While some early stamp catalogues and collectors historically dated the first Western Australian stamps to 1855 or 1857—with auction records frequently listing the 2d brown-on-red and 6d bronze values specifically as “1857” issues—comprehensive philatelic research later proved that the colony’s true first postage stamps were issued on August 1, 1854. These pioneering stamps, featuring the elegant Black Swan, are among the most fascinating and highly prized classics of the philatelic world.

The Mandate of the Swan The design of Western Australia’s first stamps was strictly dictated by law. An 1854 ordinance explicitly required that the lawful stamp “shall represent the figure of a Swan, on a black or other ground”. This was a highly appropriate choice, as the indigenous black swan was the recognized emblem of the colony, which was originally known as the Swan River Settlement. Because this ordinance was never rescinded by the Legislative Council, the swan remained a mandatory feature on the colony’s postage stamps for decades.

London Engraving vs. Local Lithography The production of the first issue was split between London and the colony itself. In August 1853, the renowned London firm of Perkins, Bacon & Co. dispatched a consignment of 1,000,000 One Penny black stamps to Western Australia, along with a printing press, black ink, and special paper watermarked with the image of a swan.

However, the higher values—the 2d, 4d, 6d, and 1s—were produced locally in Perth to meet the colony’s postal needs. These were lithographed on the imported swan-watermarked paper, likely in the Surveyor-General’s Department by Horace Samson or his successor, A. Hillman. The local production method was crude but ingenious: workmen took lithographic transfers from the finely engraved London 1d plate, cut away the original borders, and pasted new, locally engraved frames around the central swan design. For example, the 4d received an octagonal frame, while the 1s received a transverse oval frame.

The World-Famous “Inverted Swan” Error This cut-and-paste method of local lithography resulted in one of the greatest rarities in the entire philatelic world: the 4d blue “Inverted Swan”. Because the workmen had to manually paste the newly engraved octagonal borders around the transferred central swan vignettes, a mistake was made on one of the impressions. The frame was accidentally pasted upside down relative to the center. Consequently, philatelic experts point out that the famous error is much more accurately described as an “inverted frame” rather than an inverted swan. This error is exceptionally rare, with only about eight or nine used copies known to exist. When a pristine copy surfaced at auction in 1904, it realized the then-astounding record price of £400.

The True Nature of the Error Despite its popular name, philatelic experts have proven that the swan itself is not inverted; rather, it is the frame around it that is upside down.

Because the colony lacked advanced printing capabilities, these higher-value stamps were produced locally using a primitive cut-and-paste lithographic method. Workmen took transfers of the central swan vignette from the finely engraved London 1d plate, cut away the original borders, and pasted these central designs onto a sheet at equal distances. Next, they took transfers of a newly engraved octagonal frame and manually pasted them around the central swan designs. During this painstaking assembly, a workman accidentally pasted the octagonal frame upside down on one of the impressions. Because the lettering on the border was small, this orientation mistake was much easier to overlook than if the prominent central swan had been placed upside down.

Position and Production The stamps were initially laid out in a matrix of 60 subjects (twelve horizontal rows of five), and the error is believed to have been located on the first stamp of the eighth row. To make a complete printing sheet of 240 stamps, this block of 60 was transferred to the lithographic stone four times. Therefore, there would have theoretically been four “inverted frames” on the complete initial sheet.

The error is found specifically in a dull blue shade, indicating that it belonged exclusively to the very first printing. The mistake was eventually discovered and corrected on the printing stone, meaning the inverted frame did not appear on any of the later printings.

Extreme Rarity and Value Because the error was corrected so early in the stamp’s production life, it remains one of the scarcest stamps in the world. There are only about eight or nine copies known to exist, all of which are in a used condition. Due to its legendary status, it has historically commanded immense value; for example, a pristine copy with uncut angles and a clear cancellation realized an astounding record price of £400 at a 1904 auction—the highest price ever paid for an Australian stamp at that time

The “Convict” Stamp Myth Another fascinating aspect of early Western Australian stamps is the presence of a deliberate circular hole punched through the center of some surviving specimens. In the early days of stamp collecting, a popular superstition circulated that these mutilated stamps were supplied to convicts serving their sentences in the colony, so their outgoing letters could be easily monitored and tracked. However, this romanticized myth was later debunked; the stamps were actually “Commissariat” stamps. The Imperial (British) Government purchased them from the local colonial post office and punched the holes as a security measure to prevent theft, using them exclusively to frank official correspondence for the Convict and Military Departments.

