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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
YearX,Number1 July‐September2013
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to the first
issue of our publication
under the name of “El
Salvador Philatelist”! For
our long time readers,
this change had already
been communicated in
previous issues. For new
readers, it is important to
note that this “El
Salvador Philatelist” is
the continuation of the
publication “El Salvador
Filatelico – El Faro”,
published by AFISAL
(Asociación Filatélica
Salvadoreña) since 2003,
albeit with a shorter,
more direct name and a
new layout and overall
design.
Starting with this issue,
we will usually focus at
least one article on
Salvadorian postal
history, while trying to
keep a balance between
XIX and XX century issues
in the other articles so
that most of the
collecting interests are
covered.
In this issue we are also
very proud to inform that
the El Salvador Postal
History Handbook is very
close to become a
reality, please check
page 4 for details!
We hope you like the
new design, and we are
open to your comments
and suggestions!
Obviously as usual, we
also like to remind you
that your support in the
form of articles or
illustrations is very
important for the
sustainability of the
journal, so we hope the
new format motivates
you to collaborate more!
We look forward to hear
from you!
Cordially,
Guillermo F Gallegos
Year X, Number 1
July – Sept 2013
Director’sColumnInside this issue:
Front cover and page
one of the document
requesting the creation
of an Estafeta in
Ahuachapan, 1796.
The original document is
at the Archivo General de
Centroamerica (AGCA) in
Guatemala City.
El Salvador Philatelist is
the on‐line, quarterly
journal of AFISAL.
Requests for reprinting
articles can be sent to
ggallegos@elsalvadorphi
lately.org
In Memoriam – Cécile
Gruson 3
Postal History Handbook
Update 4
The creation of the
Ahuachapan Estafeta 6
1930 Bolivar Forgeries 10
Small Town Cancels (1) 14
Show‐n‐Tell 18
Adlets 19
Member Services 20
OntheCover
Board of Directors
President: Santiago Yudice
Vice‐president: Robinson Cruz
Secretary: José Luis Alonzo
Treasurer: Manuel Menjivar
First Vocal: Guillermo F
Gallegos
Second Vocal: Carlos
Quintanilla
Third Vocal: Iván Zelaya
Honorary Presidents:
Ramon de Clairmont Dueñas
Pierre Cahen
Jose Luis Cabrera
Honorary Member:
Joseph D Hahn
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
INMEMORIAM–CECILEGRUSONGuillermo F Gallegos
During the first days of
August, I received the sad
news of the passing of Ms.
Cécile Gruson on July 24,
Editor of El Quetzal for
several years,
distinguished philatelist
and one of the most
knowledgeable postal
history researchers I have
met.
Cécile and I never met
personally, although we
exchanged emails on a
regular basis for more
than eleven years. In
2001, she became aware
of the Handbook project
and kindly offered to
include a note in El
Quetzal so its readers
could become aware of
the ongoing project and
support it if they had
related information or
collected El Salvador.
Over the years, we started
exchanging our respective
journals and agreed to
publish the table of
contents of the other
magazine in ours as “ads”
to promote Central
American philately in
general.
Regardless of these
collaborations, Cécile was
an important contributor
to the El Salvador
Handbook Project,
especially when its scope
for the first volume
became the PreStamp
Period. Cécile’s deep
knowledge of Colonial
Central American Postal
History helped me to
better understand the
intricate nature of the
topic. She also never
hesitated to share the
results of her research
with me in order to
improve or properly
document the manuscript.
I am deeply grateful for all
her comments,
suggestions and
information!
My last emails with Cécile
are from mid‐2012.
Afterwards I learned that
she was very ill and that
she had been working with
several other notable
philatelists for drafting of
a book about the Correo
Mayor period in Spanish
America. Because of her
illness, the editors of this
work requested me to
complement Cécile’s
contribution, the chapter
about the Correo Mayor in
the Kingdom of
Guatemala, a task that I
was rather happy, but also
much honored, to accept.
I hope that my additions
are up to her standards…
Our prayers and thoughts
are with her family, and
we will definitely miss her.
