LATIN AMERICA STAMPS |
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Please check our listings by choosing either your country or/and your topic of interest. Before you do, we suggest you read the introduction information below. CLICK HERE to read |
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What is a stamp?It is basically a piece of paper, a receipt for the prepayment of the carriage and delivery of an item of communication or commerce. It is to be affixed to the front of a cover (envelope) of a letter, package or parcel sent by you to another person or party (also see REVENUE further on). The postage stamp was invented by an Englishman, Sir Rowland Hill, and the first postage stamps were issued in 1840 by England (Great Britain or the United Kingdom) Before the invention of stamps, the item to be delivered (mailed) was taken to a Post Office where the postal clerk assessed the fees, collected the amount due and applied rubber stamp markings to the item, denoting that the fees were paid. Payment was also often paid by the addressee. Covers of the period before stamps are called pre-philatelic. PAPER used for the printing of stamps can vary greatly in types and thickness from country to country and period of printing. Stamps have been printed on silk, wood and metal foil as well. This wide variety of methods applies also to PRINTING which can be engraving, typography, lithography. GUM used on the back of stamps also presents a wide variety. Some stamps were issued at various times by some countries without gum and are described in our list (see BRAZIL) as issued without gum = NO GUM AS ISSUED (NGAI). These should not be confused with uncancelled stamps soaked off a cover which are considered to be of a lesser grade and are worth much less than stamps with original gum. Many collectors do not like uncancelled stamps because they are neither “mint” nor “used”. Some stamps were issued with gum containing sulphuric acid and later had to be removed by philatelists to avoid damage to the stamps. Other stamps were issued with gum that cracked over a period of time and could also damage the stamps. Still other stamps had gum which would stick to each other due to high humidity. Some countries added interleaving blank sheets but in many cases this did not help either. More recently, stamps were issued with a gum that was COATED to prevent undesirable adhesion and if you are not familiar with that method of gumming, the stamp will appear to have no gum at all, but it actually does. Accountable paper, such as currency, stamps and some official documents are found with a design, usually wire, impressed in the paper during manufacture. This is called a WATERMARK. On large items such as Souvenir Sheets, the watermark can sometimes be observed by holding it up against a strong light, but you usually need a watermark detector, the simplest of which is a black tray where the stamp is placed face down and a few drops of watermark fluid are added. There are other, more sophisticated watermark detectors. In modern times, instead of watermarked paper, some countries have overlaid the stamps with FLUORESCENT SECURITY MARKINGS (abbreviated FSM). Among these countries are Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras and we list any FSM varieties we have found. Many stamps have also been issued recently as SELF-ADHESIVE which means that they have no gum on the back that would require moisture to affix to a cover (or package). The stamp is simply peeled off its backing paper and applied to the cover. At first, stamps were issued IMPERFORATE and had to be separated by scissors. Later stamps were PERFORATED to facilitate separation. SEPARATION OF STAMPS exists in a wide variety, from “round holes” (perforations, abbreviated perf) punched through the paper, to rouletting (cuts in the paper). Perforations can be constant or syncopated. There are also stamps which were perforated in 2 different machines and do not measure the same along PART of the stamp or can have one or three sides gauged differently from the others (MIXED PERFS).There are PERFORATION GAUGES for measuring these. Catalogue listings around the world are standarized to show how many perforations (holes or cuts) fit between 2 centimeters. Stamps were printed for various uses. Depending on the type of service, the most commonly listed categories (with the prefix shown alphabetically in parentheses) are: regular postage stamps for regular land and sea