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I have brought these prices up to date and added currency selection.   I have had to add a few to the National issues, and have made some additions to the local ones and others.   To avoid confusion, I will give these RH numbers (Revised Hiscocks).   CheckList         Setup

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National	Comunicaciones	War Tax	Cancellations	Local issues	plazas de soberanía	Hoja Telegrafica	Hoja de Reintegro	Huérfanos / Hogar	Telephone stamps	Progress

 

SPAIN.

Steve Hiscocks wrote in 1982:
The telegraph stamps of Spain cover a period of some 88 years from 1864 to 1952 — the greatest span of any one issuing authority. Their issue
was not continuous however. In 1870 and until 1878 a series of unified postage and telegraph stamps — the various "Comunicaciones" types — were
issued. From 1879 to 1889 two series specifically inscribed "Correos y Telegs" were issued and from 1889 to 1899 a further series of "Comunicaciones".
These bore the same relationship to telegraph stamps as the 'Postage and Revenue' stamps of, for example, Great Britain and India did to revenue stamps:
that is they were used for telegraphic purposes but were mainly intended for postal use and mainly so used. I have not included these stamps as telegraph
stamps and they may be found listed in any postage stamp catalogue. Their telegraphic use can, however, easily be recognised by the punched cancellations
and their inclusion in collections is of course optional. Otherwise the national telegraph stamps of Spain are quite well behaved. Many of them can also be
found overprinted for use in (Spanish) Morocco (q.v.).

There are numerous charity stamps of Spain which might easily be confused with telegraph stamps in that they bear the words "Huérfanos de Telégrafos" or
"Hogar Telégrafico" meaning 'orphans' and 'home' respectively. These are pure charity stamps intended to raise money for orphans of telegraph workers and,
since their use was optional, they do not fall within my terms of reference. The single stamp of Valencia might be thought to fall within the same category in
that it was intended to raise money for a bridge but in this case its use was compulsory and it is thus analogous of those of Portugal and the federal tax stamps
of the USA. The 'telegraph' stamps of Villada and of Barcelona would seem to fall into the same category.

Background information on the railway telegraph stamps is sparse. A reference of 1893 gives dates of issue (which differ from those usually quoted) and states
that they were for public use but not on sale to the public. Instead the clerk stuck one on the despatch form and another on the receipt or counterfoil — that is the
sending of a message costing, e.g., one peseta involved the use of two 1 peseta stamps one of which should presumably have then remained with the customer.

---

My notes:
The yellow highlighted part is perhaps a little disingenuous. It is certainly misleading. Though the low face-value stamps may have been intended and so used,
for postal purposes. It is very likely that, as with other countries (e.g. Britain) when using postage stamps for dual purpose, the higher values were mainly used
for telegraphic purposes (As Hiscocks acknowledged for the Edwardian High values of India). Anyway, I have now added a section for them.

For the pink highlighted part, 1952 may be the official date of cessation for telegraphic use, but they were used until at least 1955 on Hoja de Reintegro which
may have been to pay telephone bills ? — There is also now a Spanish Telephone stamp known.

According to Luis Enrique (PDF, page 17), Spain had been using an optical telegraph network for a long time before the first practical electric telegraph
network began to be created by a decree of 1852, which also set up a school for telegraphy starting with 48 students mostly recruited from former optical telegraph workers.
The first connection was from Madrid to Irún in the north, near the French border. It passed through the provinces of Zaragoza, Navarra and Guipúzcoa.
The telegraph construction was under the control of the Ministry of the Interior until 1857 when it became the responsibility of the Telegraph Corps.
The next connections were to Extremadura on the border with Portugal, and Catalonia in the northeast. These allowed Madrid to connect to its neighbouring countries.
Alsasua, Vitoria and Bilbao were the next to be connected.

Some useful information can be found at la-telegrafia-electrica-en-espana. According to that: "The initial telegraphic network of 1855 had a radial configuration, with centre in Madrid and in the following years it was closed in the form of a polygon with transversal lines. The radial structure responded to the centralist character of the construction of the liberal state in Spain. Towards 1857 the structure of the Spanish telegraphic network was reconfigured, understanding as such the necessary means to join any two points of the peninsula. The basic network was already very complete by 1864, when it had a length of more than 10,000 km of lines, 194 telegraphic offices and almost one million telegrams were processed per year. The network included all the capitals of the province and main cities of the peninsular territory, the Balearic Islands and Ceuta, leaving Melilla and the Canary Islands outside without submarine telegraphic communication until the 1880s. Lines of telegraphic wires formed part of the landscape of roads and railways and transformed it. However, one of the problems of aerial telegraph lines apart from the meteorological phenomena, was the theft of wires, as still happens today, as well as other materials in certain networks. When the century ended, in 1900, the Telegraphs was a fully consolidated and complex entity and the telegraph was the only means of communication that covered all social needs. The staff that attended it exceeded 4,000 employees in 1,491 offices and the national telegrams had increased to 3,779,000. Year 1864 10,000 km   194 Offices Year 1900 29,030 km 1,491 Offices Year 1910 42,934 km 1,902 Offices Year 1920 53,714 km 2,904 Offices Year 1930 53,135 km 2,902 Offices Statistics of the General Post and Telegraph Office. Between 1860 and 1900 one can speak of a process of socialization of the telegraph due to a policy of cheaper tariffs and the effects derived from the extension of the Spanish telegraph network. In 1861 the tariffs were unified, a telegram of 10 words sent to any office of the Peninsula cost 5 reales and three years later it was lowered to 4 reales, this price remained until 1900. With time, the telegraph that began its journey being used by the Administration, was later introduced in the business world and in the middle classes, and the first third of the 20th century, were used by the popular classes. The increase in the number of telegrams led to higher revenues for the State, which in turn added technical improvements to the telegraph network. From 1875 to 1924, can be considered the golden age of the telegraph, since it was the only means of communication that broadly covered the needs of society. The traffic of telegrams had gone from about 2 million, in 1877, to more than 15 million, in 1922, having tripled in the last fifteen years. However, in Spain around 1878, the first telephones appeared, a means of communication that, over time, would have a great social impact. The telephony depended as a communications service of the General Directorate of Telegraphs and it was until 1924 when the Telephone Company was created, even though the first promotions of Telecommunications engineers trained in the Higher School of Telegraphy presented several National Telephony plans. so that the telephony will be managed from telegraphs." This goes on to give later details and many images.

Spain — National Telegraph Stamps.

The Galvez catalogue indicates values for punched Telegraph stamps from 1864 to 1869 at 50% of un-punched used prices.
The used prices here are for punched examples. Un-punched used are thus worth a premium. Beware of stamps with incomplete punching or re-filled holes.

1864 (1 July) Typographed on white wove paper. No watermark, Imperf.

H1 courtesy of Paul & Les Bottomley	H2, 4 Reales	H3 courtesy of Laurens at Dutchstamp	H4, 20 Reales

 

Hisc.	1864 Description	Mint	Used
H1	1r brown	70.00	18.00
H1a	red-brown	70.00	15.00
H2	4r rose	70.00	18.00
H2a	pale rose	70.00	15.00
H3	16r green	80.00	18.00
H3a	dark green	80.00	15.00
H4	20r black	100.00	30.00

Hiscocks added the following 2 notes:

Note 1. Used stamps of 1864 to 1868 or 9 are normally cancelled with a rough punched hole of 3-4mm diameter.

Note 2. My copy of Morley's catalogue has a pencilled notation covering Nos. 1-4 (or possibly 1-3)                 "were rare but 1 sheet of each was found" !

My note: I understand that there are 'replicas' of these around.
Anyone know how to recognise them ?

 

1865 (1 January) Typographed on tinted wove paper. No watermark, Imperf.

1r - H5	4r - H6	16r - H7	20r - H8
A couple of mine.		H7 courtesy of Les Bottomley.	H8 courtesy of Gerardo de Villegas (Gdev02 on delcampe, click for listing).

 

Hisc.	1865 Description	Mint	Used
H5	1r blue/rose	90.00	15.00
H5a	dark blue/rose	110.00	18.00
H6	4r black/green	100.00	15.00
H7	16r carmine/yellow	250.00	35.00
H8	20r rose/pale rose	400.00	35.00

 

1865 (1 September) As above but on white paper and Perf. 14

1Rs - H9	4Rs - H10	16Rs - H11	20Rs - H12
H9 from Les Bottomley, H10 and H12 are courtesy of egv auction (on eBay). H11 is mine.

 

Hisc.	1865 Description	Mint	Used
H9	1r violet	120.00	12.00
H9a	deep violet	150.00	15.00
H10	4r blue	120.00	12.00
H10a	imperf.	180.00	-
H10b	imperf. between horizontal pair	320.00	-
H10c	dark blue	150.00	15.00
H11	16r green	150.00	15.00
H11a	yellow green	160.00	16.00
H12	20r rose	250.00	25.00
H12a	rose-carmine	250.00	25.00

 

1866 (1 January) As above but dated 1866.
New currency — 100cents = 1 Escudo.