Au revoir!
Cecile Gruson
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
POSTALHISTORYHANDBOOKUPDATEGuillermo F Gallegos
It has been a while since
we last reported any
updates in the El Salvador
Postal History Handbook
project, so it is now time
to share some very good
news.
Although we had planned
to finish the book by mid‐
2011, that original
deadline was postponed
(once again) as we decided
to complement the
research by visiting the
Archivo General de
Centroamerica (AGCA) in
Guatemala. Although we
were not able to visit
Guatemala until March
2012, this delay was
extremely fruitful, as we
found several important
documents, some of them
never reported before,
which significantly
strengthened the postal
history aspect of the work.
The final draft of the book
was completed in
December 2012. After
that, it went through the
review process, in which
we were honored to have
the support of Leo John
Harris, Yamil Kouri and
Thomas Lera, the first two
extremely knowledgeable
postal historians, and the
latter the Winton M.
Blount Chair in Research at
the National Postal
Museum in Washington
D.C. Their comments and
suggestions greatly
improve the draft and we
greatly appreciate their
help.
After the review process
was done, Dr. James
Mazepa, President of FIAF,
a great supporter of this
work and author of the
Foreword, arranged to
have us present the
manuscript to the
Collectors Club of Chicago
(CCC), one of the premier
philatelic organizations in
the United States.
I flew to Chicago on July
2013 to be the Guest
Speaker at the CCC’s
monthly general meeting
with a presentation about
the PreStamp Period of El
Salvador. We also had
the chance to present the
manuscript to the
Publications Committee of
the CCC, and we are quite
happy and honored to
inform that the
manuscript was accepted
by the CCC for
publication!
We are now starting the
final editing and pre‐press
stage, so we will keep you
updated on the
publication.
We have been waiting for
this moment for decades,
so it is important to
recognize all the
colleagues that have
considerably helped with
Collectors Club of Chicago
Clubhouse
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
this book, and who have
been included on its
Acknowledgments. We
also deeply appreciate all
the support from Dr.
Mazepa, who made the
contact possible with the
CCC, and obviously the
Collectors Club of Chicago,
its President, Charles E.
Cwiakala, and the
members of the
Publications Committee,
James E. Lee and Leonard
H. Hartmann.
Once the PreStamp Era
book is published,
probably the question will
shift to ‘When will the XIX
Stamp Period will be
ready?’ It’s a fair
question, and the
straightforward answer is
that we need to revise
these chapters, improve
their postal history
aspects, and revise the
quality of the images. We
will start working on this
most probably at the start
of 2014, and once we
understand better the
work required to have a
high quality publication,
we will let you know an
estimated deadline.
How can you help to
speed up the XIX Century
Stamp Period? As
mentioned before, the
best way is with
information or illustrations
of interesting items you
think could be included in
the Handbook. Some areas
we would especially
appreciate your help with
are the following:
Varieties, proofs,
specimens, forgeries,
etc. that you feel could
be useful to report.
Covers of the 1867,
1874, 1879, 1887‐
1889, and Seebeck
issues.
Information or
illustrations of 1887‐88
private stationery not
included in H&G or
Ascher.
With YOUR HELP we will
make a comprehensive
and authoritative work
about the XIX Century
stamps!
Charles E. Cwiakala, CCC President, Guillermo F Gallegos &
James Mazepa, FIAF President.
Guillermo and the El
Salvador Prestamp
exhibition that supported
the conference.
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
THECREATIONOFTHEAHUACHAPANESTAFETAGuillermo F Gallegos
Searching at the AGCA for
the El Salvador PreStamp
Era Handbook, we found a
fascinating document from
1796 that formalizes the
creation of a new estafeta
(post office) at
Ahuachapan. As this is
probably the only known
document related to the
creation of a Colonial
estafeta in present‐day El
Salvador, we thought it
was important to share it
in its entirety.
