International Postage Meter Stamp Catalog/Portugal

Portugal 3 All stamps are inscribed “PORTUGAL”. The first meter was installed in 1950. The stamps are grouped according to appearance and function as follows: A - Circular frank B - Semi-circular frank, flat on bottom C - Rectangular frank, with or without complete outer border D - Barrel shaped frank E – Digital frank without outer border PO - Franks generated by meters in Post Offices PV - Publicly vended variable-rate automat stamps OO - Stamps used only for Official government mail The manufacturer and sometimes the meter model are identified in the stamp by a Roman numeral prefix to the meter number. This practice was faithfully applied in the early years of me-ter use but was partially displaced in later years when prefixes with the manufacturer's initials (U for Universal, P.B. for Pitney Bowes, K for Krag, etc) also appear. Many stamps are missing from this catalog. Information is lacking for those with prefixes V, VIII, X, XII, XV, XVI, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, XXXI, XXXII, XXXIII, XXXV, XXXVI, XXXVII, XL, XLI, XLII, XLIII, and XLIV. Some of these may have been assigned to meter models considered but not released into the marketplace. Stamps with prefixes higher than XLV may also exist. Prefix X was reportedly used on four machines only, Satas or possibly Neopost. GROUP A: Circular frank and town mark (See also Group PO for stamps of similar appearance.) left|380px 660px|right 410px|left A1. Hasler “F88” (MV), 1950. Three groups of three horizontal dashes stacked between TM and frank. Meter number prefix is Roman numeral “I” between the top two groups with the meter number between the lower two. TM: DC V/F: 12px00$oo 12px000$oo a. Without “$” in value figures b. Extremely wide spacing, 77 mm between TM and frank (I 008, I 038, I 084) c. Medium wide spacing (I 095) left|535px left|340px A2. Postalia (MV), 1950. Meter number and prefix below and outside frank circle. Meter number with “II” prefix. A. Wide spacing between TM and frank. 12pxV/F: 6px00$00 B. Narrow spacing. 12pxV/F: 6px00.00 TM: DC left|385px left|405px A3. Universal “Multi-Value” (MV), 1950. As Type A1 but meter number with “III” prefix. Value figures generally thicker at sides than at tops and bottoms. A. Value figures wide B. Value figures narrow TM: DC V/F: 12px00$00 12px00$oo 12px00$0o 12px000$00 12px000$oo NOTE: Variations in the size of the "III" and the meter number exist. left|400px A4. Universal “Automax” (MV). 12px[$25] Very similar to Type A3 but value figures are of uniform thickness. Meter number also with “III” prefix. (Possibly an error – see Type A8.) TM: DC V/F: 12px=00.oo left|325px A5. Roneo Neopost “205” (MV). Small frank only 24 mm in diameter, and TM slightly larger. Narrow spacing. “CORREIO DE PORTUGAL” across the top. Meter number and prefix below and outside frank circle. A. Meter number with “RN” prefix 12px[$10] B. Meter number with “IV” prefix TM: BIC V/F: 12px ★ 00 .oo left|550px left|340px A6. Francotyp “Cc” (MV), 1950. 12px[$10] Very similar to Type A2 but meter number with “VI” or “VII” prefix. A. Wide spacing between TM and frank B. Narrow spacing TM: DC V/F: 12px00$0012px ◆0$00 12px ◆00.00 Type A7: NO STAMP. Types A6 and A7A in the original catalog were the same stamp. left|360px A8. Krag (MV). 12px[$20] Large frank without five-shield logo at bottom. M# with “K” prefix at lower left and right outside frank. TM: SC V/F: 12px000.00 12px000.oo left|375px A9. Pitney Bowes-GB “Automax” (MV). As Type A4 but the meter number and prefix appear below the frank. M# with “IX” prefix. TM: DC V/F: 12px=00.oo left|380px left|375px A10. Frama (MV). Similar to Type A9 with medium spacing but TM is larger. M# wth “XI” prefix. Value figures large and thick with small, narrow “$”. A. Frank ~28 mm in diameter. B. Large frank ~32 mm in diameter TM: DC V/F: 12px00$00 12px000$00 a. Value figures without “$”: 00000 left|650px left|375px A11. Hasler “F88” (MV). 