10c - H13	40c - H14, courtesy of egv auction on eBay (click for listing).	1E60c - H15	2E - H16

Note the (unsuccessful) closed punch cancel on H13 and H15 above. These are often described as mint, be careful.
The Galvez catalogue prices stamps like this approximately twice the value of the punched stamp without the part still attached.

Hisc.	1866 Description	Mint	Used
H13	10c deep rose lilac (shades)	60.00	5.00
H14	40c blue	60.00	5.00
H14a	darker blue	80.00	6.00
H15	1.60 E green	120.00	5.00
H15a	yellow green	140.00	6.00
H16	2E rose	300.00	25.00
H16a	deep rose	300.00	30.00

 

1867 (1 January) As above but dated 1867.

10c - H17, courtesy of jtwvrm on eBay (click for listing).	40c - H18 Note the filled punch-hole.	1.60E - H19, courtesy of egv auction on eBay.

 

Hisc.	1867 Description	Mint	Used
H17	10c grey-lilac (shades)	50.00	5.00
H18	40c blue	40.00	5.00
H18a	darker blue	40.00	5.00
H19	1.60 E green	80.00	5.00
H19a	yellow green	80.00	5.00
H20	2E rose	200.00	18.00
H20a	deeper rose	200.00	18.00

 

1868 (1 January) As above but dated 1868.
New currency — 1000 mils = 1 Escudo.

1868, 400m - H22.	1868, 800m - H23.	1868, 1.600E - H24.	1868, 2E - H25.
A couple of mine, both with filled punch-holes.		Images courtesy of egv auction on eBay.

1868, 400m - H21 with rectangular punch.	1868, 800m - H23 with triangular punch.	According to M. Galvez, as with Cuba, 400m and 800m were overprinted as above.
A couple from Les Bottomley showing different punch-holes.

I have not seen any with the "Habilitado Por La Nacion" overprints, but then I haven't for Cuba either.
Since Galvez was an authority on Spanish stamps, I will list them and appeal for images. Anyone know what the Edifil catalogue says ?

RH #	Hisc.	1868 Description	Mint	Used
RH21	H21	100m dull purple(shades)	60.00	8.00
RH22	H22	400m blue	60.00	5.00
RH22a	H22a	darker blue	60.00	5.00
RH22b	-	with Habilitado overprint	-	-
RH23	H23	800m reddish brown	60.00	5.00
RH23a	H23a	dark reddish brown	60.00	5.00
RH23b	-	with Habilitado overprint	-	-
RH24	H24	1.600E myrtle green	80.00	5.00
RH24a	H24a	yellow green	80.00	5.00
RH25	H25	2E rose	150.00	15.00
RH25a	H25a	deep rose	150.00	15.00

 

1869 (1 January) As above but dated 1869. (new colours)

1869, 100m - H26.	1869, 800m - H27.	1869, 1.600E - H28.	1869, 2E - H29.
Images courtesy of egv auction on eBay.

 

Hisc.	1869 Description	Mint	Used
H26	100m blue	40.00	5.00
H26a	pale blue	50.00	5.00
H27	800m rose	50.00	5.00
H27a	rose-carmine	60.00	5.00
H28	1.600E yellow brown	50.00	5.00
H28a	orange-brown	60.00	5.00
H29	2E green	300.00	18.00
H29a	dark green	300.00	20.00

 

1869 New design (arms) dated 1869. Other details as above.

Spain H30	Spain RH30a courtesy of Soleryllach.com.

The stamp on the right was described by the vendor as "castaño lila" and came with a certificate describing it as the 1869 violet issue (Edifil no. 30), with an image even less violet.
To me, lumping together such disparate shades is a bit of a stretch, so I have added RH30a.

RH #	Hisc.	1869 Description	Mint	Used
RH30	H30	400m violet (shades)	110.00	6.00
RH30a	-	brown lilac (shades)	125.00	7.00

COMUNICACIONES

Hiscocks added the following note on page 267:

Note. Following this issue postage stamps were used for telegraphic purposes until 1901. Their telegraphic use                 is recognised by punched cancellations.

My note: These stamps were inscribed "COMUNICACIONES" to indicate that they were valid for both postal and telegraphic communications.
This was changed to "CORREOS Y TELGRAFOS" (Posts & Telegraphs) for the 1879-89 issues, possibly to prevent their use to pay for telephone calls ?
The use of punches appears to have been phased out as the cost of telegraphy dropped and potential re-use was less of a problem.

I have put some tentative prices in, but these are derived from postally used prices in US$ as of 2007. Telegraphically used will be much less, but this might give relative scarcity.
There is a Spanish catalogue by Manuel Gálvez Rodríguez (Catálogo : pruebas y ensayos de España 1960) that gave prices for punched stamps. It would be more appropriate for this.
If anyone has a copy and can provide this information, I will happily update the prices and include them in this listing.

Type 1	Type 2	Type 3	Type 4	Type 5
RH# 1870 Description Mint Post Tele C1 1m brown-lilac/buff 6.50 6.50 0.65 C2 2m black/pinkish 7.75 8.00 - C3 2m black/buff 8.75 9.00 - C4 4m bistre-brown 15.00 13.50 - C5 10m rose 17.00 6.00 - C6 10m carmine 21.00 7.50 - C7 25m lilac 52.50 6.50 - C8 25m aniline violet 85.00 8.25 - C9 50m ultramarine 10.00 0.35 - C10 100m red-brown 29.00 5.25 1.25 C11 100m claret 30.00 6.25 1.45 C12 100m orange-brown 30.00 5.50 1.30 C13 200m pale brown 26.00 5.25 1.05 C14 400m green 250.00 22.50 1.50 C15 1e600m dull lilac 1350.00 850.00 125.00 C16 2e blue 1100.00 525.00 87.50 C17 12c red-brown 225.00 6.50 - C18 19c yellow-green 300.00 160.00 -	RH# 1872 Description Mint Post Tele C19 2c grey-lilac 17.50 7.75 - C20 2c violet 27.50 17.00 - C21 5c green 125.00 60.00 5.00         Type 1 "España" during regency. Type 2 Kingdom Type 3 King Amadeo 1870-72 Type 4 King Amadeo 1870-72 Type 5 "España" First Republic	RH# 1872 Description Mint Post Tele C22 5c rose 17.50 5.50 - C23 6c blue 110.00 35.00 - C24 10c brown 350.00 225.00 - C25 10c ultramarine 7.50 0.50 0.10 C26 12c grey 17.50 2.10 0.60 C27 20c grey-violet 140.00 82.50 - C28 25c brown 62.50 10.00 0.80 C29 50c deep green 100.00 10.50 0.75	RH# 1872 Description Mint Post Tele C30 1p lilac 100.00 52.50 2.00 C31 4p red-brown 625.00 600.00 18.50 C32 10p deep green 2200.00 2300.00 138.00	RH# 1873 Description Mint Post Tele C33 2c orange 13.00 6.00 - C34 5c claret 29.00 6.00 - C35 10c green 6.50 0.35 - C36 20c black 80.00 22.50 - C37 25c deep brown 30.00 6.00 0.72 C38 40c brown-violet 32.50 6.00 0.72 C39 50c ultramarine 15.00 6.00 0.36 C40 1p lilac 47.50 27.50 1.10 C41 4p red-brown 575.00 475.00 14.25 C42 10p violet-brown 1750.00 1750.00 43.75

 

