FIRST ISSUE
COVERS
COSTA RICA
Dr. Carlos Sáenz Mata
HALF REAL STAMP
From San José to Alajuela Date: 1864 Cancellation: San José oval, tied to stamp and also on cover.
Perforation 11.60 x 11.60. Early printing. HALF REAL STAMP
Local use. Date: August 6,1868 Cancellation: San José rhomboid, in addition four small concentric circles. Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
From San José to Nicoya (Guanacaste). Date:April 24, 1869 Cancellation: “Admon. de Correos”
Perforationn 11.9 x 11.9 HALF REAL STAMP
Local use. Date: February 7, 1870. Cancellation: San José rhomboid
Perforation 11.60 x 11.60. Early printing. HALF REAL STAMP
From San José to Cartago. Cancellation: San José rhomboid. Date: 1863, (month unknown)
Perforation 11.6 x 11.6 Very early printing. HALF REAL STAMP
Local use. Date: August 24, 1875. Cancellation: rectangular dated box. (These cancellation were used from1872 to 1873) Perforation 11.9 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
Cancellation: Prephilatelic CARTAGO marking
Cartago to San José. Date: April 21,1863. Early use
Perforation 11.85 x 11.6. HALF REAL STAMP
From Cartago to San José. One real postage made by two half real stamps. Date: June 30,1863 (early use).
Perforation 11.6 x 11.6. (Early use).
Cancellation: CARTAGO HALF REAL STAMP
From Cartago to Alajuela. Date: 1865 Cancellation: Cartago oval.
Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
From Cartago to San José. No date. Cover addressed to President Jesús Jiménez, but it is not kwown if it was mailed while he was president. Cancellation: San José rhomboid tied stamp and Cartago oval on cover. Perforation 11.60 x 11.60. (Early printing) HALF REAL STAMP
From Alajuela to San Ramón. Date: June 14, 1868. Cancellation: Alajuela oval.
Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
From Heredia to San José. Date: 1872. Cancellation: Heredia oval tying stamp on cover.
Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
From Aguacate Mines (Guanacaste) to San José. Date: April 1863 Cancellation: quadrille grill.
Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
From San Ramón to Alajuela. Cancellation: SAN RAMON oval. Date: unknown. SELLO DE MEDIO REAL
From San Ramón to Alajuela. Date: unknown. Cancellation: crossed pen lines.
S. RAMON HALF REAL STAMP
From Liberia to Cartago. Cancellations: Liberia oval on cover and Puntarenas rhomboid tying stamp.
Perforation 11.60 x 11.60 (early cover) HALF REAL STAMP
From Liberia to Cartago. Date: July 3, 1864. Cancellation: Liberia oval tying stamp on cover.
Perforation 11.60 x 11.60. (early printing). HALF REAL STAMP
Posta a caballo
Circular cancellation with connected edges. Date: August 7, 1868.
Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
From Puntarenas to San José. Date: August 15, 1872. Cancellation: Parenas (Puntarenas) oval.
Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
From Puntarenas to San José Cancellation: Parenas oval (Puntarenas) Date: May 22, 1872
Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
From Puntarenas to San José Date: March 23, 1872 Cancellation: Puntarenas oval
PUNTARENAS
Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
From Puntarenas to San José Date: July 18, 1872 Cancellation: Parenas oval
Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
From Puntarenas to San José Cancellation: Puntarenas rhomboid Date: December 13, 1870 There is another cancellation on the back. Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
From Puntarenas to San José Date: March 16, 1871 Cancellation: Puntarenas rhomboid, in addition concentric circles on cover
Perforation 11.90 x 11.85 . HALF REAL STAMP
From Puntarenas to San José Date: March 11, 1870 Cancellation: Puntarenas rhomboid
Perforation 11.9 x 11.9 HALF REAL STAMP
From Puntarenas to San José Date: February 13, 1870 Cancellation: Puntarenas rhomboid
Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
From Puntarenas to San José Cancellation: Puntarenas rhomboid Date: 1867
Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
From Puntarenas to San José Date: January 30, 1873 Cancellation: Parenas oval (Puntarenas) very light and rectangular dated box
Perforation 11.8 x 11.8 PARENAS HALF REAL STAMP
From Cartago to San José Date: 1865 Cancellations: San José rhomboid tying the stamp Cartago oval on cover.
Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP
Bisected stamp of half real, probably from the second plate.
In the left upper corner there is a legend in red reading "IMPRESOS". This is the only usage for the bisected stamps. Printing matters paid a lower rate but no stamps of lower value than half real existed. The stamp is bisected oblique. HALF REAL STAMP SECOND PLATE
From Liberia to Cañas (both in Guanacaste province) Date: unknown Cancellation: Liberia oval on stamp and cover. HALF REAL STAMP SECOND PLATE
From Puntarenas to San José Date: July 24, 1879 Cancellations: Puntarenas rhomboid tying stamp and San José circular dated on cover. HALF REAL STAMP SECOND PLATE
From Puntarenas to San José Date: May 22, 1872 Cancellation: Puntarenas oval very light.
