ALFONSO XIII - BABY HEAD stamps of the PHILIPPINES
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Telegraph surcharge
1897 blank Telegraph surcharge on 1894 20c violet telegraph stamp
Although not a surcharge for postal use, the telegraph surcharge is included here to aid study and reference of the 1897 surcharges.
In 1897, surcharges were applied to some of the babyhead issues for official postal usage to make available the remainders of obsolete issues which had previously been withdrawn from use. For this reason, the new value surcharged is generally the same as that of the original stamp itself.
A telegraph overprint was also employed and were produced in Manila. The surcharge reads: HABILITADO TELEGRAFOS PARA 1897 (Authorised for telegraph 1897).
It is not clear whether there was a also a shortage of telegraph stamps such that this surcharge was needed.
Forgeries of this stamp exist, but most examples appear to be genuine. A reprint is known to exist on what is referred to as a trial sheet on the 25c brown postal issue.
blank telegraph surcharge on 1894 20c violet telegraph stamp
partial sheet of 30 (from Iberphil 2024 auction)
last updated 13 October 2024
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