Chile Seebeck Issue, Columbus Sighting Land

Chile · 1894 · 10c

This stamp is part of the controversial 'Seebeck issues' printed for several Latin American countries by the Hamilton Bank Note Company of New York. The design features Christopher Columbus on the deck of his ship, sighting land. These stamps were provided to the countries for free in exchange for the right to reprint and sell them to collectors, which led to a flood of remainders on the market.

The Seebeck issues were a unique, and often criticized, philatelic enterprise of the late 19th century. While they provided postage for countries like Chile, the business model devalued the stamps for collectors at the time due to the mass production of reprints.