Through their blend of exquisite London engraving, primitive local lithography, legendary printing errors, and colorful postal history, the first Swan issues of Western Australia remain a cornerstone of classical philately.

The first adhesive postage stamps of Tasmania hold a prestigious place in early postal history. Issued while the colony was still officially known as Van Diemen’s Land, these stamps offer a fascinating glimpse into the primitive, yet resourceful, printing methods of the mid-19th century.

The 1853 Postal Act and Launch A public notice published in the Hobart Town Gazette on September 27, 1853, announced that a new Post Office Act would come into operation on November 1 of that year. From that date forward, the prepayment of all letters and packets (excluding newspapers) posted within the colony was made compulsory and had to be paid using adhesive stamps. The stamps were made available in two denominations: One Penny (1d) and Fourpence (4d).

Design and Local Production Because the young colony lacked sophisticated, mass-production printing technology, the stamps were manufactured entirely in Hobart.

• Design: Both stamps featured a profile portrait of Queen Victoria facing to the right. The 1d value was printed in blue and light blue, while the 4d value was printed in shades of bright orange, orange-yellow, and orange-red.
• The Engraver: The dies were engraved in taille-douce (intaglio) on copper plates by C. W. Coard. A fascinating hidden detail is that the engraver’s initials, “C. W. Coard”, can be found on the cut of the Queen’s neck on the stamps, and his name was included in the marginal imprint along the bottom of the sheets.
• The Printers: The printing contract was awarded to Messrs. H. & C. Best (sometimes noted as A. & C. Best).

Varieties and “Plating” One of the most appealing aspects of the 1853 issue for modern philatelists is that the stamps were individually hand-engraved onto the plates. Each plate contained 24 stamps, arranged in four rows of six. Because every single stamp was engraved separately by hand, there are 24 distinct varieties or “types” for each value, resulting in minute differences in every stamp on the sheet.

While only one plate was created for the 1d blue, the 4d orange required two distinct plates. Historical invoices from H. & C. Best dated September 1853 show a charge of £36 for engraving the first 4d plate (at 30s per head) and £30 for “re-engraving” a second plate (at 25s per head). The exact chronological order and lifespan of these two 4d plates have been the subject of extensive study and plate-reconstruction by renowned philatelists.

Paper and Perforation The first issues were printed on white wove paper that varied wildly in thickness, with some stamps printed on a paper so thin it was almost transparent (“pelure”). A legendary rarity from this era is the 4d red-orange from Plate II printed on laid paper; a complete, immaculate sheet of 24 of these laid-paper stamps miraculously survived for decades hanging in a frame in a bungalow in India. All stamps of this 1853 issue were issued imperforate, meaning they had to be cut apart with scissors, and they bore no watermark.

The Mystery of the Triangular Punch A curious anomaly found on some surviving 1853 Van Diemen’s Land stamps is a deliberate triangular hole punched into the paper. Because no official postal records mention this mutilation, it has given rise to a few theories:

• The Convict Theory: One tradition suggests the stamps were punched before being issued to convict postmasters in remote, small country towns, rendering them useless as currency to prevent illicit trading.
• The Anti-Theft Theory: A more likely explanation is that the punch was applied privately by certain firms or postmasters as a security measure—acting as a check to prevent clerks and servants from stealing the stamps for their own personal use, much like the modern practice of punching company initials (perfins) into stamps.

Despite their primitive, crude appearance—or perhaps because of it—the 1853 Van Diemen’s Land stamps remain some of the most historic and highly prized classics of Australian philately

I may be excused for continuing with the subject of postmarks, but they used
ta say “If you’re on a good thing stick to it”—and that’s the way it is this time.
“Although 1 have studied the series for a number of years it was only recently
that it occurred to me to go through what I had for the Town Postmarks. This
excursion was doubtless prompted by my friend Harry Porter’s chase after the
“T.P.O.s.” At any rate, it has led to much correspondence with Messrs. Petterd
(Hobart), Lancaster and Viney (Launceston), three of the leading Tasmanian
collectors of these items, all of whom had taken up the subject years before me. In
the upshot it is believed that something very near completeness has been evolved,
and a full list of the names will eventually appear in this journal. A few words on
certain general aspects of the subject will not, however, be wasted here.