12px[$20] As Type A1 but value figures different, and M# below and outside frank. M# with “XIII” prefix. A. Spacing very wide B. Spacing medium TM: DC V/F: 12px ◇000 12px ◇0,oo left|375px A12. Postalia (MV). Relatively small frank, 25-26 mm in diameter. M# with “XX” prefix. TM: DC V/F: 12px000.00 GROUP B: Semi-circular frank, flat on bottom left|360px B1. Pitney Bowes-GB “5000” (MV). CORREIOS DE/PORTUGAL” in arc across top. Value figures lower than date figures. With inner box around value figures open at top. M# and prefix low between TM and frank. A. M# with “P.B.” prefix 12px[$20] B. M# with “XIV” prefix 12px[$25] TM: DC V/F: 12px 12px0.00 left|360px left|360px B2. Pitney Bowes-GB “5000” (MV), 1983. Similar to Type B1 but box around value figures closed at top and open at right. With “CTVS” vertical at right of value figures. M# at lower right of frank with prefix between TM and frank. A. M# with “PB” or “P.B.” prefix B. M# with “XIV” prefix TM: DC V/F: 12px 12px00.oo a. V/F: 12px 12px00.o0 left|360px B3. Pitney Bowes-GB “5000” (MV), 1983. 12px[$5] Very similar to Type B2 but without “CTVS” vertical at right. M# with “XIV” prefix TM: DC V/F: 12px 12px000oo 12px 12px000.00 GROUP C: Rectangular frank SUB-GROUP CA: Franks with complete outer border left|320px CA1. Neopost “205” (MV). Square frank with “CORREIO DE/ PORTUGAL” at top. M# with “IV” prefix at lower right. TM: DC V/F: 12px00.00 left|360px right|360px left|360px right|360px right|350px CA2. Hasler “Mailmaster” (MV). Frank 34 x 28 mm. “CORREIO DE” at top, and “PORTUGAL” at bottom. M# prefix at top left and M# at bottom left. A. Blank at top left. M# with “H” prefix at bottom left. (H002) 12px[$10] B. “H” at top left, M# at bottom left 12px[$5] C. “XVIII” at top left, M# at bottom left D. “XXXIV” at top left, M# at bottom left E. "XXXV" at top left, M# at bottom left TM: DC V/F: 12px000.00 12px0000.0 left|380px CA3. Neopost “405/505” (MV). 12px[$5] Frank 30 x 23-24 mm. “CORREIO DE/ PORTUGAL” at top. M# with “XXI” prefix at bottom. TM: DC V/F: 12px000·00 left|370px right|380px left|380px right|382px CA4. Neopost “Electronic” (MV). Similar to Type CA3 but slightly taller and narrower at 28-29 x 25 mm. The date figures have more space between month and year than with Type CA3. A. M# prefix “XVII” B. M# prefix “XXIII” C. M# prefix “XXIV” D. M# prefix “XXIX” E. M# prefix “XXX” TM: DC V/F: 12px 12px000.00 left|405px CA5. Frama “EPS” (MV), 2003. “Portugal” reads up at right. Post rider in upper left corner left of “CTT/CORREIOS”. Denominated in Euros. M# with “XI” prefix. TM: DC V/F: 12px€00,00 left|378px CA6. Hasler "Mailmaster" (MV). As Type CA5 but the post rider is above "CTT" The frank is square. M# with “XVIII” or "H" prefix. TM: DC V/F: 12px€ 00,00 left|375px CA7. Pitney Bowes "A/B900" (MV). Similar to Type CA6 but the frank is wider than tall and has larger value figures. M# with “XXXVIII” prefix. TM: DC V/F: 12px€12px 0.00 left|380px CA8. Uncertain, possibly Francotyp-Postalia "EFS 3000/ NEF 300" (MV). Square frank like Type CA6 but the value figures are more oval (most noticeable in the zeros). M# with “XXXIX” prefix. TM: DC V/F: 12px€ 00,00 left|370px CA9. Frama "Sensonic" (digital). As Types CA6-8 but with town mark much closer to the frank. The value figures are quite large. M# with “XLV” prefix. TM: DC V/F: 12px€ 00,00 left|375px right|380px CA10. Neopost “Electronic” (MV). As Types CA5-9 except without post rider logo, "CTT CORREIOS" in one line at top. A. M# with “XXIX” prefix, with or without dash between. B. M# with “XL” prefix, with or without dash between. TM: DC V/F: 12px 12px000.00 a. Post Office stamp. TM contains "CTT" NOTE: Variety CA10a was previously cataloged as Type PO-C1. SUB-GROUP CB: Franks without outer border left|360px left|370px CB1. Pitney Bowes “6300” (MV). Frank made of mostly of horizontal lines except for the inscriptions and logo in upper left. M# with “XXV” prefix breaks bottom two lines. A. Horizontal frame dashes at right complete. 12pxV/F: 6px12px00.oo B. Right frame lines broken by the value figures. 