mail; semi-postals (B) include an additional charge for a specific charitable purpose; air post, first issued in 1918 (C); special delivery (E); registration (F); insured (G); acknowledgment of receipt (H); late fee (I); postage due (J); Post Office of one country in another country (K); Provincial or Departmental postage stamps (L); Military (M); Occupation of one country by another (N); Official (O); Newspaper (P); Parcel Post (Q); Revenue (R); Franchise (S), Envelopes (U), Wrappers (W). There are other prefixes, the REVENUE category contains numerous sub-categories and stamps were printed for TELEGRAPH purposes as well. Please consult the excellent SCOTT STANDARD POSTAGE STAMP CATALOGUE, divided alphabetically in 6 volumes, plus the Classic volume (1840-1940 with British Empire to 1952), and the U.S. Specialized volume. Each volume contains an introduction of some 50 pages, a wealth of information on all aspects of stamps. These catalogues can be obtained in print or on CDs from the publisher or stamp accessories dealers, and are also usually available for viewing in the reference section of your free public library Stamps were printed in SHEETS. Sheets can contain as few as 4 stamps, as many as 128 or more. Most recent United States stamps were printed in sheets of 200 which were then cut into 4 PANES of 50. What we call a sheet, the common format you find at your U. S. Post Office, is actually a Pane. Sheets printed by most countries of the world contain some kind of consecutive registration or serial number in the margin (SELVEDGE) of one or more stamps. These are called sheet numbers (abbreviated sheet #), they can also be plate numbers (abbreviated plate #) and we offer them as singles, pairs or blocks of 4 or more. In many cases, these consecutive serial sheet #s can be SCARCE, especially if the entire printing of that stamp was only 250 to 1000 sheets. Souvenir Sheets printed by many countries of the world also contain consecutive serial numbers. In the case of these sheets printed with serial number, a MISSING SERIAL NUMBER constitutes an ERROR and is worth much more than the “normal” sheet with its serial number. Other errors and varieties consist of the serial number printed in a color different than the normal or printed upside down or in a different position in the sheet. We list the errors and varieties we have available. Most Souvenir Sheets, due to their small size, are usually printed in larger sheets, then cut individually into individual Souvenir Sheets. An UNSEPARATED pair or block of 4 of these unseparated sheets is a major ERROR. In older issues, each of the Souvenir Sheets were engraved separately and joined together in a larger plate for printing (then cut into individual souvenir sheets). As a result of these separate engraving, there can be minute differences in the designs or ornaments. These are collected by specialists and can sometimes be found listed in specialized catalogues. Besides being issued in sheets, stamps are also issued in COILS and BOOKLETS. Coils are stamps in large sheets which are then cut in strips and sold in rolls of 50 or 100 or more. Booklets are stamps printed in sheets which are then cut in various formats and affixed in booklets which usually have a front and back cover. Early booklets have one stamp margin affixed by staples to the booklet. Because of rusting of the metal staples, this method of affixing the stamps was later changed to gluing the margin of the stamps to the inside of the booklet. A booklet can have two or more stamps with one STRAIGHT EDGE (abbreviated SE) from the mechanical trimming of the booklet. Sheets from some countries were also issued with one or more side of the sheets with a straight edge. Some catalogues (such as the German MICHEL catalogue) list these straight edges as VARIETIES, and these can be fractionally higher in value than the stamps with perforation on all 4 sides of the stamps. These straight edges should not be confused with stamps which were trimmed at a later stage either mechanically or by hand; these are basically faults or fakes. In the philatelic period, stationery was printed with the fee already printed on the front. These are called POSTAL STATIONERY and can be postal cards, stamped envelopes or wrappers, domesograms (for domestic postage), aerograms (for air post) The value of stamps can be broadly divided in MINT (as obtained from the Post Office) and USED (cancelled during carriage of the mail). NEVER