George VI Era Cochin - Mostly Used

Yes, more succinctly put, would be Rodney desiresall the Travancore stamps in the world.

To descend, if briefly, from this feast of reason and flow of soul ...

Two of these values were surcharged in 1949, in the last days of the Cochin post office, probably to use up old stocks and avoid reprinting the then current definitives.

The 1 Anna 3 Pies was surcharged down to 6 Pies. There is a nice error in the surcharge: the first letter of the second word of the Malayalam (local language) surcharge has a long tail, converting it into a different letter. This isn't so very obvious, and it can be overlooked. Here, it's on stamp 3 in row 2:



SG 119 and 119a

The 1 Anna 9 Pies was surcharged down to 1 Anna, creating SG 120. This registered postal stationery card must be one of the most hyperactive covers in my collection (it even has the original Acknowledgment of Receipt slip attached to the back)



with SG 115

The 1 Anna on 1 Anna 9 Pies was also overprinted for Service, SG O100. Here it is on a cover constructed from an old Police form:

another block of 9 thats bothering you. I see now and then you do mange to post excellent stamps :)

Actually, I feel quite comfortable with that block. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. Indeed, I have other blocks, like this one of SG O9



but I won't show them just at the moment, in case you become agitated.

I believe the late great Leonid Brezhnev objected to the portrait in the last set. He claimed breach of copyright over his image. So the printers tried again, with a long set this time, from 2 Pies to 3 Annas. (Bear in mind, 2 Pies was about a tenth of a penny Sterling, and 3 Annas was about 2½ pence Sterling.)

This is a quite schizophrenic set. Some stamps are dirt common: the 9 Pies is deservedly a 10p item used in Gibbons; even mint, it can only manage £1.75. The 4 Pies, on the other hand, is £2750 mint, and just £85 used. (There are rather a lot of used copies about, for what is a rather scarce stamp. Condition is regularly a problem with these, as it often is with Cochin stamps.) The basic set is perf 13, but some values also exist perf 11, and the 2 Pies exists perf 11x13. For the most part, mint are more expensive than used (sometimes much more expensive), but the 1 Anna stamp is much better used. And so on.

Anyway, here is the 2 Pies, SG 101



It's worth checking for the perf 11x13 variety - mint it rates £400 and used £140 - against 20p for the example above

The 3 Pies is one of the commonest of the lot used, and the cheapest (at 50p) of the mint:



Here it is, used with the 9 Pies (SG 105) and the 3 Anna (SG 108) - none of them very difficult stamps used, I'm afraid.

I don't yet have a nice 4 Pies to show, though I will show one when we get to the Service overprints. So, moving right along to the 6 Pies, SG 104



in company with the ubiquitous 3 Anna (which paid the registration fee)

I've shown the 9 Pies, SG 105, on the cover above.

The 1 Anna of the set, SG 106, is the odd man out: much cheaper mint (£9) than used (£35). And good luck to you if you can find it perf 11 (£550 mint, and unpriced used).



The 2 Annas, SG 107, will also cause serious pain to acquire mint (£130, or £160 perf 11); even the used isn't all that cheap, at £8.50 (or , interestingly, £7.50 perf 11). Here it is on a registered cover, that travelled across the capital of Cochin, Ernakulam. (The British had long ago seized most of Cochin Town (the modern Kochi) for its excellent port).



I've already shown the 3 Anna, SG 108, used in combination, but here it is as a solo franking:

As you might have expected, these were also surcharged in the last days.

Only three values were involved, and the two lower values are fairly uncommon, and scarcer used than mint too.

This is the 3 Pies on 9 Pies, SG 121



Now, if you've been paying close attention, you will recall there was no 1 Anna 3 Pie stamp in the last set



It was prepared, but it is thought, was never issued without the surcharge. Odd copies turn up from time, and Gibbons does actually price it, in a footnote.

Here is the issued, surcharged 6 Pies version, SG 122



and another value not issued without surcharge, the 1 Anna 9 Pies, only issued surcharged 1 Anna



(If you spot this stamp with a black surcharge, trouser it and run. It's a £3250 item used. Or if that's a bit common for you, there's a black surcharge in smaller letters, at £4250. The stamp above is wildly overpriced at £2.25.)

Tony that's a nice cove there, the registered one.
Lots of cancels and the writing on it is amazingly all still visible. Quite busy but well put together.

Puzzler, a few years ago, someone must have emptied out the files in the Trichur Town Magistrate's Court. A lot of returned registered covers and cards came onto the market, all with annotations on the reason for failure to deliver: 'Refused', 'Deceased' and 'Left the State' etc. This is one of them, and most of them end up looking pretty hectic like this.

telling us to trouser stamps eh? tsk tsk


but I must say old chap I am pleased to see some stamps. I hadnt thought you would be able to post actual mint nh specimens. what a relief

how much for the whole lot ?

All my Cochin? Don't forget, it includes an awful lot of those narsty used stamps. For you, Spock, a special knock-down price: $US5,000.

sigh. Tony !

you break my heart. what will I do with used stamps? just tell me the price of those mnh ones. they cant be more than a few dollars you only have a few :)

Spock, I'm afraid you'll be devastated. I have MUH sheets of SG 96, 96a, 126, O54a, O83 and O92 just to begin with. I also have a nice MUH block of SG O67. And I've hardly got started. Then there's that block of the First Raja 1½ Rupees, and ... You will have to take out a loan from Sir Rodney. No, I fear it would all end in tears.

no no it wont end in tears I already have a million dollar collection whats a few more ? now if I hadnt retired sigh !

well we will just have to stick to individuals then ? total it up so I can start budeting for it in the future

btw I have to look at if someone will employ a retired gentleman for a six figure salary again :)

The Service overprints aren't quite as hair-raising as the ordinary set. You could contemplate completing it without visions of the divorce courts and unpleasant interviews with the bank manager. Gibbons rates the set mint at £85 and used at £17 (as against £2750 mint and £120 used for the ordinary set).

Not all values from the ordinary set were overprinted, and some new values appeared, though.

The 3 Pies stamp, SG O84, is still common:



The 4 Pies, SG O85, is much more manageable, at £32 mint and £7.50 used:



The 6 Pies, SG O86, is also much cheaper:



And the 9 Pies, SG O87, is very common: