The Bull's Eye ''(

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Olho-de-boi)''

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

s were the first stamps issued by

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, on 1 August 1843, having face values of 30, 60, and 90

réis The first official currency of Brazil was the real (pronounced ; pl. ''réis''), with the symbol Rs$. As the currency of the Portuguese empire, it was in use in Brazil from the earliest days of the colonial period, and remained in use until 1942 ...

. Brazil was the second country in the world, after the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, to issue postage stamps valid within the entire country (as opposed to a local issue). Like the United Kingdoms's first stamps, the design does not include the country name. The unusual name derives from the ornamental value figures inside the oval settings, and the arrangement of the stamps in the sheet, which permitted se-tenant pairs that looked like a pair of bull's eyes. The unusual naming of Brazilian stamps continued with the later issue of smaller, but rectangular designs, which were

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

d ''snake's eyes'', and the issue of similar designs to the Bull's Eyes, but smaller, of which the blue were called ''goat's eyes'', and the black, ''cat's eyes''. There were 1,148,994 30 réis stamps printed, 1,502,142 of the 60 réis value, and 349,182 of the 90 réis stamp. The 90 réis issue were reserved for international mail only. The most important recent Bull's Eyes collection to be sold was that of

Hugo Goeggel Hugo Goeggel (born Quito, Ecuador, 11 November 1936) is a Swiss businessman and philatelist, resident in Colombia, who signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 2010. Early life and family Goeggel was born in Quito, Ecuador, in 1936, ...

in 2013.The Dr. Hugo Goeggel Collections "South America"
Corinphila Auktionen, 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014
Archived here.
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References

{{Reflist

External links

The Brazil "Bullseyes" of 1843

(

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

)
The first Brazilian stamps
(

(archived))
Brazil’s Bull’s Eyes by L. N. Williams

Catalogue for the Meyer sale 2007.Also archived here.

The Islander Collection of Bull's Eyes
Robert A. Siegel Auction 957 - June 5, 2008 Postage stamps Philately of Brazil

See also

References

External links