1928 Hawaii Sesquicentennial Overprint - Save 25%

In 1928, after initially denying proposals for a stamp marking the 150th anniversary of Captain James Cook’s discovery of Hawaii, the U.S. Post Office had a change of heart.  Opting for speed and cost-efficiency, they simply overprinted the existing 2¢ Washington definitive - a move that caused confusion across the country.

Because the stamp resembled a precancel and was sold only in Hawaii and Washington, D.C., many mainland post offices mistakenly treated it as invalid and charged postage due on mail bearing it. To add to the confusion, early stamp catalogs listed it under Hawaii rather than the United States, leading some U.S. collectors to miss it entirely.
 
This was the first U.S. stamp issued in a U.S. territory - decades before Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959. Its unusual distribution and limited availability make it one of the rarest 2¢ commemoratives of the 1920s.  US #647

 1928 Mint 2¢ Hawaii Overprint – Regularly $8.25

Online Special Only $6.00