The 'cents' 1E3 and 1E4 'Servicio Oficial'

This sample is from a batch I have just received. Here are the 1c, 2c, and 3c Gray 1E3 issues.



The 2c has poor color control, atypical for such an infrequently used stamp.





Here is the watermark.



These two 2c used specimens show additional color variations.



This strip may be 1E4, but I am not sure of it.





These 3cSMGy1E3-SO shows variations in the overprint.









Here is a 3cSMGy1E4-SO

The 20c Small Format Cattle 'Servicio Oficial'

These two printings are on the 1L1 paper. The light blue printing, shown below, is approxiamtely 10 times less common than the dark blue printing.



Here are two shades of the dark blue printing.





This strip shows small variation in the relative placement of the two rows of the overprint.

The clay printing of the 25c 'Servicio Oficial'

To date I have classified this stamp as a CL2B, but upon closer inspection, I find that this is a different clay paper from 1955. I am calling this stamp the 25cCL3-SO from here onwards. This stamp was not issued as a regular printing. If you come across one without the overprint it is a proof or a very rare missing overprint example.



This strip of the 25cCL3-SO has variations of the overprint and an unverified plate variety.

Less common issues of the 25c 'Servicio Oficial'

The 1E3 and 1E4 printings are the most common. Here are the others.

1E2, reasonably uncommon but not as rare as the 50c1E2-SO.



NGR, reasonably uncommon but not as rare as the 50cNGR-SO. Here are two shades.





NOP, just as rare as the 50cNOP-SO.



1L 'dark'



Here is the watermark. This stamp is a 1L2. There is a second 1L printing with a very light pink color that is rare. I did not find any in the large sample I am using here that I recently acquired.

Vanishing sun on the 25c 'Servicio Oficial'

I have shown these before for the regular issue. This variety is found on one of the 1E3 printings. Here are two specimens showing a vanishing sun. It seems that when the variety was listed as 'missing sun' high magnification and digital filtering were not available. Once these two techniques are used, it is clear that there are a few dots for the rays of the sun that are visible.







Here is a second specimen.

The 1E4 printings of the 25c 'Servicio Oficial'

I find these in a narrower range of shades than the range for the 1E3. This range of printings is two to four times LESS common than the 1E3 range of printings.

Light pink.



Medium pink.



Slightly darker pink.

The 1E3 printings of the 25c 'Servicio Oficial'

The wide range of 1E3 colors of the 25c 'Servicio Oficial' is the same as that I have already shown for the regular issue. Some 1E3s have lighter colors...



And a small number have dark colors.





There are also a few specimens that show a pink shadow on the back of the stamp.





Here is a 1E3 that seems to have printed over a particle of dirt.

Watermark curiosities on the 25c 'Servicio Oficial'

I find some stamps with a very porous paper with the same watermark grid as the 1E3. Here is an example.



I also find a 1E3 specimen with an oval surrounding the RA instead of a circle.

Impossible dates on the 25c 'Servicio Oficial'

September 11, 1912 (I guess the correct year is 1942, since this is a 1E4 specimen).



Unreadable day in February 1934 (I guess the correct year is 1944, since this is a 1E3 specimen).

The 1E1 issue of the 25c 'Servicio Oficial'

This stamp is consistent with the clear impression of the 1E1 printing and the 1E1 watermark, with a notable exception: these stamps were used in 1939 and 1940 and the paper is bright white. The 1E1 paper is cream. My educated guess is that a different pulp was used.



Here is a scan of the watermark.



Here is a specimen postmarked in May 1939.



This specimen has gaps in the overprint.





This specimen has the 2 of 25 deformed. To date, I have not confirmed this flaw as a repeatable plate variety.