Just a fun FDC set to discuss. The 50th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia was honored with a set of stamps issued on May 1st, 1951. The cover below shows all four stamps (two being a Se-Tenant pair), on one cover from Melbourne to Trenton, New Jersey. The stamps are Scott 241a, 242 and 243 (ACSC 281c, 282 and 283). The sender was from Yeronga, Queensland.
Another cover purchased at the same time is a Registered letter with only Scott 243 (ACSC 283), from Sydney to Strathfield, NSW. It was sent May 1st and is backstamped as arriving on May 2nd.
Of course, this wouldn't be interested if I didn't post an "oddity". The third cover, pictured below, was sent from Everard Park, South Australia. The back of this cover states that it is from "O. Witt, 250 South Road, Kurralta Park, South Australia". When I did a google search, it came up with this home, including a nice street view:
What is interesting, is that this card is postmarked April 28, 1951, which is a Saturday and 3 days before the official date of issue.
The next image is from the back and enhanced to show the date more clearly:
Now, my guess is that the postmaster forgot to adjust the cancellation device to the correct date. This is based on further back stamps which show Adelaide on May 2nd, Melbourne on May 3rd, Spokane Washington on June 30th, and Wilmette, IL on July 5th.
Just goes to show you that postmasters can make mistakes, and examining all cancellations can help tell the story.
Posted 08/25/2023 7:59 pm
