Own national postage stamps have been issued since 1858. Argentina has been a member of the Universal Postal Union since 1878. The first postage stamps of Argentina as a state, which appeared in 1858, were rather primitive miniatures made by lithographic method, which depicted the seal of the Argentine Confederation. The inscription on the stamps read “CONFEon Argentina” (“Argentine Confederation”). In 1860, the 5 centavo stamp was reissued.