1940 Montalban Gorge Stamp

I have recently added Scott # PH 445 to my collection – completing my 1940 Philippine postage stamp year set and also adding the final variant of the 1940 Montalban Gorge stamp to my collection. This has been by far the trickiest mint stamp from 1940 to collect and I’m glad to have now completed this year. If you’re interested in other stamps from 1940 year then take a look at my Philippine Stamps of 1940 page.

Montalban Gorge is a part of the stunning Pamitinan Protected Landscape reserve in Rizal, Philippines. The reserve is a popular tourist destination with hiking, canoeing, caving, rock climbing, waterfalls, sight seeing, mountain biking and more. The Montalban Gorge was carved out by the Marikina River which separates Mount Pamitinan and Mount Binacayan in Rodriguez, Rizal. In places the gorge can reach towering heights of 360 metres. Montalban Gorge is often referred to as Wawa Gorge. Above Montalban Gorge sits the Wawa dam, construction started in 1904 by the American Colonial Government and it served as the main water supply to Manila for decades. It was eventually replaced in the 1960’s by the Angat Dam, Wawa dam is now a popular swimming hole and recreational area.

The stamp was originally released in 1935 (PH 395), then over printed in 1937 (PH 423) with large “COMMONWEALTH” font, overprinted in 1940 (PH 445) with small “COMMONWEALTH” font and finally issued in 1943 (PH N7) during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines with obliterating overprints and repriced to 1 Peso.

PH N7 is the scarcest and most valuable of the stamps. You will also find cachets with these stamps often fetch a premium as well.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post. Happy hunting and have fun with your collection!