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.

PHILIPPINE FIRST FLIGHTS - CHINA CLIPPER, December 2-6, 1935

The study of postal history is fascinating in that it places an item at a specific time and place, and if we are truly fortunate, in the context of an individual within that period.

This is a fine example of a first-flight cover for the Philippine inauguration of trans-pacific air mail service between Manila, Philippines and San Francisco, California.   It displays the special $1.50 air-mail rate for this flight.  It is franked with three Scott #C52 and a block of Scott #C53, issued to commemorate this special flight which took place between December 2-6, 1935.



But what sets this cover apart from many others like it is that this cover actually carried a personal letter, and what a fine letter it is!  This letter is reproduced below, and can be enlarged by simply clicking on it. 

I hope you agree that this letter conveys all the excitement and optimism that the China Clipper flights represented for many throughout the "Golden Era" of aviation in the 1920s and 1930s, in the Philippines and the United States.

USA - 1903 SCHERNIKOW REPRINTS OF THE PHILADELPHIA BANK NOTE COMPANY'S 1877 ESSAYS

USA, ESSAY 184-E4k (dull carmine)

(SCHERNIKOW REPRINT, 1903)

3-CENTS, ENGRAVED, COMPLETE DIE ESSAY ON PROOF PAPER

USA, ESSAYS 184-E5e (dull violet) and 184-E5e (deep ultramarine)

(SCHERNIKOW REPRINTS, 1903)

3-CENTS, LITHOGRAPHED, PLATE ESSAY ON PROOF PAPER

USA, ESSAYS 188-E2b (scarlet) and 188-E2b (blue green)

(SCHERNIKOW REPRINTS, 1903)

12-CENTS, LITHOGRAPHED, PLATE ESSAY ON STAMP PAPER

WITH MARGIN INSCRIPTION "PRINTED BY PHILADELPHIA BANK NOTE COMPANY, PATENTED JUNE 16, 1876"

In the pop music world, "unreleased" tracks and demo recordings provide rare glimpses into the musician's creative process, revealing how ideas developed and transformed into the final release. 

Similarly, stamp design essays provide tantalizing glimpses of "what could have been" in the philatelic world.  They are often the evolutionary "missing-links" of philatelic design.

In the early 1900s, the archives of the Philadelphia Bank Note Company were sold in a bankruptcy sale.  Among the items sold were the dies for the Philadelphia Bank Note Company's 1877 Essays.

The buyer of the dies was Ernest Schernikow, an officer of the Hamilton Bank Note Company. In 1903 the Hamilton Bank Note Companyy made reprints from the dies in as many as fifteen colors. It is believed that this was done to help recoup the $10,000.00 Schernikow paid for the effects of the Philadelphia Bank Note Company.

To me, these beautiful designs bridge the design aesthetic of the "Bank Note" issues of the 1870s with the classical baroque designs of the early 1900s, and foreshadow the Washington-Franklin regular issues that were to come in 1908.

PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE DAY

Commemorative Cover signed by Emilio Aguinaldo

At the Barasoain Church, Malolos, Bulacan

On the 58th Anniversary of the Malolos Revolutionary Congress

September 15, 1956

Today is June 12, Philippine Independence Day.  On this day in 1898, prior to the formal conclusion of the Spanish-American War, Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the Philippine Islands from the colonial rule of Spain and the birth of the Philippine Republic “under the protection of the mighty and humane North American Union.”.

This momentous event took place in Cavite el Viejo (now Kawit), Cavite Province. Admiral Dewey had been invited but did not attend. The Filipino national flag was officially unfurled for the first time at 4:20 PM. The same flag was actually unfurled, albeit unofficially, on May 28, 1898 at the Teatro Caviteño in Cavite Nuevo---now Cavite City---right after the battle of Alapan, Imus, Cavite, and again three days later over the Spanish barracks at Binakayan, Cavite, after the Filipinos' victory.

A tattered flag of the First Philippine Republic, one of many used during the struggle for independence. The flag believed by heirs of Emilio Aguinaldo to be that unfurled by the general in Kawit, Cavite, in 1898 is encased in glass at the Aguinaldo Museum in Baguio City.  However, the National Historical Institute has yet to authenticate this flag despite years of probing. In his letter to Capt. Emmanuel Baja dated June 11, 1925, Aguinaldo mentioned that in their Northward retreat during the Filipino-American War, the original flag was lost somewhere in Tayug, Pangasinan Province; the Americans captured the town on Nov. 11, 1899.

