Items14The creator’s order
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Three-Penny Beaver (1851 Canadian stamp)Province of Canada, 3d red, April 23, 1851
This is where Canadian philately starts. Sandford Fleming designed the country's first stamp, and instead of a royal portrait he gave it a beaver on a riverbank beneath a crown. That choice is why it is often called the world's first pictorial stamp, and…0 - 2
Canada 12d blackProvince of Canada, 12d black, June 14, 1851
Canada's great rarity began as a flop. Of the 51,000 printed, only 1,450 were ever sold, and the rest were destroyed. Around 150 copies are thought to survive, only a handful of them unused, so most collectors will never own one.
It still belongs in…0 - 3
Charles ConnellThe Connell stamp, New Brunswick 5 cents, 1860
New Brunswick's postmaster general Charles Connell needed a new set of stamps in 1860, and he put his own face on the five-cent value where Queen Victoria was expected. There was a storm of protest, the issue was withdrawn and Connell resigned.
It is…0 - 4
Large Queens (1868 Canadian stamps)Dominion of Canada, first issue, April 1, 1868
The first stamps of the new Dominion reached postmasters on April 1, 1868, less than a year after Confederation. Seven values came first, with a five-cent stamp added in 1875, all sharing one engraved profile of Queen Victoria.
This is the series…0 - 5
Small Queens (1870–1897 Canadian stamps)Dominion of Canada definitives, 1870 to 1897
If one series can keep a Canadian collector busy for life, it is this one. The Small Queens shrank the Large Queen half-cent portrait so more stamps fit on each plate, and they stayed in use for more than 25 years, printed at different places along the…0 - 6
1897 Diamond Jubilee Issue (Canadian stamps)Canada's first commemorative set, June 19, 1897
Sixteen values, from half a cent to five dollars, all carrying the same double portrait of Queen Victoria as a young queen in 1837 and in her jubilee year. The five-dollar stamp was the highest face value Canada had ever issued, and the first day of…0 - 7
1898 Imperial Penny Postage Map Stamp (Canada)Imperial Penny Postage, 2 cents, December 1898
Look for the words XMAS 1898 under the map. Postmaster General William Mulock wanted a commemorative design for Christmas to mark a cut in letter postage, and the result is often called the world's first Christmas stamp, though even its admirers hedge…0 - 8
1908 Quebec Tercentenary Issue (Canadian stamps)Quebec Tercentenary, eight values, July 16, 1908
Where the Jubilee repeated one portrait sixteen times, this set tells a story. Its eight stamps, from half a cent to 20 cents, mark 300 years since the French settled Quebec in 1608, with scenes such as Champlain's Habitation and Cartier's ships…0 - 9
Admirals (philately)Canada's King George V Admiral definitives, 1911 to 1928
Named for the King's portrait in the full dress uniform of an Admiral of the Fleet, these stamps carried Canada's mail for 17 years until the Scroll issue replaced them in 1928. They are among the most studied areas of Canadian philately,…0 - 10
Hawker Airmail Stamp (Newfoundland, 1919)Newfoundland 3 cents overprinted for the Atlantic flight, April 12, 1919
Newfoundland only joined Canada in 1949, and before then it had some of North America's most exciting stamps. This is the headline act: a sheet of 200 three-cent Caribou stamps overprinted First Trans-Atlantic Air Post for…0