5 TH CENTENARY OF DISCOVERY OF AMERICA

This seventh edition closes the thematic cycle dedicated to the 5th Centenary of the Discovery, in which there has been a procession of characters, events and symbols on stamps, related to this unique undertaking by Spain, just after it had itself become a nation, opening up the door to where old Europe had yet to explore.

Spanish stamp collecting had a long delayed debt to Columbus and his seamen and the conquest; in 1853 Chile, whose coasts were never visited by the Admiral, was the first to place his figure on stamps, at such an early date, and to continue with it as a main feature on its series of stamps.

In Spain, on the occasion of the Latin America Exhibition in Seville, in 1929, Alfonso XIII´S government received many demands to commemorate and perpetuate the memory of that event; with a correct criterium, it opted for satisfaction through stamp issues, by Royal Order of 29-9-1930, publishing an issue in Seville with twelve different engravings, covering ordinary mail, air mail and that to Latin America, thus paying Spanish stamp collecting´s debt to Columbus.

The one which has now appeared, coincides with two commemorative events; that of the World Fair in Seville, and the commemoration of five hundred years after the gesture by Columbus.

The aforementioned issue is in three stamps, in a triangular form, bearing the motive which best symbolises the Discovery: the captain´s ship, the Santa María, to the fore, the caravels in the background on either side.

These stamps are Spain´s way of making up for stamp issue omissions of old, using present day quality, colour and printing techniques for the ships used by Columbus, for the logotype the Discovery deserves.