Western Australia: Puzzling Entry In The Scott Catalogue

The Scott section on Western Australia gives an enigmatic reference to a '1p salmon' variety of the 1d Swan. This item is given the catalogue number 76a. But no price is given - either for mint or used - and no information is given either.



According to a very brief Stampboards thread dating from 2007, just one example is known and was certified in 2007. However, but a price hadn't yet been set:

http://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=99

The Scott catalogue I use dates from 2009, so would presumably have given a price if one had been set by then. But it's now 2014 and we don't seem to have heard anything more about 76a!

Does anyone know what's going on here? (Perhaps the subject is mentioned in more recent editions of Scott.)

I must say I'm now reluctant to sell my 1d Swans, as I have quite a few with shades that don't fit the 'carmine rose' label. I have not only some with salmon shades, but various tones of brown, from pale to brown-red. (Presumably other people do too.)

Perhaps I could encourage users of this forum to check their 1d Swans and see what other unusual shades are around!

The entry indicates that Scott acknowledges the existence but lacks enough information to price it.

Scott is hardly ideal for cataloguing anything Australian. I, and I'd guess 99% of Australian readers, wouldn't know what a Scott reference meant. Can you give a Gibbons equivalent?

Hi tonymacg. I don't have a Gibbons, unfortunately, but what we're talking about is the last Melbourne printing with the Crown over double-lined A watermark. Perhaps you could see what it says in your Gibbons.

Timm, I understand now what it means, but I just wondered if there had been any progress on this matter. After all, it's getting on to 7 years since the variety was apparently certified. It would be nice to be able to see a scan of it!

For the 1d, watermark T34, perf 12½, 12½x12 or 12x12½, Gibbons lists
Rose-pink, £18/£3.25
Ditto wmk upright £10/£1.25
Carmine £13/£1.25
Carmine-red £13/£10
and perf 11
Rose-pink £45/£25
Carmine-red £55/£24
ditto watermark upright £85/£25

Without seeing the stamps in question, I'd suspect a brown shade was simply oxidised.

If you are just looking for a scan, I can help you:



If you are looking for a value, I cannot.

that looks like a Rose Pink,

Pagoda

Just checking Western Australia Study Group, Stamp & Postal History by Margaret Hamilton & Brian Pope.

It gets very complex and sorting out which are Gibbons numbers (or Scott's ) can be a problem.

They give for that issue.

Reddish Pink both perfs., watermarked sideways then upright
Bright Rose Red, perf. 12 1/2 x 12, watermark sideways only.
Rosine, both perfs., watermarked upright then sideways.

That would classify it in the Rosine shade group if using WA Specialists.

Pagoda

added, or you could use Robson Lowe,

they make it simpler,

1d. sideways watermark, Carmine, (shades), both perfs., also known with upright watermark.

Cjd, that's not the salmon shade, though, is it?

I can't say if it is salmon, but it is the stamp that was certified as salmon.

Of course, Scott seems to be the only source that says there is a salmon to be certified in the first place.

Cjd, can I ask where you obtained the image from?

In my opinion, it's not salmon, but rose pink. I have at least a dozen used examples of precisely that shade!!

As you state, the Scott catalogue seems to be the only evidence that any such shade as salmon even exists.

I wonder WHO certified this stamp?

PF did the cert, and this is their scan. I didn't see the actual stamp, so I can't say anything other than salmon is not the first word I would choose to describe this scan.

The stamp is unused with some gum, so you can eliminate all of the issues that soaking brings to the table for a used example.

All this being said, Scott is not the first catalogue I would choose to describe this issue. And I like Scott.

Thanks for the info, Cjd. That shade is definitely a reality - I've got a few copies myself, including ones still on paper - but, as I said, I'd call it pale rose pink. In used condition, I'd say anyone who has more than a hundred or so of the Melbourne printing swans will have at least one. I'm surprised that, regardless of whether or not it's 'salmon,' it's apparently considered rare. It isn't.

One scan of a single stamp on a computer tells you nothing about the stamps color . Every screen is different .......if you have the stamp put up a comparison group would be helpful .

Here is a page from my duplicate album and gives a idea of color range , but I don't have the color being discussed above -salmon .

It would be interesting if you could post a few, including one or two that you think are closest to salmon, for some comparison. It would be best if they were all in one scan to rule out the scanner making corrections or adjustments somewhere in the process.

As I mentioned above, 'salmon' does not leap to mind for that scan, but I have never seen the original stamp.