Chapter 21
CUSTOMS STAMPS
Dr. James C. Perry has recorded the quantity issued of  the CUSTOMS stamps which appeared  on April  18,  1902, as follows: [134]
 
Denominations and colors
Quantity
20 Cents, Blue
25,000
30 Cents, Yellow Green
50,000
2 Dollars, Carmine
10,000

No information has been obtained as to the  quantity of CUSTOMS stamps  issued subsequent  to April 18,  1902, and prior to October  1,  1917.

In 1939  the present Director of  the Bureatu of  Printing, Mr.  Pablo Lucas, very kindly produced from his  files  all  the work-orders for  the printing of customs stamps which he could  find.    The  Bureau of Printing had recently moved to new quarters and adequate storage facilities  for  their records were not available in the new building at the  time of removal.    Hence, the resurrecting of  those old records required considerable search.    No work-orders dated prior   to 1920 were found and not all of  those issued subsequent  to  1920 could be found.    Fortunately  all stamps of the 1917-26 issue from one peso upward were serially  numbered,  and all denominations of  the two  subsequent issues have been serially numbered.    Each work-order specified both the  series letter  and  the   serial numbers of  the stamps  to be printed.    Hence,  in most cases,   even though one or more work-orders were missing,   it was possible  to determine   the    total number of  stamps of each denomination printed.    Since the  denominations  from 1 centavo  to 50 centavos of  the  1917-26 issue  not serially numbered it was not possible  to determine  the quantity of these denominations printed.    There follows a list of the quantities printed,  in so far as it has been possible to determine  them, of  the   issues of  1917-26 and 1927-29.    The issue of 1930-32 is  still current.    Hence final figures for  this  issue cannot yet ba given.
 

1917 - 1926 Issue of Customs Documentary Stamps
1c. -- Total quantity unknown; last 5,000 printed in March, 1925
2c. -- Total quantity unknown; last 5,000 printed in March, 1925
5c. -- Total quantity unknown
10c. -- Total quantity unknown
20c. -- Total quantity unknown
1p -- 1,300,000. Thirteen printings of 100,000 each; last printing, May 1926.
2p. -- 400,000. Two printings of 50,000 each for each four series, A to D; last printing Series D, May 1926
5p. -- 150,000. Four printings, 25,000 each, Series A; one printing; 50,000 Series B, in January 1925
10p. -- 100,000. Number of printigs unknown; Series A, 15,001 to 20,000, Sept. 1920; Series A, 60,001 to 100,00. Jan. 1925.
20p. -- 30,000 (?). Series A, 10,001 to 20,000, Sept 1920; Series A, 20,001 to 30,000 (?), probably in 1925, since No. 20,507 was cancelled in 1925.
50p. -- 6,000. Probably six printings of 1,000 each; A-3,001 to A-4,000, Sept 1920; A-5,001 to A-6000, Jan. 1925.
100p. -- 2,000 (?) Total probably not more than 2,000; highest serial number seen is A-1,315.
200p. -- 1,500. Three printings of 500 each, Series A; last printing of 500 in Sept. 1920; still current in 1940.
500p. -- 600. All Series A; 200 in 1917; 200 in Sept. 1920 and 200 in January 1925.
1927 - 1929 Issue of Customs Documentary Stamps
1c. -- 10,000 (?). Probably two printings of 5,000 each; highest serial number seen is A-8,726.
2c. -- 10,000. Two printings of 5,000 each; the last in July, 1930.
5c. -- 10,000. One printing in May 1929.
10c. -- 10,000. One printing in June 1927.
20c. -- 10,000 (?). the highest serial number seen is 7,065.
50c. -- 200,000. Two printings of 100,000 each; last printing Series B-1 to 100,000 in 1929.
1p. -- 500,000. Five printings of 100,000 each; Series A-1 to 100,000 in May 1927; Series E-1 to 100,000 in March 1929.
2p. -- 200,000. Two printings of 100,000 each. First printing, Series A-1 to 100,000, May 1927; Second printing, Series B-1 to 100,000 date unknown; 49,638 is the highest number seen of Series B.
5p. -- 25,000 (?) Probably one printing; highest serial number seen is A-16,425.
10p. -- 50,000. One printing in May 1928.
50p. -- 2,000. One printing in September 1927.
100p. -- 1,000 (?). Probably not more than 1,000; highest serial number seen is 881; only two specimens seen (Cacho has No. 998).
500p. -- 200. One printing in January 1929; only three specimens seen.