Big Blue 1840-1940: Uruguay

A is for Aden and Z is for Zanzabar

Thursday, May 21, 2026

Uruguay - Bud's Big Blue

1877-80 Uruguay in Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Observations

(From Jim: Bud is well, but has a lot of non philatelic obligations and responsibilities at the moment. With his permission, I will upload country pages in his complete '69 Big Blue that so far has not been shown. He might add his observations later. Enjoy!)

Jim's Observations

Uruguay, the second smallest country in South America, is located in the temperate southeastern region, and is bordered by Argentina and Brazil.

The country first became independent in 1828 with British support.

Government stamps were issued in 1859, resembling the private carrier stagecoach (Diligencia) stamps of 1856-58 (Soles de Montevideo (Montevideo Suns)).

The 2014 Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940 catalogue has, for Uruguay 1856-1944, 843 descriptive numbers. Of those, 578 are CV <$1-$1+, or 69%. Clearly, Uruguay is an inexpensive country to collect, in general, for WW collectors.

A fly in the ointment is the earlier issues can be found forged. The genuines were printed with lithography, which is also the playground of the counterfeiters.

Also, the earlier "Carrier" issues (1856-58: Scott 1-6) are expensive (CV $120-$2,700+), and are really specialist's territory.

Big Blue '69, on nine pages, has 298 spaces for the regular, postage due, parcel post, special delivery, semi-postal, official, and air post categories. Coverage is 35%.

Coverage is adequate, but not generous.

BB only has two stamp spaces that require $10 CV.

For ore on the stamps themselves, click on the link below.

Uruguay Blog Post & BB Checklist

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