One of the issues facing modern stamp issues is an overabundance of issues that look backward instead of forward. This is probably related to a sense in the western world that the future will be worse than the past. Some times the look back can be making a current point. Like Spanish King Juan Carlos seeing that his unpopular grandfather King Alfonso VIII is treated respectfully on a stamp after the Royal nightmare of Franco and Republicans was over. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
Todays stamp was produced to honor the 1980 EXFILNA stamp collecting exposition held that year in Barcelona. It was the 50th anniversary of the first national stamp exposition that was also in Barcelona. To mark the anniversary, it was decided to show 50 year before King Alfonso visiting the first exposition. This is where the politics entered in. King Alfonso was about to abdicate in 1930 after a long but lousy rule. Republicans had won local elections discrediting the King’s favored conservative prime minister. The army then rebelled but the civil war that followed was won by Francisco Franco who was not interested in restoring the Royals. King Alfonso and his heirs had to watch this from Italian exile. After Franco’s death, Alfonso’s grandson King Juan Carlos I was Franco’s chosen successor as head of state and restoring the Royal line. This is what is really being celebrated on this stamp. The stamp exposition is a clever way to slip unpopular grandfather back on a stamp without creating a ruckus.
The stamp today is issue A575, a 5 Peseta stamp issued by the Kingdom of Spain on July 1st, 1980. It was a single stamp issue. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether it is mint or used.
King Alfonso XIII ascended the throne upon his birth as he was born posthumously after his fathers death. It is said he was presented as a baby naked on a silver platter to the then Prime Minister.’ Lucky for him this did not happen in one of Spain’s African colonies. See https://the-philatelist.com/2018/06/05/spanish-guinea-in-the-rush-to-leave-spain-turned-it-over-to-a-witch-doctor/ During his childhood, Spain was ruled by a Regency headed by his Austrian mother. The Regency went badly as Spain lost the Spanish American War and with it the Empires last footholds in the Americas and Asia. When Alfonso was actually in power the empire calamities continued much closer to home in Morocco with the costly Rif war see.https://the-philatelist.com/2018/10/25/spanish-morocco-it-is-useful-to-have-a-second-stringer-occupy-much-of-a-large-dangerous-place/ The wars were also expensive and required large armies manned by peasants for whom the economic situation was not improving fast enough. Even the genius of staying neutral in World War I was not enough to restore his popularity. His marriage to an English Princess was unhappy since he resented that she had passed her families’ hemophilia to his sons. He fathered 5 children out of wedlock in addition to his legitimate 4 children.
Franco was not interested in reestablishing the Monarchy during his long rule. The Royals had been on the Right side of politics but many in his movement supported a rival pretender Royal line. Franco also wanted to keep the power for himself. The Royal line still formally claimed the title and continued reaching out to Franco. A Royal married Franco’s granddaughter and the young royals were allowed to be educated in Spain. As Franco aged he ignored the in place royal line and installed Alfonso’s grandson Juan Carlos as heir apparent. He hoped for loyalty to his movement but once in power the King followed a more middle of the road course. He appointed more liberal ministers to replace Franco’s people and supported pro democracy reforms. At the same time he maintained a conservative image that allowed for a certain continuity. To his credit, over time he backed away from politics and was thought by most as a positive, stabilizing influence in Spain.
The stamp expositions are still an annual event in Spain. There is often a unique stamp issue that is available to buy only within the Exposition. The issues are often more valuable than regular issues but the fact of stamp collecting is that it is impossible to buy a stamp when issued and have it be life changingly valuable in your lifetime. If you are lucky though the value might keep up with inflation. Todays stamp did even worse that that. No love for King Alfonso outside the family?
Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to celebrate the annual EXFILNA stamp shows in Spain. Long may they continue. Come again after Christmas for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. Happy Holidays.