PUERTO RICO - 1877 PROVISIONAL REVENUE
ON SCOTT #16 (25-Centimes)
Since it is "Tax Season" in the USA this week, I'll start tonight's posts with a classic provisional revenue from Spanish Puerto Rico.
The 25-centimes value of the 1877 issue is sometimes found with a large "R" overprinted in black, and many have considered that this stood for a registration receipt stamp, or something of that nature. The Spanish-language GALVEZ catalog lists this stamp, mentioning that the "R" stood for "receipt", but gives no further details.
The answer has been provided by Antonio Fernandez Duro, a high official in the Spanish postal service at this time and a philatelist of note; he authored the "Resena Historico-Descriptiva de los Sellos de Correo de Espana" published in Madrid in 1881.
When submitting his budget for the year 1877, the Governor-General of Puerto Rico requested that a revenue stamp be provided to collect a new tax on "recibos y cuentas" (receipts and accounts), the value to be 25-centimes. The new tax was authorized, and pending preparation of the correct revenue stamp, the 25-centimes postage stamp was pressed into use.
On August 13, 1877, a Royal Decree authorized the overprinting of the 25-centimes value. These provisionals were in use from September 6, 1877 until January 1, 1878. On original document they are very difficult to find; as a matter of fact they are not common in any condition. (From an article by Preston, R.B. "Puerto Rico, The Alfonso XII Issues For Puerto Rico", published in The Stamp Specialist, Volume 20, 1948)
