Portuguese India – Fourth Centenary of the Discovery of Sea Route to India by Vasco da Gama

To commemorate the fourth anniversary of the discovery of the sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, a government order, dated 28th May 1898 and order number 150, was issued in 1898 to issue a set of 8 stamps. A competition was organised to finalise the design for these stamps. Fifteen artists participated in the competition and presented 45 designs, out of which a total of 9 designs of 6 artists were selected, and eight were used for the issue.

The engraving was done at Waterlow & Sons, London, and the printing at Casa da Moeda de Portugal, Lisbon. The stamps were printed using the Recess technique and carried perforations between 14 and 15.

The Vasco da Gama stamps were put for sale from 1st April 1898 till 30th June 1898, and other stamps were not permitted to be sold between this period.