In the first place the numeral “killers,” a type of cancellation used since 1853,
came to an abrupt end some time in the second half of 1900, being completely re:
placed by circular “town name and date” cancellations. These numerals, as far
as the Pictorial series is concerned, are therefore found only on the De La Rue
printed stamps. In the second place, the larger size of the stamps (as, say, com-
pared with the lower values of the other Australian States) meant that, using simi
lar sizes of cancellation, most if not all of the Tasmanian cancellation will inevitably
appear on a single stamp (where a single was used). In short, these Tasmanian post-
marks stand out with a clarity unequalled in other Australasian issues of their time.
And in addition, as Mr. Porter points out, they seem to have been, almost without
exception, applied with care. Finally, there is the tremendous scope of this sub-
ject, considered in relation to the small population and the fact that during the
period in question, well over one-third of that population lived in Hobart and
Launceston. To date, on the Pictorials we have located some 450 different “name”
postmarks! A very small proportion of these were due to changes of name, but
that doesn’t alter the picture these postmarks present of the amazing postal facilities
then—and still—offering in the “Spec.” In the circumstances outlined it is also

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PICTURE

It’s not surprising that many of the rare markings are amongst the clearest. The
various “types” of cancellation used, and those cases (particularly Hobart and
Launceston), where more than one type was employed, are also receiving their
full measure of consideration. It is to me a little sad to find that so few collectors
resident in Tasmania Cor elsewhere) realise the tremendous potential that lies in
every issue but one (i.e., the “Tablets) of this State, as well as in the whole of its
cancellations—pre-stamp to 1912.

(ii) Manuscript Cancellations.

(a) On the Early Issues.

Since my previous notes appeared I have seen several copies with “39” and “47”
in MSS. These numbers, according to the list referred to in the last number,
belonged to Kangaroo Point (this name is otherwise unknown to me though I do
have a “Kangaroo Valley”) and Oatlands respectively.

(b) On the Pictorials.

Despite its clarity, my friend Mr. Lancaster tells me that the “Segana” I noted
is almost certainly “Legana.” 1 now have the following other MSS. cancella-
tions:—Lanena (30.6.11); Magnet (16.7.02); Mount Read—three (16.11.01 to
3.12.01); Westbury (10.5.09); Northdown (25.11.02); Oldina (26.2.11); Strick-
land (8.1.08). Mr. P. W. Simonson has shown me quite a few “Robiganas” in
MSS. on Australian 1d. reds in 1914-15. This was in use for some time before
a canceller of normal type was provided. It does not, however, come within our
period. Of those listed to date the following do not appear to have been found
with a normal cancellation, viz., Blythe Road, Legana, Oldina, Strickland. The
others have all turned up with the normal type of cancellation. Further study of
the normal cancellations (dates of use, etc.) will doubtless reveal, in some cases
at any rate, the reason behind the use of a manuscript cancellation.

(iii) Employment of “Crown Seals” as Cancellations on the Pictorials.

I will have more to say on this interesting subject at a later stage, but here
merely record the Fact that in addition to “Kelso” (previously mentioned), two others
can be found—”The Oaks” and “Wattlegrove Lower.” All these offices are also
found later with normal type of cancellation. 1 have three or four examples of
each Crown Seal. The latest printing represented is a 2d. (with “Kelso”) from a
1903 printing. “Wattlegrove Lower” 1 have seen only on the De La Rue prints.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PICTURE

At the time these stamps were produced the printing trades did not have
the mass production machines that we have today. The perforator in use in the
greater number of shops was a hand-operated (rarely footpower) affair, punching
a single line of holes at one operation. Anywhere from one to five sheets could
be handled at one time, depending on the thickness of the paper, consequently a
considerable time was required to perforate 1000 sheets with a single lina of holes.
On the other hand, a good pressman would put through the press 1000 sheets of
paper while an operator was running one line of holes in the same number of
sheets. In those days slack times occurred, so I am inclined to think that Messrs.
Leigh, anticipating future orders while they had the press set up for the job, had
more sheets printed than they required for the job in hand, with the view of
having them perforated during a slack period. There were too many of these imper-
forates floating around in the ‘nineties to have come from occasional sheets discarded
during the run or from spoilage during the makeready of the press.

The sheets of the ‘One Penny’, 20 to the sheet, have seven lines of perforating
and would have consumed the greater part of a day in perforating 1000 sheets.

Mr, Foster also mentions a constant plate variety in the 1d. Palm Tree (which
he believes is unrecorded) on No. 1 in the top left pane. This is found in both
colours and shows a missing pearl above the “P” in “PENNY”.