At the historic Proclamation of Philippine Independence in Kawit, Cavite, Ambrosio Bautista (Aguinaldo's War Counsellor and Special Delegate), solemnly read the "Acta de la Proclamacion de la Independencia del Pueblo Filipino". The declaration was signed by 97 Filipinos and one retired American artillery officer, Colonel L.M. Johnson.  Although Aguinaldo unfurled the flag, contrary to common belief, it was Bautista, and not Aguinaldo, who waved the Philippine flag before the jubilant crowd.

The June 12 proclamation was later modified by another proclamation done at Malolos, Bulacan, upon the insistence of Apolinario Mabini, chief adviser for General Aguinaldo, who objected to the original proclamation, which essentially placed the Philippines under the protection of the United States.

The Philippine flag was sewn in Hong Kong by Marcela Mariño Agoncillo; she was assisted by her 7-year-old daughter, Lorenza, and Delfina Rizal Herbosa Natividad. The generals of the eight provinces which revolted against Spain had replicas and copies made of the original flag.

The Philippine National Anthem, then known as "Marcha Nacional Filipina", was played by the band of San Francisco de Malabon during the declaration of independence. It was composed by Professor Julian Felipe but it had no lyrics yet. The composition had similarities with the Spanish "Himno Nacional Español." Felipe admitted that he purposely put into his composition some melodic reminiscences of the Spanish National Anthem "in order to preserve the memory of Spain."  His composition was adopted as the Philippine national anthem on Sept. 5, 1938.

First Day Cover signed by President Manuel Roxas

On the Inauguration of the Philippine Republic

July 4, 1946

However, this independence was not recognized by the United States until July 4, 1946. From 1946 to 1961, the Philippines observed Independence Day on July 4 each year. In 1961, President Diosdado Macapagal reverted the holiday to the June 12 date, which up to that time had been observed as Flag Day in the Philippines. In place of the former Independence Day, Macapagal created Filipino-American Friendship Day on July 4.

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM - THE 28th BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON, CLARK FIELD, PAMPANGA, PHILIPPINES, 13 JULY 1941

28th BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON

CLARK FIELD, PAMPANGA, PHILIPPINES

Cover sent by Private First Class Bernard E. Preston

Postmarked at Fort Stotsenburg, July 13, 1941

"The calm before the storm!"

The second incarnation of the 28th Bombardment Squadron was mobilized at Mather Field, California for duty in the Philippine Islands on September 20, 1921.  The squadron became active in the Philippine Islands at Clark Field on October 21, 1922.

The squadron was initially equipped with B-2 and B-3 bombers.  Later, the squadron received B-10 and B-18 medium bombers. By June 24, 1941, there were  approximately fifteen B-18 and six B-10 medium bombers in operation at Clark Field.

In his article about the 28th Bombardment Squadron (available on the "Philippine Defenders" website at http://philippine-defenders.lib.wv.us/pdf/rosters/28th_bombardment_squadron), veteran Edward Jackfert describes a serviceman's life at Clark Field was at that time beyond one's fullest expectations. Duty hours were brief, leaving much time for the pursuit of personal pleasures.  On weekends the barracks would empty, some going to the local barrios, some trotting off to Manila, and the remainder pursuing their pleasure in “Angeles”.

PHILIPPINE AMERICAN WAR - Company A, 38th Volunteer US Infantry on 23 May 1900, Batangas, Philippines

It's Memorial Day weekend here in the United States.  Memorial Day is a U.S. Federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 31 in 2010).  First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War), it was expanded after World War I.  Today, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in military service. 

Therefore, this Memorial Day weekend, I will share a postal history item from my collection to help us remember those that made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of service to our Country...

PHILIPPINE AMERICAN WAR COVER

Cover sent by Fred Breiding of

Company A, 38th Volunteer US Infantry on 23 May 1900,

during guerilla fighting and "pacification" in the Batangas region.

Extraordinary soldier's drawing on this cover!

By the time this cover was mailed during the Philippine American War, the army of the Philippine Republic was no longer a regular fighting force.  Faced with the superior strength of U.S. forces, on Nov. 12, 1899 at a meeting of the council of war in Bayambang, Pangasinan, General Emilio Aguinaldo dissolved the regular army.  It was reformed into guerrilla units that would carry on the war unconventionally, relying on ambush, concealment, and the avoidance of set-piece battles. 

This method of warfare was successful in the past against the Spanish, and initially it seemed to be successful against the Americans.  As American casualties grew, it seemed as if the Filipinos would fight the Americans to a stalemate and force them to withdraw.  This was even considered by President McKinley at the beginning of this phase of the war. 

Unfortunately, such tactics brought on the full wrath of the U.S. military onto the Filipino guerrilla and Filipino civilian population alike.  This period of the Philippine American War became marked by atrocities and a level of barbarity, committed by both sides, previously unseen in this conflict. 