Ahuachapan (known in
Colonial times also as
Ahuachapa) is one of the
oldest towns in El
Salvador, inhabited since
the Prehispanic Period. In
1770 it was named as
parish seat and in 1785 as
the seat of the Partido of
Ahuachapan, part of
Guatemala. Its population
according to the census of
1790 was around 4,000.
The document is five
pages long; including a
cover page with the tittle
“El Administrador General
sugiere que en el pueblo
de Ahuachapan se
establezca estafeta” (The
General Administrator
suggests that a estafeta
should be established in
the town of Ahuachapan.
The “free” translation of
pages two and three of the
document, where the
Main Administrator
requests the creation of
the Estafeta, the reasoning
behind and outlines the
potential benefits vs the
costs, are as follows:
“To the Adviser in the
Postal Sub Delegation
The competent number of
Spanish and mixed‐race
inhabitants that the town
of Ahuachapa has, the
commerce of sugar and
dyes that has with this
capital, as well as products
of its lands, and the
creation of Ordinary
Mayors, have made
necessary and even urgent
since some time ago the
creation of the estafeta
and the provision, on
account of the Postal Rent,
of means to carry
correspondence so it can
communicate with all the
Kingdom and ease the
development of its
interests, while at the
same time giving the
necessary expedience to
the Justice and Royal
Revenue processes.
The location of this town
between the town of Santa
Ana and the village of
Sonsonate, where it
belongs, and separated
two or three leagues from
the road, eases the
planning, as the courier
communicating the other
two settlements can go
inside Ahuachapan twice
per month with a short
detour and some increase
in his current
remuneration, by
anticipating one day the
departures from
Sonsonate (assuming that
there is enough volume)
with the purpose of
arriving to Santa Ana to
deliver and receive the
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
correspondence. In this
way, as it won’t affect the
current flow of
correspondence and won’t
cause a significant cost to
the Estafetas fund, the
establishment of this
Estafeta can be done,
which will surely cause a
positive public benefit,
while being compatible
with the interests of the
Service, which are to
reduce by just means the
continuous frauds that
prevent it from obtaining
its rights.
In this concept, and
without having objections
from the Superior
Government, I request
your acceptance of the
creation of the Estafeta in
the town of Ahuachapa in
the aforementioned terms,
and to order the execution
of the this resolution so
that the Main
Administration may take
the necessary dispositions.
May God bless Your
Highness many years.
Nueva Guatemala, April 14
1796.
Miguel de Ateaga y
Olozaga”
Ateaga was the Main
Administrator of the Postal
Service in the Kingdom of
Guatemala, and it fell
under his jurisdiction to
manage the creation and
maintenance of the
Estafetas.
Subsequently, on April 18
of the same year, the
Advisors gave their
consent to this creation
(on page 4):
“We agreed to the
establishment of an
Estafeta in Ahuachapan as
proposed by the Main
Administrator, so that he is
notified with the
corresponding documents
and an order is prepared
to notify the Alcalde
Mayor of Sonsonate and
the Justices in
Ahuachapan, who will also
be provided with notices
for publication, in the
understanding that this
creation will contribute to
their growth and their
perfection, by giving the
Administrators and their
subordinates the support
they require. In this way it
was decided and signed by
the President of the
Government and Captain
General with the Adviser
of this Rent…”
Page four ends with an
annotation that continues
on page five (not
illustrated):
“Two notices were
prepared of the referred
documents, one for the
Alcalde Mayor of
Sonsonate and the other
for the Ordinary Mayor of
Ahuachapan on April 20
1796.”
And thus the Estafeta at
Ahuachapan came into
being…
Markings used during the
Colonial Period in Ahuachapan
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
Page 1
Page 2
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Page 3
Page 4
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
BOLIVARFORGERIESGuillermo F Gallegos
The forgeries of the 1930
Bolivar issue were first
reported by Lowell Ragatz
(George van den Berg) in
Philatelic Notes on June
1941. Since then, there
have been several
mentions of these
counterfeits in the
philatelic press; some of
these mentions have been
in the SPA Journal (January
1943), Stamps (1967), the
column “Latin American
Notes” of the American
Philatelist (August 1968),
three times in El Faro
(1977, 1991, 1996), and by
Varro Tyler in Linn’s Stamp
News on October 1995.
