Philatelic History

Costa Rica First Emission

In 1862, when Doctor José María Montealegre was the President, it was ordained the first Costa Rican stamps emission.

On May 10th 1862, a Comittee present a project to the governement and the House of Representatives. On September 9th of the same year, the President gave his approval to the project and enacted the Law.

The legal text is conformed by 17 articles and in the article #5 was created the postal adhesive stamp as follows: “ to satisfy the postpaid it will be two stamps: the first one of red color with a facial value of two reales. The second one of blue color with a facial value of half a real.”

On September 15th 1862, The State Secretary of Foreign Relations, Julian Volio, sent a note to the Ambassador in Washington to commend the impression of 250.000 postal stamps of each of the two values. At the same time indicated that the stamps will have the “coat of arms of the Republic, in the better engraved possible way”.

This work was commended to the American Bank Note Company, who accepted on October 11th. On February 7th the stamps were dispatched to Costa Rica and the first circulation day was on April 1863.

At that time was arisen the needs to have another denominations of major values, and on August 30th 1863 was ordered to the Costa Rican Ambassador in Washington the emission of 10.000 stamps with a facial value of 1 peso and 20.000 with a facial value of four reales, they were sent to Costa Rica on November 1863.