Mystery Stamp - Spanish Special

My father collected stamps for years and then sold most of them off in the winter of his years. But there were a few that he kept and I now have them and would like to find out what they are and a rough value. This one is interesting and does anyone know about it:

Thanks,
Larry

What you have is a nice study piece. I am not convinced that the second stamp is imperforate. There are people on the board who have a specialized Spain catalog and they may be able to help. I will check my catalog tonight to see if I can find any additional information.

Regarding the imperf, Scott's has a note that reads
"The imperforate 10c dull claret, type A166, without imprint is a postal tax stamp, RA14"
I thought the 10c looked orange, but it could just be the photograph.
And WELCOME Larry. You'll learn lots here.

My opinion on this is that it is this:

It is a stamp that was poorly cut by an individual.

At the time these stamps were printed, if they were imperforate at the time of printing (1939), would have to have even straight edges on all sides; whereas, the image you have scanned show uneven edges.

I checked my Edfil Spanish catalogue and noticed that there were not any postal stationery items produced with this particular design of Generalisimo Franco. So, that rules out a cut square from a piece of postal stationery.

Hope this helps you out?

Chimo

Bujutsu

Thanks Bujutsu (is that Japanese?) - So the stamp was cut by the individual mailing the letter? So not much value to it then? It's really nice to finally look into this after it sitting in a box for 14 years.

It doesn't make much sense to me that the perfs would be cut off one stamp and not the other. Why bother? What could conceivably be the point?

I think the stamp was cut from a sheet of imperfs by a postal clerk.

Sorry guys. I'm still convinced it's the postal tax RA14. It fits the description perfectly, there's no imprint at the bottom (I know, the 691 doesn't have it either) and the design/font of the denomination is different. Smaller with no outline. That tells me it's a different issue.
How would you describe the colour Larry? Orange or claret (sort of a brownish red)?

This stamp came that way, a postal clerk cut it. I think Bujutsu just meant that it was irregularly cut and thus not as eye catching perhaps as one which a clerk had cut from the imperforate pane more squarely.

However, with imperf stamps, what you want are to see margins around all sides of the design. A lot of them have the design cut into, thus reducing their value. We can't see the back of it and know if there are any thins or such like but from the front it looks OK. Just dirty a bit.

It being a postal tax stamp or a revenue stamp places it in a different category (usually) than a postage stamp. It was most likely used to pay some sort of tax on something and to show that the tax had been paid, just as a postage stamp is used to show that the mailing rate has been paid.

Revenues usually are in the back of the book (catalogues) for Scott catalogues. Sometimes they also have their own special catalogues which go into more detail about them.

Usually not collected by all stamp collectors though as not in the main postage stamp collecting area.

In some catalogues around the world this might be found in with the regular (postage) stamps along with any other stamps issued in that same year like airmail, registered, other tax stamps, etc.

The imperf stamp is Edifil 888, issued imperf on December 22nd 1939 as surtax tuberculosis stamp. With compulsory use in all letters sent from December 22nd 1939 to January 3rd 1940. A very common stamp.

Estimated catalog value: 0.20 € at most.

Jimjamtwo

Why would it be necessary for both stamps to be cut? If a postal clerk did indeed cut up an imperf sheet of the 10 centavo stamps, doesn't mean that there was a 40 centavo sheet to be cut up as well. It was whatever was available at the time.

In my opinion, I still think that someone may have trimmed the perfs at one time for who knows what reason???? Of course, there is still a chance that I am wrong and someone did cut up a sheet of imperf stamps. Also, one single stamp is not proof enough that it is indeed from an imperf sheet, especially with the uneven cut as the stamp scanned. This is why 'most collectors' prefer pairs, if you can get them and afford them as well - granted, and, my reasoning is that the margins are not wide enough to convince me that it was from an imperforated sheet.

Maybe some Spanish expert can help?

Chimo

Bujutsu

Larry

My name Bujutsu is Japanese. Bu = martial, Jutsu = arts. If you have heard the word Budo, it literally means 'way of the warrior' - translations will vary depending on use. BTW - my real name is also Larry - so, I feel like I am talking to myself lol.

Chimo

Bujutsu

I'm neither Spanish, nor an expert, but for me the question is clear, as it can be seen from this scanned image of my 2004 Edifil Catalog





Translation: "1939, Dec, 22. For Tuberculous. 1939 type; Imperf. and without engraver's family name. Printed in off-set in 100 stamps sheets"

Number of unsold stamps: 100,000

As I've already said: a very common, worthless stamp. That's all folks!

And the Dec 22 issue date puts it at the Scotts RA14, listed at Dec 23 1939. Thanks Cursus. I tried to tell them, but they just wouldn't listen.

That's clear. You can't find a Mauritius every night!

Bujutsu - My wife is Japanese which is why your name caught my eye. We both played Judo for a number of year but stopped with our blue belts as our bones/injuries didn't heal quickly. It's a young person's sport unless you already have gained enough skill to protect yourself better.

Everyone - A great discourse on these stamps. I am learning that everything is not cut and dried in this hobby eh?

Hi Larry

This is interesting alright.

I too took Judo some years ago but went only as far as my yellow belt only because our instructor, a police officer at the time, was transferred to another area. Some years later, I took up Karate, a Taoist style actually that incorporated both Chinese and Japanese philosophies. I am now qualified for my third dan but took semi retirement from karate just last February with full 2nd degree status. Our form also includes the Tai Chi as well and incorporates that into fighting techniques.

The sport convinced me to collect stamps with a martial arts theme as well as the other countries I collect. I was into stamps long before I took any martial arts though. Trying to get stamps with a martial arts theme is tough though because some are in sports sets that are not all martial arts types and most dealers do not want to break up sets, which I can understand.

Chimo

Bujutsu