HINGED (abbreviated NH) stamps are mint stamps with full original undisturbed gum, and are almost always worth more than stamps with hinges or trace of hinging (Hinged is abbreviated H, very light hinge =VLH, light hinge = LH, hinge remnant = HR) or disturbed gum or glazed gum. A stamp missing much of its original gum is called PART ORIGINAL GUM (abbreviated POG). Some stamps are REGUMMED. This was commonly done a century ago by individuals using hinged or uncancelled stamps where there was a significant difference in price between Never Hinged and Hinged stamps. It is now agreed that that is a FAKE; a regummed stamp is usually valued as a stamp with no gum. There were many types of fakes made to deceive collectors such as sealing tears or cuts in stamps, filling-in thin spots or even rebacking the stamp paper, re-perfing, as well as FORGERIES or COUNTERFEITS which are unauthorized reproductions of an original expensive CLASSIC stamp. The idea of the fake was to enhance the value of a practically worthless item. Modern stamps are usually not worth altering by forgers and fakers, except in the occasional case of an uncommon and scarce stamp. Ironically however, the classic works of master stamp forgers are now collectible in their own right because of their scarcity and some fakes are openly sold as such by adding a rubber-stamped FAKE (or FALSCH in German) in very small letters on the back of the stamp. USED stamps are almost always worth less, sometimes considerably less, than mint stamps. Stamps are sometimes available CANCELLED TO ORDER (abbreviated CTO) by the issuing Post Office. These can be worth almost the same value as the mint stamps or considerably less, even less than genuinely used stamps, DEPENDING ON THE ISSUING COUNTRY. Some countries’ Postal Services have earned a “reputation” for printing large quantities of cancelled stamps (the cancellation actually being printed on the stamps) for the use of wholesale stamps packet makers while other countries only cancel upon demand of a collector of used stamps who likes to add neatly and carefully cancelled stamps to his/her collection. The rare occasion when a used stamp is worth more than a mint stamp is if an issue was LIMITED in its PERIOD OF USAGE and has a clear dated postmark showing that it was used in the proper period. Some catalogues, especially the German MICHEL, FOONOTE (abbreviated FTNT) the validity of usage of the stamp or set of stamps. Another indication of quality (and value) is the CENTERING of the stamp. The closer the stamp is to an exact centering on all sides, the higher the value, even more so for earlier issues of stamps. Generally Very Fine (VF) is fairly well centered on all 4 sides in relation to its margins, Fine to Very Fine (F-VF) means one or more sides are closer to the stamp margin than the other sides, Fine (F) means one or more sides are at or touching the margin. Stamps which have perforations encroaching on the stamp design or frame (or if the design or frame are trimmed in imperforate stamps) are called Very Good (VG). However, there are many older issues of all countries which can rarely be found in Very Fine condition because of rudimentary printing methods. This information and much more can be found in the SCOTT STANDARD POSTAGE STAMP CATALOGUES which we highly recommend for much more about stamps. The catalogue is divided alphabetically in 6 volumes, plus the Classic Volume and plus the U.S. Specialized Volume, each containing an introduction of some 50 pages, a wealth of information on all aspects of stamps. These catalogues can be obtained in print or on CDs from the publisher or stamp accessories dealers, and are also usually available for viewing in the reference section of your free public library. Recently, METER MAIL has been very commonly used instead of stamps. You go the Post Office, hand over your letter or package and the postal clerk affixes a machine-printed label and affixes it to your mail. Most stamp collectors do not like to receive “metered mail” and prefer that you use stamps on your cover. Also, COMPUTER VENDED POSTAGE is now available in many countries. Depending on the country, these labels can be obtained via vending machines (self-service) or obtained through the postal clerk. SCOTT CATALOGUE lists only the labels issued by the United States, but MICHEL CATALOGUE lists those of many countries under the heading AUTOMATENMARKEN. In COSTA RICA, the usage of these labels is strictly regulated; postal