Before becoming a republic in 1862, Argentina was a confederation and its first stamps (1858-60) are inscribed “Confe(derati)on Argentina.” Due to a lot of strife between various regions until 1880, several Argentine provinces issued their own stamps. These included Buenos Aires, Cordoba, and Corrientes. The stamps of Corrientes were modeled after the Ceres stamps of France. (Ceres was the Roman goddess of agriculture.) Jose de San Martin, who led Argentina’s fight for independence from Spain, is often the subject of Argentina stamps. First president Bernardo Rivadavia is honored with many as well. Argentina has issued over 200 semi-postal stamps.