Ox eye of Brazil
The ox eyes of Brazil (Portuguese Olho-de-boi ) is the name for the first three stamps of Brazil among philatelists . The name comes from the somewhat peculiar appearance of the number drawing and was adopted from Portuguese in many languages around the world. In a similar way, the successor series are also called goat eyes and cat eyes .
The three stamps of 30, 60 and 90 Réis were issued on August 1, 1843. Brazil is the third country after Great Britain and Switzerland to issue its own postage stamps. The ox eyes are also the second stamp series with a number drawing.
The ox eyes have no indication of the country name and currency. The templates for the stamps were engraved in steel in the imperial mint and produced in the securities printing plant in Rio de Janeiro. The stamps were printed on different plates. The so-called combined plate contains all three values in the same sheet , each value in three horizontal rows of six stamps each, i.e. initially three rows of six of the 30-Réis stamp, including three rows of six of the 60-Réis stamp and three rows of six below the 90 Réis stamp. The sheet thus comprised a total of 54 brands. The individual value blocks were only separated by narrow dividers. Due to the arrangement described, different values can occur together.
There were also printing plates for sheets that only contained 30 Réis values, as well as a combination of 30 and 60 Réis values (so-called large plate). The value of 90 Réis is therefore the rarest ox-eye.
The arches were not perforated and therefore had to be cut apart with scissors . Different types of paper were used, including thick yellowish or (less often) slightly thinner bluish-gray paper.
The ox-eye edition was discontinued just under a year after its publication. The reason given was the high risk of misuse of already used stamps due to the easy solubility of the stamps from letters, the high paper quality and the often inadequate cancellation. The successor stamps issued on July 1, 1844 were printed on thinner paper and provided with better glue. They were graphically similar, but a little more oval, and are called goat eyes . Four years later, the similar third postage stamp issue from Brazil appeared, the so-called cat's eyes . Goat eyes and cat eyes also have no country or currency information. With up to 600 Réis, they have a higher value than the ox-eye.
literature
- Mint never hinged - Das Briefmarken-Journal der Deutsche Post AG, issue 4/2003, page 12 f.
- Mint never hinged - Das Briefmarken-Journal der Deutsche Post AG, July / August 2013 issue, page 10 f.