Type 6	Type 7	Type 8	Type 9	Type 10
RH# 1874 Description Mint Post Tele C43 2c yellow 17.50 8.00 - C44 5c violet 30.00 9.50 - C45 10c ultramarine 9.75 0.35 0.16 C46 20c dark green 140.00 42.50 3.00 C47 25c red-brown 30.00 6.50 0.45 C48 40c violet 300.00 7.50 0.75 C49 50c yellow 87.50 7.00 1.00 C50 1p yellow-green 75.00 32.50 2.45 C51 1p emerald 85.00 45.00 3.40 C52 4p rose 625.00 390.00 6.90 C53 4p carmine 725.00 575.00 10.15 C54 10p black 2750.00 1800.00 24.00	RH# 1874 Description Mint Post Tele C55 10c red-brown 22.50 0.65 0.50 C56 10c brown 37.50 3.25 1.20   Type 6 "Justice" Type 7 Coat of Arms Type 8 King Alfonso XII 1874-85 Type 9 King Alfonso XII Type 10 King Alfonso XII	RH# 1875 Description Mint Post Tele C57 2c orange-brown 22.50 11.00 0.92 C58 2c chocolate brown 30.00 15.00 1.25 C59 5c lilac 77.50 13.00 - C60 10c blue 9.25 0.40 0.20 C61 20c brown-orange 275.00 125.00 - C62 25c rose 65.00 8.00 0.67 C63 40c deep brown 125.00 42.50 - C64 50c grey-lilac 190.00 42.50 2.00 C65 1p black 190.00 80.00 9.00 C66 4p dark green 475.00 525.00 48.00 C67 10p ultramarine 1500.00 1750.00 106.00	RH# 1876 Description Mint Post Tele C68 5c yellow-brown 14.00 3.75 0.75 C69 10c blue 3.75 0.45 0.25 C70 20c bronze green 17.50 13.00 - C71 25c brown 7.75 5.50 0.55 C72 40c black-brown 75.00 100.00 24.24 C73 50c green 15.00 7.50 0.83 C74 1p deep blue 20.00 9.00 0.68 C75 1p ultramarine 27.50 13.00 0.98 C76 4p brown-violet 47.50 55.00 4.58 C77 10p vermilion 125.00 125.00 16.00	RH# 1878 Description Mint Post Tele C78 2c mauve 32.50 11.00 - C79 5c orange 40.00 14.00 - C80 10c brown 7.75 0.50 - C81 20c black 160.00 125.00 - C82 25c olive-bistre 22.50 2.75 - C83 40c red-brown 150.00 140.00 - C84 50c blue-green 87.50 11.00 1.10 C85 1p grey 72.50 21.00 1.05 C86 4p violet 190.00 125.00 10.70 C87 10p blue 375.00 350.00 44.00

 

Type 11	Type 12	Type 13	Type 14
RH# 1879 Description Mint Post Tele C88 2c black 8.25 4.50 - C89 5c grey-green 14.00 1.10 0.60 C90 10c rose 13.00 0.45 0.40 C91 20c red-brown 110.00 15.00 1.07 C92 25c bluish grey 14.00 0.45 0.40 C93 40c brown 26.00 5.50 0.44 C94 50c dull buff 100.00 5.00 0.90 C95 50c yellow 190.00 7.00 1.27 C96 1p bright rose 125.00 2.25 1.25 C97 4p lilac-grey 600.00 32.50 3.25 C98 10p olive-bistre 1850.00 190.00 18.24	RH# 1882 Description Mint Post Tele C99 15c salmon 7.75 0.20 - C100 15c reddish orange 27.50 0.45 0.40 C101 30c red-lilac 325.00 5.25 0.47 C102 75c grey-lilac 225.00 4.75 0.76   Type 11 King Alfonso XII Type 12 King Alfonso XII 1874-85 Type 13 King Alfonso XIII Age 3 Type 14 King Alfonso XIII 1886-1931	RH# 1889 Description Mint Post Tele C103 2c blue-green 6.00 0.45 - C104 2c black 35.00 7.25 - C105 5c blue 11.00 0.20 0.07 C106 5c blue-green 125.00 1.40 - C107 10c yellow-brown 13.00 0.20 0.05 C108 10c red 225.00 4.50 - C109 15c violet-brown 4.75 0.20 0.15 C109a 15c yellow (Official) 10.00 6-00 - C110 20c yellow-green 45.00 4.75 0.26 C110a 20c orange 36.00 72.00 - C111 25c blue 17.50 0.20 0.12 C112 30c olive-grey 72.50 5.25 0.58 C113 40c brown 72.50 3.00 0.50 C114 50c plum 72.50 2.10 0.10 C115 75c orange 225.00 4.25 0.50 C116 1p dark violet 55.00 0.45 0.10 C117 1p carmine-rose - 350.00 - C118 4p carmine-rose 650.00 47.50 1.90 C119 10p orange-red 1050.00 110.00 1.60	RH# 1900 Description Mint Post Tele C120 2c bistre-brown 3.25 0.20 - C121 5c dark green 5.75 0.20 - C122 10c rose-red 8.00 0.20 - C123 15c blue-black 14.00 0.20 0.10 C124 15c dull lilac(1902) 10.50 0.20 0.10 C125 15c purple(1905) 5.75 0.20 - C126 20c greenish black 32.50 2.75 - C127 25c blue 5.25 0.20 - C128 30c deep green 37.50 0.35 - C129 40c olive-bistre 125.00 5.00 - C130 40c rose(1905) 300.00 4.50 - C131 50c slate-blue 32.50/td> 0.55 - C132 1p lake 30.00 0.60 - C133 4p dark violet 250.00 22.50 - C134 10p brown-orange 225.00 72.50 9.00

My notes: 1) Even though stamps for specifically telegraphic use were again available in 1901, this last type of stamp,     though not inscribed "COMUNICACIONES" were still apparently being telegraphically used until at least 1905.   2) I have obtained a 1951 copy of the Galvez Catalogue and have used it to estimate current values for telegraphically used stamps.   3) The Scott catalogue does not list the 20c orange Type 13 listed by Galvez(1951) as issued in 1899. Nor does the Michel     Catalogue. The Galvez catalogue does not list the 1p carmine-rose (C117) listed by Scott, but it does list a 10p dark red.

 

For the specialist, Type 7 shown above exists in 3 variations of the value tablet at the bottom.
Galvez provides a hand-drawn illustration of these, but it leaves a bit to be desired. I can now provide an 1800dpi updated illustration:

This has Galvez type I at the top and type III at the bottom. The top two are mine and were scanned together. The middle is from Rolf Lamprecht and was originally at 300dpi.
I have added vertical green lines to show relative alignments.
Galvez described the differences as follows:

I. — Cifras "10" grandes y unidas, impresión muy esmerada en el sin dentar y ordinaria en los dentados.         "10" Figures large and together, very fine impression on perforate and imperforate stamps.	3.50	0.25
II. — Cifras "10" pequeñas y separadas.         "10" figures small and separate.	50.00	10.00
III. — Cifras "10" muy grueso y pequeñas.         "10" figures very thick and small.	300.00	50.00

The last 2 columns are his prices in 1951 Pesetas for mint and used. He does not list any of these as being punched, but prices type II as 1.00 with remainder cancel (see below).
His description of type I "unidas", does not match the stamp, though it does match his illustration of it.
Type III has "10" closest together. It makes me wonder whether perhaps his illustrations were made, rather poorly
(though better than I could do by hand), by someone else and he was simply describing those illustrations.
My identification of the top image as type I is guided by the fact that it is the most common type.
He lists only type I as existing imperforate, pricing it at 1,000.00 mint and 1,500.00 used (clearly not punched).

King Alfonso XII died before his son was born. His son was therefore King from birth and his mother Maria Christina Henriette Desideria Felicitas Raineria (of Austria),
the Queen of Spain was regent from the death of her husband until 1902 when her son took over at 16. There are proofs with her head and a similar frame to Type 13.
I have seen them in 8 different colours, also matching colours of Type 13. All have the value 30c. My example seems strangely small and I am not sure if it is genuine.
The last is known as a bar cancel. There is a similar one with two thin lines. These are not telegraphic, they are remainders found on stamps from 1854 to 1882.

So what of these ?

C9 punched remainder.	C25 punched remainder.	C38 punched remainder.	C48 punched remainder.

Why would a remaindered stamp have a telegraphic punch cancel ?
The only reason I can think of is that either the cancel or the punch hole is fake.
I don't see how punching a hole in a stamp can increase its value, though I suppose that if you want to collect the whole set telegraphically used,
sacrificing a stamp with little value to create a space-filler may appeal to some, or may create a saleable commodity to those that do not recognize the remaindered cancel.
I would think that all values of these sets would see some telegraphic use, at least in times of shortage of the denominations more commonly used in telegraphy,
but some may be rare telegraphically used. Galvez does not price C9 punched. He also does not price C48 remaindered. The holes look more genuine than the bars.
Images courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht.

 

WAR TAX

War Tax was levied on an obligatory basis on mail and telegrams during the wars of 1874-6 and 1898-1900.
At least some of these have the familiar punch holes, but not all, particularly in the second period.
My 1951 Galvez catalogue does not list prices for punches war-tax stamps, but does list prices for fiscally used
Anyone have a later Galvez Catalogue? For now, I will use the fiscal pricing as a guide to telegraphic usage.