VICTORIA.
(i) The “Boyd’s City Express” Local

This is one of a number of Australian Locals into which the writer is pursuing
investigations. The point to be made here is that it is not “lithographed,” as de-
“scribed in the Hurt Catalogue, but “surface-printed,” and almost unquestionably
electrotyped. Each copy shows very minor Haws, and nver some years copies have
been collected and studied with a view to establishing the number of stamps in
the sheet which, on the evidence to date, appears to be comparatively small. 1
would greatly appreciate a loan of any copies which readers can make available.
There is no doubt that its scarcity has been somewhat exaggerated. It is of course
rare, but is frequently found here in old-time collections.

(ii) 1902-12 “Perforation Varieties.”

I have received an interesting letter on the above subject from Mr. A. H. Davis,
of Birmingham, England. Mr. Davis, who resided in Victoria from 1902 two 1921,
was the Victorian representative for Ewen’s, a firm well known to old timers for
its wonderful new issue service. Mr. Davis says—anent my remarks on the inclu-
sion or non-inclusion in the Gibbons’ Catalogue of certain perforation varieties.

During that period I visited the Melbourne G.P.O. at least once weekly, and
handled locally-used stamps daily. 1 had every means of knowing what stamps were
issued and 1, too, never saw or heard of S.G.574 and the other numbers mentioned.
although I pride myself on having seen—mint or used—almost every example of
the excessively scarce compound perforations that DID exist.

The Registration Issue stamps were issued by the New South Wales colonial government in 1854 as a way to prepay the cost of sending registered letters within the colony. These stamps featured the image of Queen Victoria and were printed in several denominations. The Registration Issue stamps were printed in two colors: red and blue. The red stamps were used to prepay the cost of sending registered letters within the colony, while the blue stamps were used to prepay the cost of sending registered letters to other colonies or overseas. The Registration Issue stamps were the first stamps issued by the New South Wales government specifically for the purpose of sending registered letters, and they were used until 1856, when they were replaced by the Diadem Issue stamps. The Registration Issue stamps are now considered collectible items and are sought after by stamp collectors around the world.

The 1856 New South Wales Australian stamps were in circulation for a period of about one year, from 1856 to 1857. The stamps were issued by the New South Wales colonial government in 1856 as a way to prepay the cost of sending letters within the colony. They were used until the colony of Victoria released its own stamps in 1857. At that point, the New South Wales stamps were no longer valid for postage, and they were replaced by the stamps of the new colony. The 1856 New South Wales stamps are now considered rare and collectible items, and they are sought after by stamp collectors around the world.

Collectability

The Registration Issue stamps are considered collectible items and are sought after by stamp collectors around the world. The stamps were issued by the New South Wales colonial government in 1854 as a way to prepay the cost of sending registered letters within the colony. These stamps are considered significant in the history of the postal service in Australia, as they were the first stamps issued by the government specifically for the purpose of sending registered letters. The Registration Issue stamps were printed in two colors: red and blue.

The design uses a side face image of Queen Victoria. The die (or stencil) was crafted by Campbell and Fergusson Pty Ltd and then transferred to stone for lithography printing of the stamps. They were printed in sheets of 100, 12 rows by 8 Lines with additional stamps in Row 6 and Row 9 to make up the 100 on the sheet. The first run was imperforated and continued this way until 1857 when roulette machines became available. There were no watermarks on the first releases of these stamps because of the use of local paper.

The octagonal shape was the first use of this shape for stamps in the colonies of Australia, with New South Wales having used the sextagonal for it 1854 issue, I think Victoria wanted to go one better and strived for the ogtagonal shampe. When you compare the designs, the Victorian is a much cleaner stamp but the New South Wales is far more detailed in its design.

Catalogue values vary depending on condition with a mint good condition around $900 at the time of writing.

The quality of paper used for these stamps is of lesser quality than earlier stamps as it was sourced locally because of shortages from Britain at the time.

The octagonal one shilling Victoria state stamp remained in circulation until the end of the 1800’s with various key dates in 1857 when they were rouletted and then in 1859 Robinsons took over the printing and introduced perforations. In 1891 a reprint of the original was ordered using reprints of the original die, but these were printed on watermark paper using V over Crown and 12 1/2 peforation size.

1854 also saw the release of a 6d Orange and a 2 Shilling Green. As these were also produced locally using wood blocks they are known as the woodblock series of Victoria and sometimes the octagonal falls into this category known as a woodblock stamp.

