Guide for Beginners Part 1

Let's say that someone decides to collect this series and does not have a single stamp or cover from it? Which are the first stamps that would help a beginning collector to collect this complex series? I think that a few covers from 1936 and some stamps we know to have been printed on the first paper are a good start. I think combining used stamps and postal history helps a lot because I have found that, despite there being many papers for the entire issue, most were used until supplies were completely exhausted within a year or two of postal use.

The 15c Small Format Cattle on Dark Blue of 1936



The 1 peso with map borders of 1936



The 15cSC-D and 1pL can be found on 1.15 pesos airmail rates to North America and Europe.



The first rule of this series, which has been verified 100 percent, is that all stamps used in 1935 and 1936 are on the 1E1 paper. This paper is cream in color, of medium thickness, has a yellowish gum, and has a ondulating rays watermark with symmetric mesh

In all, there are 24 1E1 regular issue stamps:

1/2c, 1c, 2c, 3cSMGr (San Martin Green), 4cGy (Gray), 5c (offset), 6c, 10cR (types I, II, and III), 12cBR (Brown) 15cSC, 20cJMG (Juan Martin Guemes), 20cMG-L (Martin Guemes Light Blue), 25c, 30c, 40c, 50c, 1pL (with limits), 1p (without limits), 2p, 5p, 10p, and 20p.

There are philatelic covers with the low, or 'cents' values from October 1935, and these contain the complete low range for the 1E1, except for the later types of the 10c Rivadavia Red (types II and III).



The 1E1 high values are generally rare. Any of the large format stamps on a cover with the 1pL from 1936 is guaranteed to be 1E1, such as the 30c and 2 pesos stamps shown here.





One thing worth noting is that all 2 pesos stamps until 1945/46 have a deep burgundy frame color that is not found on any of the later printings.

40c2C plate variety

I do not find this plate variety on any other paper. It is found on the lower stamp of the following pair.





...on the left stamp of this pair





...on the right stamp of this pair





and this single

40cNGR plate variety on two 1948 covers

I find a repetitive plate varieties on two covers from 1948. The first cover has a pair of the 40cNGR.



The plate variety, a gap between the A of REPUBLICA and the first A of Argentina, is found on the left stamp.





I find the same variety on the following cover.

Two official inverted overprint stamps

The first stamp is a 10c Rivadavia Red Type II with inverted M.G. overprint. The stamp is used, and appears genuine. Use departmental officials are considerably more desirable than mint ones. Because mint ones are most likely reminders-these stamps were not sold to collectors-the used ones are the desirable ones.



Here is a detail after a 180 degree rotation.



The second specimen is a 50cNGR-SO.



This stamp has ink from the sheet below it, which means that there are at least two sheets of 100 stamps with this variety, quite likely more. The stamp is mint and appears genuine.



Here is a detail of the overprint.



Here is a detail of the back-printed overprint after a horizontal flip. These two overprints need to match exactly since the sheets were stacked evenly on each other.

Some 25c vertical watermarks

I have finally been able to answer the riddle of the so-called 1E5 watermark I thought I had found on the 25c: it is the 1L6 also found for the 2 pesos! Here is a comparison of this watermark with the 1E2 and 1E4 watermarks. I also show the 1E2 transverse, a rare stamp. Because of how the watermark cylinders were constructed, the 1E2 transverse, or 1E2t, is really a separate watermark.



1E2



1E2t (rare)



1E4



1L6