Perfins on the Stamps of Cuba Sellos de Cuba con perforaciones de empresas			INDEX Perfins on Postage Stamps Official Punch Perfins Perfins known only on Cuban Revenue Stamps Perfin Cancellations of Revenue Stamps History of Perfins Orientation of a Punch Earliest Known Use in Cuba Perfin Glossary Bibliography of Cuban Perfins Links and References
	A pictorial exhibition of Cuban perforated insignia stamps honoring the late Rudy Roy. La palabra "perfin" viene del inglés: perforated insignia (siglas perforadas) This page was created and is maintained by Robert Littrell.

1 –   Perfins on Postage Stamps
No.	Firm  /  Address  / Years of Use  / Notes	Perfin	Stamps Perforated (Edifil 2012 Catalog)	Front	Reverse (* Mirror image)	Cover (Click to enlarge)
Núm.	Compañia /  Dirección / Años en uso / Notas	Perfin	sellos perforados (Edifil 2012 Catálogo)	Frente	Reverso (* imagen espejo)	Cubierta (pulse para vista detallada)
01	Acosta & Company Inquisidor 15, La Habana 1917 There is an internet reference to the company listed, in 1921, under "Almacenes de Viveres" or grocery store, probably wholesale in imports and exports. An advertisement in a paper journal indicates they were engaged in the import and export of "paper and pulp" Click on this link for more A&C covers and stamps.		205, 206, 206a, 207, 208			24 December 1918(?) This single example of the A&C perfin on cover is owned by collector Robert Littrell.
02	Banco Nacional de Cuba Obispo & Cuba, La Habana 1914 - 1922 Click on this link for more BNC covers and stamps.	BNC	195, 196, 196A, 198, 198A, 200, 200A, 204, 205, 206, 206a, 207, 208, 210, 212, 213		*	13 August 1918
03	Compañía Armour de Cuba 1 (Armour & Company) also: Compañía Abono Armour de Cuba (Armour Fertilizer) Mercaderes 15, Apartado 470, La Habana 1917 - 1928 Subsidiary of the U.S. company of the same name, Armour had large interests in beef and mutton. Click on this link for more CA covers and stamps.	CA (Monogram)	205, 206, 206a, 207, 210, 214, 215, 224 Timbre Nacional revenue		*	21 June 1922
04	Cuban Telephone Co. Aguila & Dragones (P.O. Box 945), La Habana 1917 - 1933 The Cuban Telephone Company was a subsidiary of IT&T Click on this link for more CTC covers and stamps.		203, 205, 206, 206a, 207, 208, 210, 214, 215, 216, 218, 220, 222, 224, 227, 233, 235, 244, 245, 251, 252, 253, 256, 259, 269, 272, 273, 273A		*	17 June 1924
05	R.G. Dun & Company Obispo & Cuba (Banco Nacional building), Apartado 900, La Habana 1911 - 1938 Robert Graham Dun was a merchant, financial services broker. He began his career in Tappan & Douglass, the first mercantile agency in New York City, in 1850, becoming partner in 1854. He opened his own credit-rating firm in 1861, R. G. Dun & Company, with branches in major cities nationwide. The company was an early adopter of office machinery, including the typewriter, on which he composed the weekly "Dun's Review" to review international business condition. The firm later merged to form Dun & Bradstreet, one of the best known credit-rating and financial services publishing firms in the country. Click on this link for more DUN covers and stamps.		190, 191, 195, 195A, 196, 196A, 201, 205, 206, 206a, 207, 214, 215, 224, 251, 252, 253, 254, 269, 272A, 273, 273A, 302 Postal Tax 1		*	29 May 1934
06	Enrique Armaignac Gallo 66 (now 10 de Octubre), Santiago de Cuba 1917 - 1945 This company sold boots, shoes, harnesses and saddles. Click on this link for an EA cover and stamps.	EA	205, 206, 206a, 215, 252, 253, 269		*	21 March 1934
07	El Sol de Canadá (Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada) Aguiar 75, La Habana 1917 - 1948 Click on this link for more EL SOL covers and stamps.	EL SOL	205, 206, 206a, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 215, 216, 217, 218, 222, 225, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 234, 237, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 247a, 248, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 255a, 256, 256a, 261, 262, 263, 264, 266, 267, 268, 269, 271, 273, 274, 275, 281, 300, 307, 328, 330, 331, 332, 335s, 336, 338, 342, 345, 351, 352, 357, 358, 361, 370, 375, 380, 384, 389, 395, 405, 408, 411, 419 Semipostal 1 Postal Tax 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Semi-postal 1		*	16 September 1940
07a	El Sol de Canadá (Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada) Obrapía 58 / Aguiar 75 La Habana 1941	EL SOL 3 additional control holes 3 and bent "E"	Postal Tax (Sobretasa postal) 4		*	No cover has been documented Ningun uso en cubierta se ha reportado.
08	Empresa Naviera de Cuba San Pedro 262, La Habana 1914 - 1939 This company was a steamship line with regular service to New York, San Juan and Central America. In 1940, the ship Cuba plied the waters between Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Ciudad Trujillo, San Juan, Curaçao and La Guaira. Click on this link for more ENC stamps.		203, 205, 206a, 207, 208, 214, 215, 218, 222, 247, 251, 252, 253, 255, 256, 256a, 263, 264, 267, 269, 274, 279, 286, 290, 292, 293, 294, 295, 300, 302, 303, 331, 333, 334 Semipostal 1		*	19 July 1939. This single example of the ENC (diagonal) perfin on cover is owned by collector Sofia Almdovar.
