Ceylon

Ceylon is the old name of the island nation of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka was referred to as Ceylon until as recently as 1972. Sri Lanka is frequented by tourists from all over the world, enamoured by its natural beauty. The country is dotted with tropical forests and beautiful beaches. Sri Lanka was under colonial rule for many centuries and it has a history of being ruled over by the Portuguese, Dutch and the United Kingdom. The nation gained its independence on the 4th of February, 1948.

Stamp collectors from all over the world like to collect stamps from Ceylon. The postal history of Sri Lanka dates back to 1798. To begin with, the post offices were established in a just a few towns namely Jaffna, Mannar, Trincomalee, Colombo and Galle. In fact, the first mail coach service in the whole of Asia was started in Ceylon in 1836. This service linked Colombo and Kandy. The year 1857 saw the launch of the first postage stamp, which was a 6d purple-brown imperforate. The 1s slate-violet stamp was launched in the year 1859. Some of the collectible stamps also include war stamps which were issued around 1918-1919. Other stamps from the past include the 4d rose-carmine stamp and 6d sepia, launched in 1863 and 1866, respectively. The 5c on 24c Green, 25c on 32c Slate, 28c on 48c Rose, 30c on 36c Blue, 28c on 32c Slate, were all launched in Ceylon in 1885.