Hispanic Subjects on United States Postage Stamps

The first U.S. stamp to portray Hispanic subjects was the fifteen-cent Landing of Columbus stamp issued in 1869, which pictured a group of Spanish explorers standing next to Christopher Columbus. In addition to being one of the first pictorial stamps issued, the Landing of Columbus stamp was the first bicolored stamp (red and blue).

The first stamp specifically to honor a Hispanic American was the one-dollar David G. Farragut stamp issued in 1903. Since then, many stamps have been issued to honor Hispanics and their contributions.

Below is a list of those stamps along with their denomination and date of issue.

Subject Denomination Date Issued
Landing of Columbus 15¢ April 2, 1869 (earliest known use)
Columbian Exposition (16 designs) 1¢ - $5 January 2, 1893
David G. Farragut $1 June 5, 1903
Panama Pacific Exposition (4 designs) 1, 2, 5 and 10¢ January 1, 1913
Texas Centennial (the Alamo) March 2, 1936
Navy: David G. Farragut and David D. Porter, Hartford and Powhatan February 18, 1937
Territorial: Puerto Rico November 25, 1937
Panama Canal August 15, 1939
Famous Americans, Composers: John Philip Sousa May 3, 1940
Pan American Union April 14, 1940
Coronado Expedition September 7, 1940
Puerto Rico Election April 27, 1949
Gadsden Purchase December 30, 1953
Liberty: The Alamo June 14, 1956
Simon Bolivar (2 designs) 4 and 8¢ July 24, 1958
José de San Martin (2 designs) 4 and 8¢ February 25, 1959
Liberty: Palace of Governors 1 ¼ ¢ June 17, 1960
Mexican Independence September 16, 1960
Alliance for Progress August 17, 1963
Settlement of Florida August 28, 1965
California Settlement July 16, 1969
San Juan, Puerto Rico September 12, 1971
Historic Preservation: San Xavier del Bac Mission October 29, 1971
First Civil Settlement, Alta, California 13¢ September 9, 1977
General Bernardo de Galvez, Battle of Mobile 15¢ July 23, 1980
Ponce de León 20¢ October 12, 1982
American Sports Personalities: Roberto Clemente 20¢ August 17, 1984
Hispanic Americans 20¢ October 31, 1984
Junipero Serra 44¢ August 22, 1985
Great Americans: Luis Muñoz Marin, Governor, Puerto Rico February 18, 1990
Great Americans: Dennis Chavez, United States Senator 35¢ April 3, 1991
World Columbian Stamp Expo 29¢ January 24, 1992
First Voyage of Columbus (4 designs) 29¢ April 24, 1992
The Voyages of Columbus (16 designs on 6 sheets) 1¢ - $5 May 22, 1992
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo 29¢ September 28, 1992
Legends of Music, Rock & Roll/Rhythm & Blues: Ritchie Valens 29¢ June 16, 1993
Columbus Landing in Puerto Rico 29¢ November 19, 1993
Civil War: David Farragut 32¢ June 29, 1995
Padre Félix Varela 32¢ September 1, 1997
Celebrate the Century, 1910s: Panama Canal Opens 32¢ February 3, 1998
Cinco de Mayo 32¢ April 16, 1998
Spanish Settlement of the Southwest 32¢ July 11, 1998
Celebrate the Century, 1950s: "I Love Lucy" (Desi Arnaz) 33¢ May 26, 1999
Cinco de Mayo 33¢ April 27, 1999
Legends of Baseball: Roberto Clemente 33¢ July 6, 2000
Artists: Frida Kahlo 34¢ June 21, 2001
Cesar E. Chavez 37¢ April 23, 2003
American Treasures: New Mexico Rio Grande Blankets (4 designs, including Spanish and Mexican) 37¢ July 30, 2005
Let's Dance/Bailemos (4 designs) 37¢ September 17, 2005
Madonna and Child with Bird, by Ignacio Chacón 39¢ October 17, 2006
Mendez v. Westminster 41¢ September 14, 2007
American Journalists: Ruben Salazar 42¢ April 22, 2008
Latin Jazz 42¢ August 8, 2008
Literary Arts: Julia de Burgos 44¢ September 14, 2010

Since 2011, all commemorative stamps for the First-Class Mail one-ounce rate have been Forever stamps, equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price. The value given in parentheses was the price of the stamp when first issued.

Subject Denomination Date Issued
Latin Music Legends: Tito Puente  (44¢) March 16, 2011
Latin Music Legends: Carmen Miranda (44¢) March 16, 2011
Latin Music Legends: Selena (44¢) March 16, 2011
Latin Music Legends: Carlos Gardel (44¢) March 16, 2011
Latin Music Legends: Celia Cruz (44¢) March 16, 2011
American Scientists: Severo Ochoa, Biochemist (44¢) June 16, 2011
Carmel Mission (Express Mail®)  $18.95 February 28, 2012
José Ferrer (45¢) April 26, 2012
Innovative Choreographers: José Limón (45¢) July 28, 2012
Music Icons: Lydia Mendoza (46¢) May 15, 2013
Celebrity Chefs: Felipe Rojas-Lombardi (49¢) September 26, 2014
Martín Ramírez (5 designs) (49¢) March 26, 2015
Jaime Escalante (47¢) July 13, 2016
Oscar de la Renta (11 designs) (49¢) February 16, 2017
Delicioso (6 designs) (49¢) April 20, 2017
Emilio Sanchez (4 designs) (55¢) June 10, 2021
Day of the Dead (4 designs) (55¢) September 30, 2021
Mariachi (5 designs) (60¢) July 15, 2022
Art of the Skateboard: Jaguar design (63¢) March 24, 2023
Piñatas! (4 designs) (66¢) September 8, 2023

HISTORIAN
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
JULY 2024