Brazilian Watermarks
It is generally believed by most collectors and even many dealers that Brazilian watermarks are the most difficult of any country to identify, especially when only a portion of the watermark is visible. This is a misconception brought about by the large number of watermarks and compounded by the number of "look alike" issues and an almost endless variety of perforations. Most collectors and dealers just give up and put Brazilian stamps in the "old shoe box" for a rainy day, which never seems to come.
With the exception of the 1905 watermarks (Scott nos. 97 and 98), the watermarks of Brazil can be readily identified using a good watermark detector and fluid or one of the new electric detectors. The fluid is the most important part of watermark detecting, and most dealers offer a wide variety of fluids for this purpose. However, most fluids contain Benzene which under certain circumstances can damage a stamp. (See Scott for a good write-up on "Watermarks" and "Soluable Printing Inks"). This writer has found that Bestine Solvent and Thinner, manufactured by the Union Rubber & Asbestos Co., Trenton, N.J. does not damage the stamp. This product can be purchased in most art supply stores. It evaporates very rapidly so a stamp dries very quickly by blowing on it, but read the directions as it is highly flamable.
The various catalogues give reasonably good images or drawings of most Brazilian watermarks; however, Stanley-Gibbons appears to be the best because of size and clarity. The "Catalogo De Selos do Brazil" by Dr. Francisco Schiffer is also excellent and lists all watermarks of Brazil including the Condor and Varig varieties which are not listed by other catalogues. Unfortunately the Schiffer catalogue is in Portuguese and can cause translation problems. Scott does, however, show watermarks from the back of the stamp which is the way most of us look at them. Most other catalogues show watermarks from the face of the stamp which may cause some confusion as to the way the wording is supposed to read. Keep this in mind when using a catalogue other than Scott.
Even for the specialist, the 1905 watermarks (Scott nos. 97 and 98) seem to pose the greatest problem in identification. The stamps in question, Scott Nos. 166-171G were printed for postal and tax purposes with the only distinguishing feature being the watermarked paper. The tax stamps, watermarked IMPOSTO DE CONSUMO REPUBLICA DOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DO BRAZIL (wmk 98), have somewhat thinner lettering than the postage stamps, watermarked CORRIEO FEDERAL REPUBLICA DOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DO BRAZIL (wmk 97), but the difference individual is so slight as to be almost indistinguishable on stamps.
Roberto Thut in his "Catalogo Thut de Sellos Postais do Brasil" (São Paulo 1934) has a full sheet reconstruction of these watermarks which shows that, because of the difference in length of the two combinations of words, the letters in a given row of stamps do not stand in the same relation to letters above or below in sheets of the two different watermarks. The Schiffer catalogue has a partial reconstruction of these watermarks and is most helpful. However, even with these helpful tools, a single stamp must show the lower half of one line and the upper half of the next line to enable one to distinguish the correct watermark. In the absence of absolute identifying features, it has been the practice to classify the watermark as no. 97.
The other watermarks of Brazil do not present as much difficulty in identification, and I shall attempt to point out some helpful ways to classify these watermarks.
The first step one should take to assist in identifying Brazilian watermarks is to print out the entire wording. A good trick is to Xerox the watermarks as shown in any of the catalogues, cut them out and paste onto a single sheet of paper with the wording printed above or below the watermark. This will show all the watermarks at one easy reference point instead of flipping back and forth in the catalogue.
Another way is to trace the watermark directly from the stamp (preferably a pair, strip, black or sheet) by holding the stamp against a window or on a piece of clear glass with a light under it. Use any thin paper, preferably regular tracing paper.
CORRIEO (wmk 99). This watermark was used only on Scott nos. 195-197, so it is not even necessary to check the watermark.
