Interesting Australian State Cancels?

Today's mail brought a couple of Australian states issues with interesting cancels. The first two, both from Victoria, are just bar cancels with numerals: the second one is very nice, I think, but I can't read the number on the first one (unless it's just a '4.')





Questions: why is there a big 'R' on this stamp?



And why is there a big 'N' on this stamp (from wA)?:



All comments welcome and greatly appreciated!

Top 2, Duplex cancels JJ, 4? and 142
next "R" is a Registration strike. (relatively common)


The "N" is a really super curiosity, never seen it before,
Time to dig out "The Black Swan"
I'll be back to you...

Well, that was a doozy JimJam,

Identified as Newcastle, Western Australia.
I had never heard of Newcastle WA,
and was sure it did not exist,
but Google came to the rescue:

The original village of Toodyay was one of the earliest inland towns in the State, established along the in 1836
after settlers including , Captain Francis Whitfield and Alexander Anderson explored the area; Drummond
established his homestead Hawthornden nearby. However, the location was subject to flooding which lead to its
abandonment in the 1850s, and a new townsite was established on higher ground 2 km upstream. This was gazetted
in 1860 as 'Newcastle' and the original settlement came to be referred to as 'Old Toodyay'. In May 1910 due to
confusion with the city of Newcastle NSW, Newcastle became known as 'Toodyay', and the original townsite, which had by this
time declined substantially, became 'West Toodyay'.


ID courtesy of Western Australia
The stamps and postal history
The WA study group
isbn 9596476 0 0

I would say the top one is also 142.

Just a FYI,
Toodyay around this time last year, experienced 45 degree C heatwave,
The first time a "catastrophic" fire risk rating was issued
in Western Australia
We lost 37 homes in the resultant fire.
http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/.../2783505.htm

It certainly looks like it Anthony,
but you will probably find its a bent part of the
support outer ring in 2 numbered duplex cancellers of Vic

With 3 numbers this part ring disappears

rod222, thanks for the insights!

Any idea which post office was Victoria #142?

My sympathy goes out to all those who've lost homes in the fires in WA. Historically, the state has been the least affected by natural disasters.

...and currently the City of Brisbane is under water!

(A land of droughts and flooding rains)

No Idea on Vic numeral JJ
I have long wanted the Victorian Numerals Postmark handbook
but way too expensive for me right now.

Re 'N.' Isn't there a premium for stamps cancelled in places that no longer exist?

Well, yes and no JJ,
it will depend on the scarcity of the cancel in question,
I have a WA compendium somewhere on WA postmarks,
but it could be anywhere right now.
I only just found my fav stamptongs a few minutes ago
so don't hold your breath.

I feel it is a scarce cancel, yet Newcastle was used apparently for 50 years, so who knows.

You can sell it to me if you like, to relieve your worry

This listing may be of interest regarding postmarks:

http://pbbooks.com/cr1.htm

Mike in NC / meostamps

Bravo Mike,
Newcastle / Toodyay was there.
Added the link to my favs.

rod222, I don't collect Australia, so at some stage I will undoubtedly be selling it.

For the moment, though, I would just like to revel in the idea that I have a stamp with possibly a very rare cancel!!

My best guess for the top stamp would be 40 - Echuca. It's not rated (meaning not rare.) 7th Duplex most likely - the positioning of the dot and the A of Victoria, plus the style of the 4 and thickness of the side bar would suggest this.

The 2nd stamp is actually not as it would seem . You see it can't be 142 - 142 is Frankston (coincidentally where I was born and raised! ) and there was only one duplex of the barred numeral used, with the bottom of the cds portion having the word VIC, not Victoria. The stamp shown you can see the end of the town name is A, possibly RA or PA.

This leaves us with it being 142X. And I can tell you that it's actually 1427 - Korumburra. Duplex issued to that town in 1892 and in use until 1904. The stamp was first issued in 1901. At the top right corner of the frame, you can see the downward line of the serif of the 7 (it had a rather large serif.) It's also not rated.

The other two have been well covered.

Hope that helps.

Balf

Your'e lucky, I found it.
2002 rarity guide
I make it an DxL2 cancel
Scarcity guide 1-2 (known to exist in low numbers)

I have not seen it before, so cannot comment
other than I would expect from the auctions I have attended
probably $20 -$30 US (we have parity in aussie dollars)
Be aware that is just my guess.
I am not really conversant with colonial cancels
you would need an expert or an example of another price
realised at auction.

Wow! where have you been? terrific stuff, well done.