World’s First Undersea Post Office

In August of 1939, as part of a scientific facility off the coast of the Bahamas, a special oval postmark that was inscribed “SEA FLOOR/BAHAMAS” was used to cancel covers posted at the Sea Floor post office.

According to Christer Brunstrom on the Philatelic Database website, while the post office itself was closed sometime in 1941, there is still today considerable interest in the Sea Floor covers which were  mailed to collectors all over the world.

According to Christer, today these covers sell for prices ranging from $30 to as much as $200 on e Bay.

Christer also points out that in 1965, the Sea Floor post office and the man who created it, John Ernest Williamson, are depicted on a five-shilling definitive. Shown here is the $1 stamp of the same design which was was re-issued a year or so later  when the Bahamas went to decimal currency.

Shown above, a 1940 cover cancelled at the undersea post office in the Bahamas.

For more on the undersea post office, click here.