Type 15	Type 16	Type 17	Type 18
RH# 1874 Description Mint Post Tele C135 5c black 8.25 0.95 0.42 C136 10c blue 10.50 1.60 0.42 Type 15 Coat of Arms Type 16 Coat of Arms Type 17 King Alfonso XII Type 18 King Alfonso XII	RH# 1875 Description Mint Post Tele C137 5c green 5.25 0.60 0.24 C137a blue - 0.60 0.24 C138 10c lilac 11.00 2.75 0.30 I think the blue 5c examples must be colour changelings, since nobody lists them.	RH# 1876 Description Mint Post Tele C139 5c blue-green 6.25 1.00 0.60 C140 5c blue - 125.00 - C141 10c blue 6.25 1.00 0.60 C142 25c black 50.00 17.00 4.25 C143 1p lilac 475.00 110.00 13.20 C144 5p rose 775.00 300.00 67.50	RH# 1877 Description Mint Post Tele C145 15c claret 27.50 1.00 0.60 C146 50c yellow 775.00 110.00 28.60

 

Similar to Type 11 - Not issued	Type 19	Type 20	Type 21
RH# 1879 - not issued Mint Post Tele - 5c blue 37.50 - - - 10c rose 22.50 - - - 15c violet 13.50 - - - 25c brown 22.50 - - - 50c olive green 14.00 - - - 1p bistre 22.50 - - - 5p grey 82.50 - -	RH# 1897 A 1898 Desc. Mint Post Tele C147 5c green 3.00 1.90 0.29 C148 10c green 3.00 1.90 0.57 C149 15c green 400.00 175.00 46.67 C150 20c green 7.50 3.00 0.50	RH# 1898-99 Desc. Mint Post Tele C151 5c black 2.25 1.75 0.53 C152 10c black 2.25 1.75 0.53 C153 15c black 50.00 9.50 1.35 C154 20c black 3.50 3.00 1.33	RH# 1898 Description Mint Post Tele C155 5c black 7.50 0.60 0.40   Type 19 1897 - 1898 Type 20 1898 - 1899 Type 21 King Alfonso XIII 1886-1931

Other values and colours are known of the 'numeral' stamps of 1897-99
For "1897 A 1898" Michel says that there are values of 30-90c in blue-green and 1-10p in rose - I have most of the greens and the 1p rose.
Also they list for the "1898 - 99." series 30-90c in black and 1-40p in blue - I have seen 30c, 40c, 50c, 60c, 70c, 90c, 1p, 1p20c, 1p80c, 2p, 2p50c, 3p50c, 5p and 10p.
They do not list these as they say that they were not for postal use. I do not know if they were all for fiscal use, or if some had telegraphic use.
More information is needed.

 

 

1901 Lithographed on white wove paper. No watermark. Perf. 14
Control number in blue on reverse of stamp. Currency — 100 centavos = 1 peseta.

H31	H32	H33	H34

H35	H36	H37	H38 (punched)

The set of imperfs, less 50c for sale at € 150 in November 2021. Some of the colours are a bit different to the used examples above, notably the 4 peseta. Perhaps these were colour trials. Courtesy of Soleryllach.com

 

Hisc.	1901 Description	Mint	Used
H31	5c grey-black	4.00	1.00
H31a	imperf.	8.00	-
H31b	without controls.	30.00	-
H32	10c Prussian blue	4.00	1.00
H32a	imperf.	8.00	-
H32b	without controls.	35.00	-
H33	15c orange	5.00	3.00
H33a	imperf.	10.00	-
H33b	without controls.	40.00	-
H34	30c grey violet	7.50	2.20
H34a	imperf.	10.00	-
H34b	without controls.	45.00	-
H35	50c red orange	7.50	2.50
H35a	without controls.	50.00	-
H36	1p deep blue grey	10.00	1.50
H36a	imperf.	15.00	-
H36b	without controls.	70.00	-
H37	4p carmine	30.00	2.50
H37a	imperf.	35.00	-
H37b	without controls.	80.00	-
H38	10p dark green	40.00	3.00
H38a	imperf.	50.00	-
H38b	without controls.	100.00	-

Hiscocks added the following 3 notes:

Note 1. Control numbers are typically of 6 figures starting with '0' (apparently a numeral rather than letter).                 The ink used was not fast and, on used copies, the control number is often faint and sometimes difficult                 to detect at all. Missing controls are thus not priced in used condition.

Note 2. The use of punched cancellations ceased before 1901 and this and subsequent issues were cancelled                 with (usually) a line of handstamped type, often smudged, in black or purple together with, in many cases,                 a pen cancellation — usually the date.

Note 3. The 50c value (No. 35) has been implicitly reported imperf. in that the whole set is priced in that state,                 but the most authoritative source (in my view) excludes this value imperf.

The used stamps above show that Hiscocks note 2 is not entirely correct.

 

1905 New design (Alfonso XIII). White wove paper. No watermark. Perf. 14
Control number in blue on reverse of stamp.

H39	H40	H41	H42

H43	H44b ?	H45	H46

H41, H41a and H44 used courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht.

 

Hisc.	Description	Mint	Used
H39	5c venetian red	7.00	2.00
H39a	imperf.	14.00	-
H40	10c ultramarine	7.00	2.00
H40a	imperf.	14.00	-
H41	15c deep purple	8.00	2.50
H41a	imperf.	16.00	-
H42	30c deep mauve	9.00	2.50
H42a	imperf.	18.00	-
H43	50c red	10.00	3.00
H43a	imperf.	20.00	-
H44	1p yellow	20.00	6.00
H44a	imperf.	25.00	-
H44b	brownish yellow	25.00	7.00
H45	4p lake	60.00	10.00
H45a	imperf.	60.00	-
H46	10p deep violet blue	80.00	15.00
H46a	imperf.	70.00	-
H46b	violet	80.00	15.00

 

Note. Several different forgeries are known of Nos. 44, 46 and 46(a).          No. 44(b) was issued in Barcelona to combat a local forgery of No. 44.

 

1912 New design (Alfonso XIII). White wove paper (tendency to toning). No watermark. Perf. 12¾ to 14 (mixed)
Control number in blue on reverse preceded by large letter 'A'.

H47 - courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht	H47c - courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht	H48 - courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht	H48b - courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht

H49	H50	H51 - courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht	H51b

H52	H53 - courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht	H54 - courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht	H54b - courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht

 

Hisc.	Description	Mint	Used
H47	5c olive-green	3.00	0.80
H47a	imperf.	6.00	-
H47b	light olive	3.75	1.00
H47c	bronze-green	6.00	1.60
H48	10c deep dull blue	3.00	0.80
H48a	imperf.	6.00	-
H48b	deep blue	4.50	1.20
H49	15c deep lavender	3.00	0.80
H49a	imperf.	6.00	-
H50	30c lilac	3.00	1.00
H50a	imperf.	6.00	-
H50b	grey-violet	3.75	1.20
H51	50c deep rose red	3.00	1.20
H51a	imperf.	4.00	-
H51b	carmine	3.75	1.50
H52	1p deep grey green	10.00	1.00
H52a	imperf.	15.00	-
H52b	deep green	12.50	1.25
H53	4p dull violet-blue	25.00	3.50
H53a	imperf.	35.00	-
H54	10p rose-carmine	40.00	8.00
H54a	imperf.	60.00	-
H54b	deep carmine	80.00	16.00

Hiscocks added the following note:

Note. Perforations vary within the range given. Further research is required to determine                 the varieties corresponding to each value.

 

1921 Design as 1901 in different colours. White wove paper. No watermark. Perf. 13½ x 12¾
Control number in blue on reverse preceded by letter 'A'.

H55	H56	H57b

 

RH58 used (1920 ?) courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht	RH58b used (1924) courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht	RH58b	*RH58d

* I have added RH58d due to the example shown and the fact it is listed in the Galvez catalogue (#86).
Galvez described it as being from a worn plate. He described the other Perf. 11½ x 11¼ stamps as being on glossy paper.

H59 courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht	H59b	H60

H61 courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht	H61b	H62

 

RH #	Hisc.	Description	Mint	Used
RH55	H55	5c rose-lilac	0.75	0.75
RH55a	H55a	pale lilac (perf. 11½ x 11¼) (1930-1)	0.75	0.60
RH55b	H55b	malformed '5' in H55a	3.00	1.50
RH55c	H55c	violet	0.75	0.75
RH56	H56	10c black	0.75	0.75
RH56a	H56a	perf. 11½ x 11¼ (1930-1)	1.00	0.60
RH56b	H56b	intense black	0.75	0.75
RH57	H57	15c greenish blue	1.50	0.75
RH57a	H57a	sky blue (perf. 11½ x 11¼) (1930-1)	1.75	0.75
RH57b	H57b	sky blue (Perf. 13½ x 12¾)	1.50	0.75
RH57c	H57c	imperf. between vertical pair	12.00	-
RH58	H58	30c pale orange	2.25	0.75
RH58a	H58a	red-orange (perf. 11½ x 11¼) (1930-1)	2.00	0.80
RH58b	H58b	deep orange (Perf. 13½ x 12¾, 1932 ?)	2.25	0.75
RH58c	H58c	imperf. (orange)	9.00	-
*RH58d	-	yellow-orange (perf. 11½ x 11¼) (1931)	1.70	0.80
RH59	H59	50c deep rose	2.25	1.00
RH59a	H59a	rose-carmine (perf. 11½ x 11¼) (1930-1)	2.50	1.25
RH59b	H59b	deep carmine	2.25	1.00
RH60	H60	1p green	5.00	1.50
RH60a	H60a	light green(perf. 11½ x 11¼) (1930-1)	5.00	1.50
RH60b	H60b	pale green-blue	5.00	1.50
RH60c	H60c	imperf. (green-blue)	12.50	-
RH61	H61	4p blue	20.00	4.50
RH61a	H61a	pale blue (perf. 11½ x 11¼) (1930-1)	25.00	3.50
RH61b	H61b	pale blue	22.00	5.00
RH62	H62	10p brown	30.00	4.00
RH62a	H62a	light brown (perf. 11½ x 11¼) (1930-1)	40.00	5.00
RH62b	H62b	sepia brown	35.00	6.00

 

1931-33 As above but perf. 11½ x 11¼ and overprinted "República Española" in black or red.
Control numbers as before.