The original diadem issues were decided to be too large to handle in the post offices compared to the amount of mail that was now being received to process. The amount of paper the original diadem issue used, was also a concern given the difficulty in obtaining enough paper for the printing of stamps. The amount of dye used in the production was also a concern around this time. There were four issues of differing colour all imperforate, needing to be cut in the post office. Later the perforation issues arose and were all widely distributed in the colony until 1908.

KEY STATISTICS

Date Released: The 2d was issued on 7 January 1856 (gazetted on the 12th January), The 1d was issued on 6 April 1856 (gazetted on the 28th March), The 3d was issued on 10 October 1856 (gazetted same day).

Artist Designer and Engraver: Plates made by Perkins Bacon & Co and shipped to New South Wales with an order of paper.

First Known Cover Dates: 1d – 5 May 1856, 2d – 16 May 1856, 3d – 27 October 1856

Printer : New South Wales Government Printing Department

Plate Information: There were two plates made for the 2d. Plate II stamps are printed wider apart and more regularly spaced than Plate 1.

Denominations and Colours

1d Red

1d Orange

2d Blue

3d Green

Collectability

These stamps are highly collected for their errors, variability in tones and colours, watermarks and perforations. They are one of the mostly widely used stamps of the New South Wales colony so although not rare as in number, the specific variations and errors sought after are harder to come by. Specimens on cover are also highly collected and harder to find out in the wild as most are already in collections.

Market Values

Market values for all of the diadem series beginning in 1856 fluctuate widely given the variations in condition, colours and perforations. The earlier in this series the more valuable. At the time of writing mint stamps from 1856 range from $475.00 for the 1d up to $1,750.00 for a mint 3d green specimen. Used or cancelled stamps fluctuated between $35.00 and $150.00. Catalogue values do not really reflect market value or collector perceived worth, but serve as a guide to overall historical value and availability.

Faults Errors and Watermarks

1856 January: Watermark 2 was used in 2d blue

1856 April: Watermark 1 was used in 1d orange and 1d Red

1856 October: Watermark 3 was used in the imperforate 3d green with an error using Watermark 2 a highly valued error.

Watermarks changed throughout the release of these stamps with new watermarks being introduced around 1862, always trying to stay ahead of the excellent forgers around the colony.

Perforation Series

Perforations began to appear, according to the catalogue around 1862 and continued through to 1908. Different sizes of perforations appeared throughout the years which aid in aging and identifying the stamps. In terms of catalogue value the 12 x 13 perforation is the highest value and the earliest example of perforation of these stamps.

Other sources suggest that very rough perforations began to appear in 1860 which are more likely to be routlette style perforations which were irregular and often ran into the design of the stamp rather than the border. This seemed to resolve once Plate II was used with wide margins for the perforations to be more uniform.

DISCUSSION

Colours and Tones

Stanley Gibbons catalogue has designated a number of tonal and colour variations for all stamps issued in this series. for the collector some of the tones are more easily identified with the help of differing watermarks as several watermarks were used across this series. This is just from their general catalogue and not from their more details Australian Colonies (State) Stamps Catalogue.

As mentioned above the poor perforations at the beginning of this series have frustrated collectors with the perforations encroaching into the image and leaving damage in their wake. It is not until later in the 1880s and onwards where perforations were more uniform in nature.

With so many tones and watermark differences throughout this series it is a highly collectible issue. It shows New South Wales as a colony come more into its own as an enterprise with the stamps being printed locally and a much more mature design compared to the first drawing that made it onto the first stamp of New South Wales.

Queen Victoria made an appearance on many of the state stamps of Australia but the New South Wales stamp was the most closely related, in my view, to those of the British issues.

The Diadem Issue depicts a profile image of Queen Victoria wearing a jewelled crown changing from the feathers depicted in the earlier issue. It is encircled with a New South Wales emblem and outlined by a hexagon. there are ornate embelishments around the edges.

Denomination

The stamp issue was released in 5d Green, 6d Grey, 6d Brown, 6d Green, 8d Orange and 1 Shilling Red. The 8d Orange is the prize of the issue with a catalogue value at the time of writing of $20,000 for an unused mint stamp and its used value at $2,750. This value is a guide only and relies on many things and can move either way depending on errors, quality of ink, margins etc.

The 5d green had only 5,500 printed in 1855 and in 1855 22,900 in May 1858. The greens come in many shades and this is what adds to its value, and also allows forgers to thrive (ask me how I know).

There were five printings of the 8d stamp: 11,000 in December 1855, 18,500 in April 1856, 5,000 in May 1858, 15,500 in June 1858 and 25,000 in January 1860. The first two printings are in a golden yellow shade, the fourth in a yellow-orange and the last in an orange tending to red-orange.

