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Postage stamps and philately of Spain (Espana)
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Anatomy of acquired Spanish stamp collection - when 1+1 makes 3
Lately I acquired a Spanish collection of about 2,000 different stamps (about the same size as my collection, except this was mixture of used and mint). For 33€ (all fees included) it was yet another cheap auction buy. But with only three blurry images to describe the contents of it all, it was also a bit of a gamble. I assumed that 80-90% of the 2000+ stamps would be the same as in my collection, and at least 10% of the stamps would turn out to be faulty. So all in all I was expecting to add 180-360 stamps on a good day; making the acquisition cost 10-20 cents per stamp.
...(834 words,4 images, 3 comments)
Long postage stamp series of Spain
I think most of us stamp collectors have got love/hate-relationship with long running stamp series with consistent theme and appearance. As such Spanish Post did strike a home run in the 1960s and 1970s when they launched not just one, but actually eleven(!) annually running long stamp special series - many of them with engraved designs. In total these series contribute approx. 750 stamps to collect. The reason I use approximation is that there are some not so hard definitions on what to include/exclude with count, but it comes down to personal preferences where to draw the line on the sand. Since these stamps make up over one fourth of all Spanish stamps issued between Second World War and Euro-era, knowing the elementary details and boundaries of these series can make sorting Spanish stamps significantly easier.
...(2476 words,17 images, 2 comments)
Non-governmental stamps - whats your take with them? And where to draw a line what is a postage stamp and what is not?
Universal Mail. DX Mail. MorgenPost. Fastway Post. DCS. Pete's Post Ltd. TNT International Mail. Easy Post International... If you have not been living under the cave for the past two decades, then you have likely found, seen or at least heard on some of the non-governmental stamp issuers above. I find it interesting how little factual information on these alternative postal service operators and their labels and stamps is out there. With all the postal services deregulation worldwide, it is not as if the number and variety of these alternative postal operators would go down, but maybe some day in the future there will really be a situation where some countries will no longer have their own postal service, but instead fully rely on third party run 'hired gun' to take care of national and international mail collecting.
...(1178 words,10 images, 2 comments)
Forgery of 1944 Barcelona postal tax stamp (Ayuntamiento de Barcelona)
One of the interesting differences between various worldwide stamp catalogs is how differently they classify and list obligatory postal tax stamps. For example Michel and Yvert assign major numbers to all Barcelona City Council (Ayuntamiento de Barcelona) postal tax stamps, whereas Scott and Stanley Gibbons bypass them with a note 'used on correspondence purely for the purpose of raising local revenue and therefore listing is omitted'.
...(429 words,2 images, 2 comments)
Marginal notes about postage stamps of Spain
For the month of May (and first week of June) the articles on SCB will be be a bit different from the usual overviews and analytical studies. The space will be filled by a series of posts titled Marginal notes about stamps of [countryName]. Longtime readers might remember that the original tagline of SCB was 'diary of an ordinarie collector of stamps'; well these 'marginal notes' are kind of a spinoff production of the blog. I've had these items marked separately on my albums for possible display, but since these are mostly short and random tidbits, I would/could not write a full-featured (500-1500 word) article on these. Thus I'm now releasing some of these notes as country specific 'collections'. Hope you enjoy the stamp extravaganza ahead!
...(1041 words,9 images, 2 comments)
Artifacts of war - when philately / stamp collecting and military history collide
I love when stamp production and historical events bind together, because it usually provides interesting stories for us later generations to research and study. Such is the case with three stamps below: Ukranian UPP overprints of 1920s, the Spanish 1936 Granada issue, and imperforate Dutch Queen Wilhelmina stamps of 1940s (aka. type Konijnenburg). What's common for all these items is that they are artifacts of war-time conditions, and they all have fallen from philatelic grace because general stamp catalogs provide very little if any recognition to them. Yet, all these items have got interesting historical stories to unveil.
