Australia 1/- Lyrebird - 'Green Mist Retouch' ???

One of the most valuable of modern Australian stamps is the 1 shilling superb lyrebird, no watermark issue with the so-called 'green mist retouch.'

There's a drawing of the 'green mist retouch' in my Gibbons, but it's not very informative. since it doesn't draw attention to any of the features that specifically distinguish it.

I've tried to find a hi-res scan of the stamp online, but the only scans I can find are lo-res images of blocks in which the stamp that is said to have the retouch looks indistinguishable from the others.

Does anyone happen to have a good scan of the stamp with the retouch?

So people know which issue, I'm talking about, here's two examples from my collection:

Well, here's my copy of Scott #141. I can't see anything
of interest (other than your copies are much better than mine.)

I played with your Left Image with Gwyddion software to see
if I could "pull out" the green mist, but to no avail.
(Obviously had some extra time on my hands!) Good luck getting
a "green mist retouch".

Partime, this design is a little confusing. There were four issues in all. The first was large format, the other three small format. I'm only guessing, but I think you have scanned the large format stamp, which is more yellow-green in colour than the one that has the rare retouch. That issue is invariably grey-green.

I can't say I understand what you were doing with the Gwyddion software, which I must admit to never having heard of before. Can you tell me a little more about this?

Jim Jam,

Yes, you are correct. The image I copied in the first message is
Scott 141 (Feb 15, 1932) which is the large format (21.5 x 25 mm).
Below I have a copy of Scott 175a which is a small format (17.5 x
21.5 mm). Again, I cannot see the "green mist retouch". And, it
is obviously the wrong yellow-green color.

The Gwyddion software was something I saw in another thread. It
enables one to look at features of stamps (and other objects) in very
interesting ways by manipulating angles and heights. It easily makes
cancels and other features show. I was trying to make the mist show
up, but was ineffective.

As I recall it, the 'Green mist' retouch involves quite heavy and extensive recutting of the lines to the left of the lyrebird. Once seen, it's quite unmistakable.

BTW, Sir David Attenborough thought the lyrebird the best of all bird mimics. He had a recording of a lyrebird imitating a car door opening and closing, and another of a camera shutter clicking and the film drive running. Both absolutely perfect. The lyrebird's revenge on all the tourists who come (in their cars) to stare (and take photos)?

'Once seen, it's quite unmistakable.'

That's why I'd like to see it!

I'm quite surprised that there isn't a decent scan of the stamp to be found on the net.

BTW the lyrebird mimicking noises were used recently on Stephen Fry's QI. They were simply amazing.

I finally found a scan of this variety online on the website of a philatelic auction house (Millennium):



Apparently, it sold for $1350.

jimjamtwo, the picture you found on the website seems less sharp than the one you took. Can you see the retouch in it?
I am interested in retouches on Swiss stamps, and like you I dont really know what to look for in some instances!

Petert4522, for some reason, most of the major online auction websites do not post very good quality scans. This is annoying, as these sites are usually the only places where you can find images of rare varieties. In this case, the image does look like the drawing in my Gibbons. I just thought the drawing looked too odd to be accurate, but in fact it was perfectly accurate. The difference in this case is that the shading lines to the left of the bird are quite long and that some are much darker than others. They also end quite abruptly, forming a kind of block shape. This was very different from the normal shading, which was much more like that you can see on the same stamp to the right of the bird. I hope this helps!

I have been recently sorting ,a number of my rarest stamps,I have a collection of early Australian stamps ,I have 4 superb Lyrebird stamps *** removed ***,

Please read the rules in regards to selling

As a new member, you are not yet permitted to post in the selling sections. However, we are always interested in seeing what everyone has, so please post some high resolution scans, especially showing the mist in the back. I, for one, would really enjoy seeing it.

I'd still like to see a good comparison pic- I have at least 8-10 of these but never knew there was a high cat variety. Still think someone should make a catalog of $500+ only items to search for.\

Michel makes a "Valuable Stamps of the World Catalog" that lists over 10,000 stamps that Michel catalogs at over €200. I've never seen a copy, so I can't speak to its accuracy/utility/quality.



As part of their online catalog, Michel also tracks auction results from about 400 auction houses and posts the high value sales in a searchable database.

Here's a sample of German Feldpost lots:



No idea if there's a lyrebird anywhere in the list.

Here are a couple taken unfortuantly with a webcam.I will post some high def photo,s later today.