US 1893 Columbian $5 'Columbus'
- Maker
- United States (USPOD)
- Year
- 1893
- Rank
- 37 of 100
- Identifier
- Scott 245, $5 black, portrait of Columbus; the crown of the 16-value Columbian set; MNH
US 1893 Columbian $5 'Columbus'
Price-guide value, not a sale: $7,500, dated 2026-01-01. This is not a sale. It is what the market was asking, and no transaction is recorded behind it.
What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?
The crown of America's first commemorative set — the $5 black Columbian is the most coveted single of the 1893 series.
Scott 245, $5 black, portrait of Columbus; the crown of the 16-value Columbian set; MNH
What is the best-sourced number for it?
- Figure
- $7,500
- Kind
- Price-guide value, not a sale
- Date
- 2026-01-01
A price-guide value is an editorial estimate, not a transaction. Guides lag the market and smooth over grade and condition. It is useful as a floor for how the trade thought about the object, and it should be checked against a realized sale before anything rests on it.
By reference price, US 1893 Columbian $5 'Columbus' is number 73 of 99 in the stamps entries of the FLOAT 100. 75 of those 99 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (37 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
How this is made
- The figure
- One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- Why no grade ladder
- Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
- Archive
- 2026-08-08
Track your own
FLOAT is a free tracker. Add the stamps you own, keep photos and certificates with each item, and see a value built from real sales at your item's grade. This page is a public reference; it does not offer, price or sell insurance.