Peru Revenue Stamp with 'MUESTRA' Overprint

Peru · 1874 · 1 Sol

This is a Peruvian revenue stamp, likely from the 1874 issue, featuring a central vignette of a steamship at sea, framed by an ornate design. The stamp is overprinted with 'MUESTRA' in red, which translates to 'SPECIMEN' in Spanish, indicating it was not intended for postal or fiscal use but rather for distribution to postal authorities or for archival purposes.

Specimen stamps were produced by governments to prevent fraudulent use and to supply examples to the Universal Postal Union and other postal administrations. This particular stamp is a fiscal or revenue stamp, used for collecting taxes or fees rather than postage.