No specimen has been seen of SELLO 11.  The price of this class of  stamped paper was fixed at 10c. de peso by Article  1 of  the Royal Decree of May 16, 1886.  Article 14 of the same decree provided that stamped of the eleventh class should be used for:  notes drawn in favor of the Treasury Department for  the purchase of  State property;  copies of deeds issued for the cession of public land;   bids for public works services to be rendered either the General or Municipal  Governments. It is possible that copies of deed covering  the cession of public lands and  written  on SELLO 11  may  be  found  in  the  Archives  Division of National Library and Museum of Manila.

SIZE AND FORM OF PAPEL SELLADO

From  1640  until  the  end  of  1887  the  size  and  form  of  each  sheet  of  stamped paper was as follows: 

• a) Each sheet of SELLOI and SELLO 2 was 43 1/2 cm. wide by 31 1/2 cm. long, folded vertically through the center to form  double sheet of four pages,  each 21.75 cm. by 31.50 cm.  (about 8.50 inches by 12 inches), the stamp being printed at the top of the first page.
• b) Each sheet used for SELLO 3, SELLO 4, SELLO 4 DE OFICIO and POBRES was of the same size, folded in the sane manner as that if used for SELLO I and SELLO 2, but stamp was printed at the top of both the first and third pages, so that each double sheet of SELLO 3, SELLO 4, SELLO 4 DE OFICIO and POBRES could be separated into two single sheets which might be sold and used separately, each single sheet being sold at the price of the stamp printed on it.

THE STAMP PRINTED ON PAPEL SELLADO

Because no specimen of Philippine stamped paper issued prior 1733 has been seen, very little can be said concerning the design  of the stamp prior  to that  date. The Royal Ordinance of  December 15, 1636, by which  stamped paper was created for use in Spain provided that the stamp printed at the top of the sheet should consist “of the Royal Coat of Arms and at one side of this the name of the King, his titles, the year for which the paper is valid, the class of the paper, and its value”.  The Royal Decree of December 28, 1638, by which the use of stamped paper was extended to all Spanish Colonies, merely provided that “because by the variation and change of the designs of the stamps their authenticity is made more assured, we command that the stamped sheets bearing the said stamps shall not be valid nor be current  in the Indies for longer than two years, and that for the succeeding two years other stamps of such design as seems most convenient shall be Printed”.  Article 1 of the Royal Cedula of February 12,1830, declared:  “There will be six classes of stamps……each will have the inscription which declares the class, the biennial period in which it is to be used, and its value with the Royal arms and the bust of the reigning sovereign”.  The bust of the reigning sovereign never appeared however, on any of the stamped paper.  In all other respects, the design of the strips conformed to the requirements of the law.

On all specimens which have been seen of Philippine stamped paper issued between 1733 and about 1813 the design of the stamp corresponds very closely to the design prescribed by the Royal Ordinance of December 15, 1636, above quoted. 

Figure 1

Figure 1  shows a specimen of the design which was current during this period. It is probable that a similar design was current during the period between 1640 and 1733.  Prior to about 1813 the printing was so poorly   executed   that   the   label   was  often   difficult   to  read  and has the appearance of having been handstamped with a  wood block,  The stamp of all classes was printed in black ink.