09	Empresa Naviera de Cuba La Habana ca. 1930 Here is what Cuban collector Alfredo Díaz Gámez has to say about the ENC horizontal perfin: "This horizontal mark is a controversial one. Some references have attributed it to the same enterprise as the diagonal ENC, the Empresa Naviera de Cuba, but this matter leads to certain questions. Why did this enterprise use two different marks at the same time? Why was the Gómez 1930 2c stamp (Edifil 252, Scott 309) perfined with both marks, diagonal and horizontal? Did Empresa Naviera, located at Havana, have an office in another city and therefore need to use two different marks to identify each one? I cannot answer those questions, but I personally think that maybe the horizontal ENC doesn't belong to Empresa Naviera de Cuba, but to another unknown company, coincidently with the same initials."	ENC horizontal	251, 252			No cover has been documented Ningun uso en cubierta se ha reportado.
10	Frank Robins Company 1 Edificio Robins, Obispo & Habana, La Habana 1917 - 1925 This firm dealt in musical instruments and office equipment. It has also been connected to advertising for the Remington Typewriter Co. and the Burroughs Adding Machine Co. This identification has not been confirmed by a cover of the company, but four postcards have been produced that were written over a period of three years with FRCo perfins, all written by an employee of the Frank Robins Company. Click on this link for more FRCo covers and stamps.		205, 206, 206a, 207, 208, 210, 215 Timbre Nacional revenue		*	5 May 1924 No cover has been documented on letterhead of company This postcard was written by an employee of Frank Robins Co. See the story by following the link at left.2
11	General Electric Cubana, S.A. Obispo 79 (later Prado & Animas), La Habana 1930-1958 A subsidiary of the U.S. firm, it distributed refrigeration equipment and household appliances.   Click on this link for more GE covers and stamps.	GE	212, 246, 246a, 247, 248, 251, 252, 253, 255, 255a, 256, 256a, 258, 259, 261, 263, 264, 264a, 265, 255, 330, 331, 332, 334, 335, 336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 342, 346, 349, 351, 353, 355, 361, 362, 363, 364, 367, 368, 370, 375, 376, 377, 379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 387, 388, 390, 391, 392, 395, 398, 402, 403, 407, 408, 409, 418, 419, 422, 424, 426, 432, 433, 440, 511, 536, 537, 555, 558, 561, 566, 567, 571, 576, 578, 579, 586, 601, 602, 619, 642, 650, 654, 665, 726, 750, 834, 861 Postal Tax 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 16a, 28, 32, 34, 39, 42		*	25 October 1940
12	José Llano [Tentative ID] Obispo 111 (at the corner of Compostela), La Habana 1917-1930 José Llano was the owner of a jewelry store in downtown Havana which also carried crystal glassware. This identification has not been confirmed by a cover. Esta identificacion no se ha verificado en cubierta. Click on this link for more JLL stamps.		205, 206, 206a, 208, 210, 215, 240		*	No cover has been documented Ningun uso en cubierta se ha reportado.
13	Monroe & Company [Tentative ID] Edificio Robins, 510, Obispo & Habana, La Habana 1914-1917 Charles W. Monroe, President. This was an advertising and publishing agency which rented offices in the upper floors of the Edificio Robins Co. building in Havana. It specialized in advertising production for periodicals and journals. This identification has not been confirmed by a cover. Esta identificacion no se ha verificado en cubierta. Click on this link for more M&co stamps.		196, 196A, 206, 207		*	No cover has been documented Ningun uso en cubierta se ha reportado.
14	Unknown firm 1914 Probably a U.S. firm. It is listed in the U.S. Perfins Catalog as M054 belonging to an unidentified user with known usages from 1912-1917. It is also listed in the U.S. Revenue Catalog as MA0160 with uses on documentary stamps.		195		*	No cover has been documented Ningun uso en cubierta se ha reportado.
15	National City Bank of New York 1 O'Reilly & Compostela, La Habana 1914 - 1946 Click on this link for more NCB covers and stamps.		203, 205, 206, 206a, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 229, 230, 231, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 247, 251, 252, 253, 254, 256, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 265, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272A, 273, 273A, 274, 275, 278, 281, 283, 293, 295, 297, 298, 302, 303, 304, 328, 330, 331, 332, 335, 335s, 336, 340, 346, 353, 369, 380, 384 Postal Tax 1, 2 Semi-Postal 1 Timbre Nacional revenue		*	14 October 1938
16	New York Life Insurance Company Edward Clarkson, agent, Lonja 524, La Habana 1914 - 1922 Click on this link for more NLY stamps.		195, 196, 196A, 198, 205, 206, 206a, 207, 208, 210		*	1 May 1922 This single example of the NLY perfin on cover is owned by collector Maciej Pilecki.
17	National Paper & Type Co. of Cuba, S.A.1 O'Reilly 46, La Habana 1914 - 1938 This is the Havana branch of the much larger U.S. enterprise which imported and distributed paper products and office goods.   Click on this link for more NPT covers and stamps.		203, 205, 206, 206a, 207, 208, 210, 215, 216, 218, 225, 244, 245, 247, 251, 252, 253, 254, 256, 264, 267, 271, 297, 328 Semipostal 1 Postal Tax 1 Semi-Postal 1 Timbre Nacional revenue		*	13 September 1927 No cover has been documented on company envelope corner card, but P.O. Box No 666, which is hand written on the reverse, is correct for the company.
