Peru Revenue Stamp with "SPECIMEN" and Various Overprints

Peru · 1874 · 1 Sol

This is a Peruvian revenue stamp, originally intended for fiscal purposes, featuring the national coat of arms. It has been overprinted multiple times, most prominently with "SPECIMEN" in red, indicating it was a sample for postal authorities or collectors and not for postage. Additional smaller overprints are also visible, likely for control or archival purposes.

Specimen stamps were distributed by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) to member countries to help them identify valid international postage. This particular example, being a revenue stamp, was likely used as a sample for fiscal administration or for philatelic archives.