Panama 1904 Registered, Retardo, and A.R. Specimen Stamps

Panama · 1904 · Various

This is a set of six Panamanian special service stamps from 1904, including Registration, Late Fee (Retardo), and Acknowledgement of Receipt (A.R.) issues. These particular examples are 'Specimen' overprints, which were not valid for postage but were distributed to other postal administrations through the Universal Postal Union (UPU) for identification purposes. The set includes three denominations for each service type.

In 1904, just after gaining independence from Colombia with U.S. support, Panama was establishing its own postal system. Distributing specimen stamps through the UPU was a standard procedure for new countries or new issues to ensure international recognition.