Grow your collection with commemorative stamps

If you want to add a little bit of edge and class to your stamp collection, think about branching into commemorative stamps.

A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp that has been printed in order to honour or commemorate a person, event or place.

Each year Australia Post (and other overseas postal services, for that matter) issue a number of these stamps and launching ceremonies are often held to give the stamps publicity.

An interesting point of history is that it is not entirely clear which stamp was the first commemorative stamp issued. Leading candidates include a 17-cent stamp issued by New Brunswick in 1870, which showed the Prince of Wales anticipating a visit.

In 1866 the United States postal service released a 15-cent black stamp featuring Abraham Lincoln. This was the first stamp depicting Lincoln after his assassination in 1865, but was not officially declared as a commemoration or tribute to him.

The first stamps that were undoubtedly issued under the “commemorative” banner were issued by New South Wales in 1888 and marked the 100th anniversary of that colony. Six stamps were issued as part of the series and all had a commemorative inscription.