Mexico's Madero Issue
by Bonnie & Roger Riga
Francisco Madero was the first Revolutionary President of Mexico. A
champion of democracy and social reform, he led the revolution that swept through Mexico
in 1910. With the support of Pancho Villa, he overthrew the Porfirio Diaz regime and
assumed the presidency in 1911. A successful coup by Gen. Victoriano Huerta forced him to
resign the presidency in February, 1913 resulting in Madero's arrest, imprisonment and
subsequent assassination. Sometime later , Ellis Brothers Printing in El Paso, Texas, was approached
by Pancho Villa to produce some stamps with same frame design as the 1914 "Denver
Issue" of Mexican stamps, but with the bust of Madero in the center. Five values were
produced: 1 cent green, 2 cent purple, 3 cent red, 5 cent blue and 10 cent orange. White
unwatermarked laid paper was used. The issue was gummed and perfed 11 1/2 and 12. Printing
varieties abound. Tan newsprint-type lithographed, ungummed and imperforate
"proofs" were also prepared. In the meantime, Pancho Villa had gone on to Mexico
City and no longer had any need for these stamps, leaving the Ellis Brothers with a large
supply of questionable stamps on hand. That's the story anyway. The Ellis Brothers died in the 40's, their
printing plant along with their records were destroyed by fire and no one seems to know
exactly what transpired in the days after the Revolution. Catalogers are wary, but divided
on the subject of authenticity of the issue. It's probably best to consider them
"ordered, but never used." As such, they fall somewhere between a genuine
Revolutionary issue and a fantasy, but in any case an honest-to-gosh cinderella. Mexican
collectors will, like the catalogers, divide between acceptance and rejection of the
issue. Cinderella collectors and topicalists will no doubt find a home for these stamps
either way. This column first appeared in Scott Stamp Monthly and has been edited for online presentation.
Revolutions
often produce stamps that become cinderellas when the revolution fails. Governments in
exile are frequent producers of eventual cinderellas. Interestingly, the revolution in
Mexico just before the first World War was successful, yet produced an issue of stamps
that fell between the cracks philatelicly.
This page was last updated July 9, 2016.
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