Colombia 1871-1883 - a closer look

1877 Scott 73 5c purple "Condor"

Into the Deep Blue
We are continuing our closer look at the classical era stamps of Colombia.

Here are some previous post links.....

Colombia 1859-1870 - a closer look
Bud's Big Blue - Colombia

This blog post will look at the 1871-1883 era. All the issues are lithographic, and therefore counterfeits and reprints are still a concern.

But a vexing issue for the collector are the designs which often are quite similar. The "Coat of Arms" design continues to be a common motif. We will try to point out the differences.

A Closer Look
100 Centavos = 1 Peso

1872 Scott 66 1c green "Arms"

The  1871-74 issue (Scott 66-69) on thin porous paper consists of three denominations, three designs, four major numbers, but eleven spaces in Steiner for significant minor numbers.

The 1c denomination has three colors (green, rose, carmine).

This example appears to be genuine. The counterfeit - reprint has no cross bar in the "A" of "COLOMBIA". Another forgery does not have the "UU" joined at top.

1871 Scott 68a 2c red brown

The 2c denomination can be found in brown and red brown colors.

The counterfeit-reprint has scratches across "DOS". Another forgery has "EF" instead of "EE".

CV for the issue is a modest $1+ to $3+.

1874 Scott 69 10c violet "Arms"

Type I

The 10c denomination has two significant types. Let's look at the difference.

Type I: "S" of CORREOS  2 1/2 mm high

First "N" of NACIONALES small

Type I is as above.

1874 Scott 69b 10c violet "Arms"

Type II

Both types have identical CVs: $2+

Type II: "S" of CORREOS  2 mm high

First "N" of NACIONALES wide

Type II is shown above.

What surprises me is why Scott does not give each type a major number - they certainly deserve it.

1877 Scott 74 10c bister brown 

"Liberty Head"

The 1877 issue (six stamps) on wove paper shows off the condor (Header stamp with this post) and the "Liberty Head". The "Liberty Head" 10c reveals the possibilities for color variations. Here...bister brown.

1877 Scott 74a 10c red brown

"Liberty Head"

Then there is red brown.

1877 Scott 74b 10c violet brown

"Liberty Head"

And finally violet brown. The color vats clearly varied widely. ;-)

1877 Scott 75 20c blue "Liberty Head"

The 20c blue is, in my opinion, a very striking stamp.

1877 Scott 79 10p black/rose "Arms", redrawn

The "redrawn" version of the ten peso black/rose stamp have stars that are distinctly five pointed. CV is a modest $2+.

1881 Scott 95 20c blue "Liberty Head"

Blue Wove Paper

A group of stamps were printed on blue wove paper on 1881, as this 20c blue illustrates. CV for this specimen is $3+.

1881 Scott 103 1c green "Arms"

The 1881 four denomination issue is an example of a need for close inspection.

1881 Scott 103 1c green Close-up

The period before "UNION" is round and there

are rays between the stars and condor

The 1c green is characterized as described above. CV for the issue is $1+ - $4.

1883 Scott 112 1c green "Arms"

Then there is the 1883 "Redrawn" four denomination issue - a close "doppelganger" to the 1881 issue that requires attention to detail. (Sorry about the lack of umlaut over the "a",)

The 1883 issue has a CV of $1 to $4+.

1883 Scott 112 1c green Close-up

The period before "UNION" is square and 

the rays between the stars and condor have been

 wholly or partly erased

Note the difference. In this particular example, there is also a printing lacunae next to the square period.

1881 Scott 104 2c vermilion "Arms"

The "2's" and "C's" in the corners are placed upright

The 1881 2c vermilion can also be found with minor number "rose". 

1883 Scott 113 2c rose "Arms"

The "2's" and "C's" in the corners are placed diagonally

Compare the 1881 stamp with the 1883 2c rose here with the diagonal markings.

1881 Scott 106 5c blue "Arms"

The last star at the right almost touches the frame

The 1881 5c blue has a star on the right well clear of the condor wing, and the wing touches the frame.

1883 Scott 114a 5c ultramarine "Arms"

The last star at the right touches

the wing of the condor

The 1883 5c ultramarine (shown here in the 1883 minor number color) has the star on the right touching the condor wing, and the wing is not well printed at the frame.

1881 Scott 107 10c violet "Arms"

The letters of the inscription are thin; there

are rays between the stars and condor

The 1881 10c violet is as described above. Note the right wing does not touch the frame.

1883 Scott 115 10c violet "Arms"

The letters of the inscription are thick; there

are no rays under the stars;  and last star at

the right touches the wing of the condor and 

this wing touches the frame

The 1883 10c violet as described above. I don't think all of the inscription letters are thicker, but some of them are (Note the "A" in "COLOMBIA" and compare).

I suspect there is plenty of mistakes made with the 1881 and 1883 "redrawn" issues in many collections. But now you know. ;-)

1881 Scott 109 1c black/green 

"Liberty Head"

The "Liberty Head" is a popular stamp design motif among many South American countries.

Besides the 1877 issue for Colombia, there was a three stamp issue in 1881 with the "Liberty Head" design.

CV is $1+-$3+.

(Note: This particular 1c might be a reprint, as the characteristic is that the top horizontal frame line continues on to the left, as this does.)

You should have noted that all the regular issue 1859-1883 stamps so far have been imperforate.

1883 Scott 118 5c blue/bluish "Arms"

Perforated

In 1883 a seven denomination perforated issue was released. The perfs are 10 1/2, 12, 13 1/2, but Scott gives no more detail. Actually, the Steiner pages have fourteen spaces for the issue, as a number of Scott minor number varieties are represented.

CV for the issue is $1-$3+, although minor numbers are more.

There are three spaces in Steiner for the 5c denomination, each for a color variation. The major number is blue/bluish. It is perhaps not as obvious with the scan here, but my eyes see the bluish paper when examining the stamp.

 1883 Scott 118a 5c dark blue/bluish "Arms"

Perforated

The second color variation is dark blue/bluish. The bluish paper color is quite pronounced.

1883 Scott 118b 5c blue "Arms"

Perforated

The third color variation is blue on ordinary (cream) paper.

By the way, this is the last regular issue for the "United States of Colombia". The issue of 1886 is for the "Republic of Colombia".

1883 Scott 122 50c brown/buff 

"Arms of Colombia"

Out of the Blue
Considering the many variations found for each issue during the classical era, Colombia is a fascinating country for philatelists.  And the cataIogue values tend to be modest. I suspect, unlike many European countries, there are still many unexplored avenues open to today's collector.

Comments appreciated!