SPANISH PHILIPPINES - MUNICIPAL CROWN CANCEL "PROV. DE YSABELA, CABAGAN" ON 1872 ISSUE 62-CENTIMOS DE PESETA (KING AMADEO OF SPAIN)



(PHILIPPINES, Scott #46; Edifil #28) USED
This stamp displays a portion of the scarce municipal crown cancel "PROV. DE YSABELA, CABAGAN"

Oval "Municipal Crown" cancels were used in small towns throughout the Philippines between the mid 1860s and mid 1880s. A list of these Philippine towns and provinces that are currently known to have used this type of cancel is available at http://www.nigelgooding.co.uk/Spanish/Crown/Crown.htm .  I would be very interested to hear from anyone that might have a municipal crown cancel not included on this list.

Cabagan is a municipality in the province of Isabela, a mostly rural area in the Cagayan Valley in the northeast of Luzon.  Before the province was created in 1856, the northern part from Tumauini was part of Cagayan, while the south was part of Nueva Vizcaya.

Cabagan, Isabela, has its share of Spanish colonial churches. San Pablo Church, built in 1624, it is said to be the oldest in the province.  It is the only one of the extant Isabela churches that is not made of bricks. It has a very massive belfry reminiscent of those in Ilocos Norte (Paoay and Laoag).  Its lofty bell tower of six layers including the circular apex made of adobe is the tallest in the Cagayan Valley. San Pablo, the oldest town of Isabela, was founded by Padre de Sto. Tomas, 210 years before Isabela was made a province.

 

In the northern part of Isabela, the Tumauini Church or San Matias Church, a National Cultural Treasure and National Historical Landmark, is most known for its round wedding cake belfry. It's arguably the most exquisite example of brick architecture in the Philippines.

1873 - UNISSUED ESSAY OF KING AMADEO I OF SPAIN

SPAIN - 1873 Unissued Essay of King Amadeo I of Spain (Galvez 835)
12-centimos de peseta, black, scarce imperf block of 6, remaindered

Amadeo I (30 May 1845 – 18 January 1890) was the only King of Spain from the House of Savoy. He was the second son of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy and was known for most of his life as the Duke of Aosta, but reigned briefly as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873.

(Excerpt from Wikipedia)

SPANISH CIVIL WAR - 1939 UNISSUED REPUBLIC AIR MAIL STAMP, "CORREO AEREO"

SPAIN, 1939, unissued air mail stamp (Edifil NE 38)

SPAIN - "ANO DE LA VICTORIA" SOUVENIR SHEET, OCTOBER 12, 1939



SPAIN, Beneficencia, Huerfanos de Correos (Edifil 34)
Issued: October 12, 1939
Printing: 17,000 (each individually numbered)



The "Huerfanos de Correos" (Orphans of Postal Employees) issues began in 1926 and were a type of surtax stamp, in this case to raise funds for orphans of postal workers.  These were used in addition to regular postage stamps and were not obligatory.  These "Beneficencia" issues are not listed in the Scott catalog, but can be found in specialized Spanish catalogs such as Edifil.  The beautiful souvenir sheet above features the "Cuadros de Valazquez".  The individual stamps are enlarged below to show their fine detail.



SPAIN, Beneficencia, Huerfanos de Correos (Edifil SH 34, detail from sheet above)





SPAIN, Beneficencia, Huerfanos de Correos (Edifil SH 34A, detail from sheet above)


 

SPAIN, Beneficencia, Huerfanos de Correos (Edifil SH 34B, detail from sheet above)

 

SPAIN, Beneficencia, Huerfanos de Correos (Edifil SH 34C, detail from sheet above)

 

SPAIN, Beneficencia, Huerfanos de Correos (Edifil SH 34D, detail from sheet above)



GERMANY'S HYPERINFLATION OF 1923

After the First World War, the value of the German Mark steadily deteriorated, largely as a result of reparations payments and the savage penalties imposed on German trade.  On April 27, 1921 the Allied Reparations Commission fixed the total war reparations to be paid by Germany at 132,000,000,000 gold Marks. 

Faced with budgetary deficits, the German government followed a practice of issuing more money to meet expenses. The result was a runaway inflation more severe than that experienced in any other part of Europe.  During 1922, the value of the Mark in US Dollars fell from 162 marks to more than 7,000 Marks (the pre-1914 rate had been 4.2 Marks to the US Dollar).

By July 1, 1923 the Mark had fallen to 160,000 to the Dollar; by November 20, 1923 it was down to 4,200,000,000,000 (4.2 trillion) Marks to the Dollar. Barter replaced other commercial dealings and food riots broke out.
 

Postal Period 21
October 20 to October 31, 1923
FOREIGN LETTER (AUSLAND BRIEF)
1st weight - 20g
Rate: 30 Million Marks

Commercial cover to the U.S.A. on October 31, 1923 (last day of this rate) with a total of 30 Million marks paying international letter rate set as of October 20.
Six copies of 5 Million Marks issue (Michel 316).

