My Australian Collection 1850 - 1965

King George VI (1948 - 1949)
SECOND PRINTING OF CORONATION ISSUES


ACSC 213A) 1948. Queen Elizabeth. 5/-. Perforation 14 x 13½. Thin unsurfaced paper. Sideways C of A watermark. Tinted paper. Reddish-Lake
ACSC 213B) 1948. Queen Elizabeth. 5/-. Perforation 14 x 13½. Thin unsurfaced paper. Sideways C of A watermark. White paper. Brown-Lake
ACSC 214x) 1949. King George VI. 10/-. Perforation 14 x 13½. Thick chalky surfaced paper. Sideways C of A watermark. Dull Purple. SPECIMEN (McCracken)
ACSC 215) 1948. King George VI. 10/-. Perforation 14 x 13½. Thin unsurfaced paper. Sideways C of A watermark. Deep Reddish Purple


ACSC 216A) 1949. King George VI. £1. Perforation 13½ x 14. Thick chalky surfaced paper. Sideways C of A watermark. Deep Dull Blue
ACSC 217) 1949. King George VI. £1. Perforation 13½ x 14. Thick chalky surfaced paper. Sideways C of A watermark. Pale Dull Blue
ACSC 217) 1949. King George VI. £1. Perforation 13½ x 14. Thin unsurfaced paper. Sideways C of A watermark. Dull Blue
On the morning of February 6, 1952, at the age of 56, George VI was discovered dead in bed at his residence, Sandringham House, Norfolk, England. It was later determined that he had died of coronary thrombosis. After his death, George VI's daughter, Princess Elizabeth ascended the throne, becoming Queen Elizabeth II. The last stamps issued bearing the likeness of the late King was April 9, 1952, two months and three days after his death, no other likeness of a monarch was printed until just before Queen Elizabeth's coronation; the first issuance of the new monarch's stamps were released on April 21, 1953. The Queen was crowned 46 days later on June 2, 1953.

All great examples ... love them.

I'll have to admit that the thin paper, very thin paper have always been difficult for me, but probably because I mostly collect used samples. Two mint samples, side-by-side, make the difference quite apparent.

You've now given me more reason to cull through my duplicates again, looking more carefully for these subtle varieties.

Rob:

I have the same fault on a 1/- lyre bird. I haven't seen anything on these faults other than in a auction catalogue. If memory serves me well, the overprint was applied in Japan and this type of error os a roller flaw.

Frank.

Thanks for the comment, I hope you find one.

Identifying between thin and very thin isn't easy, a micrometer is normally used to determine which thickness thin or very thin. I rather use the ACSC as it explains it all, and if that doesn't work for me, I sent it away to be identified.

Hopefully the pages I'm creating will help you with the thin and very thin papers. As a rule of thumb all King George VI stamps printed from 1941-1952 will consist of a few thin paper issues, they have a much darker shade than the thick paper as it absorbs more ink, and of course the front can be easily seen through to the back.

If you have any difficulty identifying a thin stamp just post the back and front and I will try and identify it for you.

Thin and very thin paper normally commands a much higher price than thick paper, so if you have one, you aren't doing too bad.

For example, if you look at the George VI 1/0½d, the normal stamp is valued at $3 in the ACSC, its thin counterpart is valued at $100.



Notice that the thin paper has a much deeper shade.

Rob

Hi Frank.

Well, stone the crows, That is an incredible flaw, I didn't realise that particular flaw is also on a 1/- stamp. As it is an unlisted flaw I cannot give much info on it, stamps of higher value normally command more in value.

The error is definitely a roller flaw.

Hopefully it will be listed when the next ACSC is published, though I assume such a stamp will command some interest and a price to match.

The stamp is sometimes listed as 'H'apan; definitely a nice collectable piece.

Rob