CASA DA MOEDA (wmk 100) and ESTADOS UNIDOS DO BRASIL (wmk 193) are often confused. It is quite easy to distinguish between these watermarks if one keeps in mind the spelling of the two groups of words. The main distinguishing features are as follows:
- The spacing between words. Note that because of the spacing
in wmk 100, some stamps may be unwatermarked (See note below
watermark 100 in Scott).
- If only the upper or lower half of a letter or row of letters show compare to the wording of the entire watermark and note the following:
- There is a space slightly wider than a letter between AD of ESTADOS.
- In CASA DA MOEDA, the D is always followed by A. In ESTADOS UNIDOS DO BRASIL, the D is always followed by O.
- ASA of CASA should not be confused with ASI BRASIL as the A slants and the I is a single vertical line.
- When only the lower half of the letters show;
- The M of MOEDA can be distinguished from the NI of UNIDOS because the V portion of M has a slant and the upstroke of N is a vertical line.
- When there are curved lines in two successive letters the watermark is ESTADOS UNIDOS DO BRASIL as every letter of CASA DA MOEDA which contains a curve is preceded and followed by letters with straight lines.
CASA DA MOEDA and stars (wmk 101). This is one of the easiest watermarkS to identify because of the large stars. Rarely does a stamp not show at least a portion of a star and when no part of the star shows then one of the letters will show. In this case do not confuse the watermark with EU BRASIL (wmk 218). The letters are about the same height but much wider and further apart. The letters and stars are arranged in vertical or horizontal rows across the sheet with one letter of CASA DA MOEDA under each star. The rows of stars alternate with rows of letters.
A variety of this watermark exist on Scott numbers 273-285. The word DA is missing, causing the watermark to read CASA MOEDA and the stars are slightly smaller. The Schiffer Catalogue describes this variety as does Roberto Thut. This variety is difficult to spot, especially on a single stamp but a close comparison of the star and letter sizes should present no major problems.
CM enclosed by a star (wmk 206) is an easy watermark to identify. It is used on commemoratives nos. 288-292 and 312-314 where no confusion can arise. It also appears on C17-25 and C25-C28 which again should cause no confusion.
E U BRASIL (wmk 218). This watermark is described by Scott as being 8mm high. I want to point out that measurement of watermarks can be difficult because edges are seldom perfectly clear and also when a stamp is submerged in fluid it makes measuring difficult. The serious specialist should consider purchasing a metric caliper which will be most helpful. One might also consider a set of dividers and an accurate metric scale.
The large letters of this watermark makes it quite easy to identify and it should not be confused with wmk 221 because of size. Also, remember that the wording is repeated over and over with no spaces between any letters or words as follows:
EUBRASILEUBRASILEUBRASIL etc.
EUBRASILEUBRASILEUBRASIL etc.
In 1929, a variation of this watermark was used on Scott nos. 302, 303, 306, 308 and 311. These are listed as "a" numbers and called "in echelon." This watermark appears as follows:
EUBRASILEUBRASILEUBRASIL etc.
LEUBRASILEUBRASILEUBRASI etc.
ILEUBRASILEUBRASILEUBRAS etc.
As in the regular wmk 218, the letters run continuously across the sheet with no spaces between letters or words.
ESTADOS UNIDOS DO BRASIL (wmk 221). This watermark has no spaces between letters or words as in wmk 218, but there can be no confusion here as the size is 6mm. However, wmk 221 is sometimes confused with the later CORREIO BRASIL (wmk 249) by those who fail to notice that colors and perforation differ. The colors are similar only on nos. 316/432 and 322/441, but the perforations are the key to identification. All wmk 221 stamps are perf 13 x 12-1/2 and wmk 249 stamps are perf 1l or 11-1/2.
CORRIEO BRASIL in a rectangle enclosing five stars in a circle (wmk 222) is sometimes referred to as the "Southern Cross watermark." It is quite easy to distinguish as no other watermark has any similarity.
Coat of arms in sheet (wmk 236). This watermark has been used on several commemoratives and on regular issues 404-406. Even though many stamps of a sheet will not show any part of the watermark, there should be no confusion on 404-406 because of the very thick laid paper.