18	Odriozola y Cía 1 D'Clouet 12, Cienfuegos 1917 - 1925 This firm imported and distributed hardware. Click on this link for more O&C covers and stamps.		205, 206, 206a, 207, 208, 210, 214, 215 Timbre Nacional revenue			2 November 1922 This single example of the O&C perfin on cover is owned by collector Doug Peterson.
19	Parke, Davis & Cía Gervasio 137, La Habana 1930 - 1951 Click on this link for more PD covers and stamps.	PD	219, 247, 248, 251, 252, 253, 255, 256, 256a, 258, 263, 264, 265, 330, 331, 332, 336, 338, 340, 342, 345, 350, 353, 355, 356, 360, 365, 369, 376, 380, 382, 386, 389, 393, 396, 399, 401, 403, 407, 408, 418, 426, 433 Postal Tax 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14		*	15 June 1943
20	Quiñones Hardware Corporation 1 Monte 214-222, La Habana 1917 - 1919 This company began in 1916 using an English language name. It's corner card read "Ferreteria y Maquinaria" which means hardware and machinery. There is an internet reference that indicates the firm sold its assets in 1922. Click on this link for a QHC cover and stamps.		205, 206, 206a, 207 Timbre Nacional revenue		*	29 January 1919 This single example of the QHC perfin on cover is owned by collector Robert Littrell.
21	Ricardo Veloso y Cía, Cultural S.A. Galiano 62 (corner of Neptuno), La Habana 1917 - 1949 Libreria Cervantes was Ricardo Veloso Guerra's Havana bookstore, founded in 1910. Eventually boasting the largest inventory of books in Havana, Libreria Cervantes also distinguished itself as the first bookstore in the city to sell books on credit. Veloso also edited and published books for Cervantes. In 1926, Veloso merged his company with Cultural S.A. and they expanded their business in Cuba as well as abroad. In the process, they assumed a prominent role in Havana's literary and cultural circles. Click on this link for more RV&Co. covers and stamps. In 1925, Ricardo Veloso applied to get post office approval of his perfins. Click on this link to see the application and acceptance. Despite the 1925 application date, issues of the 1917-18 definitive series can be found with this perfin .	RV & Co. Click on this link for RV&Co. pin break varieties.	205, 206a, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 214, 215, 216, 217, 219, 224, 225, 226, 229, 234, 235, 240, 241, 242, 245, 246, 247, 248, 251, 252, 253, 255, 256, 256a, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 263a, 263b, 264, 265, 266, 267, 269, 270, 277, 279, 280, 282, 284, 293, 296, 304, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 334, 335, 336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 342, 345, 348, 349, 350, 351, 353, 354, 357, 360, 361, 363, 364, 365, 369, 370, 373, 374, 380, 381, 382, 384, 386, 390, 391, 392, 399, 401, 402, 403, 405, 408, 411, 419, 421 Semi-Postal 1, Postal Tax 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9		*	24 March 1942
22	Droguería Sarrá 1 Teniente Rey & Compostela, La Habana 1914 - 1954 Droguería Sarrá was established in 1853 in Havana by Dr. José Sarrá to provide pharmaceutical and homeopathic products. Under his son, Dr. Ernesto José Sarrá, Droguería Sarrá was expanded and improved to become the largest pharmaceutical and distribution company in Cuba and in Latin America until 1960 when the government confiscated all private businesses. Click on this link for more SARRA covers and stamps.	SA RRA	203, 205, 206, 206a, 207, 208, 210, 214, 215, 216, 216As, 217, 218, 219, 220, 222, 224, 225, 227, 241, 244, 245, 247, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 255a, 256, 258, 261, 263, 264, 264a, 265, 267, 268, 269, 271, 272, 272A, 273A, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 281, 281a, 286, 287, 288, 288s, 292, 293, 294, 295, 297, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 328, 331, 332, 336, 337, 339, 357, 381, 414, 578, 581, 583, 586, 590 Semi-postal 1, 2 Postal Tax 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 34, 39 Timbre Nacional revenue		*	22 June 1936
23	Solís Entrialgo y Compañía Galiano 77 (Corner of San Rafael), La Habana 1917 - 1929 In 1888 two brothers who emigrated to Cuba, José (Don Pepe) and Bernardo Solis, established a dry goods store at the corner of Galiano and San Rafael. They joined forces with Entrialgo Aquilino, forming the commercial firm of Solis Entrialgo and Cia. in 1900. It later operated a large luxury department store under the trade name El Encanto (the charm). Click on this link for more SEC covers and stamps.		205, 206, 206a, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 214, 215, 216, 217, 219, 221, 222, 223, 224, 227, 229, 231, 270 Timbre Nacional revenue		*	30 October 1928
Footnotes: 1 Perfins of this company appear on revenue stamps (Timbre Nacional ), as well as commercial uses such as regular postage, airmail, postage tax stamps and semipostal stamps. 2 Many perfin collectors regard anything other than use on the pattern's firm envelope as spurious. It is most likely someone helping themselves to a little free postage. 3 The Perfins Club has a glossary that defines "control hole" (also known as a "code hole") as an additional hole extra to the normal design.

