President Don Ignacio Comonfort, authorized the prepayment of postage using adhesive stamps by decree of February 21, 1856. New regulations were drawn up and were supposed to be published on July 15, but problems with the engraving delayed this until July 31. On August 1, 1856 Mexico issued its first postage stamps. The design, a portrait of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the parish priest who led an unsuccessful bid for Mexican independence in 1810, reflected the reform politics of the Comonfort government. The stamps were somewhat crudely engraved and imperforate. Five values were issued from 1856-1859; ½ real, 1r, 2r, 4r, and 8r. The stamps usually, but not always, had district overprints with the name of the district post office.