Australian Postage Due Stamps

I have some of these J Series Postage Due Australian stamps from the 1909-1923 period. The used ones are in the J40 range in Scott. The issue though is that the first one in the row of used stamps, which is 1 1/2 Pence, is not listed. They only show 1/2 Pence and then the higher denominations. Nothing in the middle. I am wondering why it is not listed.

On the second set (unused) they also appear to be of J Series of the same period, but there are no examples shown in Scott at all with the white background around the red stamp value numbers.

I am puzzled...

The 1.5p stamp is J52. There are several different printings of this issue. When there is more than one printing for a denomination, you will need to check the perforation and watermark to distinguish between the printings.



If you look at the header just above the listings for J81 and J94 (the 1 shilling stamps), it states "White Tablet, Carmine Numeral".

Your brilliant khj. I am slipping here when its all right in front of me. Thanks again so much.

By the way, the 4p stamp in the top row actually belongs with the bottom row stamps. Then, the top row stamps are design D4 while the bottom row stamps are design D5 in the Scott catalog.

The feature I use to distinguish between D4 and D5 is the amount of "green" space after the "E" in "DUE". Type D4 (top row, except for 4p stamp) is very close to the edge, while Type D5 (bottom row) has noticeable green space.

By the way, I am using the digital PDF version of Scott 2009, is that what you are using too? It's nice and fast that way :)

No, my last software version is the 2007 edition. I stopped purchasing software from Amos when they decided to disable the print function on subsequent editions. I'm not going to go the print-screen route, as I want to print the full catalog pages front and back to mark my inventory and notes.

So, I'm back to the bulky print catalogs again.

The Australian Postage Dues are immensely complicated, and you're going to miss a great deal relying on Scott to identify them.

If you have any serious quantities of British Commonwealth stamps, you'd really do best to get hold of a Gibbons Commonwealth & British Empire Stamps 1840-1970 catalogue. It will not only give you much more detail, but make your Commonwealth stamps much more saleable than if you can only quote Scott numbers for them.

Thanks for that bit of advice Tony. I don't believe I have a lot. What do you refer to as British Commonwealth stamps? I don't have anything really from the UK. Just Australia.

British Commonwealth is (most of the present) members of the British Commonwealth: former and present British colonies (like Australia and Canada, and Gibraltar and the Pitcairn Islands), protectorates (Egypt for the first 50 years, Bechuanaland), areas controlled by British companies (like early India and North Borneo), areas under British wartime occupation (like Batum and Mosul in the First World War and the former Italian Middle Eastern colonies after the Second World War), former members of the Commonwealth such as Ireland and so on. The list is enormous!

Let us not forget that Australia is the only nation to issue postage dues prior to standard postage stamps.

And if that seems unusual, it's just because all you poor souls stuck there in the soi-disant Northern Hemisphere see everything upside down