Australian Specimen Stamps

A soak in some hot water with a drop of dishwashing liquid works wonders but say bye bye to the gum .

Then rinse & dry.

That sounds too easy, Sunlight here we come, many thanks..

I think you have quite a few to go before complete Rob

Hi Al

It seems that I have a lot of collecting to do with these particular specimens, where did you get yours from and are they MUH?

Rob

Rob

Yes all MUH , I picked them up from a few dealers but can't remember who . I'll scan others a bit later .

Every one I do not have.

Nice collection Rob

Looks like I have some catching up to do .

Thanks Al

I am a sucker for specimens. In the QEII collection, the 2nd 75c Cook and 2nd $1 Flinders, are the scarce 14.75mm issue, the normal perforation is 15.5mm, which is the 1st Cook and the 1st Flinders.

The remainder are relatively easy to obtain, dealers stock prevailing.

The KGVI specimens is a different matter, that little collection is worth $3,500 (actual value not catalogue), missing is the £1 Coronation (McCracken), I have the Ash printing, and the 10/- Flinders cream paper is also missing.

I only found out recently that there are specimen Coat-of-Arms with roller flaws, they are very scarce and currently impossible to find; I've never seen one.

The 70 cent stamp with the image of KGV came in a special presentation sheet issued in 2014, in the sheet it also has two "OS" versions (perfin and overprint), as well as the specimen shown above. It was scanned from the presentation sheet.

Rob

Please excuse my ignorance but what exactly is a specimen stamp? I have several block of 4 of the Decimal Aussie ones - but don't understand the reasoning behind stamping them specimen

One reason that I can remember from a long time ago is that the specimen stamps would be mounted in a frame and hung on the Post Office wall.

Specimens are also sent to member UPU nations as samples of a county's stamps.

Thank you!