Postal Period 25
November 20 to November 25, 1923
FOREIGN LETTER (AUSLAND BRIEF)
1st weight - 20g
Rate: 80 Billion (Milliarden) Marks

Commercial cover to Teplitz, Böhmen (now Czech Republic) on November 20, 1923 (first day of this rate) with a total of 80 Billion marks correctly paying foreign letter rate.
Eight copies of 10 Milliarden Marks issue (Michel 328).

The mark was finally revalued on Dec 1, 1923 at the rate of 1,000,000,000,000 old marks to 1 new mark, or one trillion to one.

SPANISH PHILIPPINES - ISABELLA ISSUE OF 1859, 10-CUARTOS, TOP MARGIN BLOCK OF 4




10-cuartos. Approximately 3,000 stamps were issued in shades of rose and lilac-rose.  (Scott #11; SG #14; Edifil #8 and #8a).  Stamps pictured above (and all others on this blogsite, unless cited otherwise) are from my personal collection. Please click on the photo above to enlarge.

 
(Information referenced from Nigel Gooding's website "Spanish-Philippines Philatelic Site" at http://nigelgooding.co.uk/ . Please visit this essential website for more detailed information on Spanish-Philippines stamps and postal history.)

On January 1, 1859, two similarly designed stamps, a 5-cuartos value (Scott 10) and a 10-cuartos value (Scott 11), were issued in the Spanish Philippines.  The 10-cuartos stamp, pictured above, was issued for domestic mail between half-an-ounce and one ounce, (double weight interior postal rate).  A total of approximately 3,000 10-cuartos stamps were issued in shades of rose and lilac-rose. The stamps remained in use until January 1863.  Later, remaining stocks of both stamps were overprinted "HABILITADO POR LA NACION" in 1874 (see Scott 27A and 28).


10-cuartos overprinted "HABILITADO POR LA NACION" in 1874 (Scott 28). 
By 1874, the handstamps had been used for six years, and the overprint was often blurred, showing much wear.
Please click on the photo above to enlarge.


The stamps were lithographed in the Philippines by the firm of M. Perez y Hijo, in Manila, on paper varying in color and quality.  The stamps show a profile of Queen Isabella II to the right, crowned with laurels, on a solid ground of color within a pearled circle.  In general, but with exceptions noted below, the stamps were printed in blocks of four varieties (types), each block being surrounded by an outer frame line; with each stamp measuring 18½ x 23½ mm.   Each of the four varieties are quite distinct, and comparison of a single stamp with an enlarged photo of the block of four will help in identifying the variety.

The 10-cuartos value was printed from the one plate, prepared in 1859 along with the First Plate for the 5-cuartos value. The arrangement of the plate was exactly like that of the First Plate for the 5-cuartos value, except as to the order in which the types appear in the vertical pairs at the right side of the sheet. The 10-cuartos plate was prepared by the transfer of the normal (5 Cs) design to the plate, then removing the "5 Cs" and replacing it by "10 Cs" and retouching the plate by hand. 

The First Plate produced sheets of 56 stamps (8 horizontal rows of 7 stamps each). Each sheet contained 12 blocks of the four types (3 horizontally and four vertically), and four vertical pairs at the right of the sheet. Each block is surrounded by a single-line frame.

Used examples of the 10-cuartos value are much more difficult to find than used examples of the 5-cuartos value.  I suspect that most of the 5-cuartos stamps printed (approximately 15,000) were postally used prior to 1863, whereas much of the 10-cuartos value remained unused.  This would explain the remaining stocks of 10-cuartos stamps overprinted "HABILITADO POR LA NACION" in 1874 (Scott 28), and the great rarity of the overprinted 5-cuartos stamp (Scott 27A), which was discovered only recently.

SPANISH PHILIPPINES - 1 REAL ISSUES OF FEBRUARY AND MARCH 1863

1 REAL ISSUE OF FEBRUARY 1863
(Philippines Scott #18var, SG #24, Edifil #15) MINT. Grey Green.
SCARCE

There were two printings of this issue.  This is from the first printing in February 1863.  A total of 7,000 stamps were printed in grey-green. Printed on smooth, thick, white to yellowish paper. The impressions are generally sharper and clearer than the later March 1863 printing (see below).

1 REAL ISSUE OF MARCH 1863
(Philippines Scott #18var, SG #23, Edifil #15a) MINT. Grey Green.
SCARCE

This is from the second printing of this issue in March 1863.  These impressions are generally poor, owing to the ink being too liquid.  Notice the blurred appearance of the bottom legend "1 RL PLATA F.". A total of 5,000 stamps of this second printing were issued.

PHILIPPINES JAPANESE OCCUPATION HANDSTAMPED "K.P." OFFICIAL BUSINESS ON SCOTT N4

This is a scarce example of Philippine Japanese Occupation 5-centavos Provisional Regular Issue, First Overprinting (thick top bar), Scott N4, issued September 1, 1942, with a handstamped violet "K.P." and Japanese "Koyo" for Official Business mail.