H63	H64	H64a ? - I am suspicious of the overprint There is no dot after 'Españiola'.	H65

 

H66		H67

 

Hisc.	Description	Mint	Used
H63	5c lilac (black)	7.50	4.00
H63a	malformed '5'	15.00	10.00
H64	10c black (red)	7.50	3.00
H65	15c sky blue (black)	12.50	3.00
H66	30c orange (black)	42.00	8.00
H67	1p green (black)	80.00	8.00
H67a	perf. 14	80.00	8.00

 

Having bought a mounted mint set of these, sold as genuine for €75, I started looking closely at these after scanning.
Some of them look rather suspicious. According to Filatelia Digital, Spain has the dubious honour of being the first country
in which a stamp was falsified, and has been continuing with this tradition for 150 years.
Generally forgers concentrate on postage stamps, but stamps for telegraphic use can be relatively high denominations.
I know there are forgeries of the 1905 1p and 10p.


At the top is a 1921 one peseta stamp and at the bottom an overprinted one peseta stamp. Though the overprint looks like it could be genuine,
the actual stamp looks more like a typo example than a litho example. The perforations look reasonable, but the printing looks fuzzy and poor quality.
It seems unlikely though, that there would be a genuine overprint on a fake stamp !
Does anyone have information about fake Spanish Telegraph stamps?
¿Alguien tiene información sobre falsos sellos telegráficos españoles?

 

1932-36 New design. White wove paper. No watermark. Perf. 11¼
Control number in black on reverse and preceded by large letter 'A'.

H68 (black A063,952)	H69 (feint black A163,150)	H69 used (feint A082,154)	H70 (black A058,512)	H70b
—   Scanned together   —

H71 (black A185,585)	H72 (black A138,533)	H72 (feint black A140,715)
—   Scanned together   —

H68a (blue control)	H71a (blue control)	H72a (blue control)	H73a (blue control)	H74 used (black control)
—   Courtesy of  Rolf Lamprecht  - scanned together   —

H73 (feint black A264,269)	H73 (black A271,776)	H73 (black A243,798)	H73b
—   Scanned together   —

H74 (black A030,511)	H74b	H75 (black A046,178)	H75b
—   Scanned together   —

 

Hisc. Description Mint Used H68 5c reddish purple (1935-6) 0.60 0.50 H68a         controls in blue (1935-6) 0.75 0.60 H68b         without controls (1932-4) 1.00 0.50 H68c         as No. 68(b) but imperf. 2.00 - H69 10c black (1935-6) 0.60 0.50 H69a         controls in blue (1935-6) 0.75 0.60 H69b         without controls (1932-4) 1.00 0.50 H69c         as No. 69(b) but imperf. 2.00 - H70 15c blue (1935-6) 0.60 0.50 H70a         controls in blue (1935-6) 1.00 0.60 H70b         sky blue, without controls (1932-4) 0.80 0.50 H70c         as No. 70(b) but imperf. 1.20 - H71 30c orange (1935-6) 0.60 0.50 H71a         yellow-orange, controls in blue (1935-6) 1.00 0.60 H71b         orange, without controls (1932-4) 1.00 0.50 H71c         as No. 71(b) but imperf. 1.50 - H71d         as No. 71 but bisected on piece - 20.00 H72 50c carmine (1935-6) 0.60 0.50 H72a         pale carmine, controls in blue (1935-6) 1.50 0.60 H72b         carmine, without controls (1932-4) 1.50 0.60 H72c         as No. 72(b) but imperf. 2.50 - H72d         as No. 72(b) but with impression of No. 68 on reverse (error)   20.00 - H73 1p deep green (1935-6) 1.00 0.50 H73a         light green, controls in blue (1935-6) 2.50 1.00 H73b         green, without controls (1932-4) 3.20 0.50 H73c         as No. 73(b) but imperf. 5.00 - H74 4p blue (1935-6) 2.50 0.50 H74a         controls in blue (1935-6) 12.00 8.00 H74b         without controls (1932-4) 8.00 1.50 H74c         as No. 74(b) but imperf. 12.00 - H74d         as No. 74 but imperf. 24.00 - H75 10p chestnut (1935-6) 4.00 0.50 H75a         brown-orange, controls in blue (1935-6) 24.00 12.00 H75b         brown, without controls (1932-4) 15.00 2.00 H75c         as No. 75(b) but imperf. 24.00 -

Two imperforate stamps and a "Timbre Para Facturas" (Stamp For Bills) on piece courtesy of Les Bottomley. Used 9 December 1936 in Peñaranda de Bracamonte.

Though Hiscocks quotes Galvez in many instances, his sequence in this list contradicts him. According to Galvez,
The first issue of 1932 had blue controls on the back, followed in 1933-4 by an issue without controls, then in 1935-6 the issue with black controls.
Anyone have clearly dated examples with blue or black controls ?

 

1937, 1st anniversary of the National Uprising of 1936. Black controls or none.
This overprint was applied (in Seville) to these 1936 stamps, a number of then-current postage stamps, and an urgent correspondence stamp.
The Galvez Catalogue lists these on page 139 of the 1951 edition. As far as I know it did not affect the value or usage of the stamps.

H74 (black A030,511)	H74b	H75 (black A046,178)	H75b
—   Courtesy of  Rolf Lamprecht  - scanned together   —

RH #	Hisc.	Description	Mint	Used
NU1	-	5c reddish purple (no control)	2.00	2.50
NU2	-	10c black (red)	5.00	6.00
NU3	-	15c sky blue (red, no control)	5.00	6.00
NU4	-	30c orange	6.50	8.00

 

1940-42 Lithographed on white wove paper. No watermark. Perf. 11¼ to 11¾
Control number in black on reverse.

Spain 1940-42   The 5c, 1P and 10P are from the 1949 series, the rest are from the 1940 series.

 

Hisc.	Description	Mint	Used
H76	5c bluish grey (shades) (perf. 11¼ x 11¾)	0.60	0.40
H76a	perf. 11½ x 11¾	0.60	0.40
H77	10c lightish brown (shades) (perf. 11¼ x 11¾)	0.60	0.40
H77a	perf. 11½ x 11¾	0.60	0.40
H78	15c rose (shades) (perf. 11¼ x 11¾)	0.80	0.40
H78a	perf. 11½ x 11¾	0.80	0.40
H78b	perf. 11½	1.20	0.60
H79	30c grey-green (shades) (perf. 11¼ x 11¾)	0.80	0.40
H79a	perf. 11½ x 11¾	0.80	0.40
H79b	perf. 11½	0.80	0.40
H80	50c ultramarine (perf. 11¼ x 11¾)	2.00	0.60
H80a	perf. 11½	2.00	0.80
H81	50c scarlet (shades) (1942) (perf. 11¼ x 11¾)	1.00	0.40
H81a	perf. 11½ x 11¾	1.00	0.40
H82	1p violet (shades) (perf. 11¼ x 11¾)	2.50	0.40
H82a	perf. 11½ x 11¾	2.50	0.40
H82b	perf. 11½	2.50	0.50
H82c	perf. 11¼ x 11½	2.50	0.40
H83	4p chocolate (shades) (perf. 11¼ x 11¾)	7.75	0.40
H83a	perf. 11½ x 11¾	7.75	0.40
H84	10p blue to steel blue (perf. 11¼ x 11¾)	20.00	0.50
H84a	perf. 11½ x 11¾	20.00	0.50
H84b	perf. 11¼ x 11½	20.00	0.50

Hiscocks added the following 2 notes:

Note 1. The controls on the reverse can be completely removed by soaking and are thus usually absent in used copies.

