Bartolomeo Columbus sketched three maps in the margin of a letter written by his brother, Christopher, in Jamaica on July 7, 1503 to the Spanish sovereigns, pleading for the restoration of his honor and fortune. The maps cover the territory from "Asia," that is, the American continent on the west to China on the east, and generally between the two Tropics. Some believe that the map attributed to Bartolomeo Columbus was actually drawn by Alessandro Zorzi.
     The map portrayed on the left stamp covers the coasts of Central America, Columbia and Venezuela. "Asia" clearly indicates that even at this time he still believed he had reached the Orient. On this map "Serica" means China, "Serici Montes means Chinese mountains, and "beragua" means Veragua, Panama. Cattigara is a port in India, and the interrupted coastline indicates an isthmus leading to the "Sinus Magnus."

     The map on the stamp on the right is identified as a map of "C. R. [Costa Rica] from the sixteenth century," with no indication of who created it.