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Buenos Aires Numerals



Type I, the old format and mostly phased out during 1936



Provincial Capitals

a few plate varieties of the 50c

The ones mentioned here are for the plate used beginning in 1949. The variety with the V of CENTAVOS deformed is likely found more than once on the plate, judging by how common it is. The variety with the outer line upper left corner clipped is repetitive since I find more than one on the same block. This strip also shows the variety with a dot after MAR.



first stamp left to right



third stamp left to right



What makes me think that a new plate was introduced in 1949 is that the issues from that year, the 2C or Straight Rays, share plate varieties with the later issues, and the issues from 1948, on the unwatermarked opaque paper (NOP) and before do not.

Here is a 2C with the variety with the outer line upper left corner clipped



detail



Here is a variety I found several years ago as well as in the large lot I have been exmining lately. I only find it on the 1L3 from 1955, the printing with a bright yellow background.

The 14 types of the 50c

Here they are, from 1,400 used specimens. Scott has three types... Watch out for the 1L5, it is super rare!

1E1, issued January 1936.



1E2, from 1937



1E3, from 1939 to 1944



1E4, from 1940



1E5, from 1943/44, rare, small RA



NGR, from 1945



NOP, unwatermarked opaque from 1947/48



2C, Straight Rays from 1949



CL2, clay from 1952



1L1, from 1951, deep orange background



1L2, from 1952, pale red, medium to gigantic RA, poorly defined



1L3, from 1955/56, bright white paper and deep yellow background



1L4, similar to 1L2, with a partially visible watermark



1L5, similar to 1L2, white Zarate, rare

a plate variety of the 50c

This one is on the first plate, and this specimen is on the 1E1, the first paper, of 1936.

Closeups of 1Ls

Two 1L1 specimens with horizontal lines in the watermark.



Several 1L2 specimens.





A Zarate 1L5 specimen with 1L3 specimens to the left and the right.

Two NGR plate varieties

Reference NOP Specimen

There are two types of NGR

Thanks to the listing by Dario Bardi, I learned of two directions of this paper, which I have verified. Here is a comparison scan.



NGR-LR, longer grooves horizontally left to right



NGR-UD, longer grooves vertically up and down

50c dated specimen back scans

From 1400 of these stamps, I selected 105 lightly and clearly dated specimens. Here are the scans. This is my first take at the thorough classification of Dario Bardi.









These are the totals for the papers.

I do not find any 1E5's even though I think I should.

1E1..8; 1E2..1; 1E3..10; 1E4..2

I have just learned from Dario Bardi that there are two types of NGR (longer grooves horizontally left to right, or vertical up and down); hence the additional letters added to NGR here.

NGR-UD..10; NGR-LR..2

I don't have enough NOPs to distinguish the two types (matte and shiny) mentioned in the publication by Dario Bardi.

NOP..1; 2C-H..5; 2C-V..4; CL2..2

I do not find the 1L1 Dario Bardi mentions with vertical lines. All of the 1L1 specimens I find are aligned with horizontal lines. The stamp I have previously referred to as 1L4 is either rare, or a variation of the 1L5. The 1L2 is a very common stamp, receiving heavy use in 1952.

1L1..13; 1L2..34; 1L3..6; 1L5..7

About the placement of RA in 1E's, only the 1E4 paper has a horizontal placement of the watermark. The other three (1E1, 1E2, and 1E4) have vertical placements. I seem to not agree with Dario Bardi because he has two vertical and two horizontal placements in his listing that is equivalent to my 1E's. I have yet to look at the 1E5's that Dario Bardi finds, and I have for the 25c value.

Reference scans of the 1L papers

These multiples are a representative sample of the 1L papers for the more common large format values.

30c; The white paper specimens seem to be printed on a paper that is similar in porosity to the bright white Straight Rays (2C) paper



40c; The 40c also seems to have been printed on the porous 1L paper I have yet to catalog.







50c;



2p; This stamp was printed during the 1950s on at least one paper that seems to be unique to this value.





This stamp was also commonly printed on the dark 'Zarate' 1L5 for which the watermark is barely visible.