Portal:Philately/Stamp of the month archive/5

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The Basel Dove was a postage stamp issued by the Swiss canton of Basel on 1 July 1845 with a value of 2 1/2-rappen. At the time each canton was responsible for its own postal service. There were no uniform postal rates for Switzerland until after the establishment of a countrywide postal service on 1 January 1849.

The stamp, designed by the architect Melchior Berry, featured a white embossed dove carrying a letter in its beak, and was inscribed "STADT POST BASEL". The stamp is printed in black, crimson, and blue, making it the world's first tri-colored stamp. It became invalid for use after 30 September 1854, by which time 41,480 stamps had been printed.