Introduction To Philippine Stamps And Topical/Thematic Stamp Collecting
First Topical Stamps Of The Republic Period
Philippine postage history can be divided
into 6 periods: the Spanish period, the Revolutionary period, the US Administration period, the Commonwealth period, the Japanese
Occupation period and the Republic period. The Republic period begins in 1946 and continues up to the present day.
The issuance of stamps during the first 25 years of the Republic period
was dominated by postage issues on Philippine nationalism. Stamps on heroes, historical events, coat of arms, famous Filipinos,
presidents and the like were issued in abundance from the 1940's up to the early 1970's. Along the way, a number of topical
stamps were issued. The issues were few and far between. Some of these stamps were the first topical stamps
of the Republic period.
| Bicycle Stamp |
|
| Mint Set Of 1 Stamp - December 22, 1947 |
The first "bicycle stamp" of the Republic
period was issued on December 22, 1947. It was a special delivery stamp with a perforation of 12 and a denomination of 20
centavos. The first "flower stamp" was issued on December 8, 1948. It had a perforation of 12 1/2 and a denomination
of 3 centavos. The featured flower was the sampaguita and the title of the issue was "Flower Day, Sampaguita."
| Horse Stamps |
|
| Mint Set Of 2 Stamps -December 2, 1949 |
| Sampaguita Stamp |
|
| Mint Set Of 1 Stamp - December 8, 1948 |
The first "horse stamp" of the Republic period was issued on December 2,
1949. The issue was a set of 2 stamps and the stamps' design featured Gregorio del Pilar riding on a horse. The set was issued
to commemorate the 50th death anniversary of Gen. del Pilar and fifty-two of his men at Tirad Pass. It had a perforation of
12 and two denominations: 2 centavos and 4 centavos. The first "fish stamp" was issued on October 23, 1952. The issue
was a set of 2 stamps with a perforation of 12 1/2 and two denominations: 5 centavos and 6 centavos. The featured fish
was the milkfish or "bangus" as it was (and still is) known locally.
| Basketball Stamp |
|
| November 30, 1960 |
| Fish Stamp |
|
| Mint Set Of 2 Stamps - October 23, 1952 |
The first "basketball stamp" was issued
in 1934 while the first "basketball stamp" of the Republic period was issued on November 30, 1960. The stamp was part of a
set of 4 stamps that was issued to publicize the 17th olympic games. It had a perforation of 13 by 13 1/2 and a
denomination of 6 centavos.
The first "orchid stamp" of the Republic
period was issued on March 9, 1962. The set consisted of 4 se-tenant stamps and 4 imperforate stamps in block format.
*The se-tenant block was the first of its kind in Philippine postage history, and it was one of the earliest and most beautiful
se-tenant issues in modern postage history. The stamps had a perforation of 13 1/2 by 14 and four denominations: 5 centavos,
6 centavos, 10 centavos and 20 centavos.
| Orchid Stamps - March 9, 1962 |
|
| Se-tenant And Imperforate Blocks |
| Philippine Eagle Stamp |
|
| August 19, 1967 |
The first "Philippine eagle stamp" of the
Republic period was issued on August 19, 1967. The stamp was part of a set of 4 anti-TB semi-postal stamps on birds. During
the 1960's, the Philippine eagle was called the monkey-eating eagle, and this was the name which was printed on the stamp.
The stamp had a perforation of 13 1/2 and a denomination of 5 centavos plus 5 centavos. The first "christmas stamp"
was issued on December 1, 1967. The issue was a set of 2 stamps with a perforation of 13 1/4 and two denominations: 10 centavos
and 40 centavos. The most outstanding feature of the set was the stamps' design which depicted the Holy
Family within a Filipino cultural setting.
| Christmas Stamps |
|
| Mint Set Of 2 Stamps - December 1, 1967 |
These are some of the first topical
stamps of the Republic period in Philippine postage history.
--------------------
*Some philatelists may consider the scouting issue of 1959 as the
first se-tenant issue of the Republic period. The issue had a souvenir sheet of 5 connected stamps with different designs
in strip format. However, this item was (and still is) classified as a souvenir sheet rather than se-tenant stamp.
Without doubt, the orchid stamps of 1962 were se-tenant stamps, and they
were issued in block format instead of the strip format.
Updated: January 19, 2007
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