Postage stamps and postal history of Bolivia

Up to 1895 postal routes were composed mainly of the Oruro-Antofagasta railway, riders on horseback and river boats.

[1] Bolivian postage stamps are a classical illustration of the problems caused by irregularities in production and the impact of large-scale inflation.

Bolivia was one of the South American countries that made efforts to commemorate pre-Columbian times in the images used on the stamps.

The "Gate of the sun" set of nineteen stamps was authorised in 1926 to commemorate Bolivia's independence.

When eventually they were released in 1960, inflation had caused havoc to Bolivia's currency and they needed to be surcharged, sometimes to 10,000 times their original denomination.