Note 2. The listing of perforation varieties above is taken from my own very limited collection and is no doubt far from                 complete. Further information is required.

 

30c grey proof or colour trial courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht.

 

1949 As above but perf. 13½   or   13½ x 13¼.

Hisc.	Description	Mint	Used
H85	5c pale blue-grey	0.80	0.30
H85a	perf. 13½ x 13¼	0.80	0.30
H86	10c lightish brown	0.80	0.30
H86a	perf. 13½ x 13¼	0.80	0.30
H86b	imperf.	5.00	-
H87	15c rose	0.80	0.30
H87a	perf. 13½ x 13¼	0.80	0.30
H87b	imperf.	5.00	-
H88	30c grey-green (shades)	0.80	0.30
H88a	perf. 13½ x 13¼	0.80	0.30
H88b	imperf.	5.00	-
H89	50c scarlet	1.00	0.30
H89a	perf. 13½ x 13¼	1.00	0.30
H90	1p violet	1.25	0.25
H90a	perf. 13½ x 13¼	1.25	0.25
H90b	imperf.	5.00	-
H91	4p chocolate	3.00	0.40
H91a	perf. 13½ x 13¼	3.00	0.40
H91b	imperf.	10.00	-
H92	10p blue	4.50	0.50
H92a	perf. 13½ x 13¼	4.50	0.50
H92b	imperf.	15.00	-

Hiscocks added the following note:

Note. All of the used copies I have examined have been perf. 13½ and this is how this set                 has always been catalogued in the past. I do however have a mint set where all                 values are perf. 13½ x 13¼ and have therefore listed this variety.

 

Cancellations.

An unusual cancel on C85 courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht.	An ornate cancel on H35	Postal cancels on C82 courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht.	Remainder cancel on C13

Fairly ornate telegraphic cancels were used with or without an additional punch hole.
Postal cancels may also be found on telegraph stamps since the wrong cancel was sometimes applied and since telegraph stamps were sometimes accepted for postage.
From 1854 to 1882, bar cancels were applied to remainders. These are typically worth about 10% of postally used examples.
Pen strokes were also used and there are also fake cancellations.


Hiscocks says (page 265): In 1870 and until 1878 a series of unified postage and telegraph stamps - the various "Comunicaciones" types - were issued.
From 1879 to 1889 two series specifically inscribed "Correos y Telegs" were issued and from 1889 to 1899 a further series of "Comunicaciones".
These bore the same relationship to telegraph stamps as the 'Postage and Revenue' stamps of, for example, Great Britain and India did to revenue stamps:
that is, they were used for telegraphic purposes but were mainly intended for postal use and mainly so used.

Hiscocks does not include them for that reason, but I will.

Hiscocks goes on to say: Their telegraphic use can, however, easily be recognised by the punched cancellations and their inclusion in collections is of course optional.

The following images are courtesy of Jeff Turnbull.

These are the standard type of punched cancels, with the first being by far the most common.


Below are T.1. to T.6. that appear to be telegraphic cancels.

 

 

These are also known on stamps already perfined with company perfins. In this case 'C.L.' for Credit Lyonnais, Madrid (c 1880s).

 

Another private perfin, F.M.C. user unknown, courtesy of Jeff Turnbull.

 

	Another type has the place and what appears to be the date covering two stamps. These have also been seen starting with 'PORT' and 'PLA', and also ending with 'EN'. These could be: Porto De Santa Maria, Plasencia and Mulhasen respectively.

 

SEVILLA

 

	MADRID with a date of first of April 1936 The one below is dated fifth of February. It would be interesting to see the mechanics of the machine used for this.

 

BARCELONA courtesy of Jeff Turnbull.

 

 

Scans of more examples are invited and welcome.

 

 

Local issues.

Barcelona

 

1930 Postage stamps overprinted and surcharged as shown. No watermark. Perf. 11.
Control number in black on reverse. This was an obligatory tax.

 

RH #	Hisc.	Description	Mint	Used
RH93	H93	10c on 5c red and yellow (ovpt. in black)	2.00	0.50
RH93a	H93a	imperf.	4.00	-
RH93b	H93b	perf. 14	10.00	6.00
RH93c	H93c	horizontal pair - imperf. between, perf. 11	-	-
RH93d	H93d	horizontal pair - imperf. between, perf. 14	-	-
RH93e	H93e	horizontal strip of three - imperf. between, perf. 11	-	-
RH93f	H93f	horizontal strip of three - imperf. between, perf. 14	-	-
RH93g	H93g	vertical pair - imperf. between, perf. 11	-	-
RH93h	H93h	vertical pair - imperf. between, perf. 14	-	-
RH94	H94	20c on 5c red and yellow (ovpt. in green)	15.00	1.80
RH94a	H94a	imperf.	30.00	-
RH94b	H94b	perf. 14	12.00	8.00
RH94c	H94c	horizontal pair - imperf. between, perf. 11	-	-
RH94d	H94d	horizontal pair - imperf. between, perf. 14	-	-
RH94e	H94e	horizontal strip of three - imperf. between, perf. 11	-	-
RH94f	H94f	horizontal strip of three - imperf. between, perf. 14	-	-
RH94g	H94g	vertical pair - imperf. between, perf. 11	-	-
RH94h	H94h	vertical pair - imperf. between, perf. 14	-	-
RH95	H95	30c on 5c red and yellow (ovpt. in red)	24.00	2.00
RH95a	H95a	imperf.	48.00	-
RH95b	H95b	without overprint	30.00	27.50
RH95c	H95c	without overprint and imperf.	48.00	-

 

1934 Postage stamps of 1932-34, overprinted and surcharged as shown. White wove paper, no watermark. Perf. 11.
"Series 3a"   Control number in black on reverse.

RH96	RH97	RH98

 

RH99	RH100

 

RH # Hisc. Description Mint Used RH96 H96 10c on 5c sepia and orange 45.00 5.00 RH97 H97 20c on 5c sepia and orange 40.00 5.00 RH98 H98 30c on 5c sepia and orange 10.00 8.00 RH99 H99 1p on 5c sepia and orange 10.00 6.00 RH100 H100 5p on 5c sepia and orange 4.00 3.00   One way these stamps were used was on receipts. The back of this says: Fomentad los Servicios del Estado (Encourage State Services) Al utilazar el telegrafo facilitais (by using the telegraph facilities) Recursos al tesoro y haceis obra Nacional (You add Treasury resources and do National work) Or something like that. The cancel is not all legible, but includes: GIRO TELIGRAFICO at the top, SHP.(?) ARCO TRIUNFO - BARCELONA at the bottom and in the middle the date of 3 April 1936 with TELEGRAFOS below.

 

1936 Postage stamps of 1936, overprinted and surcharged as before. White wove paper, no watermark. Perf. 16.
"Series 5a - Y "  or "Series 5a - Z " in red and control number in black on reverse.

 

RH #	Hisc.	Description	Mint	Used
RH101	H101	10c on 5c red-brown and blue	45.00	15.00
RH101a	H101a	imperf.	80.00	-

 

 

1936 to 1938 As the 1934 series, but "Series 4a", no watermark. Perf. 11.
Control number in black on reverse.

RH102	RH103	RH103b	RH104

RH # Hisc. Description Mint Used RH102 H102 10c on 5c green and dark brown 1.50 1.50 RH103 H103 20c on 5c orange and brown 8.00 4.00 RH103a H103a         perf. 14 18.00 5.00 RH103b -         Imperf, no gum, no control. 12.00 - RH103c -         Imperf between horizontal pair. Perf.16 25.00 - RH104 H104 20c on 5c green and dark brown 1.50 1.50 I can't help thinking that my example of RH103c on the left looks rather dubious, however the back has control numbers and gum. The image is part of a block of four.

 

1941 New design. White wove paper, no watermark. Perforations in the range of  9½ to 11½ horizontally and vertically, independently.
Control numbers on reverse.

Hiscocks Type 19 - RH105  (Perf. 11½)	Hiscocks Type 19 - RH106  (Perf. 11½x9½)	Hiscocks Type 19 - RH106  (Perf. 10¾)

 

Hiscocks Type 19 - RH107  (Perf. 10¾x11½)	Hiscocks Type 19 - RH108	Hiscocks Type 19 - RH108  (Perf. 11½)

 

RH #	Hisc.	Description	Mint	Used
RH105	H105	10c brown	1.50	0.50
RH105a	H105a	imperf.	8.00	-
RH105b	H105b	perf. 16	7.50	-
RH106	H106	20c black	1.50	0.50
RH106a	H106a	imperf.	8.00	-
RH106b	H106b	perf. 16	7.50	-
RH107	H107	30c blue	2.00	0.80
RH107a	H107a	imperf.	10.00	-
RH108	H108	1p violet	3.00	2.50
RH108a	H108a	imperf.	15.00	-

John Barefoot illustrates a perf.16 stamp(H105b).
The perforations are a bit irregular, it is possible to measure 10½ at the top, but nearer to 11 at the bottom.