Imperforate and Perforate

The first stamps of issue from 1854 were imperforate, meaning they had to be cut by the post office workers. The quality of the cut and the margins left on the stamp add and detract from its value. Perforation was introduced in New South Wales on 1 February 1860. There were 18,500 imperf 5d stamps on hand on 31 January 1860, none of which were supplied to Queensland. It can be safely assumed that these were all perforated, gauge 11½-12. It is important to note that the passing of time and scanning differences will create variances in shades of these stamps.

There were 23,000 imperf 8d stamps on hand on 31 January 1860 and in April 1860 1,400 of these were sent to Queensland. The balance were perforated, gauge 11½-12. These are rarer than the imperfs. There are three shades listed in the Gibbons catalogue: lemon-yellow, orange and red-orange. Hutson explained the shade variations were due to the inconsistent printings, owing to the inequalities in the proportions of the pigments. An example in the orange shade (from the latest Status auction) is below.

Watermark

Watermarks became standard in the colony stamps after forgeries rose in the colonies and were used to verify the stamps and became quite helpful for the philatelists in later years. As there are so many forgeries of these stamps the watermark is one of the gold standards to determine authenticity.

There is much more detail to be known about these stamps. This article is a brief overview of the issue and a later post will outline some of the more detailed nuances and collectibility of this stamp in terms of errors, shades and more.

Determining the value of these stamps comprises of assessing the size of the margin, how straight the stamp was cut as being an imperforate issue, it require staff to cut the stamps from the sheet. The rudimentary perforations would come later in Victorian stamps as with all of the state stamps. Also collectors hunt for the letters at the bottom of these stamps. Here is a larger picture of a rare pair of these stamps showing the letters more clearly.

This picture is also a great example of the basic production method and design. The Queen’s face is barely depicted and is more cartoonish. This made it quite easy to create forgeries of these stamps.

In later iterations of this series, the quality of the depiction of Queen Victoria improved markedly as shown below

At the time of writing mint versions of this stamp range from $850 to $2,350 and used (cancelled) versions $50-$225. This range does not take into consideration any examples on covers which are highly collectible and can put the stamp in a time and place.

There are great variations within this series which can also make the stamps more valuable as a sought after collectors item.

Denominations

The Chalon Head was issued in 1d Carmine (Red), 2d Green and 4d Blue.

In 1856 the 1d brown was added to the series along with the above though they were given different shades as the issue with obtaining colour dyes continued in the colonies.

In 1857 the 1d became brick-red and brownish red, 2d remained green although the catalogues added yellowish green and dark green to the classification, and 4d became blue and dark blue.

Watermarks

The 1855 stamps had watermarks while those printed in 1856 did not and those in 1857 were issued with a new watermark. This helps identify which issue of this stamp you may have in your possession and accordingly its value.

At the time of writing the mint examples vary from $400 up to $2.250 while a used (cancelled) example ranges from 440 to $300 so identification is key for this issue.

A collector will concentrate on shades and watermarks and I have seen a page of the different shades the green 2d came in and its astounding when you see a collection together with all of the variances. This led to many forgeries of the stamps and sometimes it is not until you’ve seen a few of these that you can more easily pick the fakes.

A much longer post looking at the subsequent issues in this series will appear later in this blog.

Denomination Issues

The stamps had a restricted denomination issue being 1d Green, 2d Red, 2d Orange, 6d Blue, 1 Shilling Orange, 1 Shilling Yellow, 1 Shilling Brown. The higher denominations were more commonly used for state revenue but there are examples of these on postage.

The perforation issues utilised the new trend of creating a perforation by serrating the edges of the stamps on the sheet, to make it easier for the stamps to be separated from the sheet by postal workers. As time went on, the perforation became smaller and more defined making it even easier to separate the stamps. The differences in the perforation make these very collectible and more valuable. The perforation itself can also help the collector date the stamp itself.

This issue continued with the profile picture of Queen Victoria wearing a jewelled crown and a small ponytail in her hair with a curl. These details are important, as is the structure of her chin, as in forgeries of these stamps (which there are plenty) these details are missed.

As with all stamps of this time, the colour dyes were not stable and several variations of colour exist for all issues. The variations in colour and integrity of the dyes used make them more collectible and more valuable and also aid in the precise aging of the stamps.

This post is an overview of the issue as there are many more details and changes to the profile of Queen Victoria throughout the issue as it lasted over a few years. A more detailed post will appear later in this blog.