GB KGV Downey Head - Overview And Discussion

How 'bout another overprint? This time overprinted for Bechuanaland Protectorate:

Hi scotzm, I am glad your interest in the 4 Kings has been re-awakened! That is fan-flippin-tastic my friend and I am glad this thread played a small role in this! Super Cool!

Maybe the ½d. Downey Head is a common stamp, but the Triangular postmark is definitely worth noting, and with the release of 'Collect British Postmarks' in the next few days..... who knows!

Nice Bechuanaland O/P Cjd, just wondering if you have checked it for the Aniline reaction? Shoots the CV of this one from around £2-3 to £140!

Thanks again for popping those wonderful stamps on the Downey Head thread guys, and please keep the scans coming!

Below are three 1d. Downey Head Die2 Simple Cypher SG345 printed from Plate 13, each showing different bottom margins. One is preforated with 12 extension holes, the middle has 14 of them and the last is obviously imperf. It is very interesting when little groups like this develop in the ol' collection, pretty cool eh!?

I am also of the opinion that 3 different shades are represented by these three stamps. From Left to right: Bright Scarlet, Scarlet, Deep Bright Scarlet. Any thought or comments folks?



I hope everyone is well, and the collections looking great!

Have a Good One,

Skilo54

I just would like to note a minor change in the thread title....

I dropped the 1d. from it.

Now we all have the opportunity to include the ½d. value into the discussion, so let's see some more!

C'ya latron & havagudone,

Skilo54

Oh....how handy was the timing of that change, Nice touch!

Here are some other triangular cancels on some Die1 and Die2 ½d. Downy Heads scotzm. As you can see I have just a few but have started to really like the bold and beautiful postmarks.

Have a look at mine:





There is another thread jus about these postmarks somewhere here on SCF, you will just have to have a quick poke around to find out where it is hiding!

Ciao for now,

Skilo54

There are a couple threads with the triangular postmarks, this one probably being the most comprehensive:

https://goscf.com/t/14079

I have sorted thru some of my "extra" Downey heads. I found a nice mint (but hinged) SG336... plus this hinged mint 1d scarlet. Just thought it might just be aniline scarlet SG343 as the design does show thru the back (spoiled a bit by the hinged marks). I'd like to see a scan of a real aniline if possible to compare. Perhaps it should look more like the offset printing that was posted?

Hi there,

I am happy that you have been able to spend some time with your stamps Scotzm, and even happier to hear that you have some 'extra' Downey Heads! I am always looking to add to my collection so please feel free to contact me directly if you ever feel like selling some or all of your extra Downey Heads! That offer also goes for any of y'all, if you have some ½d. or 1d. Downey Heads you would like to sell or trade, please shoot me an email and we can go from there. I buy these weekly, if not daily, so I have a good sense of what fair market value is for these stamps. I also have a kagillion other stamps from tonnes of countries and would love to trade CV for CV (CV = catalogue value)

Great scan Scotzm, I would be willing to bet your stamp is Aniline, nice one! For those who don't know, here is an excerpt from the SG 4 Kings catalogue regarding Aniline ink on Downey Heads:

"...prices for the aniline scarlet 1d. Nos. N9(4) and N11(5) are for specimens in which the colour is suffused on the surface of the stamp and shows through clearly on the back. The correct aniline reaction is a bright golden emission on both sides of the stamp. Specimens without these characteristics, but which show orange 'aniline' reactions under ultraviolet light are relatively common."

The next thing to do would be verify this under UV light, then you are GOLDEN! (don't mind the pun) This is an aspect of collecting these stamps that I have just recently come to grips with. It took me buying a copy from another collector of Downey Heads to verify my own findings and observations. Here are three examples from my Aniline 1d. page in my collection, I have shown the front and back to try and help the best I can without being able to stand beside you at your desk and waving my little UV lamp over the stamp. As you can see the image on the back is not nearly as clear as the one on my offset stamp.













Another interesting fact that I have noticed regarding the usage of these is that they seem to be used mainly throughout February and March of 1913.

Anyways, I have to cruise! My copy of 'Collect British Postmarks' arrived today and I am just dying to get my nose in those pages!

Have a good one,

Skilo54

By saying "extra" Downey heads I mentioned it in the Etruscan sense of the word...meaning totally unsorted and neglected in a stock album until now.
As for waving a UV lamp over a stamp.... I have this irrational fear of electrical equipment so perhaps I could wave a candle instead? I have several packs of emergency candles that may do the trick. I presume a certain frequency is important? I which case, I can wave the candle...er...frequently! Or is there some technical thing should know.

Scotzm, it would seem that your "irrational fear" has not only affected your ability to use electrical equipment, but I would say your sense of humor has also been affected!

I received an email this afternoon saying a post was made by you in the Downey Head thread here on SCF, so was kind of hoping that you had followed up with a scan of the front of your Downey Head for comparison with the others I had posted. I thought maybe there would be a chance to continue the discussion a bit more, but I guess you were busy writing your new material for this years 'Philatelist's Comedy Tour'.

Have a Good One,

Skilo54

My eyesight and my sense of humor means that things take a lot of time I think I have finally managed to identify some of the "heads" that I have... but with no certainty I fear. Anyway, it is a bit better than my old "One Light Beard, One Dark Beard etc" system. Color variation are outside my visual capabilities.

Regarding color variations in the Downey heads...I have tried using the STAMPCOMPARE software proggy (photogrammetry.com in Australia) on other stamps in the past as it allows color analysis of an area and returns the relevant (hopefully) Stanley Gibbons colors. I've not found it totally satisfactory as I'm not sure of my own accuracy or competence. It also helps compare two stamps by toggling between them to see any differences.

Hi there,

Thanks for the suggestion about that software, I will have to check it out! The shades of the 1d. Downey head are complex, and I find that the SG colour key and Mint examples to be the best combo for getting a handle on them. I am beginning to develop a sense of the shades by eye but have a long way to go to reach the level of study of others out there.

While we are on the subject of shades, and because I just took a screen capture of an auction lot I won for record, how about these:



Lots of shade variation in those ones (not to mention the multiples)! I look forward to checking them

Have a good one,

Skilo54

Happy New Year Folks! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are all fully re-charged and ready for the upcoming year!

I hope to really hunker-down and focus on my GB Kings collections, and with the help of a fellow Downey Head Collector I have some wonderful custom KEVII and Downey Head pages. There are some spaces to fill that will take years of learning just to be able to fill, not to mention years of saving my $coots!

Anyways, a couple new items grace my collection with their presence and I thought I would add them in for your viewing pleasure.

Here is a wonderful pair of 1d. Die 2 Downey Heads with a private overprint. This one is still on the 'To be researched' page as I am working on identifying the source of the CB/WH overprint.

Here are some really lovely (if you ask me) Downey Heads, and I was so excited when I first saw them, and nearly did a backflip when I won the auction and realized they were on their way 'Home'!

Here are my Die1b and Die2 1d. Downey Head Controls with International Stamp Jubilee Exhibition postmarks.

Die 1b:



Die 2:

Nice. Check County Borough of West Ham for your overprints and see if you find a match.