Leon Province: Scott 149

Leon Province – This Control Mark (Scott 149/190 ) is found in Black on Scott #145, and also in Violet & Red  on Scott #145 thru #152 as listed by Harris & Fernandez.. Olamo only lists this Control mark in Violet Black on all of the 1901 issues. I have it on Revenue O126.

Loja Province: Scott 140

Loja Province – This Control Mark (Scott 140/1899) in Violet on all the 1901 issues. Harris & Fernandez also list it in Black, Scott #145 thru #148, and in Red, Scott #145 & #146. This Contol Mark can be found both Vertical & Horizontal on the stamp. I have Scott #137 stamped in Blue, but it is probably a Fournier forgery.  I also have it on Revenues O128 & O130.

Los Rios Province: Scott #147 (style 1), Scott #149 (style 2) and Scott #147 (style 3)

Los Rios Province– There are three different Styles of the Control Mark for this province. On Style #1 (Scott 147/1901) the ‘19’ is ½” or more above or below the ‘Rios” and is in Violet or Blue on most of the 1901 issue. Harris & Fernandez also list it in Red.  Harris & Fernandez list it Red on Scott #146, #148 & #149.  On Style #2, Scott 149/1901) the ‘19” is just above & right of the ‘Rios. Harris & Fernandez list this style in Green for all the 1901 issues. Harris also lists it in Blue for Scott #145, #146 & #149. I have this style in Violet for Scott # 147 & #149. On Style #3, ( Scott #147/1901)  the ‘19’ is Violet and the ‘Rios’ is Blue.

Pichincha Province: Scott 151 (style 1)

Pichincha Province: Scott 147 (style 2)

 Pichincha Province – There are Two Styles of Control Marks for this province.   Style #1 (Scott 151/1901) has ‘Jul 29 1902’ printed in Black on all of the 1901 issues.  Harris also lists it in Violet on all of the 1901 issues. Style #2 (Scott 147/1901) has ‘De Oficio’  inside a double lined rectangle and is found in Black on all of the 1901 issues.

Quito – Guayaquil Railroad: Scott 145 (style 1), Scott 149 (style 2) and Scott 151 (style 3)

Quito-Guayaquil Railroad – There are three different styles of Control Marks. Style #1 (Scott #145/1901)  has a ¼” star  in Red, on all the 1901 issues. Olama lists it in Blue & Red on all the 1901 issues.  Harris lists it as Red & Violet on all the 1901 issues and Fernandez lists it Red on all the 1901 issues and in Green-Blue on Scott #145, #149 & #150.  Style #2, which I do not have stamps of,  has a  “C’ with radiating lines on both sides and is found in Red & Violet on all the 1901 issues.  Harris  also lists this style in Blue on Scott #145 thru #149. Style #3, shows  “Contramarca’ and is listed in Red & Black by Harris & Fernandez on all the 1901 issues, but Olama only lists it in Red.

Santa Elena Province: Revenue #126

Santa Elena Province – This Contol Mark printed in violet can be found on Scott #147 & #148, and on some revenues. It is always handstamped over two vertical stamps.  It also exists in Blue and Green. Olamo is the only one that lists it as a Fire Control Overprint. Fernandez lists it as a common postmark of Ecuador used in 1901/1902. Harris does not mention this Control Mark.

Tunguragua Province: Scott #151 (style 1), Scott #146 (style 2) and Scott #152 (style 3)

Tunguragua Province –  There are Five different Styles of  Control Marks for this province. Style #1 (Scott 151/1901) is a Heavy ‘DE’ about 7 mm x 7 mm found in Black on all the 1901 issues. Style #2 (Scott 146/1901)  is a heavy ‘DE’ about 10 mm x 7 mm with a narrow ‘D’ found in Black on all the 1901 issues and in Violet on Scott #140 thru #143. Style #3 (Scott 152/1901) is a heavy ‘DE’ about  9 x 9 mm with a wide ‘D’ found in Violet on all the 1901 issues and in Black on Scoot #145 & #150.

Tunguragua Province: Scott 149, Style 4, Revenue 0128 and Style 5

Tunguragua Province – Style #4 (Scott 149/1901) is a light ‘DE’, 5 mm x 3 mm with a narrow ‘D’ found in Black on 1901 issues. Style #5, (Revenue O128/1901-1902) is a light ‘DE’,  6 mm x 4 mm with a wide ‘D’ found in Black on all the 1901 issues. All of these Styles can be found on the 1901-1902 Revenue stamps.

Unknown Province: Scott 147

Unknown Province –  This Control Mark (Scott 147/1901) has Two Circles with printing inside & a star in middle.  This Control Mark is only listed by Harris and is found on Scott #145 & #148 in Red and Scott #146 & #148 in Black.

In 1982 I had no knowledge of these Fire Control Marks until I attended a stamp show in Allentown and purchased a collection of over 400 Fire Control Marks. With the collection was also a copy of Leo Harris’s 1962 article. I spent over twenty hours trying to separate the different stamps and colors of hand stamps, and finally ended up with over one hundred different Control Marks. After this exercise I can see why there is so much disagreement over the colors of these issues, since over a hundred years of discoloration has made some of the colors indistinguishable. Also over the years I have seen a great increase in the number of collectors who are interested in the Ecuador Fire Control Marks and the prices on EBay for these items has greatly increased. A few months ago a collection of ten different lots on EBay sold for over Twelve Hundred dollars. But, these items can still be found by the average collector, and I know that I will be on the lookout for any additions to my collection. I would appreciate any additions or corrections to this article. I can be contacted at etflory@ptd.net.