Spain, 1851 (2 reales, blue error)
A young queen in profile in an oval of lettering, printed in blue.
Illustration of a historical stamp for learning, shown at screen size. Not valid for postage.
How to read it
No country name: Spanish words (CORREOS, DOS REALES) around Queen Isabella II.
- 1CERTFDO: registered
- 2DOS REALES
- 3CORREOS
- Inscription
- CERTFDO · DOS REALES · CORREOS · 1851
- Meaning
- CERTFDO is short for certificado, registered; DOS REALES is two reales; CORREOS means posts. No country name.
- Issued by
- Spain
- Today
- Spain Flag of Spain
- Year
- 1851. Issued 1851; this one was printed in the wrong colour.
- Made by
- Bartolomé Tomás Coromina Subirá (stamp designer and engraver, died 1867)
One fact
This 2 reales was printed in blue by mistake instead of red: a famous Spanish colour error. The one shown is in the Tapling Collection of the British Library.
Source and public-domain rule
Spain, creators died more than 80 years ago. Engraver Bartolomé Coromina died 1867. The British Library released its photograph under CC0; the design itself is out of copyright. For authors who died before 7 December 1987, Spanish law keeps the term of the 1879 law: life of the author plus 80 years (Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996, fourth transitional provision; Law of 10 January 1879, Art. 6). Every named designer and engraver of the stamp died before 1 January 1946. Legal sources: Real Decreto Legislativo 1/1996 (intellectual property law), disposición transitoria cuarta, Ley de 10 de enero de 1879 de propiedad intelectual, Art. 6.
Scan: Queen Isabella II (2 reales stamp with colour error) - The Tapling Collection (1851) - BL.jpg on Wikimedia Commons (revision 922008704), licence templates {{Cc-zero}} (a public-domain reason different from ours; both are recorded). Downloaded 2026-10-22, sha256 8f4b1d927c1a…; cropped and cleaned for this site. Facts checked 2026-10-22 against source 1 and source 2. Research record, not legal advice; a second check of these rights by a person is planned, and a stamp that turns out not to be free to use will be removed. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
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