...(999 words,5 images, 4 comments)
How to check if a stamp is a forgery or genuine, lesson 2 - a case of 1870 Spanish Allegory of Hispania
Here's yet another stamp that I think a lot of worldwide collectors recognize. The 1870 50 Milesimas ultramarin is likely one of the most common 19th century Spanish stamps, and I encountered my first copy of it almost thirty years ago as a young collector. But this is the first time I've seen a specimen like this.
...(558 words,3 images, 3 comments)
How to check if a stamp is a forgery or genuine - a case study of Spanish 1854 Una Unza official stamp
Classic Spain is said to be a minefield of forgeries, but the problem I've got is the same that just about every worldwide collector faces: How to find out if stamp is genuine or not, especially when there's no more than one or two specimens under my nose. With this post I'll uncover some of my methods.
...(765 words,3 images, 2 comments)
Forgeries of Spanish State 1936 definitive postage stamps
When I spotted one of these forgeries several years ago, little did I know that I would be covering them time and again. But I guess that is the nature of stamp collecting, because collections mature as new information and items are gathered. I re-visited these stamps before the summer for my monthly stamp forgeries column in Stamp & Coin Mart magazine, but since space is always limited on the print, I thought I’d do a longer and more visual overview of these stamps and their interesting historical aspect on later date for my blog.
...(875 words,6 images, 0 comments)
1955 General Franco stamp series of Spain
The orange red Spanish 1 peseta stamp with portrait of general Francisco Franco was without a doubt one of the most common stamps of my childhood. I recall finding it (as well as some other values from the same series) almost on every worldwide stamp mixture I got my hands on. So I was quite surprised to learn some new tidbits about these stamps when I worked my Spanish collection during the weekend.
...(693 words,5 images, 35 comments)
Unidentified Spanish fiscal revenue stamp
Once again it's time to display one one of those mystery cinderella items that have been bugging me for ages. All I know with certainty is that the following item is from Spain, and very likely it is some sorts of fiscal revenue. The design looks very similar to some of Spanish postage stamps issued in late 1930s and early 1940s, so likely this is from the same era.
...(115 words,1 images, 8 comments)
Spanish double impression stamp: double print, kiss print or simply overinked?
Here's something that will hopefully cause some debate. Is this double impression on a Spanish stamp caused by a double print, kiss print or simply overinking?
...(171 words,2 images, 7 comments)
Giro Nacional cancels on Spanish postage stamps
Over the years, I have found several Spanish postage stamps with ‘Giro Nacional’ cancel. Today I learned that this marking is used only on money orders (a printed order for payment of a specified sum, issued by a bank or post office), and occasionally on telegraphs.
...(70 words,1 images, 2 comments)
Spanish ATM stamps
Without doubt, Spain is one of the greatest issuers of ATM stamps. To date, Correos Espana has issued 172 face different ATM-stamps designs. Philatelically speaking the Spanish ATM stamps can be divided to three groups. ...(189 words,4 images, 23 comments)
Modern forgery of classic postage stamps: Industrial Exhibition in Madrid (Spain) of 1907
This stamp was issued was originally published in 1907 for Madrid Industrial Exhibition in Spain. It is an obligatory fund raiser "stamp" that had to be attached in exhibition mail in addition of regular postage stamps. A complete set contains six different face value stamps with pictures of King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria.
...(214 words,2 images, 8 comments)
Q&A: stamps of Spain & Spanish colonies
Do you have questions about stamps of Spain or Spanish colonies? Your questions answered.
...( 42 comments).
Article categories
- Generally speaking about stamps, philately and collecting
- Learn the basics of stamp collecting - advice on how to get started
- How to preserve and build a stamp collection
- Philatelic knowledge base
- Stamp forgeries, philatelic fakes and other counterfeits
- Stamp collecting software (inventory programs and databases, online stamp catalogs etc)
- Straight talk about stamp values (both catalog and real world)
- Back of book stamps and other unusual stamp-like items
- EFO-stamps: errors, freaks and oddities on postage stamps
- Q & A - Ask anything about stamps and collecting
- Article index by country and topic
- SCB's Digital Perforation Gauge