Postage stamps and postal history of Cuba
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cuba. Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean Sea. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. First stamps and postal stationery The first stamps of Cuba were issues for the Spanish West Indies, for use in both Cuba and Puerto Rico, issued in April, 1855. These stamps are referred to as the "Antilles". At first, Isabella II had her portrait on all regular issues until her abdication in 1868. Cuba had separate stamps from 1873. Postage stamps continued to be labeled only "ULTRAMAR" (overseas) until the word CUBA appeared for the first time in 1877. The portrait of Alfonso XII adorned the stamps from 1876 until 1890, some three years after his posthumously born successor, Alfonso XIII, assumed the throne under Regency status, and had his portrait instead. This depicted a baby whose hairline was considerably receded and thus earned the irreverent nickname of el pelón (baldie). Finally, in 1898, a youth with tousled hair appears. Postal cards for Cuba were printed in Spain and sent to their colonies in 1878. With the war of independence for Cuba, the United States intervened from 1898 to 1902. At that time, stamped envelopes and newspaper wrappers became available to the residents of Cuba. U.S. intervention The United States intervened in Cuba in 1898. One of the interesting and rare series of stamps occurred as a result. This was the provisional issues known as "Puerto Príncipe" (now Camagüey) named after the town where they were printed. The supplies of stamps in the town included stamps imprinted with the likeness of Alfonso XIII of Spain, but the United States in December, 1898, was now in control. A peace protocol had been entered into between U.S. and Spain on August 12, 1898, and the Treaty of Paris of December 10, 1898, ceded control to the United States. On December 19, 1898, the U.S. supplied stamps were still a month away from delivery. The local authorities solved that problem by obtaining permission from the provisional U.S. military government to contract a local printer to surcharge existing supplies of Spanish Cuban stamps with a surcharge of initially four different denominations. Eventually a total of five different printings were made that resulted in a total of five different denominations. These surcharged issues are scarce. As a result, forgeries are numerous. A Puerto Príncipe stamp should be authenticated to have maximum value to a collector. By using vertical verification lines, one can get a good idea of whether on not a surcharge is original or forged. In December 1898, Major Estes Rathbone was appointed Director General of Posts for Cuba and on January 1, 1899, the U.S. established a Cuban Civilian Postal Administration. The new Postal Administration was to operate using the same post offices that existed during the Spanish Administration, but using