In May 1900, General Elwell Stephen Otis was replaced by Brigadier General Arthur MacArthur, Jr. as military governor, and William Howard Taft arrived as civil governor (Governor-General) of the Philippines.   On Dec. 20, 1900, Brig. Gen. MacArthur, Jr., declared in an official proclamation that since guerrilla warfare was contrary to "the customs and usages of war," those engaged in it "divest themselves of the character of soldiers, and if captured are not entitled to the privileges of prisoners of war."

Less self-disciplined men found in the proclamation authorization for identifying Filipino fighters as outlaws and dealing with them accordingly.

GRAF ZEPPELIN MAIL - 1930 EUROPE-PAN AMERICA ROUND FLIGHT, SPANISH DISPATCHES

LUFTSCHIFF GRAF ZEPPELIN

EUROPE-PAN AMERICA ROUND FLIGHT, SPANISH DISPATCHES 

SEVILLA, SPAIN TO LAKEHURST, NEW JERSEY, USA

This leg of the flight: May 19, 1930 - May 31, 1930

Spain did not issue any special Zeppelin stamps for this service, but applied a special red cachet to all mail.

The "American Air Mail Catalogue, Volume 1" (fifth edition, 1974), states that 2,210 covers and 638 post cards were carried on the Sevilla, Spain to Lakehurst leg of the flight.

Cover and cachet by A.C. Roessler of East Orange, N.J.  Notable franking includes Spain's airmail stamp Scott C5.

FRENCH PAQUEBOTS CANCEL ON "RECARGO DE CONSUMOS - HABILITADO" OVPT. ON TELEGRAPH 2-CENTAVOS, 1889

FRENCH PAQUEBOTS CANCEL ON "RECARGO DE CONSUMOS - HABILITADO" REVENUE ON 2-CENTAVOS TELEGRAPH STAMP

"MANILLE A SAIGON PAQ. FR."

16 AUGUST 1889

(VERY SCARCE POSTAL USAGE OF THIS REVENUE)

This is a very scarce example of the RECARGO DE CONSUMOS HABILITADO revenue surcharge on a pair of TELEGRAFOS 2-centavos stamps used as postage for the "LIGNES COLONIALES" French Paquebots from Manila to Saigon, Indochina.

From Arnold H. Warren's "Unpublished Studies on Philippine Revenues" (from "The Philippine Philatelist" website), on December 21, 1887, the Philippine Governor General ordered 2,900,000 stamps of various kinds to be surcharged “RECARGO DE CONSUMOS -- HABILITADO” (Surtax For Consumption — Made Valid), with new values, for the collection of the new surtax of five percent on the personal cedulas (poll tax receipts) during the first semestre of 1888 only. 

Hence, after June 5, 1888, there was no further need for the “RECARGO DE CONSUMOS -- HABILITADO” stamps, since the amount of the surtax was later included in the price printed on the face of all cedulas issued from July 1, 1888, to December 31, 1889.

Since there were so many of these surcharged stamps left over and no longer needed for their original purpose, decrees issued on January 29 and March 30, 1889, stated that the remaining 1,858,291 stamps be used for postal and telegraph use at the value surcharged on them.  A decree by the Philippine Governor General  stated that stamps with the surcharge HABILITADO would only be allowed for the franking of letters and telegrams until August 10, 1889. 

As a result, F.L. Palmer (1912) indicates that these stamps were available for postal use from January 29 to August 10, 1889.  Postally used examples of these “RECARGO DE CONSUMOS -- HABILITADO” stamps are scarce, although "cancelled-to-order" stamps are commonly found.

From "LA POSTE MARITIME FRANCAISE, TOME V" by Raymond Salles (Paris, 1966), the scarce postal cancellation on the stamps pictured above indicates their usage on the "LIGNES COLONIALES" French Paquebots which travelled from Manila to Saigon, Indochina.  This French Colonial shipping line was based at Saigon and also had regular stops at Singapore, Quienhone, Tourane, Haiphong, and Hong Kong. 

(Map from SALLES, Raymond, "LA POSTE MARITIME FRANCAISE, TOME V, LES PAQUEBOTS DE L'EXTREME-ORIENT", 1966, 1993)

On the date these stamps were used (August 16, 1889), the French LIGNES COLONIALES used the ship "ARETHUSE" on the Manila and Saigon route.   "ARETHUSE" was a veteran of the French North African shipping lines, and began her service in May 1885 along the Manila and Tonkin routes, serving between 1885 and 1898.

