Value For Specimen Overprint On NSW #67?

Help appreciated on value for New South Wales stamp. I think it is #67 (perf 10. ) It has no gum. Color may be slightly off. It is orange/yellow. My Classic catalog has no value listed for Specimen overprint. Anyone? Thanks



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So your stamp is a nsw orange/yellow 8d diadem perf 10 stamp specimen overprint?

My books do not have this stamp in it. The image is not the clearest. Plus it is not my area. But.....

By doing an ebay search the imperf's are $750 and the perf 13 are $50. The perf 10 overprint OS is $16. It would be surprising if the specimen overprint could be more expensive that a OS overprint.But your stamp looks to be in heaps better condition.

Looks like paper is stuck to the back of the stamp though.

Hopefully someone will know this stamp.

This question should do better in the Australia forum.

Watermark?

I presume your specimen stamp came from a selection of overprinted stamps sold by the NSW Post Office to collectors for 20/- each. They were sold on sheets headed "Specimen and Reprint Stamps of New South Wales, with Year of Issue".

Check out the 1st lot on each of these auctions:

http://www.grosvenorauctions.com/dy...utton=Search

http://www.millenniumauctions.com.a...t_auction=50

Hi rdavid

The specimen you have may be a reprint of the 8d bright yellow Diadem, the perforation should be 13, check to see if the watermark is a "double lined 8".

The original slightly hinged is worth AU$525, the original's catalogue number for Stanley Gibbons is SG 167c.

I'll ask around tomorrow, it will be best to take it to a dealer.

Rob

There is a 8d in Perf 10 Rob, that's why I asked for Wmk
There are several varieties of this stamp.

Most appear to have a "Type 11" specimen opt, which is nothing like the rdavid's.

I have yet to find a list of SPECIMEN fonts for Australia, bar the Kangaroo and Map, and KGV sideface. It may be genuine, but without a reference, hard to tell.

Hi Rod


You are correct Rod about the 8d version, which led me to do some more research on the stamp from my little library. There are definitely type 2 overprinted diadems, but this particular stamp may have a little history of its own.

What I have read concerning the 1895 special printings of the diadems is that some were made for presentation to officials as well as being issued in collector sets. A total of 1,000 five penny diadems were prepared; of which 900 were cancelled with "N.S.W." in ovals (and only 158 sold and the rest of the five penny stamps with the N.S.W. cancellations destroyed). And there were 50 with the G.P.O. cancellation in ovals, there were also O.S. & Specimen overprints issued with the G.P.O. and N.S.W. cancellations.

As it was mentioned that sets were made I would assume more than one value was included. And as it mentions "Specimens" I again would assume that it was part of a set of reprinted diadems. I believe this Specimen may have come from one of these collector sets, explaining why it cannot be found in stamp catalogues.

The mention of "no gum" tends to lean towards a reprint in my opinion.

I would also like to know what the watermark is if there is one, as some overprints were made on unwatermarked paper and others were made on watermarked paper.

His 8d Specimen is truly one for a colonial collection.

Rob

Hi Rob,
we shall see if the poster calls back with a Wmk.

I think John's suggestion "looks like paper stick to the stamp" are just perforation punctures still attached, illustrating the poor scan.

My big question is the font of "Specimen", looks dodgy to me.

Hi Rod

It does seem like some of the perforation wasn't punched all the way through which would leave these type of remnant, very common in those days.

I was going to mention that the owner of the stamp should make the scan more clear and that the scanner should be set to 600dpi. If the scan was made more clear, the overprint would be more discernible.


It does look a bit on the "iffy" side, but it is hard to tell if it is out of a collector set or a dud from such a blurred scan.

The font of the stamp should be consistent to the overprints of that time; the watermark or lack of one can tell a lot about the stamp, either he can identify it or scan the stamp to a size that we can see the watermark if it has one.

The original stamp was issued in 1862, but I suspect it was made between 1895 - 1910, the overprint will not be uniform to the overprints of that era, a typical overprint would look something like the 1863 Queensland overprint I have below.



Rob

The watermark is 55, Large Crown and NSW. Thanks for all the expert testimony!

Here is 600 dpi scan. Color best I can do with this scanner.

Now we're cooking!
Stanley Gibbons #236 1883 Perf 10 Yellow £100 / £15 1993
The "specimen" font looks better, but beyond my knowledge.

To get current prices, use the SG catalogue # and start googling perhaps.
Good Luck (Nice Stamp)

I couldn't see any Specimen Opts on my ebay
Here is a mint Perf 11

Thanks to everyone. I will do some searches.

Hi rdavid

I just received a phone call from a stamp specialist in Victoria about your stamp (emailed him a copy of the stamp and info on the watermark) and he said that your stamp is definitely a reprint from 1895 and it came from a set of diadem reprints, about 1600 sets were made and the stamp you have is worth about AU$150.

Rob

Rob,
Thank you, and please pass on thanks to your friend, for this definitive response. That font had me scratching my head.
Don

Thanks Rob.
Great work.