COLOMBIA

COLOMBIA.

2nd National Philatelic Exhibition, Bogotá, December 1953.
Real Estate Tax Stamp surcharged.
Map with the location of Colombia in South America and portrait of Manuel Murillo Toro.
Stamp issued on 12.12.1953.
Face value: 5 cents over 5 Colombian pesos.
Printing: Offset lithography and recess.
Printed by the American Bank Note Company, New York.
Print: 200,000 copies.
Size: 31 x 52 mm.

Catalogues
- Leo Temprano No. 765.
- Michel No. 666.
- Scott No. 618.
- StampWorld No. 649.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 784.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 483.

An interesting detail on the stamp: the Masonic symbol that appears in the upper right. Freemasonry played a very important role in the independence processes of Colombia.

Manuel Murillo Toro (Chaparral, United Provinces of New Granada, January 1, 1816 - Bogotá, December 26, 1880) was a Colombian politician and writer, twice president of the United States of Colombia by the Colombian Liberal Party (April 8 1864 - April 1, 1866; and April 1, 1872 - April 1, 1874). He participated in the Rionegro Convention, which gave the country a new Constitution and a new name, Estados Unidos de Colombia (United States of Colombia), in 1863. He sponsored, supported, and enacted legislation in favor of the rights of freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press. He also established the National Press and Telegraph Institute and the National Institute of Cartography. His death marked the end of the influence of radical liberal ideas in the Colombian government, giving way to conservative governments for almost 50 years.