12pxV/F: 6px12px000.00 TM: DC left|370px CB2. Pitney Bowes “A900" or "B900” (MV). Similar to Type CB1A but frank is much wider with hash marks at left of Esc. under the four-shield logo. Spacing between the town mark and frank is quite narrow. Horizontal frame dashes at right complete. M# with “XXXVIII” prefix breaks bottom two lines. V/F: 6px12px000.00 TM: DC GROUP D: Barrel-shaped frank left|344px D1. Satas (MV). 12px[$15] Barrel shape frank round at top and bottom and flat on the sides. M# with “XIX” prefix in lower corners outside frame. TM: SC V/F: 12px000.oo GROUP E: Digital frank without outer border left|340px E1. Pitney Bowes (digital). Post rider above "ctt" at top left next to country name above post code. Value figures at top right. 2D bar-code at bottom left. At bottom right are the date, "CTT" and transaction number, the meter number with "PB" prefix. With or without mail class appearing at top center left. Printed in blue. V/F: 12px €000.00 GROUP PO: Special stamps used only in Post Offices SUB-GROUP PO-A: Stamps with circular franks left|420px PO-A1. Universal “Multi-Value” (MV), 1950. 12px[$5] Circular frank and TM enclosed within greater rectangular border. Town mark reads “ENCOMENDAS/ POSTAIS/ LISBOA” with 4-digit transaction counter number above and the date below. Without M# but with “III” in center of column of dashes between TM and frank. One meter known, but in use for decades. V/F: 12px000$oo left|420px PO-A1.1. Universal “Automax” (MV). 12px[$20] Similar to Type PO-A1, but with different arrangement of text at left and center. “POSTAIS/ PORTO” at bottom center below a solid block and three lines. The town/date box at left does not have a separate inner frame line. The transaction counter number has 5 digits. With “ESC” and “CTVS” at sides of logo at bottom. V/F: 12px=00.oo left|335px PO-A2. Satas (MV), 1960. Small circular frank similar to Type A4, but “CORREIO DE” at top and “PORTUGAL” at bottom. M# inside frank below value figures. Hour figure between frank and TM. M# 001 up without prefix. A. M# without prefix B. M# with “S” prefix (S.08 seen) 12px[$10] TM: SC V/F: 12px ★0.oo left|570px left|600px PO-A3. Francotyp “Taxograph” (MV), 1964. Circular frank with small identification number at immediate left, often found with a small circle above or below. Value figures very narrow. Printed only on labels, never directly to the mail piece. A. Blank between TM and frank except for ID number B. With boxed “R” and “REGISTRADO” between TM and frank TM: DC V/F: 12px ◆00$00 a. With “AVIÃO” below TM (for air mail). b. With “EXPRESSO” below TM (for express mail). c. With "C.T.T." instead of post office name at top of TM NOTES: Other directional slugs besides those identified at a and b probably exist. Stamps of this type without the circular frame around the frank are receipts. SUB-GROUP PO-B: Franks imprinted on self-adhesive labels with underprint 3 The Postal service is identified in the pre-printed label design and is not included in the point-of-sale data. Ten different underprint designs have been seen. The labels all have slit perforations down the center. On some the perforations run completely through the stamp while on others they appear only at the top and bottom. The basic labels are as follows: right|440px A - Post rider in oval and “CORREIOS E TELECOMUNICACOES DE PORTUGAL” in echelon (5 lines) (1990) right|440px B - Lines of post riders alternating with lines of “CORREIOS DE PORTUGAL” (7 or 8 lines) (1991) right|440px C - Post rider (not in oval) and “CORREIOS DE PORTUGAL” in echelon (4 lines) (1992). Known in tan and in pink. right|440px D - One line at top: post rider and “CORREIOS DE PORTUGAL. (1995) right|440px E1 - One line at top: post rider and “CTT CORREIOS”. (1995). Found in pink and in red-brown. right|440px E2 – As E1 but "cttcorreios", lower case, no space. right|440px F – As E2 but "ctt" alone without "CORREOS" right|410px G – As F but larger "ctt" at right of post rider right|450px H – Bright yellow label with postal logo and "CORREIOS E TELECOMUNICACOES DE PORTUGAL" across top. Segment labels and separations in red, and vertical bar in black at left. This label is the earliest one used (and apparently quite rare since it was only recently discovered). 