2 –   Official Punch Perfins
No.	Cuba  / Years of Use	Perfin	Stamps Perforated	Front	Reverse (* Mirror image)	Usage (Click to enlarge)
1	República de Cuba Official punch, 1904 Revaluation of postal card from 2 centavos to 1 centavo Click on this link for more República de Cuba official punch covers.	1	Edifil Tarjeta postal 69		*	27 February 1904
2	República de Cuba Post Office Department Official punch, 1917 - 1931 known usage Tarjeta de Identificación (Identification Card)		Edifil 186, 200A, 210, 218		*
3	República de Cuba Official punch, 1960	PAGADO (PAID)	Edifil Postal Tax 39 Scott C204 (1960)
4	República de Cuba Official punch, 1955	PAGADO (+ date)	Edifil 629 Scott C120 (1955)		*	Revenue use of airmail postage stamp
5	República de Cuba Official punch, 1952	REP.C.	Jones Revenue Stamps of Cuba GP120
6	República de Cuba Official punch, 1923	PAGADO (Larger version than No. 3)	Jones GP19 (1924)

3 –   Perfins known only on Cuban Revenue Stamps
No.	Company & Address	Perfin	Types of Documents Perforated	Scan of examples
1	Unknown company	AECo	Timbre Nacional revenue stamps Recargo 1957-1958
2	J.F. Berndes & Co. [Tentative ID] Calle Cuba 64, La Habana This company was active in the sugar and machinery business in the last part of the 19th century and the early 20th century. In 1918 it was blacklisted by the U.S. and then Cuba for trading with Germany during World War I. This identification has not been confirmed. Esta identificacion no se ha verificado.	J.F.B&Co	Sello revenue stamps & Pagos al Estado revenue stamps (literally, "Payments to the State" a gross business tax paid with this revenue stamp) and Sello (Stamp Tax or Timbre Movil), a revenue collected on insurance policies, stock certificates and the like.	Click for large sized image.
3	Unknown company	L&Co	Giro revenue stamps A revenue stamp was required on Giros (money orders, bills of exchange, drafts). In the example shown, one paid one peso as revenue to the government to place this stamp on a money order in the amount of 1000 to 2000 pesos.	Click for large sized image.
4	N. Gelats y Cía [Tentative ID] Aguiar 108, La Habana This company was listed in an 1896 business directory as engaging in "banks and banking" and "commission merchants - importer and exporter". This identification has not been confirmed. Esta identificacion no se ha verificado.	NG &Co	Giro revenue stamps	Click for large sized image.
5	Union Discount Co of London, Ltd 38 Lombard Street (1885-90) and 39 Cornhill (1890-), London, England This is a British company known to have perfined the revenue stamps of many countries.		Pagos al Estado revenue stamps (literally, "Payments to the State" a gross business tax paid with this revenue stamp)	Click for large sized image.
6	Unknown company	W.Nco	Timbre Nacional revenue stamps Recargo 1951-1952 (Jones GP112)

