I Have Two Australia Stamps With Sideways Watermarks .

Are these common ? whats The Guess Value ?



And Here Is The Other.....

Brett,
TIP: when seeking opinions, please try to offer the most available information
according to your experience.
We like to help, but we, in the background have to thumb through catalogue pages, just like yourself.
Help us, to help you. (If Poss : date, cat Number, perforation guage etc)

OK
The Platypus.
9d Sepia Perf 14x14.75 12th September 1943
Wmk CofA

The sideways watermark faces right when seen through the front of the stamp.
Value 5c
-------------------------------------------

Hermes 1/6d Grey Black
1st September 1949
Perf 14.5 x 14.75
Wmk CofA
Master Plate size 480 on or 240 on

The Wmk is sideways, facing to the left when viewed through the front of the stamp.
Value 5c

Look for: flaw, extra Island below Tasmania

thank you. I don't have a catalog. I would like to purchase one . Is there one you recommend,

For all British Colonies and GB through year 1952, Stanley Gibbons Commonwealth and British Empire 1840-1952 is a very good one. It lists all the stamps and many varieties not listed in Scott Specialized, and it is all in one volume. If you want to expend beyond British Empire, then Scott 1840-1940 Classic Specialized is ok for general use through year 1940-1950. Scott is only good for general collectors, and does not list most varieties. Scott Classic is also 1 volume. There is Scott Standard covering all countries through all years until the date of issue, and comes in 6 volumes. And then there are many very good catalogs that specializes in certain country or region like Yvert (France), Michel (Germany), etc.

I am an uncompromising Scott Catalogue user.
Start by buying used, cheap catalogues
Pick up Stanley Gibbons used when available.

Most older catalogues can be picked up for $5 -$10
Check used bookstores, ebay.

Your fun is about to begin.........
PS: for a beginner, you sure did well with your Watermark images.

It should be noted, however, that Scotts does a horrible job with these two stamps. The 9d is Scott 174 or 174a, depending on perforations. The 1'6 is an airmail, Scott C6. My Scotts says the correct watermark, but neglects to say sideways in either case. If you were going to start to specialize in Australia, you need to get the ACSC, Australian Commonwealth Specialists' Catalogue, which lists these varieties correctly.

As others have suggested, used, older catalogues are just as good for identifying varieties. Good luck.

Opinion.
Steve is entirely correct, if you intend to specialise in Australia, or Brit.Commonwealth.

If you are a beginner in World, (and an American) please start with the Scott, you will save yourself a whole lot of pain.

Scott is the Philatelic Lingua Franca for most of the planet, whom then specialise, using Catalogues of specialty countries, (Michel, Gibbons, Galvez etc)

Others will surely disagree.

Yeah, I'm going to be one that disagrees. :) Scott is, in the USA and Canada, the standard. If you are in the British Commonwealth the standard is going to be Stanley Gibbons, if you are in a French speaking area of the world it'll be Yvert et Tellier, in German speaking areas Michel. A good portion of Europe uses Michel even when not speaking German. For some reason most of South America uses Y&T for the standard. I don't have as good of info on the eastern Asian countries... In almost all cases there are specialized catalogs for specialized topics, such as ISFILA for Turkey or RHM for Brazil, but we're talking about the general purpose catalog...

All the above give good advice. Look for used catalogues online. Got all mine that way, pretty cheaply.