405px|right I – As G but larger "ctt", and post rider removed Regarding the stamp data added at point-of-sale, all have a service indicator at top left. Most frequently seen is “FRANQUIA” but “R” and number (for registered mail) is common. Other service indicators such as “CORREIO AZUL INT” are less common. Another service indicator often appears reading up at left. “PRIORITY” and “ECONOMY” have been seen. It appears six different brands or models of machines have been used. Since we have not yet learned their names they are identified here as machines X, A, B, C, D, and E. left|440pxPO-B0.1. Machine X (digital-dot matrix), 1987 or earlier. 12px[Quite rare, value unknown] Point-of-sale data added in onle line as follows: "Tp" logo and machine ID number, date as DDMMYY, post office name, registration number (if registered), value figures. Found only on paper H. V/F: 12px00000 NOTE: This stamp, dated earlier than all other Sub-group PO-B stamps seen, was not reported until 2017. left|440pxPO-B1. Machine A (digital), 1990. 12px[$20] Date above value figures at right. Post office identification and machine number, with “EMP” prefix, at left. Alphanumeric characters are non-digital with smooth rounds and diagonals. Found with labels A, B and C. V/F: 12px(000)0.00 left|440pxPO-B2. Machine B (digital), 1990. 12px[$20] Format as for Type PO-B1 but digital alphanumeric characters with stepped (jagged) rounds and diagonals. The letter “A” is shaped like a silo, with parallel sides and a pointed cap. The number “1” is footed. The date is wider than with type PO-B1. Found with labels A and B. V/F: 12px(000)0.00 left|440px left|440pxPO-B3. Machine C (digital), 1998. As Type PO-B2 but lettering is narrower. Often with “PRIORITY” vertical at far left. Stepped, jagged rounds and diagonals as with type PO-B2 but the letter “A” has sloping sides. The number “1” has no foot. The date is quite narrow and appears lower on the stamp than with types PO-B1 and -B2. Found with labels D and E. A. Stamp for regular mail B. Stamp for registered mail V/F: 12px(000)0.00 left|440pxPO-B4. Machine A (MV), 1992. 12px[$20] The value figures are at bottom left, and the identification number, with “EMP” prefix, is at bottom right. Alphanumeric characters have smooth rounds and diagonals. Found with labels B and C. V/F: 12px(000)0.00 left|440pxPO-B5. Machine B (digital), 1992. 12px[$5] Arrangement of text as with Type PO-B4 but printed by machine "B". The characters have stepped (jagged) rounds and diagonals. The letter “A” has parallel sides. The number “1” is footed. Found with labels B and E. V/F: 12px(000)0.00 a. Used for registration, without barcode left|440pxPO-B6. Machine C (digital), 1993. As Types PO-B4 and -B5 but printed by Machine "C". Characters with stepped, jagged rounds and diagonals. The letter “A” has sloping sides. The number “1” has no foot. Date and machine number figures are narrow. Found with labels B, C, D and E. V/F: 12px(000)0.00 left|440px left|440pxPO-B7. Machine C (digital), 2000. The value figures appear at top right, and the machine number with “EMP” prefix is found at lower left. A. Value figures in Escudos ($ suffix) above Euros (“EUR” prefix) B. Value figures as "EUR 0,00" C. Value figures as "€ 0,00" (not shown) Found with label E. left|440px right|440px left|440px right|440pxPO-B8. Machine C (digital), 1995. As Type PO-B7 but used for registered mail and showing a barcode. The machine number with “EMP” prefix appears above the date at top center. “R” and number at top left. Found with labels D, E1 and E2. A. Value figures as (000)0.0 B. Value figures in Escudos ($ suffix) above Euros (“EUR” prefix) C. Value figures as "EUR 0,00" D. Value figures as "€ 0,00" a. Without bar code but used on registered mail left|440pxPO-B9. Machine D (digital). Lettering is smooth as with Machine A stamps (PO-B1, PO-B4) but the letters are narrower. The identification number has no "EMP" prefix and appears as 00-000000 at bottom center. A larger 7-digit