4 –   Perfin Cancellations of Revenue Stamps and Unidentified Perfins
Perfin Cancel Robert Littrell collection. Sometimes a revenue stamp is cancelled by perforating a hole in it rather than by ink stamp or pen. This birth certificate has eight revenue stamps which have been cancelled in that fashion. The revenue stamps date from 1956 and 1958 (on the back), but were used in 1963 after the revolution. Click on the image to enlarge it.
Revenue Stamp Perfin Cancels Robert Littrell collection. These stamps were removed from their original documents, so it is difficult to discern their origins. These perfins were applied to cancel the revenue stamp after it was affixed to a document. Do you have any idea what any of these represent? Click on the image to enlarge it.
More unknown perfins Robert Littrell collection. Here are some more mystery perfins on Cuban revenue stamps. Do you have any idea what they represent or what government agency cancelled the stamp? Click on any image to enlarge it.
Mystery Perfins Here are some mystery perfins on Cuban stamps. John Welsch's examples are all on revenue stamps. The first three appear to be perfin cancels. The fourth, AECo, is clearly a company. Bob Szymanski's example is anyone's guess. Do you have any idea what they represent?
Mystery perfins on postage stamps Robert Littrell collection. What these represent is unknown. Revenue cancellations? At first blush, the "LR" seems to be a company perfin. But look at the poor quality of the perforations. Look at the unaligned perfs of the "L" or even worse the right askew leg of the letter "R". Was someone just experimenting with perforations? Your guess is as good as mine.

A Brief History of Perfins and Perforators

Perfins originated in England where, unlike the U.S., one could take unused postage back to the post office and redeem it for cash. In 1868, when they were first allowed use on postage, a penny stamp was a fairly significant amount to a company junior clerk making perhaps 5 - 10 pence per week. A stamp with a perfin in it could not be redeemed. The use of perfins at least moderated theft from the company because, at least in theory, the post office would not accept perfin mail from anyone but the firm that had ownership. But, of course, there were always ways around the system and letters did get sent. At minimum, it prevented an employee from reselling discounted postage. The wide spread use of postage meters and permit indicia ended the practice of using perfins.

So how were the stamps perforated? Two examples from circa 1908 are in the illustrations on the right. One example shows a machine with 10 dies. You could perforate an entire sheet of stamps without separating them. To determine how many stamps would be perforated with one stroke of the lever, the strip of 10 would be multiplied by the number of sheets. For example, the legend tells us that if three initials are set to be punched (the most common), then four sheets of stamps can be inserted. With each stroke of the lever you would then punch 40 stamps. Sheets of 100 stamps then would require 10 strokes. This represented a fairly efficient way of perforating stamps.

Smaller firms that could not afford to shell out $60 or more for a 10 die machine could purchase a single die or two die machine (also illustrated). One could purchase a one die, 3 character, punch for $12 which was still a lot of money in 1908! In terms of saving money perforating, say, 2¢ stamps, you would have to prevent the theft of 600 stamps to justify the purchase of a $12 machine.

If one got in too much of a hurry and inserted too many sheets of stamps at one time, pins could break. This would be one explanation for seeing perfins where different holes are missing on different stamps; namely different dies are involved. Furthermore, over time with pin breakage one will find many different pin punches missing on stamps from a particular firm.

Orientation of a Perfin Punch

If you want to completely describe a perfin, you will want to describe how the punch is oriented. The first step is to look at the perfin and see if it reads correctly on the front side or back side. There are four orientation positions for each. The chart below illustrates the eight possible positions.

U.S. perfin collectors pay scant attention to orientation, perhaps because of the large number of U.S. perfins. On the other hand, in some smaller countries such as Finland, which only has 12 perfin patterns, they have a numbering system for orientation that follows a clockwise rotation (using Roman, rather than Arabic, numerals). Perhaps collectors there have more desire to expand their searches due to the limit on the number of perfins. There are eight times as many things to look for.

I have incorporated a numbering system (in blue) as well as a lettering system (in bold black) to provide a shorthand description.

Earliest known use of a perfin postage stamp in Cuba

The earliest known use of a perfin postage stamp (other than the official punch of the 1903 postal stationery card) will surprise you. Take a look by following this link.

