Panama Canal Zone, 1c Balboa, Overprinted 'CANAL ZONE'

Panama Canal Zone · 1904 · 1c

This stamp features a portrait of Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish explorer credited as the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean from the New World in 1513. The original Panamanian stamp was overprinted in black with 'CANAL ZONE' and a horizontal bar obscuring 'PANAMA' for use in the newly established US-controlled territory.

Issued shortly after the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903, which granted the United States rights to build and administer the Panama Canal, these overprinted stamps represent the beginning of US postal administration in the Canal Zone.