Queen Isabella II

June 1855

The design of the first issue of stamps appeared to have seemed crude and unsatisfactory to the authorities in Spain, for on September 1, 1854, (probably soon after the arrival in Spain of the first copies), another Royal Decree was issued directing that after April 1, 1855 all stamps on letters to Spain or foreign countries, (the 1-real and 2-reales values), should in future be printed in Spain; while only those for interior use, (the 5-cuartos and 10-cuartos values), should be printed in Manila.

To permit the use of supplies at hand, this date of effect was postponed by a Decree on December 18, 1854 to commence in June 1855; but was later, again postponed, until January 1, 1856. The Decree of December 18, 1854 further amended the former decrees by ordering that after June 1, 1855, the rate for single letters to Spain should be 1-Real, and for registered letters, 2-Reales. Another Decree, dated June 22, 1855, directed that all letters to Spain must bear stamps.

The Decree of September 1, 1854 seemed to have resulted in an attempt to produce a more credible stamp design on the common value for interior use. In June 1855, the firm of Plana, Jorba y Cia printed, in Manila, an improved version of the 5-cuartos stamp portraying the right profile of Queen Isabella II, surrounded by a circle of pearls, broken at the top and bottom by inscription panels.

The stamps were lithographed on medium to thick, white wove paper, in blocks of four varieties; with each stamp surrounded by a line frame. They were printed in sheets of 48 stamps, (8 horizontally by 6 vertically), the value of the sheet thus being 12-Reales de Plata, (with 20-cuartos equalling 1-Real de Plata).

5-cuartos. A total of 5,000 stamps, (1,250 of each variety), issued in shades of vermilion. (Scott #6; SG #10; Edifil #5)


Notes:
1) The Edifil Unificado catalogue indicates the first day of issue as June 2, 1855.

2) Hanciau lists this stamp as being issued in July (?) 1855. He further states that this stamp was issued after the single variety stamp, (Scott #7). His reasons are: "that the single-type stamp is far the rarer of the two; that is exists only in one tint, which was continued in use for the stamps of July; that the four varieties were received in entire sheets in 1864; and that the idea of reproducing a single design in blocks of four minor varieties was again carried out in the case of the stamps of 1859, which succeeded those of 1855".

 

STAMP VARIETIES

The basic differences on each of the four varieties in each block, repeated 12 times in the sheet, are as follows:


FIRST VARIETY - TOP LEFT OF BLOCK

The "S" of "CORREOS" is very tall and narrow. The date, "1854" is small and figures are of even size. All 5's in the upper label have serifs inclining upward to the right, but none touch the top line. The "5" of "5Cs" is small and has a loop or curve. The circle of pearls is broken by the frame line at the left. The stamp measures 19 x 22 mm.

  • Upper left of spandrel: 8 lines
  • Lower left of spandrel: 8 lines
  • Upper right of spandrel: 11 lines
  • Lower right of spandrel: 13 lines


SECOND VARIETY - TOP RIGHT OF BLOCK

The "C" of "CORREOS" is farther apart from the end of the label than in the other types. The serif on the last "5" of "55" inclines upward and touches the outer frame line of the upper label. The "5" of "5Cs" has practically no staff and the serif slopes down to a loop. The "C" in "Cs" resembles a "G". The circle of pearls is broken by the left frame line, though not as much as the first variety. The stamp measures 19½ x 22 mm.

  • Upper left of spandrel: 9 lines
  • Lower left of spandrel: 8 lines
  • Upper right of spandrel: 13 lines
  • Lower right of spandrel: 15 lines


THIRD VARIETY - BOTTOM LEFT OF BLOCK

The "C" of "CORREOS" is tall, narrow, and close to the left label. The "8" and "5" of "1854" are higher at the bottom than the "1" and "4". Serifs in "55" incline upward and the last one often touches the upper line. The "5" of "5Cs" has a small, thin horizontal serif, and the staff to curve below is short and thin. The curve of "5" is large. The frame line at the left just touches the circle of pearls. The stamp measures 19 x 22 mm.

  • Upper left of spandrel: 7 lines
  • Lower left of spandrel: 8 lines
  • Upper right of spandrel: 10 lines
  • Lower right of spandrel: 12 lines


FOURTH VARIETY - BOTTOM RIGHT OF BLOCK

The "C" of "CORREOS" is small, narrow and close to the left of the label. The date "1854" is large and even. The serifs in "55" are nearly horizontal and well away from the top line of the label. The circle of pearls is not broken by the frame line at the left. The stamp measures 19½ x 22 mm.

  • Upper left of spandrel: 9 lines
  • Lower left of spandrel: 10 lines
  • Upper right of spandrel: 11 lines
  • Lower right of spandrel: 13 lines

 

August 1855

In August 1855, the company of Plana, Jorba y Cia released a new 5-cuartos stamp for domestic use. The design was prepared in the same general style of the previous issue, except that the bust of Queen Isabella II is slightly smaller. As a result, the inner circle is not broken by the labels at the top or bottom of the stamp; and the circle of pearls is not broken by the frame line at the left or right.

The stamps were lithographed on smooth, thin white paper; issued imperforate in sheets of 48, (8 horizontal and 6 vertical rows); and measure 18½ x 21½ mm. There is only one type for this issue.

5-cuartos. A total of 3,500 stamps issued in shades of vermilion. It is believed that a total of three printings were carried out for this issue. In the First Printing, only a few sheets in pale vermilion were found to be satisfactory; all the rest were destroyed. The Second Printing, released in August 1855, produced 3,000 stamps in vermilion. The Third Printing, released on November 15, 1855, was not completely satisfactory, only producing a total of 500 stamps in pale vermilion. (Scott #7; SG #9, Edifil #6)

  • Upper left of spandrel: 10 lines
  • Lower left of spandrel: 9 lines
  • Upper right of spandrel: 13 lines
  • Lower right of spandrel: 13 lines


Note:
1) The Edifil Unificado catalogue indicates the first day of issue as August 1, 1855.

2) Hanciau lists this stamp as being issued in June 1855. (Refer to notes on Scott #6)

 

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