Newfoundland Specimen Stamps

Does anyone have a copy of the book

Specimen Stamps of the Crown Colonies 1857-1948
Published: The Royal Philatelic Society ., London, 1976
author: Samuel, Marcus
Edition: First Edition

I am looking for some information within it.

Trodent

Hi! I do not have that book but just wanted to share that I do collect Newfoundland!

There are types of Specimens that might not be listed in the Marcus Samuel book. That book covers Specimens produced by the printer, but there are other types produced for UPU countries. Their purpose was to help the country identify legitimate postage on inbound covers. James Bendon has done considerable work in that area. I have never owned a copy of the Newfoundland Specialized catalogue, but you may also want to look there. My 2018 copy of the Unitrade catalogue does not show any Specimens for Newfoundland.

I don't have the book in question, but it sounds like the sort of thing I should seek out.

Do you have access to Robson Lowe's Encyclopedia of British Empire Postage Stamps Vol. 5? I'm happy to take a look in there if you want to share your question...

Checked my book on Essays and Proofs.
Nothing listed on Specimens.

Anyone happen to have run across this book for $100 US, or less, give or take? I'm not interested at $275, but I'd be interested at $100. I'll keep looking, but I thought I'd ask, just in case...

Not aware of auction date, but how is this for a STEAL!
15 catalogues £35

It is on the desk in front of me.

What do you need to know?

Sold my spare copy for not much on ebay a while ago.

64idgaf, I am looking for any reference(s) to Newfoundland Specimen stamps prior to to 1897.

Newfoundland did not produce any Specimen printed stamps but somehow certain Pence issues have been showing up on the market with the SPECIMEN OVERPRINT.
Curious if Marcus mentions anything.

If there is any other countries that might have a exact SPECIMEN typeset on theirs showing the same diagonal format. The example says it was from Boston.

from 'Specimen Stamps of the Crown Colonies 1857-1948', Marcus Samuel, RPSL, 1976 pp174-178

Newfoundland

The story begins on 7th January, 1857 when a letter from the Gneeral Post Office, Newfoundland, addressed to the Postmaster General Halifax, reads as follows. 'I beg to acquaint you that postage stamps of the value of 1d, 4d, 5d, 6d, 8d and 1s respectively have been issued for the prepayment of postage upon letters in the country for the United Kingdom and British Provinces. I enclose for your information specimens of each of these stamps and have to request that you will not surcharge any letters received at your offices in the Mails from this Country upon which the requisite number of these stamps is affixed.' To this document are affixed specimens of these six stamps and also of the 6½d denomination all in normal unused condition.

The author is indebted to Bob Pratt of Milwaukee not only for supplying information and illustrations which have enable the story to be continued a stage further but also for preventing misinterpretation of certain aspects of it.

The earliest overprinted stamps appears to be the 1860 1s orange-vermilion overprinted 'SPECI' in serif capitals nearly 4mm high, which was in the Burrus collection. Pratt believes that this overprint was obviously applied by Perkins, Bacon and Co. and this may well be so because the style of lettering is similar to but smaller than a 'SPECIMEN' handstamp which was used by that company to cancel proofs of their bank notes as well as proofs of their postage stamps of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. But this particular overprint is known only on this one stamp of Newfoundland. It must certainly be genuine because it was used to cancel such a valuable stamp but the purpose for which it was used may never be known.

We then come to the stamps which were presented by Perkins, Bacon and Co. to members of the Hill family in August, 1861 after they had been obliterated with 'CANCELLED' in a barred oval. Since Sir Edward Bacon published information on three of these in 1929 and two in 1935 three more have come to light Quite exceptionally the 1s denomination is represented by two different printings. It is amusing to note that Sperati forged this obliteration on reproductions of three denominations of the 1857 issue!

We now come to a more controversial large serif 'SPECIMEN', later described as type NF1, which has been only seen on Newfoundland stamps. These are the Perkins, Bacon 1857 1d (which remained in stock for many years), the 1860 printing of the 5d in red-brown (Pratt's classification), seven denominations of the 1861 printings (all but the 3d in rose) and various 1868-70 decimal currency issues printed by the American Bank Note Co. Pratt is firmly of the opinion that these overprinted specimens of both the 'Pence' and 'Cents' issues were sent together to the U.S.A. at the end of 1872 or beginning of 1873 upon the signing of the first Postal Convention between two countries and that they were overprinted either in Newfoundland before despatch or in the U.S.A. after receipt.'

more to come....

Does this help?
Bib : The Pence issues of Newfoundland 1857-1866
By
Robert H. Pratt
Handbook #2 1982 Page 133

....cont

According to Pratt the Newfoundland Postmaster General's Reports give information on the value of the specimen stamps which were supplied to other postal administrations during the years 1873-77 and also those supplied for U.P.U. distribution after the colony had become a member in 1879. Unfortunately there is no record before 1873 and in that year there is no record of any specimens having been sent to the U.S.A., as there is for the year 1876. This would not preclude <i>overprinted</i> specimens having been supplied to the U.S.A. in 1873 because the recording of the face value of specimen stamps in cash is indicative of their having been supplied uncancelled while those with 'Specimen' overprints could generally be written off. However, before 1884 with few exceptions, stamps supplied as specimens by British colonial authorities to those of other territories were in normal unused condition. Furthermore, from 19th August 1879, the date of the first International Bureau Circular which forwarded specimens of Newfoundland stamps, until the 1935 Silver Jubilee set, all the U.P.U. specimens of the colony were uncancelled.

