Hawaiian Missionary Stamps, Full Sheet of 4 x 37-Cent Postage Stamps, USA 2002, Scott 3694
Description
- Sheet of 4 gummed stamps commemorating the Hawaiian Missionary Stamps of 1851-1853.
- Includes historic information about the first postal service in Hawaii and the rare Dawson cover.
- Collectible stamps or use for postage.
The U.S. Postal Service issued these Hawaiian Missionaries souvenir sheet on October 24, 2002, in New York, NY. This water-activated gummed souvenir sheet, designed by Richard Sheaff of Scottsdale, AZ, contains four 37-cent stamps that reproduce examples of Hawaii's first four postage stamps, which were issued in three denominations: 2-cents, 5-cents, and 13-cents. The stamps are called "Hawaiian Missionaries" by philatelists because most of them were used on correspondence mailed by Christian missionaries from Hawaii to their families, friends, and business associates. These rare stamps are now considered among the world's foremost philatelic items. Only twenty-eight covers bearing Missionary stamps are known to exist, and only one surviving cover bears the 2-cent stamp, the famous "Dawson cover" shown on this souvenir sheet.