January
Queen Isabella is pictured on several stamps in the 1893 Columbian Series. As a sponsor of Columbus’ expeditions, she was an important figure in his voyages to the Americas. Her appearance in the series reflects how people in the 19th century viewed exploration—as something driven by powerful rulers and national ambition. By including Queen Isabella, the stamps highlight her authority and her role in helping make one of the most famous voyages in world history possible.
5¢ Columbus Soliciting Aid of Queen Isabella
8¢ Columbus Restored to Favor
10¢ Columbus Presenting Natives
15¢ Columbus Announcing His Discovery
$1 Queen Isabella Pledging Her Jewels
$3 Columbus Describing Third Voyage
$4 Queen Isabella and Columbus
Want to discover the history behind the rest of the January events on your calendar?
February
The roots of what became the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum can be traced to a modest but meaningful gift: a sheet of 10-cent Confederate States of America stamps issued in 1863. Donated in the late 19th century to the Smithsonian Institution, the stamps were valued not just for their rarity, but for what they represented—a tangible record of how even a nation at war relied on postal communication to function. This early donation helped spark institutional interest in preserving postal history as a serious subject of study, laying the groundwork for a national collection. From that single sheet, the collection has expanded dramatically. Today, the National Postal Museum holds one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive philatelic collections, numbering millions of objects, including stamps from every country, original artwork, printing plates, postal uniforms, vehicles, and historic mail.
Click here for more about the National Postal Museum.
Your February calendar also showcases the first US Love stamp…
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March
Issued a year after the Pathfinder landed on Mars, US #3178 features the first image the Pathfinder sent back to Earth. Measuring 3 inches across by 1.5 inches high, the Mars Pathfinder stamp is the largest US postage stamp ever issued. (Newspaper and Periodical stamps issued in 1865 were larger.) In addition to being the largest US postage stamp, the Mars Pathfinder stamp has several other interesting features.
The Pathfinder stamp has special “USA” perforations on the bottom row of perfs. And the vertical perfs extend beyond the stamp to the bottom of the selvage for easier removal of the stamp. Hidden words were incorporated into the design and are visible with a stamp decoder. They read “USPS” and “MARS PATHFINDER • JULY 4, 1997” in alternating lines.
Conversely, the 1978 Indian Head Penny stamp (#1734) was part of an experiment to lower production costs and increase output. The smaller image area, which was about 1/3 smaller than usual, provided for 150 stamps per pane instead of the usual 100.
Your March calendar also honors the world’s first national park…
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April
In 1991, the USPS issued a set of stamps (US #2568-77) featuring each of the planets with the spacecraft that explored it. But one stamp stood out. Picturing a lone planet, it proclaimed, “Pluto: Not Yet Explored.” NASA took this as a challenge, developing the New Horizons mission with plans to explore Pluto, its moons, and objects beyond them.
Launched on January 19, 2006, New Horizons traveled over 3.2 billion miles from Earth before reaching Pluto on July 14, 2015. Before launch, the 1991 “Pluto Not Yet Explored” stamp was affixed to the New Horizons probe. In 2016, the stamp earned the Guinness World Record for the farthest distance traveled by a postage stamp. After completing its mission at Pluto, New Horizons continued into the Kuiper Belt, and is estimated to have traveled over 5.9 billion miles, extending its record distance every day.
Click here for more about the New Horizons mission and the stamp that inspired it.
Your April calendar also honors the first run of the legendary Pony Express…
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