Colombia has been a member of the Universal Postal Union since 1881. On September 1, 1859, the first Colombian postage stamps went on sale. At that time, Colombia was called the Granada Confederation. Thus, the first postal miniatures of the country are stamps of the Granada Confederation. The second issue appeared in 1860 and national postage stamps issued since 1859 for postage purposes had the inscription: “Confed. Granadina Correos Nacionales" ("Granadian Confederation. National Post").