These forgeries have been
also included in Billig’s
Philatelic Handbook.
Despite this relatively
extensive coverage for an
El Salvador issue, most of
these publications were
before the advent of the
internet, so the
illustrations used on them
were in black&white or
using photocopies.
Because of this, we
thought an update with
1930 First Day Cover with the four values of the Bolivar issue
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
full color images was
necessary.
According to Lowell
Ragatz, these forgeries
were produced in Havana,
Cuba, probably during the
1930s. Some authors have
reported that they are
relatively common, but
collectors seldom find
them. For example,
Joseph Hahn, in his 40+
years of collecting El
Salvador, has only
identified three sets!
The reported differences
between the forgeries and
the originals have not
varied much amongst the
mentioned articles. In
general, nine main
elements have been
noted:
1) The most visible
difference is in the
tip of the lower
edge of the flag.
On the originals,
the tip almost
touches the
numeral ‘3’ in
‘1830’, forming an
almost 90 degree
angle with the
closest diagonal
line to the ‘3’. In
the counterfeits,
the tip of the flag
ends about 0.5mm
above the numeral
and the angle with
the diagonal line is
not formed.
2) The second most
visible difference is
in the ‘s’ of ‘CENTS’
in the value block.
The ‘s’ is very clear
in the originals but
washed‐out in the
fakes.
3) Color differences
have been noted,
but the shades
have not been
specified. We will
compare the four
values side by side
to determine the
shades of the
counterfeit items
analyzed.
4) Originals are
perforated 11½,
while forgeries are
perforated 12 or
12½. In the
counterfeit items
analyzed, the 15c
and one example
of the 25c values
were perforated
12, while the 20c,
another 25c
example and the
40c were
perforated 12½.
5) Fake cancellations
are often found on
the counterfeits
(see illustrations).
6) Diagonal lines are
thin and straight in
the originals vs
irregular in the
forgeries.
7) There are slight
differences in the
Bolivar portrait
design between
the originals and
the fakes, mostly
because of the
heavier lines on the
latter.
1 2
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
8) General washed
out appearance in
the forgeries vs a
clearer printing in
the originals.
9) Paper in the
forgeries is softer
and thinner than
that of genuine
stamps.
These differences become
clearer when compared
side by side the originals
and the fakes:
Comparison of the original
Bolivar portrait (top) vs the
counterfeit (bottom)
Counterfeit cancel applied to the forgeries. It has the inscription
“CORREO AEREO / EL SALVADOR” on the outside and “SERVICIO
INTERNACIONAL / SAN SALVADOR” on the inside. The cancels
sometimes is clearly seen from the back (image at right flipped
for better reading).
Original 15c stamp (left) vs 15c counterfeit (right). All the major differences are clearly
seen, especially the overall washed‐out appearance of the forgeries when compared
against the clearer impression of the original issue. Note the deep red shade of the
original vs the dark rose red of the counterfeit.
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Comparison between the original Bolivar stamps (left) vs the counterfeits (right). In the
20c stamp, the original shade is emerald and the fake is greenish olive; in the 25c value,
the original is brown violet vs the dark lilac red of the forgery; and the 40c deep ultra
shade of the original contrasts against the indigo of the counterfeit. The shades of the
forgeries have been determined using the Michel Farbenführer (color guide).
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
SMALLTOWNCANCELS( )Guillermo F Gallegos
Have you ever heard of
the Aldea Bolaños, the
town of origin of the cover
shown above? How about
Comasagua, Talnique or
Estanzuelas? Jiquilisco
anyone?
If you haven’t, you are not
alone. The town names
mentioned are not
household names even for
many Salvadorians. That’s
why I was somewhat
surprised to find
correspondence from
these and several other
towns when I bought a
cancel collection of El
Salvador some years ago.
The collection was
composed of
correspondence sent
mostly during the 1970s,
and was classified
according to the town
from where it was sent.