Perfin Glossary

The Perfins Club included this glossary in their first Cumulative Index. Some of these terms have applicability in general philately, but some are distinct to the world of perfins. The glossary follows:

Blanket Perfin – pattern made to cover more than one stamp. Blind (or Dumb) Perfin – the indentations made in a stamp by a pin which does not penetrate through to make a hole. They result from lack of pressure on the perforator mechanism or from partially broken pins or from an attempt to perforate too many sheets of stamps at one time. Confirming Cover (or Proving Cover) – a perfin on a cover with a corner card or other identification which confirms the user of the perfin pattern, the period of usage and location of the user. (for two Cuban examples, follow this link). Control Hole or Code Hole – an additional hole extra to the normal design which may indicate a different machine. Diagonal a perfin pattern in which the letters are arranged in a diagonal fashion, usually reading from top to bottom. Six Cuban perfin patterns are diagonal: ENC, FRCo, NCB, NPT, QHC and SEC. Die (or Head) – a set of pins that make one complete design or set of initials, and which may also include one or more control holes (or code holes). Double, Triple, etc. – where the perfin pattern has been struck on the stamp more than once, usually with slight mis-registration. Fakes – There are two kinds of fakes: fake perfins on genuine stamps (for a Cuban example, follow this link) and genuine perfins applied to stamps to which a fake overprint or other mark has been applied. Head – that part of the perforator that contains the die(s) used to create the perfin(s). Illegal – pattern that exceeds government mandated size restrictions. Incomplete Perfin – a perfin that has one or more of the holes missing because of either a broken pin or because the perfin was applied to close to the edge of the stamp so the full pattern does not appear. Issue – stamp on which the pattern is punched. Monogram – a perfin pattern in the form of the company's monogram or monogram associated with the company's product. See the CA Cuban perfin pattern. Multiple Die – the same pattern repeated more than once on a perforator head (possibly with minor variations). Official – perfins used by government agencies. Pattern – the letters, design, or figures that comprise the perfin. Perfin Cancel – where a perfin is used to cancel a stamp (usually, but not always, a revenue stamp) or a document. Perfin – an acronym derived from perforated initials or insignia. Personal Use – perfins stamp used on private correspondence. Pin – a flat-ended metal needle that punches one hole in a stamp. Private – perfins for business or personal use versus official government use. Revenue perfin – (1) when the perfin was put in the revenue stamp before it was affixed to the document; (2) when the perfin was put in the revenue stamp after it was affixed to the document. In this second case, the result is referred to as a "perfin cancel". SPIF – an acronym derived from Stamps Perforated with Initials of Firms. Split – a partial perfin pattern that is incomplete due to off-centering of the pattern to left or right, top or bottom, etc. Type – a single copy of a perfin pattern, irrespective of the stamp.

Cuban Perfin Bibliography

The links are to PDF copies of these articles.

