe Maso titled “Columbus at La Rabida” which was the first U.S. stamp to have a dog in its design.

To view, the slide show with background information about the stamps and Columbian Exposition for which they were issued, click here.