South Australia: Queen V Color Var?

My question is based on listings in the Scott catalogue.

Queen Victoria Issue of 1868 - 1875. Visage A6.

Scott 57 listed as "blue green". With perf varieties of 10, 11.5, 12.5, and compound.

My stamp is perforated 13.

Scott 105 listed as "green". With perf of 13.

Question: My stamp is perf 13. However it is clearly "blue green".

Is this indicative of another Scott oversight? Decision to not list color var?

Thank you.

Trying to specialize Australia using a Scott catalog is like crossing the Pacific in a leaky canoe.


Peter

For one, Scott still uses old color names that were determined by someone ages ago. While relatively consistent in US listings, color names are also not necessarily consistently used throughout all countries. The same is true for other catalogs as well: Stanley Gibbons notes that some very old color names that do not match their colour guide have been kept because they have been established by tradition. There are also shades that, since Scott Worldwide is a general catalog, are not listed.

Your stamp is almost certainly #105.

Hy-brasil and Peter...

Thank you for your response/advice. Philatelic as well as maritime.

Am writing to amend my original posting. My stamp is definitely P13.

However, in comparing the stamp with other stamps identified by Scott as "green" or "blue green", conclude this stamp is closer to "green" in color. As a secondary step, determined stamp color using the Wonder Color Guide.

Bottom line: Conclude the stamp in question is Scott 105.

There are numerous early Australia stamps issues that suffer greatly from colour varieties due to the ink used at the time and its solubility in water. Not all examples of any given issue were printed with the same ink so there are differences. Even the Aussie catalogues don't bother trying to cover the huge amount of varieties, they are not valued with premiums. When "Australia" stamps were printed there was much control over ink consistency though which lead to ink ingredient shortages during war time the effect some issues which are sought by specialists. Plus Australia doesn't have any detailed catalogues for the state issues. Stanley Gibbons is the best source on that score. Some earlier editions of the ACSC had a few state issues in one catalogue to fill in space at the time.

Also to confuse them further the Aussie state issues used a wide variety of perfs sizes and watermarks again seemingly randomly depending on the printer and not an area of varieties for collectors as theres no definitive list of exactly how the issues were printed and with what paper, ink, watermark or perf, only partial information. The Australian Comprehensive Catalogue has a good effort of the range of possibilities. In my own collection stockbook I dedicate each row to a single stamp issued chronologically, then grouped by perf and then watermark. Then I pick the best in each of these groupings to be that issue in my collection, the rest can go in glassines. Maybe one day information will come to light on these issues, until then I'm happy with trying to get one example of every permutation. It would be a good area of study too.

No truer word has ever been said, I fully agree with Peter. Also, the identification of colour relies on the person who contributed to the catalogue, not every-one sees colour the same way. There are also changeling colours, which is another way of describing colour affected by long exposure to strong light, or affected by a chemical or merely age related by the environment around it.

Rob

Identification of the stamp in the OP will require careful study of the watermark, perforations (blue-green SG 154 may be found perf 12.5) and perhaps shade comparison with blue-green stamps dated before 1878.

The study of Australian states / former colonies is one of the most fascinating, challenging and rewarding areas of philately.

The best catalogue for identifying those stamps is the Stanley Gibbons Australia catalogue, providing the most comprehensive listing currently available to collectors of the various types, perforations, papers and shades.

Philatelists interested in post-federation Australian states also have the in-depth information (over 370 pages dedicated to Australian states) found in the 2004 ACSC Early Federal Period catalogue.

Beyond catalogues, there is a rich and varied world of excellent information and outstanding literature published over the course of more than 100 years study of the stamps and their usage.

The best part is that there always seems to be more to learn and discover.