1. Cantens, Laura and Augustin; "Cuban Perfins", The Cuban Philatelist, Vol. 2, No. 2, October, 1972, p. 11. The beginnings of Cuban perfin study.
2. Cantens, Laura and Augustin; "Cuban Perfins", The Cuban Philatelist, Vol. 2, No. 4, April, 1973, p. 11. Twelve unique patterns found and illustrated.
3. Roy, Rudy; "Cuban Perfins", The Cuban Philatelist, Vol. 3, No. 1, July, 1973, p. 12. Four new patterns: O&C, QHC, M&co, and ENC
4. Roy, Rudy; "Cuban Perfins", The Cuban Philatelist, Vol. 3, No. 2, October, 1973, p. 14. Sixteen patterns known, eight identified (one, CA monogram, misidentified)
5. Roy, Rudy; "Perfin Recap", The Cuban Philatelist, Vol. 5, No. 4, April, 1976, p. 5. Number of patterns up to nineteen.
6. Roy, Rudy; "The Perfins of Cuba", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 30, No. 2, Whole No. 296; February, 1977, p. 3. A recap of perfin knowledge with first illustrated list of 19 patterns.
7. "Sabía usted que... [Did you know...]", filatelia cubana, year 16, No. 2, May-Aug 1981, p. 49. A one page unattributed blurb on Cuban perfins reiterating common knowledge.
8. Tyx, Mark; "The Cuban Republic's First Postal Card", Postal Stationery, The Journal of the United Postal Stationery Society; Vol. 26, No. 1, January-February, 1984, p. 163. Reprinted in The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 37, No. 9, Whole No. 373; October, 1984, p. 163-167. Detailed story of the "official punch" of the U.S. Liberty overprinted postal card.
9. Iglesias, Marcos A., "Cuban Perfins and Medicine (Los Perfins Cubano y la temática médica)", Scalpel and Tongs, March, 1986, p. 46. (English and Spanish versions).
10. García-Frutos, Silvia, and Valdéz, Alfredo; "Perfins / Iniciales Perforadas", The Cuban Philatelist, Vol. 4, No. 11, July-Aug 1992, p. 24.
11. Schwerdt, Robert J., Ed.; The World Perfins Catalog, American Section, The Perfins Club, 1992. Compendium of 23 patterns known on Cuban postage and revenue stamps.
12. Scheper, D.; "De perfins van Cuba", Perfinpost, No. 48, February, 1999 (in Dutch).
13. Roy, Rudy; Cuban Perfins - an Update / Los Perfins de Cuba Actualizados" The Cuban Philatelist, Last Third, 2001, p. 104. QHC cover discovered; other new finds illustrated.
14. García-Frutos, Silvia; "The Consolidated Railroads Perfin (FRCo) / Los Perfins de los Ferrocarriles Consolidados (FRCo)", The Cuban Philatelist, Second Third, 2002, p. 61. A misstep in the identification of FRCo.
15. Fernández López, Marta Rosa and Díaz Gámez, Alfredo; "Apuntes Para un Catálogo de Sellos Cubanos con Perforaciones de Empresas" (Notes for a Catalog of Cuban Perfins), Revista de Filatelia, April, 2003, p. 289 (in Spanish). The most complete coverage to that time with a list of known perfin stamps, addresses of firms, known dates of use, etc.
16. Roy, Rudy; "Perfins as Postal History #9 – Mixed Country Franking", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 60, No. 5, May, 2006, p. 87. NCB perfin on U.S. airmail stamp posted in Havana.
17. Díaz Gámez, Alfredo; "Los Sellos Perfins y Su Uso en Cuba" (Perfin stamps and their use in Cuba); Boletín Electrónico "El Ojo de la Aguja", Year 1, No. 6, May, 2007, pp. 2-4 (original in Spanish, but also translation to English).
18. Díaz Gámez, Alfredo; "Los perfins cubanos y las máquinas perforadoras", Folletos de Filatelia - Federación Filatélica Cubana, No. 1, 2011, pp. 46-49 (in Spanish). Nice compendium of knowledge by the Dean of Cuban perfin collectors.
19. Littrell, Robert; "An Internet Adventure - How I Identified the Cuban FRCo Perfin", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 66, No. 2, Whole No. 633, March/April, 2012, p. 34. Reprinted in slightly changed format in Journal of Cuban Philately, Vol. 3, No. 1, Whole No. 7, Jan-Mar, 2012, pp. 20 - 21 (in English and Spanish). A fascinating detective story of discovery.
20. Littrell, Robert; "Perfin Update – Which Cuban Perfins Remain Unidentified?", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 66, No. 3, Whole No. 634, May-June, 2012, pp. 64-65. Reprinted in Journal of Cuban Philately, Vol. 3, No. 2, Whole No. 8, Apr-Jun, 2012, pp. 9 - 11 (in English and Spanish). Current knowledge with extensive references.
21. Littrell, Robert; "Another Cuban Perfin Proved - O&C", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 67, No. 1, Whole No. 638, Jan.-Feb., 2013, p 4. Reprinted in Journal of Cuban Philately, Vol. 4, No. 1, Whole No. 11, Jan-Mar, 2013, p. 16 (in English and Spanish). Discovery of the ownership of the O&C perfin as Odriozola y Cía.
22. Littrell, Robert; "Two New Cuban Perfins - L&C^o and M^cC", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 67, No. 2, Whole No. 639, Mar.- Apr., 2013, p 39. Reprinted in Journal of Cuban Philately, Vol. 4, No. 1, Whole No. 11, Jan-Mar, 2013, p. 15 (in English and Spanish).
23. Littrell, Robert; "DUN Cuban Perfin Cover Discovered", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 67, No. 3, Whole No. 640, May - Jun., 2013, p 49.
