1903-04 10c Daniel Webster, Pale Red Brown, Philippines Black Overprint

Philippines Scott #PH233 is a 10-cent stamp from the 1903-04 series of U.S. definitive stamps overprinted "PHILIPPINES" for use in the Philippine Islands during the period of American administration. The basic stamp is the ornate Series of 1902-03 U.S. definitive depicting Daniel Webster, printed in pale red-brown by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Webster's birth and death dates — 1782 and 1852 — appear flanking his portrait, and the elaborate frame design with fasces symbolizing his congressional coalition-building is characteristic of the richly decorative Series of 1902, widely considered one of the most beautifully engraved definitive series in U.S. postal history.

The historical context behind this stamp is a fascinating chapter in American history. Following the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the subsequent Treaty of Paris, the United States assumed control of the Philippines. The American military government quickly established a postal service, issuing its first overprinted stamps on June 30, 1899. The 1903-04 series represented the second generation of Philippine overprints, applied to the new Series of 1902-03 U.S. definitives which had just entered circulation. These overprinted stamps remained in use until 1906, when the American civil government began issuing a distinct "Philippine Islands — United States of America" stamp series featuring portraits of notable Filipinos, Americans, and Spaniards.