King George VI Definitive Frontal Head View. 1½ - 1/4-D (1938-1942)

First Row

ACSC 184A) 1938. King George VI. 1½d. Perforation 13½ x 14. C of A watermark. Red-Brown
ACSC 185) 1941. King George VI. 1½d. Perforation 15 x 14. C of A watermark. Red-Brown
ACSC 186B) 1941. King George VI. 1½d. Perforation 15 x 14. C of A watermark. Green
Colour changed following introduction of ½d war tax on December 10, 1941 and U.P.U. requirement that the foreign matter rate stamp be printed in Green.
ACSC 187A) 1937. King George VI. 2d. Perforation 13½ x 14. Die 1. C of A watermark. Scarlet
ACSC 188A) 1938. King George VI. 2d. Die II. Perforation 15 x 14. C of A watermark. Scarlet
ACSC 188a) 1938. King George VI. 2d. Perforation 15 x 14. Inverted C of A watermark. Scarlet
ACSC 188a) 1938. King George VI. 2d. Perforation 15 x 14. Inverted C of A watermark. Scarlet (back)
ACSC 189A) 1941. King George VI. 2d. Perforation 15 x 14. C of A watermark. Mauve


Second Row

ACSC 196A) [1941. King George VI. 3d. Perforation 15 x 14. C of A watermark. Dark Brown
ACSC 196a) 1941. King George VI. 3d. Perforation 15 x 14. Thin paper. C of A watermark. Dark Brown
ACSC 196B) 1941. King George VI. 3d. Perforation 15 x 14. C of A watermark. Brown
ACSC 196c) 1941. King George VI. 3d. Perforation 15 x 14. Thin paper. C of A watermark. White face (ink stripping). Red-Brown
ACSC 196C) 1941. King George VI. 3d. Perforation 15 x 14. C of A watermark. Red-Brown
ACSC 196D) 1941. King George VI. 3d. Perforation 15 x 14. C of A watermark. Grey-Brown
Colour changed to brown following introduction of ½d war tax on December 10, 1941, when the 3½d blue foreign letter rate stamp was issued.
ACSC 211A) 1938. King George VI. 1/4d. Perforation 13½ x 14. C of A watermark. Pale Magenta
ACSC 211B) 1938. King George VI. 1/4d. Perforation 13½ x 14. C of A watermark. Bright Magenta


Third Row

ACSC 222) 1941. King George VI. 2½d over 2d. Perforation 15 x 14. C of A watermark. Deep Blue on Scarlet
A ½d war tax was imposed on postage from Decembeer 10, 1941. On that date, in order to use up surplus stocks of stamps rendered obsolete by the rate increse, three surcharges were issued - 2½d on 2d, 3½ on 3d and 5½d on 5d
ACSC 228A) 1944. King George VI. 2d. Perforation 15 x 14. C of A watermark. Bright Purple
ACSC 228B) 1944. King George VI. 2d. Perforation 15 x 14. C of A watermark. Bright Red-Purple
ACSC 229A)[ 1948. King George VI. 2d. Perforation 15 x 14. No watermark. Bright Purple
ACSC 230A) 1942. King George VI. 2½d. Perforation 15 x 14. C of A watermark. Deep Scarlet
ACSC 230a) 1942. King George VI. 2½d. Perforation 15 x 14. Inverted C of A watermark (from booklet)
ACSC 230a) 1942. King George VI. 2½d. Perforation 15 x 14. Reverse. Inverted C of A watermark (from booklet) (back)


Fourth Row

ACSC 230b) 1942. King George VI. 2½d. Imperforate. C of A watermark. Deep Scarlet.

Part of the Note Printing Branch theft in the 1940s

Between 1948 and 1949 a number of previously unrecorded errors of King George VI stamps appeared on the market. Considering the relatively few major errors of Australian stamps which had occurred in the preceding twenty years, suspicion were raised and the matter was investigated by the Postmaster-General's Department.

Their enquiry, undertaken in conjunction with the Note Printing Branch, proved beyond doubt that the material was illegally on the market, having been stolen from spoilt stock destined for destruction at the Note Printing Branch. It is believed that the manner in which the material was obtained was to smuggle in a perfect sheet of stamps, bought at a post office, and substitute this for the faulty one.

The thefts occurred over a period of years during the 1940s. Eventually, a former employee of the Note Printing Branch, John George Garrick Martin, of Beach Road, Sandringham, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, was charged with the theft of certain specific material and their sale to a stamp dealer. He was tried before a jury and found not guilty in March 1951.

The Commonwealth Police confiscated a large amount of this material which had passed onto dealers and collectors hands. For many years it was illegal to own this material or deal in it.

Again, Wow! Thanks so much. I will bookmark this page too.

So cool, and they corrected the error too!

Hi Ciletaliph




Mostly all major errors are recorded, and not many escape into mainstream, in this case he took quite a few sheets with wrong shades, wrong ink and wrong paper (printed on unwatermarked paper for stamps that were meant to be on watermarked paper, I have a peace stamp that shows the wrong paper).

As a result of many identical errors appearing in a short space of time it attracted the attention of the Note and Stamp Printing Branch and the rest is history.

I am still collecting these particular errors when they appear on the market.

When I post other displays of the George VI era, other stamps from the Note and Printing Branch thefts will be shown.

Rob

Hirdavid




I'll be putting more online, I have exhausted all my George VI heads, I'll be adding his wife Queen Elizabeth, zoological issues, etc.

One issue will take months to post, and that is the 1949-50 Coat-of-Arms. I have both the normal set and the Specimen set. But there is also a very thin paper set as well. they are issued in the 5/-, £1 & £2 value, there is no 10/- very thin paper.

I already have the 5/- and the £2 will be in my possession sometime in the 3rd week of June. The £1 I missed by a week, didn't know one was on the market, when I did it was too late.

The £1 is more difficult to find then the £2 issue, though both cost the same at $1,650 each; and as I only buy mint unhinged, it makes the chance of purchasing one even much harder.

I would need to win the lottery to buy a very thin Coat-Arms £1 or £2 stamp on cover, they would fetch over $10,000 each.

Rob