24. Littrell, Robert; "Broken Pins of the RV&Co. Cuban Perfin", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 67, No. 4, Whole No. 641, Jul.-Aug., 2013, p 73. Expanded upon in "Broken Pins of the RV&Co. Cuban Perfin (Pernos Perforadores Rotos en el Perfin RV&Co.)", Journal of Cuban Philately, Vol. 5, No. 1, Whole No. 15, Jan.-March, 2014, p. 15 (in English and Spanish).
25. Littrell, Robert and Millar, Michael; "New Cuban Revenue Perfin: NG&Co", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 67, No. 5, Whole No. 642, Sep.-Oct., 2013, p 99. Reprinted in Journal of Cuban Philately, Vol. 4, No. 2, Whole No. 12, Apr-Jun, 2013, p. 15 (in English and Spanish).
26. Littrell, Robert; "Cuban Perfins - Los Perfins Cubanos", Journal of Cuban Philately, Vol. 4, No. 3, Whole No. 13, July-Sept, 2013, p. 5 (in English and Spanish). This consists of the draft of a new set of pages for The World Perfin Catalog - American Section including listing of and an illustration of all known Cuban perfins, together with a copy of the 1920 Cuban regulation pertaining to perfins on Cuban stamps.
27. Littrell, Robert; "Two Unusual Revenue Uses of Perfins on Cuban Postage Stamps (Dos usos fiscales poco comunes de sellos 'perfin' de correos)", Journal of Cuban Philately, Vol. 4, No. 3, Whole No. 13, July-Sept, 2013, p. 11 (in English and Spanish). Reprinted in The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 67, No. 6, Whole No. 643, Nov.-Dec., 2013, p 126. This describes two revenue uses of SA/RRA and TDEI perfins.
28. Littrell, Robert; "Important Discoveries About Cuban Dun Perfins (Descubrimientos importantes en sellos cubanos perforados 'Dun')", Journal of Cuban Philately, Vol. 4, No. 4, Whole No. 14, October-December, 2013, p. 14 (in English and Spanish). This updates the prior Perfins Bulletin article (No. 23 of this list) and states the basis for belief that the catalog listing of the Cuban Dun perfin should not have a separate listing for the variety without control holes. Reprinted in different format as "Cuban DUN Revisited", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 68, No.1, Whole No. 644, Jan.-Feb., 2014, p 16.
29. Littrell, Robert; "New Cuban Revenue Perfins and Official Punch Perfins", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 4, Whole No. 647, July-August, 2014, p. 66.
30. Littrell, Robert; "A&C Cuban Perfin Now Correctly Identified", Journal of Cuban Philately, Vol. 5, No. 2, Whole No. 16, April-June, 2014, p. 18 (in English and Spanish). Expanded upon in Littrell, Robert; "Two Unique Cuban Covers Found Last Year", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 69, No. 4, Whole No. 653, July-August, 2015, p. 69.
31. Littrell, Robert; "Two Unusual Cuban Perfin Covers", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 5, Whole No. 648, Sept-Oct, 2014, p. 94. Reprinted in Journal of Cuban Philately, Vol. 6, No. 1, Whole No. 19, Jan-Mar, 2015, p. 12 (in English and Spanish).
32. Littrell, Robert; "Found: Original Documents of the RV&Co. Cuban Perfin", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 69, No. 1, Whole No. 650, Jan-Feb, 2015, p. 7. Reprinted in Journal of Cuban Philately, Vol. 5, No. 4, Whole No. 18, Oct-Dec, 2014, p. 11 (in English and Spanish).
33. Littrell, Robert; "Descubrimiento de un Nuevo Perfin Cubano: Odriozola y Cía: O&C / New Cuban Perfin Cover Discovered: Odriozola & Co.: O&C",The Cuban Philatelist, Vol. XXVI, No. 73, Jan-Apr, 2015, p. 18 (in English and Spanish). Expanded upon in Littrell, Robert; "Two Unique Cuban Covers Found Last Year", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 69, No. 4, Whole No. 653, July-August, 2015, p. 69.
34. Littrell, Robert; "Thanks, Joe!", The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 69, No. 5, Whole No. 654, Sep-Oct, 2015, p. 90. This article features the discovery cover proving the ownership of National Paper & Type Co. of the NPT perfin and a Cuban Telephone Company (CTC) QSL postcard.
35. Littrell, Robert; "Perfin Substitutes of Droguería Sarrá; Substitutos de los Sellos Perferados de la Droguería Sarrá", Journal of Cuban Philately, Vol. 7, No. 2, Whole No. 24, Apr-Jun 2016, page 7. There were also printed "SARRA" legends on revenue stamps rather than perfins. Reprinted in The Perfins Bulletin, Vol. 70, No. 5, Whole No. 660, Sep/Oct 2016, p. 97

References and Links

The Perfins Club website, U.S. perfin club. There are many resources here for experienced and beginning collectors. The Perfin Society website; United Kingdom club. Perfin Stamps of Australia website; the only Australian perfin study group site. Perfins Handbook for Canada – British North American Philatelic Society (BNAPS) online reference. Perfin.IT – Perfin Stamps of Italy website. Hill, Dave; The History of Perfins, Stamp Magazine, November, 1995. A story of Joseph Sloper and the invention of perfins.

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