Perforation 11.85 x 11.85 HALF REAL STAMP SECOND PLATE
From Atenas (Alajuela province) to San José Date: unknown Cancellation: Atenas oval HALF REAL STAMP SECOND PLATE
From Puntarenas to San José Date: unknown Cancellation: Puntarenas rhomboid
PARENAS HALF REAL STAMP SECOND PLATE
From Puntarenas to San José Date: unknown Cancellation: Puntarenas rhomboid
PARENAS HALF REAL STAMP SECOND PLATE
Cancellation: Alajuela star and Alajuela dated single circle
Date: February 28, 1870. HALF REAL STAMP SECOND PLATE
From Alajuela to San José Date: unknown Cancellation: Alajuela star and Alajuela in a circle HALF REAL STAMP SECOND PLATE
From Alajuela to San José Date: January 30, 1879 Cancellations: Alajuela star and Alajuela dated single circle HALF REAL STAMP SECOND PLATE
From Grecia (Alajuela province) to San José Date: May 9, 1878
Cancellation: Grecia oval tying stamp and circular dated Grecia on cover. HALF REAL STAMP SECOND PLATE
Strip of four stamps cancelled by Alajuela oval.
Date: May 25, 1877.
Fragment of two stamps on half real second plate. Cancellation Puntarenas rhomboid dated April 12, 1881. TWO REALES STAMP
Registered cover from Liberia to Puntarenas. Declared value of one thousand pesos. Date: July 15, 1872. Postage is six and a half reales on three stamps of two reales and one of half real. Cancellation: Liberia oval tying stamps. Large oval of same town on cover. TWO REALES STAMP
Cover addressed to Jesús Jiménez (President of Costa Rica)
. Cancellation: San José rhomboid.
Date: unknown. Perforation 11.60 x 11.60 A COVER FROM SAN JOSE TO PARIS TWO REALES STAMP
Cancellation: Steamship 10. Probably deposited on ship..
Enclosed is a letter dated in Alajuela on February 9, 1867 Received in New York on March 5. 1864
Decree XIX article of August 18, 1862 states:
Letters, packages, or printed matters can not leave the Post Office without the necessary stamps according with the rates. To avoid mistakes and to expedite its delivery, the San José and Puntarenas Administrators shall weigh the correspondence received from abroad the Republic, in the presence of the Fiscal Agent the first (San José) and the Custom’s Accountant the second (Puntarenas), and they shall place the respective stamps on each piece with the exception of the ones that shall be sent to other Administrations, and then they shall collect the postages from the interested party. If the recipient does not satisfy the postage or does not accept the correspondence for any reason, it will be kept as retarded for one year, and the Administration will adjudicate its value, under the required formalities..
Article 9 .....
...the foreign correspondences is considered a state monopoly, and therefore it can not be received or delivered without previous payment of postage.
In view of the above decree the use of two reales stamps on the following covers can be considered as a postage due. TWO REALES STAMP
CARTAGO
From Guatemala to Cartago. No stamps from town of origin. Postage due by a two reales stamp added on arrival. Date: June 7, 1864.
Cancellation: Cartago oval. On back cover, "Recibida por el correo que llegó hoy 20 de junio de 1864. Ramón Ramírez". (Receipt in mail that arrived today June 2, 1864...) Guatemala, June 7, Cartago June 20. Total 13 days TWO REALES STAMP
From Guatemala to Puntarenas No stamps from town of origin. Postage due on arrival: two real stamp. Date: June 7, 1864.
Cancellation: Puntarenas rhomboid. Received on June 20, 1864. TWO REALES STAMP
French postage of eighty and twenty cents stamps for a total of one franc. Cancellation with dots and “P.D” in rectangular box. Circular Paris cancellation dated February 15, 1869. Circular London cancellation of February 16, 1869 and in the center “Paid”. Letter addressed to the Foreign Relation Minister. On the back there is a light marking of Costa Rica Consulate. TWO REALES STAMP
From New York to Puntarenas, 1864 New York: November 22 Puntarenas: December 13 Cancellation on Costa Rica stamp is Puntarenas rhomboid
Letter was mailed in New York with two USA stamps of 10 cents, for a total postage of 20 cents. They are stamps of 1861 and 1862 (Scott #681). However, on arrival to Costa Rica a two reales stamp was added and cancelled with the Puntarenas rhomboid. Fine for insufficient postage? Note that the two reales stamp was attached over one of the USA, of which only an edge is visible. FOUR REALES STAMP
From Alajuela to Esparza. Date: September 19, 1875. Registered with declared value.
Three cancellations:
Th e stamp is tied with an Alajuela oval, in addition a large Alajuela oval and two concentric circles and the date in two lines.
Legend on cover: “#146, registered because it contains 12.75 pesos cash”.
ONE PESO Registered letter from Puntarenas to Liberia
Pen cancellation which is the one seen on these covers. Date: January 22, 1870 Legend: “#2005. Registered because it accompanies a one pound five ounces package”
Also Puntarenas oval cancellation. Between the previous four reales cover and this one there is a difference of 63 days, during which 91 registered letters between both towns were mailed.