The stamps pictured above are also interesting in that they appear to have the denomination of $0'02 4/3 on them.  F.L. Palmer (1912) lists this surcharge variety as "Type V" and states "due to blurred printing or injury to the die, the 8 of 4/8 often appears to be a 3, making the value read $0'02 4/3".

The Recargo de Consumos surtax was abolished, effective on January 1, 1890, by the Royal Decree of October 25, 1889.

SPAIN'S BLUE DIVISION AND THEIR CRUSADE AGAINST BOLSHEVISM DURING WORLD WAR 2

SPANISH POST CARD PICTURING  "BLUE DIVISION" SOLDIERS INSPECTING A CAPTURED SOVIET TANK

(Series 1, Card 6)

GERMAN WEHRMACHT FELDPOST CARD

FELDPOST NR. 14929, INFANTRY REGIMENT 263, SPANISH

SPAIN'S VOLUNTEER "BLUE DIVISION"

POSTMARKED OCT. 7, 1943, LENINGRAD AREA AND THEIR WITHDRAWAL FROM THE EASTERN FRONT

The Blue Division (Spanish: "División Azul", German: "Blaue Division"), or 250. Infanterie-Division in the German Army, was a unit of Spanish volunteers that served in the German Army on the Eastern Front of the Second World War.

The 250. Infanterie-Division was formed in Spain during the last week of June 1941, immediately after the German attack on the Soviet Union. The unit was an offical Spanish sponsored formation created to partially repay the debt owed Germany for its vitally important assistance during the Spanish Civil War during 1936-1939. It was formed with Spanish volunteers from across Spain who flocked en masse to serve in the unit, originally named simply the Spanish Division of Volunteers, or more properly, Division Espanola de Voluntarios (DEV). The division was exclusively a foreign volunteer unit, designed for service within the German Wehrmacht, but to consist soley of Spaniards and to be led soley by Spanish officers.

FILIPINO REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT - SCARCE "COMUNICACIONES FILIPINAS ADMON. CENTRAL" CANCEL

FILIPINO REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT

OF GENERAL EMILIO AGUINALDO (1898-1901)

2-CENTS POSTAGE STAMP (SCOTT Y2)

BLOCK OF 4, USED

WITH SCARCE "COMUNICACIONES FILIPINAS ADMON. CENTRAL" CANCEL

(DETAIL OF "COMUNICACIONES FILIPINAS ADMON. CENTRAL" CANCEL)

On November 2, 1898, a decree was issued formalizing the Revolutionary postal and telegraph service.  A set of three stamps was prepared: two for postal use (Scott Y1 and Y2), and a third to be used for telegraph service (Scott Y3).  These were closely followed by specific stamps for specific services: newspapers (Scott YP1), registered letters (Certificado) (Scott YF1), and telegraph services (Scott YT1 and YT2).  [Aguinaldo's tax stamps will be discussed in a later post.]  All were used interchangeably for postage, special services, tax payments, and other service fees.

The design for the 2-Cents postage stamp above (Scott Y2) is credited to Marcelino Gomez and printed by his company, Lithografica de Gomez, Sta. Cruz, Manila.  The printing quantity of Scott Y2 is said to be 50,000.

FILIPINO REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT

OF GENERAL EMILIO AGUINALDO (1898-1901)

2-CENTS TELEGRAPH STAMP (SCOTT YT1)

BLOCK OF 4, USED

WITH SCARCE "COMUNICACIONES FILIPINAS ADMON. CENTRAL" CANCEL

(DETAIL OF "COMUNICACIONES FILIPINAS ADMON. CENTRAL" CANCEL)

Article 1 from the decree establishing the postal and telegraph system lists the rate for telegraphs:

"Article 1: There is opened to the public from this date the telegraph service, and from the tenth inst. the postal service, both for the territory of Luzon which is embraced in the jurisdiction of the Revolutionary Gevernment, and whose tariffs are:

Telegraph:

Rate for the first series of 15 words...$0.50

For each word in excess...$0.02

Telegrams of correspondents of periodicals, half rate

Telegram with acknowledgement of receipt will pay the surtax of a plain telegram.

The dispatcher of telegrams may demand the corresponding receipt upon payment...$0.06

It is apparent that Scott YT1 (2-cents telegraph) and Scott YT2 (50-cents telegraph) had clear purposes.  The printing quantity of Scott YT1 and YT2 is believed to be 19,000 of each.

