|
Stamps were printed
and issued in the Philippines about a year before
they were provided for in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Due to the fact that
the early Philippine designs and workmanship did not meet with favour in the
eyes of the Spanish Authorities, they appear to have been determined to
produce beauty as well as uniformity for all island possessions by having the
stamps printed in and provided from Spain, for foreign use, at
least. This issue was, therefore, the same as the 1855 issues for Cuba and Puerto Rico; and as a result
should only be collected in used condition, with an identifiable postmark or
cancellation, tying them to the Philippine Archipelago.
A circular dated
September 27, 1854 from the Postmaster-General in Madrid specified overseas
postage rates of 1-real for either a single or double weight letter and a
rate of 2-reales for registered letters of any weight. A Royal Order from Madrid dated December 18, 1854 restated these rates
and indicated that they were to take effect in June 1855. Before they could
be implemented, however, these rates were modified by a Royal Order of June 22, 1855 making the use of stamps compulsory on
correspondence with Spain. A General Post
Office circular from Madrid dated June 26, 1855 stated that rates to Spain,
Cuba, and Puerto Rico were 1-real for a single-weight letter, 2-reales for a
double-weight letter, and so on proportionately. An additional set charge of
2-reales was required as a registration fee on letters, regardless of weight.
The currency was
changed to 1-real plata fuerte
and 2-reales plata fuerte,
and the stamps were issued for overseas mail. They were engraved by Jose
Perez Varela and printed on rough, medium to thick bluish wove paper. The
stamps are watermarked "loops", and have the distinction of being
the first and only officially watermarked stamps of the whole Spanish era.
They were typographed by the Fabrica
Nacional de Moneda y
Timbre, Madrid, in sheets of 170
stamps, (10 horizontal rows of 17 stamps), and issued imperforate. Exact
numbers of these two values, which were printed and sent to the Philippines are not known, but
they appear to have been in quite plentiful supply for a good number of
years.
The use of these
stamps was officially discontinued as a result of a Royal Order issued in
November 1864, authorising the withdrawal of all old stamp issues. However,
later usage is known, probably through use of supplies in remote offices in
the interior or in the possessions of private individuals. From January 1856
to January 1864, these were the only stamps accepted on mail leaving the Islands for abroad except in
1863, when, for a short period, the provisional use of the 1863 1-real
issues, (Scott #s 18 and 20), was required due to the temporary exhaustion of
their supply.
1-Real Plata Fuerte, printed in green on
bluish paper. (Scott #8; Edifil
#6a)
2-Reales Plata Fuerte, printed in shades of carmine and red, on
bluish paper. (Scott #9; Edifil
#6b)
Note:
1) Juan Mencarini gives February 1859 as the date
of first use at Manila.
2) Hanciau
indicates they were issued in October (?) 1855.
|