The collector, of whom
regretfully I do not know
his name, took the care of
trying to determine the
date of usage ranges and
of identifying the different
types of cancels for a town
if there was more than
one. The work is very
good; albeit probably
incomplete as there were
surely other towns with
post offices and cancels
during this period (I still
need to check this out).
Nevertheless, his study is
very valuable as post
office cancels, particularly
during the XX century, is a
topic seldom covered in
Salvadorian philatelic
literature. Because of this,
starting from this number,
we will present several
examples of small town
cancels from this
Cover sent from Aldea Bolaños, Department of Santa Ana, 1975.
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
collection with the
intention of starting to
document these cancels
like it has been done for
other countries,
Guatemala for example.
For each town presented,
we will include a short
summary of its location
and history, and we will
try to determine the
approximate date of
creation of the postal
office. For this purpose,
we will check the different
Guias Postales (Postal
Guides) published since
the early 1900s, assuming
that a first time
appearance in a Guia
Postal would mean that
the office was created
between the publishing of
the previous Guide and
the compilation of the one
where it appears.
To make this work
complete, we cordially
invite you to share with us
your ‘small town covers’
so they can be included in
future articles about the
topic to gain further
knowledge about the XX
century postal offices in
the country. Thanks in
advance for your help!
Aldea Bolaños is located
in the department of Santa
Ana (see red star on map).
Originally it was a
Hacienda named La
Parada, which was
purchased by the Bolaños
family in 1859, and
eventually evolved into a
settlement that took the
name of the family. Up to
Map of El Salvador with the 14 departmental divisions (Names in upper case blue are for the
departments that do not have the same name of their capital).
Aldea Bolaños
Aguilares
Atiquizaya
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
the 1960s, it seems that
there was no post office in
the town, depending from
the nearest one in
Candelaria de la Frontera.
As currently Correos de El
Salvador does not list a
postal office in Aldea
Bolaños, it seems that this
was a rather short‐lived
office. The cancel
collection has two items
from Aldea Bolaños, one
from 1975 and the other
from 1979. We would
rather be interested in
knowing about items
before and after these
dates, to better determine
the period of existence.
Aguilares is also a
relatively young town
located on the
Department of San
Salvador (see green star
on map), and founded in
1932. The Guia Postal of
1936 already lists a postal
office of the 3rd degree in
the town (the smallest one
according to the
classification used for
most of the XX century).
Currently Aguilares is a
primary post office for
Correos de El Salvador,
with the secondary offices
of El Paisnal and Guazapa
subordinated to it.
In contrast, Atiquizaya
has existed since Pre‐
Columbian times,
belonging at times to
Sonsonate and Santa Ana,
before being incorporated
to Ahuachapan. Although
the exact date of the post
office creation is not
known, Atiquizaya already
appears in an 1876
itinerary, which would
mean that a formal office
was created sometime
between 1867 and that
year, as the town does not
appear in the prestamp
era itineraries. By 1908
Atiquizaya was a
secondary office, and
currently is a primary
office.
Aldea Bolaños cancel processed
with RetroReveal (see The
Collector’s Club Philatelist, Sep‐
Oct 2013)
Aguilares cancel used in the
early 1970s.
Atiquizaya cancel used in the
early 1970s.
El Salvador, truly one of the last frontiers in philately. Where can you find
such an impressive array of complex issues still waiting for new discoveries
to be made? Whatever your interest, El Salvador has it all. Let us help you
build your collection!
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
Top & Middle: 1972 cover sent from Aguilares to San Salvador. Note the Official Seals at
the back. Three new Official Seals from the 1970s have been identified among the covers
in this collection; they will be covered in a future article. Bottom: Cover sent in 1972
from Aguilares to Guatemala.
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
SHOW‐N‐TELLThis section presents an illustration of an interesting item from the collection of one of our member or
collaborators.
Proofs for unissued stamps.
10c and 25c designs for the XVIII Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of the Banco
Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID – Inter‐American Development Bank). The meeting
was scheduled to be held in San Salvador during May‐June of 1977, but due to the
deteriorating security, it was cancelled and finally held in Guatemala City. Therefore,
although stamps were going to be issued to commemorate the event, in the end they
were cancelled and only the imperforate proofs remain. They are seldom seen outside El
Salvador.