 

1942-1945 Stock Exchange tax stamp and the types above, overprinted in black as shown.
White wove paper, no watermark. H109 is Perf.11, the others as described above.   Control numbers on reverse.

Type 20 - RH109   Perf.11	Type 19A - RH111   Perf.10¾	Type 19A - RH112	Type 19A - RH113   Perf.10½x11

Type 19A - †RH114a  courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht

 

RH #	Hisc.	Type.	Description	Mint	Used
RH109	H109	T20	10c on 11.25c violet	12.00	2.50
RH109a	H109a		imperf.	10.00	-
?RH109b	-		imperf. - overprint inverted	-	-
?RH110	-	T19A	10c on 20c black	-	-
RH111	H110	T19A	10c on 30c blue	35.00	10.00
RH111a	H110a		imperf.	63.00	-
RH111b	H110b		error - overprint in red	70.00	-
?RH111c	-		imperf. error - overprint in red	-	-
?RH111d	-		imperf. error - overprint inverted	-	-
RH112	H111	T19A	20c on 1p violet	70.00	10.00
RH112a	H111a		imperf.	100.00	-
RH113	H112	T19A	30c on 10c brown	150.00	15.00
RH113a	H112a		imperf.	140.00	-
RH113b	H112b		Perf. 16	100.00	10.00
?RH113c	-		error - overprint inverted	-	-
?RH113d	-		error - overprint in red	-	-
?RH113e	-		imperf. error - overprint in red	-	-
†RH114	-	T19A	30c on 20c black	-	-
†RH114a	-		imperf.	-	-
?RH115	-	T19A	40c on 20c black - imperf. overprint in red-orange	-	-
?RH116	-	T19A	50c on 20c black - imperf. overprint in carmine	-	-

† These are apparently listed in the Specialised Michel Catalogue as numbers 21 and 21a - see image above.

? These have been added due to items listed on Delcampe by Phildom_domfil. They all have certificates issued by Francisco Graus of Barcelona.
I cannot help wondering about the status of these.

There were other values of Type 20, variously overprinted, but apparently they were not issued.

Three examples courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht.

 

1945 New Stock Exchange stamps (Type 21) overprinted and surcharged as Type 22.
White wove paper, no watermark. Perf. 11 x 11½.   Control numbers on reverse in black.

Type 22 overprint	RH117	RH118 - courtesy of John Barefoot	RH119

 

RH120	RH121	RH122	RH123

 

RH #	Hisc.	Type.	Description	Mint	Used
RH117	H113	T21, 22	10c on 25c orange	15.00	-
*RH118	-	T21, 22	10c on 1P50c red and pale blue	-	-
RH119	H114	T21, 22	10c on 37P50c blue and yellow	15.00	-
RH120	H115	T21, 22	20c on 25c orange	15.00	-
RH121	H116	T21, 22	20c on 37P50c blue and yellow	15.00	-
RH122	H117	T21, 22	30c on 25c orange	15.00	-
RH123	H118	T21, 22	30c on 37P50c blue and yellow	15.00	-

*John Barefoot also lists a 10c on 1P50c red on pale blue for the same price, but I have not seen this. Hiscocks left H119 vacant.
Since I am re-numbering, I will reserve a space for it. Anyone have a scan.

 

 

Valencia

 

1963 Thick white wove paper. No watermark. Perf. 13¼. No control numbers. Sheets of 100 (10 x 10).
Imprint of F.N.M.T. - This stands for Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre, the Spanish Mint.
A compulsory surcharge to raise money for diverting the river Turia, obligatory on certain days.

Hiscocks Type 23

RH #	Hisc.	Type.	Description	Mint	Used
RH124	H120	T23	50c reddish brown	1.00	0.50

 

Villada (Palencia)

 

1901 Lithographed on white wove paper. No watermark. Perf. 11½.
Sheets of 4 x 5, imperf. around outer edges so that only 6 stamps per sheet (30%) are fully perforated. These are thus worth a small premium.

Hiscocks Type 24

RH #	Hisc.	Type.	Description	Mint	Used
RH125	H121	T24	5c black	10.00	10.00
RH126	H122	T24	10c blue	25.00	25.00
RH127	H123	T24	50c red	10.00	10.00
RH127a	H123a	T24	dark red	12.50	12.50
RH128	H124	T24	1p brown-lilac	25.00	25.00
RH128a	H124a	T24	lilac red	25.00	25.00
RH128b	H124b	T24	brown-violet	25.00	25.00

 

Three 1p stamps scanned together.

H128 described as 'CASTAÑO LILA' (brown-lilac)	H128a ? described as 'CASTAÑO' (brown)	H128b ? described as 'CASTAÑO OSCURO' (dark brown)

There is also some variability of the numerals on these.

 

 

Andalucia Railway Telegraph Stamps.

Ferro Carril Andaluces.

 

1883 Typographed on white wove paper. No watermark. Imperf.
Thin border lines on all sides.

RH1 - courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht.	RH1a - (Nùm for Núm, accent points up to left) courtesy of Soleryllach.com.

RH2 - courtesy of Soleryllach.com.	RH2 (Núm with accent pointing up to right)	RH2a (Nùm for Núm, accent points up to left) courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht.

 

RH #	Hisc.	Type.	Description	Mint	Used
RH1	H1	T1	10c blue	30.00	20.00
RH1a	-		Nùm for Núm	-	-
RH2	H2	T1	1p brown-red	40.00	30.00
RH2a	-		Nùm for Núm	-	-

 

1886 As above but perf. 13½

RH3 - courtesy of Soleryllach.com.	RH3a - courtesy of Estudi Filatelic	RH3b (Nùm for Núm) - Lost in post

RH4 (but all horizontal lines broken)	RH4 - courtesy of Soleryllach.com.

 

RH #	Hisc.	Type.	Description	Mint	Used
RH3	H3	T1	10c blue-black	50.00	30.00
RH3a	H3a		pale blue	150.00	80.00
RH3b	-		Nùm for Núm	-	-
RH4	H4	T1	1p red	60.00	15.00

 

1892(?) As above but with thick lines on right and lower sides.


RH5

RH #	Hisc.	Type.	Description	Mint	Used
RH5	H5	T1	10c black	100.00	60.00
RH6	H6	T1	1p brown-red	200.00	120.00

 

1894(?) As above but with thick lines on all sides. Perf. 13¼

RH7 (accent of ú in público normally pointing up to the right), broken 'f'.	RH7a (pùblico for público) courtesy of Soleryllach.com.	RH7a (pùblico for público) courtesy of Soleryllach.com.

RH8	RH8a (pùblico for público) (accent pointing up to left)	RH8b - courtesy of Estudi Filatelic (no dot after Núm)

 

RH #	Hisc.	Type.	Description	Mint	Used
RH7	H7	T1	10c dark blue	20.00	15.00
RH7a	-		pùblico for público	-	-
RH8	H8	T1	10c ultramarine	30.00	20.00
RH8a	-		pùblico for público	-	-
RH8b	-		no dot after Núm	-	-
RH9	-	T1	1p brown-red	100.00	80.00

 

Hiscocks added the following 2 notes:

Note. 1 These stamps were numbered from 1 to 100 in the sheet.

Note. 2 These stamps are variable in detail - missing accents.                 punctuation etc.

 

 

Ferro Carril de Baeza a Algeciras.

 

1883 As above but "F.C. de B. á A". Perf. 11½.
Anyone have a scan ?

RH #	Hisc.	Type.	Description	Mint	Used
RH10	H9	(T1)	5c black	250.00	-
RH11	H10	(T1)	10c yellow-green	250.00	-
RH12	H11	(T1)	50c sky blue	250.00	-
RH13	H12	(T1)	1p dark red-brown	250.00	-

Hiscocks added the following 2 notes:

Note. 1 Notes 1 and 2 above apply.

Note. 2 The issue dates of Nos. 3-12 are in doubt.                 Modern Spanish catalogues give 1883 for all issues                 but a reference of 1893 gives 1883 for the imperf.                 and 1886 for the perforated and refers to the thick                 line type (Nos. 5 and 6) as a recent innovation.

 

 

plazas de soberanía

("places of sovereignty")

I have only recently become aware of these, analogous to the British enclave of Gibraltar, Spain had its' own enclaves from early days on the North African coast.
Like Gibraltar, they were very defensible. I really do not know if they ever used telegraph stamps, but I do know that Ceuta and Melilla had wireless telegraph sets by 1906.



If they used stamps at all, they would probably have been from the Spanish mainland rather than from Morocco and may or may not have been identifiable by cancellation.
Worth looking out for, but probably very rare to non-existent.