clerks will supply you only with a denomination valid only for a specific class of postage. Our list contains sets of the latest COSTA RICA labels available (Computer Vended Postage, abbreviated CVP), valid for the basic fee of the 5 first-class letter rates: domestic, airmail to Central America, airmail to the remainder of the American continent, airmail to Europe, airmail to the rest of the world. These labels represent various TOPICS interesting to the topical collector as well. As we said before, stamps are usually printed in SHEETS. Most sheets were printed with margins all around the sheet. The sheet margin (selvedge) is usually the blank piece of paper between the stamp and the edge of the sheet. Many sheets were issued with various SHEET MARGINAL MARKINGS. A stamp with a marking or illustration in the selvedge is not listed or priced separately in Scott Catalogue. A TAB is different from a selvedge in that it is an extra LABEL in addition to the selvedge. The only tabs listed and priced in Scott Catalogue are those of the country of ISRAEL and consist of the stamp in the bottom of the sheet attached to an illustrated tab and a sheet selvedge, the exception being in the Postage Dues which are blank tabs (without illustrations) Unfortunately, printed albums allow no room for anything other than the stamp itself. Advanced philatelists especially prize the stamp with tabs and any margin attached to any stamp especially those stamps with sheet marginal markings such as SHEET NUMBER (abbreaviated sheet #), PLATE NUMBER (abbreviated plate #) or plate blocks, or zip margin (on U. S. stamps), or any other marginal symbols as well as TABS (COMPLEMENTO in Spanish) and GUTTERS (INTERESPACIO in Spanish) which are stamps with a blank label in between. We list the available tabs, GUTTERS and other significant marginal markings as well as BOOKLETS, COVERS-FDC (First Day Covers), ERRORS-VARIETIES, IMPERFS, MINIATURE SHEETS, SOUVENIR SHEETS in TOPICS. For the collector of CLASSIC stamps, we have also listed separately as a topic PRE-1940 stamps under the heading PRE-1940 and PRE-1940 REVENUES (abbreviated REV.) Herebelow are pictures which explain some of the descriptions you find in our list
Sheet of COSTA RICA Scott catalogue #583 issued February 23, 2005 for the Rotary Centenary and Environmental Protection (sheet of 15 = 5 sets)This sheet is scarce, only 2000 sheets were printed (10000 sets). Besides those used for the making of First Day Covers, only 8500 sets were available for sale to the public (1700 sheets) You will note the following: SE-TENANT stamps. The word is French for HOLDING TOGETHER. There are 3 different stamps printed together in one sheet. The horizontal STRIP of 3 stamps is a SET, collectible as one unit and the stamps should not be separated from each other. TOP BANNER: a set, the uppermost horizontal strip of 3 different stamps, with inscriptions in the sheet margin labels (selvedge) at the top, as well as the Rotary symbol in the left margin label. Below that are 3 sets (3 horizontal strips) with selvedge on both sides SHEET NUMBER (sheet #): a set, the bottom horizontal strip of 3 with the sheet number in the sheet margin label below the first stamp in the set, as well as the Costa Rica Postal symbol in the sheet margin label below the third stamp and a Rotary symbol in the right selvedge. This set represents the topics BUTTERFLIES, FROGS, ROTARY, MINIATURE SHEETS
Below is a sheet of COSTA RICA National Parks issue of October 11, 2005 (sheet of 15 = 5 sets). This is a new issue and has not yet been catalogued by Scott. They are 3 different stamps printed together in the same sheet, another example of SE-TENANT stamps. In this case the TOP BANNER set and the SHEET # set are one and the same. Also of interest is that the 3 different stamps in the set are printed in different order in the sheet. This means that you can collect a HORIZONTAL strip or a VERTICAL strip. The sheet yields 5 horizontal strips, or 3 vertical strips and 2 horizontal strips. Besides the top banner with sheet #, the only other marginal marking is the Costa Rica Postal Service symbol in the bottom margin label (selvedge) at extreme right This sheet represents the topics ANIMALS, BUTTERFLIES, FLORA, MINIATURE SHEETS
Some TABS
Some LABELS
Some more SE-TENANT
Some TETE-BECHE
Some TRIPTYCH
Some GUTTER PAIRS
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Rebate |
| $10-$50 | 15% |
| $50-$100 | 20% |
| Over $100 | 25% |