(Guillermo F Gallegos Collection)
We would appreciate if you could send your comments, suggestions, and
contributions for El Salvador Philatelist to our e‐mail address:
sfes‐[email protected] or
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
ADLETSOur adlet service allows members to publish their philatelic interests on each ‘El Salvador Philatelist’ so
they can buy, sell, or exchange with other collectors. Every member is eligible to place one adlet in the
journal. In order to send us the adlet you want published, please send us an email to
Looking for El Salvador stamps Scott #'s: 57, 229, 247, 252, 257, 293, 558, C31, O223, O224,
O226, 1 of (O227, O228, O230, O231), O355. If you have any of these, please e‐mail price to
[email protected] ‐‐ will respond promptly.
Wanted: Errors, proofs, oddities of El Salvador. If you have any of these for sale or exchange,
please send an e‐mail to: [email protected] .
Looking for Scott #’s: 25E, 190, 191A, 211, 212A, 225, 227, 230B, 232, 237H, 240A, 297 y 311B;
Officials O66, O67 y O68/O72. All of them either mint or used. Please contact at
Wijesena, a lawyer from Sri Lanka & a keen philatelist, interested in contacts with fellow
collectors from El Salvador and other Latin countries for the exchange of stamps, fdcs, s/s, m/s,
etc. Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Essays, Color Trials, Proofs, Freaks, Fakes, Oddities. Your offers most welcomed to Pierre
Cahen: [email protected] or POB 483 San Salvador, El Salvador.
Interested in trading revenue stamps of El Salvador. Bryon Batjiaka, e‐mail:
WANTED: Multiple copies of Scott #452 to 455 and 457 to 467 for a study. Unused, used, no
gum, poor centering, slight thins are of use to me provided they are priced accordingly. I am
NOT interested in shifted overprints. I can use up to 50 copies of any of the mentioned Scott
numbers, including varieties. Of course, pairs, strips and blocks are worth a premium. Please
write first to Joe Hahn, [email protected]
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E L S A L V A D O R P H I L A T E L I S T
MEMBERSSERVICES
AFISAL regularly meets
every Saturday at 3PM
(local time) in the
premises of the National
Museum of Anthropology
(MUNA) in San Salvador.
The meetings are
characterized by the
informal exchange of
material and information
between the members.
MUNA is located at
Avenida Revolución, Col.
San Benito, in front of the
Centro Internacional de
Ferias y Convenciones
(CIFCO). It is the largest
museum in El Salvador,
with an extensive
collection of Pre‐
Columbian artifacts and
ethnographic material.
New Issues Service
Collectors interested in having all recent issues of El Salvador can subscribe to our New Issues Service. The general conditions are as follows:
a. The Society will provide the members subscribed to the "New Issues Service" all the stamps issued by El Salvador from the date of the subscription onwards until the collector requests the end of the service or leaves the Society.
b. The stamps will be sold at face value + 10% commission to the Society in order to cover administrative costs.
c. Shipping costs will be based on current postal rates to the country of residence of the
collector. In order to save on shipping costs, the new issues will be sent every three months in a single package.
d. In order to subscribe to the New Issues Service, members will have to send US$30 in cash or check from US or Salvadorian banks made payable to Pierre Cahen (checks from other countries are not accepted), along with the new issue service agreement filled out and signed ( New Issues Service.doc or New Issues Service.pdf ) to the following address:
Pierre Cahen
Vipsal 1342
POB 02‐5364
Miami Florida 33102
USA
The payment is a
deposit in the Society
which is debited every
time a new issue is
purchased or sent to
the collector. Every
member will receive a
statement of his
deposit along with
each New Issues
package. When the
deposit reaches a level
of US$5 or less, the
Society will request a
further advance to
increase the deposit.
e. Members may cancel the New Issues Services by sending a letter or an e‐mail to [email protected] at least a month in advance from the date they wish to end the service.