Portugal Ceres Type, 2½ Centavos Orange

Portugal · 1912 · 2½c

This stamp features an allegorical depiction of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, grain, and fertility. She is shown holding a sickle and a sheaf of wheat, symbolizing Portugal's agricultural bounty. This design, created by Constantino de Sobral Fernandes, was the first definitive series of the Portuguese Republic and remained in use for several decades.

Issued shortly after the 1910 revolution that established the First Portuguese Republic, the Ceres series replaced stamps bearing the portrait of the deposed monarch, King Manuel II, marking a significant political transition.