CASA DA MOEDA DO BRASIL and Formee cross (wmk 245). This watermark is the same as wmk 256 except for the formee (Maltese) cross between each word. There should be little trouble in distinguishing these as the letters appear rather squat and wide-spread and if the cross is visible it cannot be mistaken for the + on wmk 256.
CORREIO BRASIL (wmk 249). This watermark has two important identifying features. First, there is a space between CORREIO and BRASIL the width of a letter. Secondly, between BRASIL and CORREIO there is a small circle about 2mm in diameter. Keep in mind that stamps with wmk 249 are perf ll or 11-1/2 so as not to be confused with wmk 221 which is perf 13 x 12-1/2.
CASA+DA+MOEDA+DO+BRASIL (wmk 256). This watermark can cause considerable confusion as it is listed by Scott as 8mm and by the other catalogues as 7mm. The Schiffer catalogue lists a variety of this watermark as 5mm which is not mentioned in any other catalogue and should not be confused with wmk 268 which is on a different issue. As mentioned before, measuring a watermark is rather difficult and a lmm difference is not very significant but the 5mm variety listed by Schiffer is quite distinguishable. Schiffer also indicates that the letter "A" is slightly different in design. This variety is found on Scott nos. 467-474.
CORREIO BRASIL with small stars (wmk 264) is an "in echelon" watermark and should not be confused with the "a" nos. of wmk 249 as there is no resemblance in the letter formations. Wmk 264 is similar to wmk 256 and due to the presence of the word BRASIL, care must be taken to distinguish between them. This can be done be measuring the word BRASIL which in wmk 256 is 45mm long measured from the vertical line of the B to the end of the horizontal part of the L. The word BRASIL of wmk 264 is 52mm long. The surest way to make identification of a stamp showing only part of BRASIL is to compare the visible part of the watermark with a tracing of the word BRASIL taken from each watermark.
CORREIO BRASIL with small stars (wmk 267) is identical to wmk 264 but the letters are only 5mm high and should cause no confusion. There is a similarity to wmks 245 and 249 but keep in mind that wmk 267 is "in echelon" while the other two are not.
CASA+DA+MOEDA+DO+BRASIL (wmk 268). This watermark is identical to wmk 256 but the letters are smaller, and again we have some confusion as to the size of the watermark. Scott list wmk 268 as 6mm while the other catalogues list it as 5mm. The writer is inclined to agree with 5mm but has some stamps that appear a little larger and could be classified as 6mm.
Other watermarks of Brazil, nos. 281, 270 and 271 pose no problems because of the uniqueness of the stamp they are on. Schiffer list eight other watermarks but these are also unique, mostly to the Condor and Varig issues unlisted by Scott.
One important factor to keep in mind when watermarking Brazilian stamps is that the watermark may appear horizontal, vertical, right side up, inverted or reversed. There seems to be little regularity or control over the position in which the paper is fed to the presses.
In summary, let me state again that with the exception of the 1905 watermarks most Brazilian stamps can be accurately identified by any portion of the watermark that is visible and more often than not, because of the clarity of Brazilian watermarks, it is not necessary to even use a detector.
Bibliography
Scott Catalogue
Stanley-Gibbons Catalogue
Makue Catalogue
Catalogo De Selos do Brasil, Dr. Francisco Schiffer
Catalogo Thut de Sellos Postais do Brazil, Roberto Thut
Brazil, Issues of 1894, 1900 and 1905, Clinton Bernard, STAMPS, 5-23-42
On Brazilian Watermarks, Ralph E. Warner, Ph.D., COLLECTORS
CLUB GOSSIP
This article was originally published in 1973 in a supplement to Bull's Eyes, the philatelic journal of the Brazil Philatelic Association. It may be reproduced for non-commerical purposes with attribution to the source.
