Columbus Sheets

Christopher Columbus was born in the Republic of Genoa and became a navigator who wanted to reach India, China and Japan by sailing west. He had developed the plan with his brother Bartholomew by the 1480s, though he had badly underestimated the size of the Earth. Portugal turned him down, but on April 17, 1492, the Catholic Monarchs of Spain signed the Capitulations of Santa Fe. These promised him the title “Admiral of the Ocean Sea” and ten percent of the revenues from any new lands.

He left Palos de la Frontera on August 3, 1492, with three ships, the Santa María, the Pinta and the Niña. After a stop in the Canary Islands, they sailed from La Gomera on September 6. Land was sighted in the early hours of October 12, and Columbus went ashore that morning on an island he called San Salvador. The Indigenous people who lived there called it Guanahani, and it is most likely today’s San Salvador Island in the Bahamas. Columbus believed he had reached the Indies, which is why the Caribbean islands are still called the West Indies.

They went on to Cuba and Hispaniola, where the Santa María ran aground on Christmas Day, 1492. Columbus built Fort Navidad from its wreckage and left 39 men there, then began the voyage home on January 16, 1493. After a stop in Lisbon on March 4, he arrived back in Palos on March 15, 1493.

Note

These souvenir sheets are released the same time as a set of souvenir sheets are released in the U.S. (see Columbus Voyages) and in Spain and Portugal – the countries of origin of Columbus and his crew. They’re identical except for the text is in the local language and face amount is in their respective currency.

The stamps, though, contain reprints of a series of U.S. stamps commemorating Christopher Columbus and his voyages to the Americas. The stamps were issued in 1893 (see the Columbus page) – roughly on the four-hundredth anniversary. These souvenir sheets were issued on the five-hundredth annniversary.

Contains 6 spots: own 6 – 6 unused, 0 used.
Page is finished.
Album or Web Page Last changed Sep 5, 2023

Stamp Details

The table below lists information about the stamps shown on this page of Lighthouse’s stamp album. For more details about a particular stamp, click on its description. That will take you to the related web page of Colnect.

spot

own

catalog

subject

description

comment

Columbus’ Expeditions - Quintennial

1.1	✓	2001	Landing of Columbus	500₤ (may 1992) comm., dark violet brown
1.2	✓	2002	Santa Maria	600₤ (may 1992) comm., black green
1.3	✓	2008	Queen Isabella & Columbus	2000₤ (may 1992) comm., magenta
2.1	✓	1997	Columbus Welcomed at Barcelona	100₤ (may 1992) comm., dark grey violet
2.2	✓	2004	Columbus Restored to Favour	800₤ (may 1992) comm., dark reddish lilac
2.3	✓	2009	Columbus Describing Third Voyage	3000₤ (may 1992) comm., dark emerald green

Footnotes

Spot refers to the postion of the stamp on the album page (e.g., 3.2 indicates row 3, position 2).
Amt. is an abbreviation for the face amount of the stamp.
Own indicates the stamp status: ✓ for unused; ✗ for used or canceled; ⭑ signifies I ordered one; ; ✨ indicates it was bought recently; ✠ means an auction bid is pending; and ◎ is used, and it costs too much for unused.
To search by catalog number, go to the search box and enter it in the catalog number box. However, it’s a bit broken; I need to fix it.