Over A Century of Philatelic Activity

On October 1, 1851, Hawaii’s first three stamps, all printed by letterpress at the Government Printing Office in Honolulu, were announced for sale. A fourth stamp was printed to state clearly the 13₵ value to pay both Hawaiian and United States postage through to any East Coast destination. These four stamps are known as the Missionary Issue. Early missionaries to the Pacific Islands were the first consistent users of the little piece of paper used to pay for the transit of their correspondence to friends and family members who lived on the East Coast of the Mainland. Mail between the islands and towns was handled free of charge until 1859.