Although Eugene A. Garrett's book, "A Postal History of the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines, 1942-1945", shows many examples of handstamped "K.P." and "O.B." markings applied during the occupation, it is unclear to me which office may have applied this handstamp.  I welcome suggestions.  Still, an interesting and scarce stamp.

RARE PHILIPPINES JAPANESE OCCUPATION PERFORATED 5s LAUREL ISSUE

This is a very rare perforated example of the Philippines Japanese Occupation "President Jose P. Laurel" regular issue, Scott N37, from January 12, 1945.  This series of three stamps (5s, 7s, and 20s) were printed in the Philippines and issued imperforate, ungummed, on unwatermarked paper.

According to Eugene A. Garrett's masterwork, "A Postal History of the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines, 1942-1945", the Philippine Bureau of Communications originally intended to issue these stamps perforated and gummed, and apparently attempted to perforate a few sheets.  However, the poor quality of the paper and dullness of the perforating machine pins prevented these stamps from being issued perforated and gummed. 

Only a few sheets of the 5s value (some references state at least 2 sheets of 50 stamps), perforated 12x12-1/2 and without gum, were kept as proofs in the vault of the Manila Central Post Office.

During the battle to liberate Manila in February 1945, these few perforated sheets of the 5s Laurel issue were looted from the Manila Central Post Office when it suffered extensive damage.

The 7s and 20s values are also known perforated 12x12-1/2 and these are very rare.  It is known that at least 2 sheets each of the 7s and 20s value were specially perforated to order for Col. William Peck of the U.S. Army Air Corps, after the liberation of Manila.

"GOBIERNO POLITICO MILITAR DE BOHOL" CANCEL ON SPANISH PHILIPPINES #86

The two pairs of stamps, above and below, Philippines Scott #86, representing King Alfonso XII, 12-4/8 Centimos Bright Rose (issued July 19, 1882), together provide a scarce example of the "GOBIERNO POLITICO MILITAR DE BOHOL" cancel used by the government of Bohol during the later years of Spanish-era Philippines.



Enhancement of cancel showing GOBIERNO POLITICO ... BOHOL



Bohol is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of Bohol Island and 75 minor surrounding islands.  Its capital is Tagbilaran City. Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines.  To the west of Bohol is Cebu, to the northeast is the island of Leyte and to the south, across the Bohol Sea is Mindanao.

During most of the Spanish era, Bohol was a part of the residencia of Cebu.  By the middle of the nineteenth century, an important administrative shake-up occurred in the Philippines, with the creation of the politico-military provinces.  On July 22, 1854, Bohol was made, together with the island of Siquijor, into a separate politico-military province. In 1879, when a census was held, Bohol had 34 municipalities and a total population of 253,103 people.



Enhancement of cancel showing GOBIERNO ... MILITAR DE ...



Spanish rule came to an end in April 1899. In that year, after winning the American-Spanish war, the U.S. 'bought' the entire Philippines for twenty million dollars. The Spanish left the island, and Bohol became a "Gobierno de Canton," run by important Boholanos as part of the independent republic proclaimed by Emilio Aquinaldo.

Reconstructed GOBIERNO POLITICO MILITAR DE BOHOL cancel

FIRST FLIGHT TRANS-PACIFIC INAUGURAL PASSENGER SERVICE, HAWAII TO GUAM - October 22, 1936

This is a scarce first flight cover for the inauguration of Trans-Pacific passenger service for Pan American Airways between Hawaii and Guam.  This cover was  flown from Honolulu, Hawaii on October 22, 1936 and backstamped at Guam on October 26, 1936.

This cover is autographed by Captain Edwin Musick, Chief Pilot for Pan American World Airways and pioneer of many of Pan Am's transoceanic routes including the famous route across the Pacific Ocean on the China Clipper.  Because of his exploits with Pan American, Musick was one of the best known pilots of the 1930s, even making the cover of Time Magazine on December 2, 1935.  At one point during the 1930s, Musick held more flying records than any other pilot. At the time of his death, Captain Musick had reportedly flown about two million transocean miles in airline service.

SURVEY FLIGHT, PAN AMERICAN AIRWAYS, SAN FRANCISCO TO HAWAII - April 17, 1935

This is a fine example of a trans-oceanic record flight cover for Pan American Airways' survey flight between San Francisco and Hawaii.  On April 17, 1935, Pan American Airways sent its big Sikorsky "Pan American Clipper" on a pathfinder flight to Hawaii to establish a regular air mail and passenger service across the Pacific to Manila. 

This is one of only a few covers that were carried on the round trip flight and bear both cachets and cancellations as follows.   Covers flown from California to Hawaii are cancelled April 16, 1935 and are backstamped at Honolulu, April 17, 1935.  Covers carried on the return flight, Hawaii to San Francisco, are cancelled Honolulu, April 22, 1935 and backstamped April 23, 1935.  

This cover is addressed to George Randolph Hearst Sr., President of the the Los Angeles Examiner newspaper, and eldest son of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst.