Provisional stamped paper was issued whenever there was a change of sovereign and  whenever there occurred a shortage of any of the regularly issued paper, and such shortages seem to have been of very frequent occurrence furthermore, for one reason or another, each new issue of stamped paper usually arrived in the Philippines after the beginning of the biennial period for which it was intended.  Hence, at the beginning of almost every biennial period it became necessary to overprint the remainders of the stamped paper of the preceding biennial period for use during the early part of the new biennial period.  There is absolutely no possibility of accurately predicting what varieties of provisional stamped paper may have been issued.  Only such specimens of   provisional paper as are actually seen can be listed, and such a list would inevitably be very  incomplete.  No attempt is, therefore, made to prepare a catalogue of the stamped paper, the following condensed list is, however, an outline of the stamped paper, which was regularly issued. The biennial periods for which specimens actually seen by the writer were issued are indicated in parentheses.

A.  1640 to 1771 (Authorized by the Royal Decree of December 28, 1638.)
 

No specimens of stamped paper issued prior to 1733 have been seen. It is presumed that, beginning with the biennial period of 1640-41, each biennial period began with an “even” year. The only specimens seen for the period between 1733 and 1748, however, were issued for biennial  periods, which began with “odd” year.  A specimen has also been seen of stamped paper issued for the biennial period of 1611-12, which began with an “odd” year.   All other specimens or regularly issued stamped paper which have been seen, beginning with the biennial period of 1756-57, were issued for biennial periods which began with “even” years. The reasons for the changes in the year of the beginning of the biennial period are not known.

B. 1772 to 1797 (The Authority for SELLO 4 Para Despacho de Oficio is unknown. 
All other classes  were authorized  by  the  Royal  Decree  of  December 28, 1638,)
 

Specimens have been seen of provisional stamped paper labeled “SELLO 4 para Despacho de Oficio” for the years 1773, 1774, 1776, 1783, 1784, 1786, and 1788.  It is probable that this Official stamped paper was originally created, not by Royal Decree, but by decree of the Royal Audiencia (Supreme Court) or of the Governor-General of the Philippines. The specimens of provisional  official paper, above mentioned, for the years 1773 to 1788 have no price indicated, and it appears that this Official paper was issued to without charge for official use for documents pertaining to  “actuations, either judicial or extra judicial, which are of official origin.  The fact that a specimen has been seen of a regular Issue of SELLO 4 Para Despacho de Oficio for the biennial period of  1780-81 indicates that this special class of stamped paper for official use probably received Royal sanction at least as early as 1780.  The issue of this Official paper for official use without charge, however, apparently never received Royal sanction.  From a reference to it in Article 66 of the Royal Cedula of February 12, 1830, it is learned that the Royal Order of February 26, 1784, prohibited the issue of Official paper without charge and authorized the secular Judges to “create a fund for expenses of justice whence it (the cost of the official paper) may be deducted”.  This Royal Order appears to have been ignored, however, and provisional Official paper continued to be issued without charge for official use until at least as late as the biennial period of 1830-31. The price was indicated on all regular issues of Official paper, beginning at least as early as the biennial period of 1780-81.  It is possible that Official paper labeled “SELLO 4 Para Despacho de Oficio” was in use prior to 1773, although no specimens issued prior to that date has been seen.

C.  1798 to 1829 (Authorized by the Instruction of June 28, l794)
 

No specimens have been seen for the period from 1798 to 1829 of SELLO 4 Para Despacho de Oficio on which a price was indicated.  Specimens have been seen, however, of provisional Official paper labeled “SELLO 4 Para Despacho de Oficio”, but without price, for the biennial periods of 1801-02, 1802-03, 1803-04, 1807-08, 1809~10, 1811-12, 1812-13 and 1814-15.  Specimens have also been seen of provisional Official paper labeled “DE OFICIO” but without price for the biennial periods of 1816-17, 1817-18, 1818-19, 1820-21, 1822-23, 1824-25, 1826-27, 1828-29, and 1830-31.

No copy of the Instruction of June 28, 1794, has been seen; but on page 121, Volume 3 of the Recepilacion de Leyes de las Indias”, 5th Edition (Madrid, 1841), footnote 4 states that the  Instruction of June 28, 1794, provided that the price of the first three classes of stamped paper should be doubled but that no change should be made in the price of the fourth class. Article 16 of the Royal Decree of July 13, 1822, indicated that PAPEL DE POBRES (Stamped Paper for the Poor) had been created prior to that time. Lacking evidence of any other Royal Decree by which it might have been created, it is assumed that PAPEL DE POBRES was authorized by Instruction of June 28, 1794.  The footnote mentioned in the preceding paragraph states that the instruction was not transmitted to the Philippines until 1798. This means that it was not enforced in the Philippines until 1798, No specimen of PAPEL DE POBRES has been seen for the period from 1798 to 1833.