Portuguese Ceres definitive stamps

The Ceres definitive series comprises regular postage stamps issued for mainland Portugal and its overseas colonies. Drawn by Constantino de Sobral Fernandes and engraved by José Sérgio de Carvalho e Silva, the series represents the first new definitive issue introduced following the proclamation of the Portuguese Republic. It superseded previous stamps depicting King Manuel II that had been overprinted with the word "República". The standard series was printed typographically by the Portuguese mint, Casa da Moeda.

First issued on 16 February 1912, the stamps remained in production through 1931 and continued in regular use until they were declared obsolete on 30 September 1945, having been replaced by the Caravel definitive series in 1943. Over this period, several modifications occurred. A separate 1926 issue was engraved by Eufénio Carlo Alberto Merondi and produced in lithography by De La Rue in Britain, omitting the designers' names. Later mainland alterations included surcharges featuring revised denominations between 1928 and 1929, a "Revalidado" overprint in 1929, and a re-engraving executed by Arnoldo Fragoso in 1930.

The central design shows the Roman goddess Ceres standing and looking forward, holding a billhook in one hand and a sheaf of grain in the other, accompanied by the inscriptions "REPUBLICA PORTUGUESA" and "CORREIO". For use across the Portuguese colonies, the motif was adapted using a key plate design, with territory names and denominations printed in black, accompanied by extensive perforation varieties. In the Azores, standard Portuguese stamps were overprinted with the name of the archipelago, whereas Madeira received stamps in 1928 produced in intaglio with typographic denominations by Perkins Bacon in London.

Colonial versions are identifiable by the territory name and value printed in black on a key plate design, or by local overprints.