 

 

1900 Hoja Telegrafica

This appears to be a combination of a telegraph version of a 1900-05 King Afonso XIII postage stamp (Scott 284),
with a replacement for the 1898 War Tax stamp (Scott MR27).

There was also a 50c + 5c version in grey for sale on Delcampe recently listed as a proof.
Richard Ballhagen tells me that it is listed in an old Galvez catalogue of 1946, along with the 50c + 5c type and was apparently on telegraph stationery.
I now have Galvez, 1951 and it is on page 151. They presumably cover the cost of the telegram plus a 5c tax on it.

 
Here are two examples used in Alicante. The 1P is significantly darker than the one above, so perhaps that is a proof.

Two more examples courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht.
 

 

RH#	Hisc.	Description	Entire Sheet		Cutouts
			Mint	Used	Mint	Used
RH-S1	-	50c + 5c blue	125.00	-	15.00	7.50
RH-S2	-	1P + 5c carmine	100.00	-	15.00	7.50

Anyone have an image of a complete form using these ?

 

 

Hoja de Reintegro (Repayment sheet).

The earliest examples that I have seen of this usage is 5 April 1951 as shown below.
Images courtesy of GloriaErcole on Delcampe. (click images for listing)
The stamps are cancelled with the date and "CADIZ" in separate operations. Spacing between them is variable.


Some of the writing may be under the stamps, but what is visible reads :
"La presente carpeta va renitegrada[SIC] con sellos de Telégrafos por va de CUATROCIENTAS OCHENTA Y NUEVE pesetas con NOVENTAICCINCO centimo
que unidas a las CUATRO MIL TRESCIENTAS pesetas de las anteriores cen CUATRO MIL SETECIENTAS OCHENTA Y NUEVE pesetas con NOVENTA Y C[INCO]
centimos importe total de la especial de TRANSRADIO ESPAÑOLA S.A. el servicio extraeuropeo expedido en Puerto de Santa María durant
el mes de Julio de 1.950             Cádiz 5 de Abril de 1.951"
A translation (with much help from Google) goes something like :
"This folder is returned with Telegraph stamps for FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-NINE pesetas and NINETY-FIVE cent
that together with the FOUR THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED pesetas of the previous cen FOUR THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED EIGHTY NINE pesetas with NINETY FIVE
cents total amount of the special of TRANSRADIO ESPAÑOLA S.A. the extra-European service issued in Puerto de Santa María during
the month of July 1950                  Cádiz April 5, 1951"


Stapled to it is an itemised listing. The side of that has a printers imprint.

 

The next examples that I have seen of this usage is 30 April 1951 as shown below.
This is also courtesy of GloriaErcole on Delcampe. (click images for listing)


The wording is similar, though with no mention of Transradio Española.


There are stamps on the front and back. They are all cancelled with the date, but only those on the back (20 x 30c) have additionally "BARCELONA".
The total adds up to 210P 75c.

It is clear that these need a lot of stamps, mostly high value ones. That is probably why the next type was brought into existence.

 

 

1951? Litho. White wove paper with security lines on the front.
Space for additional adhesives on the back.

These were perhaps used for repayment of telegram or telephone bills. the impressed stamp on the front is the same size and design as the adhesive stamps.
These appear to have been sold in the form of large sheets having at least 9 'Fraccions' that were subsequently cut from it, completed and signed to repay the cost of telegrams.
Up to 8 additional stamps can be added on the back of one out of a batch. Each was intended for part or whole of a month and I have seen used ones from 1951 to 1955.
They are embossed with a circular 'TELECOMUNICACION' seal in a similar design to the Telegraph stamp.
These seem to be ideally suited for paying telephone bills also, but they have a field labelled "Núm. de telegramas".
An imprint at the bottom of the front reads "FCA. NAL. DE MONEDA Y TIMBRE".

 
Front and back of the 50p value at 75dpi. This is dated October 1951 and was one of two cards used to pay 164Pt50 for 102 telegrams.
I am not sure of the significance of the 'Fraccion del pliego', but this is 9A, as marked on the back as well as on the front. I have also seen 1A, 4A, 6A and 7A.

 
Front of a 100p value dated November 1951 at 75dpi and a closeup (300dpi) of the Telecomunicacion 'seal' that each of these bear (courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht).
This was used for part of the payment of 132897Pt80 that required a total of 137 cards to pay.

Some helpful translations:
Fraccion del pliego = Fraction of sheet
Hoja de Reintegro. = Repayment sheet
A dicha carpeta se unen. = Joined in folder
(they seemed to have been stapled in batches for a particular bill)
hojas con el siguiente detalle: = sheets detailed below
Sellos adheridos al dorso de la Hoja no 1 = Stamps attached to the back of sheet 1
Lugar para los timbres complementarios = Place for supplementary stamps

     
50p to 1000p values of impressed stamps at 300dpi.

RH#	Hisc.	Type.	Description	Mint	Used
RH-R1	-	T1	50p green and dark green on pink security lines	-	10.00
RH-R2	-	T1	100p blue and grey-blue on yellow security lines	-	12.00
RH-R3	-	T1	500p red and scarlet on mauve security lines	-	15.00
RH-R4	-	T1	1000p brown and sepia on slate security lines	-	20.00

The back of a 500p sheet (at 150dpi) with 48p10 worth of the standard adhesives, cancelled with a fairly distinctive mark for Oviedo dated 31 March 1955.
John Barefoot states that the perforated stamps were withdrawn 1st January 1952, but they clearly still had a use after that.

 

 

The only examples I have with stamps added to the back were used in Oviedo, but I think this was used similarly in Aguilas with the date of 6/9/51 written by hand in blue underneath.
I could be wrong of course. Image courtesy of Bob Bidner, I have added the red-channel image as it may make the date clearer.

 

 

These images come from SoleryLlach.com
   
   

The Lot (444) is described as "ESPAÑA: TELEGRAFOS. 1973. HOJA DE REINTEGRO DE TASAS TELEGRÁFICAS. Libro de Muestra con billetes de 50 pts. hasta 1.000.000(en total 11) con numeración 0.000.000. RARÍSIMO."
So these would seem to be in a 1973 sample booklet of 11, from 50pts to 1,000,000 pts, of which 6 are illustrated. The 'stamps' printed on them are telegraphic in style, but have no country or purpose marked on them.
They are though cancelled with "NULO" across them. They are all numbered 0000000 and variously marked 'SEGUNDA', 'CUARTA', 'QUINTA', 'OCTAVA' and 'NOVENA'.
They also appear to have the same imprint at the bottom reading "FCA. NAL. DE MONEDA Y TIMBRE", but I have no idea of the size or what, if anything, is on the back.
I also do not know if these were put into use or what, if anything came between these and the type shown above.
At the time of writing (25 November 2021), these are still available at €500.

 

'Huérfanos de Telégrafos' and 'Hogar Telégrafico' stamps.

These mean 'Telegraph Orphan' and 'Telegraph Home' respectively and were charity stamps intended
to raise money for dependents of deceased telegraph workers.
According to Hiscocks, these were optional and he therefore did not list them.
It should perhaps be pointed out though that failure to pay would be a little like
failing to tip at a restaurant. It may affect your service next time.

Huérfanos de Telégrafos example on Telegram receipt. "Aportacion Voluntaria" at the bottom-right means "Voluntary contribution". Image courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht.		Hogar Telégrafico example. When these were used on telegraph forms, they could be perfin cancelled along with the telegraph stamp. This at Bilbao.   Images courtesy of Jeff Turnbull.

 

 

Telephone stamps.

In 1884 A royal decree establishes a state monopoly over all telephone services.
In 1886 the take-over of phone service by private companies is authorized due to lack of interest on the part of the Spanish government.
20 April 1896 An intercity telephone line between Barcelona, Saragossa and Madrid is inaugurated.

 

National Intercity Northeast Telephone Network.

1905? Photo. White wove paper. No watermark. Perf. 11¾. Red control number in front bottom right.

Head of the manager María Cristina

RH #	Hisc.	Type.	Description	Mint	Used
RH-T1	-	T1	3 Minutes yellow brown	310.00	-

There is no mention of Telephone stamps in the Galvez Catalogue.
As of January 2018, I am also told by Formafil Club Filatelia that the Edifil Catalogue does not list it.
This is line-perforated and gummed, so is unlikely to be a proof, I find it strange that I can find no other references to it.

UPDATE: I have now(8 December 2022) seen another one where it has already been sold. It is the same, except it has selvedge at the bottom and is numbered 58.
My information about the date and owner of the head comes from there, so they clearly have information from somewhere.
I can see no obvious way to talk to them. Perhaps it is now in Edifil. They say it is catalogued at €500.
Anyone have further information on these ?