Three-Pence Beaver, Canada's First Postage Stamp

Canada · 1851 · 3d (Three Pence)

This is the first postage stamp issued by the Province of Canada. The design, created by Sir Sandford Fleming, features a beaver building a dam in a depiction of industriousness. The stamp is framed by the national symbols of the United Kingdom: the rose for England, the thistle for Scotland, and the shamrock for Ireland, with a crown at the top.

Issued in 1851, this stamp marks the transfer of postal authority from the British General Post Office to the colonial government of the Province of Canada. It is considered a classic of world philately.