number appears at bottom left. Denominated in Euros at top right. Found with label E1 (and probably exists with labels E2 and F as well). V/F: 12px€ 0,00 left|440px left|440pxPO-B10. Machine C (digital). Arrangement of text as with Type PO-B9 but characters are typical of machine "C" – jagged rounds and diagonals. A. Euro sign made with thin strokes. Date only below the value figures. B. Euro sign made with thick strokes, touching the value figure next to it. Time added at right of date. Found with labels E1 and G (and probably exists with labels E2 and F as well). V/F: 12px€ 0,00 left|440px left|440px 400px|leftPO-B11. Machine E (digital). Smooth lettering as with Machine D stamps (PO-B9) but the value figures are much smaller. Found with labels E1, E2, F, G and I. The registered mail stamp has been reported both with and without a large "R" left of the barcode (shown here without the R). V/F: 12px€ 0,00 left|395px 400px|left PO-B12. Machine E (digital). Similar to Type PO-B11 but with "PRIORITY" and 7-digit number transposed. Found with labels G and I. V/F: 12px€ 0,00 a. Without "PRIORITY" at bottom left. SUB-GROUP PO-C Stamps with rectangular franks NOTE: The stamp previously cataloged as Type PO-C1 is now cataloged as Type CA10, variety "a", because the design is known used with private commercial meters, not just with post office meters. left|375px PO-C2. Neopost? (digital). Frank with post rider and “CTT CORREIOS” at top center, “PORTUGAL” reading up at right. ID number with “N” prefix reads up at left. “EMP” and number across bottom. TM: BIC V/F: 12px€ 00,00 GROUP PV: Variable-rate stamps from public-access vending machines left|470px left|470px PV1. Olivetti ABAS “Automatic Postal Terminal” (digital ink jet), 1993. 12px[Quite scarce. Value uncertain] THIS MAY BE A TEST PRINT, NOT A STAMP ACTUALLY PLACED IN PUBLIC SERVICE. Rectangular frank and circular TM with seven horizontal lines connecting them and also extruding at each end. At the top of the frank are the machine number prefix “XVI” and "CORREIO DE". At the bottom are the machine number "154" and "PORTUGAL". The top and bottom of the town mark is blank with “CTT” in a semicircle above the date. The date and value figures run through the center and possibly are applied separately from the rest of the stamp. TM: SC with inner semicircles Printed in black. The stamps are applied to labels that vary according to the service purchased: A. Express mail label with “EMS” at upper left B. Registered mail label with “R” and number in box at left C. Parcel Post option existed but we have not seen the stamp V/F: 12pxØØØ. Ø a. Demonstration stamps exist (see the notes below). The do not have "XVI" and a machine number. NOTES: A single machine was used in late 1993 at an unknown location (possibly only as a demonstration). It was later installed at a Postal Mechanism exhibition from 27 January to 29 March 1995 and was then placed into public service in September at the Restauradores Post Office in Lisbon (see PV2). At some later date (unknown) it was moved to the Communications Museum where it may still reside. While in Restauradores it may have been used only for franking Express and Registered mail plus parcel post. In the museum it was modified to print variable rate postage of any sort, both on labels and directly to covers. More information is needed about this stamp. left|500px PV2. Olivetti ABAS “Automatic Postal Terminal” (digital ink jet), 1995. 12px[Scarce. Value uncertain] Similar to PV1 but large "PORTUGAL" alone at top and smaller at bottom. The date figures have slashes (/) rather than dashes (–). No machine number is present. V/F: 12pxØØØ$ GROUP OO: Stamps used only for Official government mail left|372px OO1. Francotyp “Cc” (MV), 1964 or earlier. 12px[RRRR] Used for Military Official mail. Circular frank inscribed “SERVICO POSTAL MILITAR”. Town mark has "CORREIOS" at top and “E.P.M.” plus number at bottom. Only two examples reported from meters E.P.M. 14 and E.P.M. 24. TM: DC V/F: 12px ◆00$00 Return to main catalog ⇒ ../ Return to top ⇒ Portugal