Portugal 1856

Portuguese stamps were only 3 years old when
these were produced.

Printed at The Mint, Lisbon.
Embossed in white on coloured ground.

Some other values are quoted on thin paper,
so I assume these being on substantial weight paper.

Designed and engraved by F Borja-Freire.
(who also may have created Portuguese coins
of the same period)

If you go to stampboards
http://www.stampboards.com/viewtopi...2331&start=0

it explains how these stamps were printed one at a time.

I was wondering why the large margins, this explains
why, and how the colour and embossing was achieved
with one cycle of the device.

wow such a "wealth" here...i love it.
Cheers

The earliest this would be is 1858 but was re-printed in 1885, 1905 and 1928 according to the Alfinsa catalogue.
Post mark is 57 Felgueiras (common **/*****)

Thanks Anthony,
does Alfinsa come in English?
How much is a current catalogue ?(either language)

Tell help with future inquiries here is a list of cancellations numbers:

Thanks fermato! Great information! Thanks for contributing!
Enjoy your stay!

Fernmato: now that we've got you don't leave us. One post and a bundle of information!

I´ll try to shed some more light on this subject (but I remind you that I am no expert).

As AnthonyUK and rod222 seem to know, this information is present in the Afinsa catalogues.

The cancelation numbers that I posted above date between 1853 and 1869. During this period all postage was cancelled with a numeric stamp where the number represented the location where the mail was posted. These cancels have at least three bars interupted in the center. During this period some post ofices used circular/dotted cancels. Known examples are 1, 7, 52 and 74.

Between 1869 and 1878 oval cancels were used and where caracterized by thicker bars. Only two other post ofices had another type of cancel, Setubal (37) and Guimaraes (58) which had thinner bars. Numbers below.




After 1878 the cancels began having the location of the post ofice.

Hope this helps!

BAYERN1kreuzer, that 206 cancel lots to be the not so comon(est) of the bunch of the botom line of the first pic.

welcome Fernando from the Azores,
fantastic contribution

Good evening









Dear AnthonyUK,

The circular 57 bar numeral postmark observed is not from Felgueiras.

It is from Cabeceiras de Basto (common **) - belonging to the "first postal reform", 1853-1869. This one is type 6:8:6 (number of bars)

The Felgueiras 57 bar numeral postmark you quoted was used later, on the "second postal reform", after 1869 and with a different shape (oval and not circular).

Bibliography (Portuguese language)
Any specialized catalog of Portuguese stamps; Simões Ferreira, Afinsa, or Mundifil, for example.
PINTO, General Oliveira (2007). "Carimbos da 1ª reforma tipo 20 barras" in Boletim do Clube Filatélico de Portugal nº418, Dezembro de 2007, págs 36-45. Lisboa: Clube Filatélico de Portugal.
VIEIRA (1983). Selos Clássicos de Relevo de Portugal [...]

Thanks for the correction card12.