Why then should Newfoundland have departed from the normal practice by supplying overprinted stamps to the U.S.A. in 1872/73, or the U.S.A. have used a special handstamp to cancel them? The author had for long considered that the rare stamps with the large serif 'SPECIMEN' had been overprinted in the colony, to prevent their postal use, before they were presented to various V.I.P.'s during the 1870s, as was the custom in many other colonies, but Bob Pratt's cogent rejoinder is recorded verbatim.

'Newfoundland was not an ordinary country and up until 1886 and later it did not follow in the footsteps of the other colonies. It was completely individualistic with the Post Office being dominated by the Colonial Secretary or the Premier. The patronage aspect of both of these people was very evident in the selection of personnel. As far as I have been able to determine, there were no gifts of stamps to V.I.P.'s of the colony as there were never any of them who had any interest in postage stamps and no collections are known to have come from important people within Newfoundland.

'My feeling is that Postmaster Delaney, who was a meticulous, scientific-minded individual, was required to turn over certain sets of stamps to the Post Offices which handled Newfoundland mail in the United States; namely Washington, New York and Boston. He made sure that these stamps could never be used for postage by marking them "Specimen" in Newfoundland.'

It is difficult to find fault with this reasoning and it is hoped that Pratt's researches may one day unearth supporting evidence.

Much more controversial is a generally rather poorly impressed serif 'SPECIMEN' handstamp, which I have described as Type NF2. This has been recorded only on the Newfoundland 1870 2c and 12c on white paper, the 1868 1c violet and the 1876 rouletted 5c blue. Pratt believes that these stamps were sent from Newfoundland to the U.S.A. after the rate change from 6c to 5c at the end of August, 1876, and that they were prepared early in 1877, when the new 5c stamps were received in the colony. He also suggests that specimens were probably sent to Canada and to England, to which the same new rate applied.

Much as the author respects his opinions and accepts his assurances that Newfoundland departed from colonial normality in many respects he is obliged to take issue with him over this matter. The recording of the cash value of specimens supplied to the U.S.A. in 1876 indicates that they were sent in normal unused condition and why therefore should overprinted specimens have been supplied in the following year? No relationship between the four stamps can be perceived and this, together with the poorly impressed handstamp, the probable poor condition of the stamps and their apparent rarity, provides all the previously described attributes of one of the bogus productions of the 1920's. The author for long regarded Type NF2 as bogus and rejected a stamp thus overprinted from his own collection many years ago.

As previously stated all the stamps supplied for U.P.U. distribution before 1935 were in normal unused condition but a number of sets of the period 1897-1911 are known with 'Specimen' handstamps which are believed to have ben applied by receiving authorities in Rhodesia and South Africa. These items originated in the collection of J.E. Frankland of South Africa but since the overprints bear no relation to the country of origin or to the printers of the stamps they will not be included in the listing.

There is now a long jump to 1919 when file copies of the Caribou set and of a few later issues appear in the De La Rue collection with a violet 'SPECIMEN' handstamp. Perkins, Bacon & Co. again come into the picture from 1929 to 1933 when their Newfoundland stamps are found with two different 'SPECIMEN' perforations, one very large and extending across three or four stamps of normal size. Both these perforations are also found on stamps of other territories and they may have been printer's file copies or specimens of their work. Only the 1935 Silver Jubilee set and the1937 'short' Coronation set were supplied for U.P.U. distribution with 'SPECIMEN' perforations.

These are the Type NF1 referred to above.

Thanks 64idgaf and rod222.

"My feeling is that Postmaster Delaney, who was a meticulous, scientific-minded individual, was required to turn over certain sets of stamps to the Post Offices which handled Newfoundland mail in the United States; namely Washington, New York and Boston. He made sure that these stamps could never be used for postage by marking them "Specimen" in Newfoundland.'

So going back to the Certification on the 6.5 Pence with VGG stating the word "SPECIMEN" was applied in Boston, would be incorrect?

More research needed.

Does anyone have a subscription to the NYTIMES?

https://www.nytimes.com/1872/11/26/...hat-old.html.

Curious to what the article says about "A Postal Treaty Concluded with Newfoundland."

Trodent

Where is that stated?

Why yes, yes I do:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25.- A postal convention has just been concluded between the United States and Newfoundland, to take effect on and after Dec. 1, 1872. The rate or postage is reduced to six cents per half ounce and under; prepayment is compulsory. The United States postage on newspapers is two cents each, and on pamphlets, periodicals, and other printed matter and patterns or samples the rate is two cents for each two ounces. These amounts must be prepaid on matter sent to Newfoundland from the United States. The same rates as above, except on letters, are collected on all matter from Newfoundland when delivered in the United States without regard to what may have been prepaid there. Each country collects its own postage on all matter sent or received, and no accounts are kept between the two.