(This post is based on "The Aguinaldo Revolutionary Government in Luzon", by Bob Yacano, and published in the Philippine Philatelic Journal of the International Philippine Philatelic Society (IPPS))

FILIPINO REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT - REGISTRATION STAMP (SCOTT YF1) WITH BAYOMBONG CANCEL

FILIPINO REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT

OF GENERAL EMILIO AGUINALDO (1898-1901)

8-CENT. REGISTRATION STAMP (SCOTT YF1)

BLOCK OF 4, USED

WITH SCARCE "CORREOS FILIPINAS BAYOMBONG" CANCEL

BAYOMBONG is the capital of the province of NUEVA VIZCAYA, located in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon.   It is bordered by, clockwise from the north, Ifugao, Isabela, Quirino, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, and Benguet.

In August 1898, Colonel Daniel Tirona headed a military expedition sent by General Emilio Aguinaldo to Cagayan.  On August 25, 1898, Colonel Tirona seized Aparri from the Spaniards. General Emilio Aguinaldo then appointed him as the military governor of the Cagayan Valley (comprised of the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya) with the new rank of Brigadier-General.  Tirona represented the province of Batanes in the Malolos Congress in 1898-1899.

 

When the Philippine-American War broke out in February 1899, General Tirona fought against the Americans in Cagayan.   General Tirona surrendered in Aparri to Capt. Bowman H. McCalla of the US Navy cruiser Newark on Dec. 11, 1899, as described in my previous post on the Ylagan cancellation on Scott YT1.

FILIPINO REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT - TELEGRAPH STAMP (SCOTT YT1) WITH YLAGAN CANCEL

FILIPINO REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT

OF GENERAL EMILIO AGUINALDO (1898-1901) 

2-CENTS TELEGRAPH STAMP (SCOTT YT1)

BLOCK OF 6, USED

WITH SCARCE "COMUNICACIONES FILIPINAS YLAGAN" CANCEL

(DETAIL OF YLAGAN CANCEL)

YLAGAN (ILAGAN) is the capital of the province of ISABELA, LUZON, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, at the confluence of the Pinacanauan river with the Grande de Cagayan, about 200 M. N.N.E. of Manila . Population reported in 1903 was 16,008 people.  The neighboring countryside is the largest tobacco-producing section in the Philippines.

On August 25, 1898, Daniel Tirona, a native of Kawit, Cavite Province, seized Aparri from the Spaniards. General Emilio Aguinaldo then appointed him as the military governor of the Cagayan Valley (comprised of the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya).

After war broke out with the Americans, Gen. Tirona surrendered in Aparri to Capt. Bowman H. McCalla of the US Navy cruiser Newark on Dec. 11, 1899. 

Tirona's surrender was received with military honors.  Captain McCalla reviewed the Filipino troops, and Tirona reviewed the US naval forces. The Americans presented arms while the Filipinos were stacking theirs; a total of 300 rifles were turned over.

Captain McCalla appointed Tirona as the temporary civil governor of the Cagayan Valley pending further orders from Maj. Gen. Elwell S. Otis, 8th Army Corps Commander and military governor of the Philippines.  On Dec. 21, 1899, Otis directed the 16th US Infantry Regiment (Regulars), commanded by Col. Charles C. Hood, to proceed to Aparri. On the same day, Colonel Hood was appointed as the military governor of the Cagayan Valley.

Daniel Tirona later became a founding member of the pro-American Partido Federal when it was organized on Dec. 23, 1900.

(Reference: "Philippine-American War, 1899-1902" by Arnaldo Dumindin, available at http://philippineamericanwar.webs.com/)

USA - ESSAY 70-E3a, 24-CENTS, BROWN DIE ESSAY, SCHERNIKOW REPRINT, 1903

USA, ESSAY 70-E3a

(SCHERNIKOW REPRINT, 1903)

24-CENTS, BROWN DIE ESSAY PULLED ON PROOF PAPER AND DIE SUNK ON CARD. 

THIS DESIGN WAS TAKEN FROM THE 24-CENTS 1860 ISSUE (SCOTT #37), WITH SPACES CREATED FOR NUMERALS, BUT BEFORE NUMERALS WERE ADDED.

In the early 1900s, the archives of the Philadelphia Bank Note Company were sold in a bankruptcy sale.   Among the items sold were the duplicate dies of the 1851-1860 issues, which the Philadelphia Bank Note Company inherited from Toppan, Carpenter and Company.  The Philadelphia Bank Note Company modified these dies by adding numerals to all the values, except the 10-cent and 30-cent denominations.  The modified dies were submitted as essays with their proposal for the 1861 contract.

The buyer of the dies was Ernest Schernikow, an officer of the Hamilton Bank Note Company. In 1903 they made reprints from the dies in as many as fifteen colors. It is believed that this was done to help recoup the $10,000.00 Schernikow paid for the effects of the Philadelphia Bank Note Company.