What is the earliest postage stamp (worldwide) with an "in-design" date? That is, the year date in which the stamp was made that appears as part of the stamp's design. This would not include dates included for other reasons like "1776".
I would nominate the US Battleship revenue stamps of 1898. I ruled out the Columbian Expo issues because the date on the series of stamps is 1892 but they were issued in 1893. Revenue stamps worldwide are more likely to have dates than regular issues.
The Canadian Diamond Jubilee series, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's reign, was issued on June 19, 1897 and displays the dates of 1837 and 1897.
In a close second, the Canadian Imperial Penny Postage stamp showing the world map of the British Commonwealth (issued on December 7, 1898), is dated 1898 and is generally recognized as the first Christmas stamp, although it uses the word "XMAS".
The Spanish post office was quite paranoid when it came to forgeries. So it included the year of issue and validity in the design from the first stamp issued in 1850.
Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Stamp Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Stamp Community Family - All rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Stamp Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited. Privacy Policy / Terms of UseAdvertise Here