Recent Stamp Acquisitions: Australia

1932 Scott 132 5sh gray green

"Sydney Harbor Bridge"

Engraved, Perf 11, Unwmk

Into the Deep Blue

The PIPEX stamp show was in Portland, Oregon this May. Good time to bring a want list, right? The pleasant truth about being a WW classical era collector is one never runs out of stamps to acquire. ;-)

I should mention, obviously, if one is purchasing individual stamps (rather than a collection), one will pay more to a dealer. Generally, I paid less than half catalogue for these items.

In part, I picked up some early Kangaroo stamps of Australia, among other selections.

If one is acquiring "'Roo stamps", the particular watermark and type of Die (Die I-Die IV) is an important variable.

I already did an in-depth blog post on this in 2018.

'Roo Stamps of Australia: Watermarks and Dies

To make it easier to follow along as I describe the particular "Kangaroo" stamps I found, I will include scans of Wmk 8, 9, 10 here.

Watermark 8

"Wide Crown and Wide A"

Found with the 1913 "Kangaroo" Issue

A wide "A" is below a wide crown. Note that the orb and cross rests on a horizontal line between two triangles at the top of the crown.

Watermark 9

"Wide Crown and Narrow A"

 Found with the 1915 "Kangaroo" Issue

The watermark 9 stamps have a "Wide Crown" and a "Narrow A". Note the crown has a different shape than the Wmk 8 "Wide Crown". The orb and cross lie in a depression between two peaks of the crown.

Watermark 10

"Narrow Crown and Narrow A"

Found with the 1915-24 "Kangaroo" Issue

Watermark 10 has a "Narrow Crown" and "Narrow A". The crown is significantly thinner than the wider crowns of Wmk 8 & Wmk 9. (I included Wmk 10 here, even though none of my stamps acquired had Wmk 10, as the watermark can be confused - especially with Wmk 8.)

1913 Scott 8 6p ultramarine (II)

"Kangaroo and Map"

Typo, Wmk 8

Picked up a nice Wmk 8 1913 6p ultramarine (CV $30). This can be also found in "blue" (Scott 8a CV $32+), but I think my example is "ultramarine". 

I'm not going to discuss Dies here, as I thoroughly covered the topic in the 2018 post link above.

1913 Scott 9  9p purple

"Kangaroo and Map"

Typo, Wmk 8

A Queensland postmarked 9p purple 1913 Wmk 8 "Kangaroo" stamp was next (CV $37+). Other colors noted in Scott are "violet" (CV $37+) and "deep violet" (CV 37+). ( I should say, unless one has a lot of "Kangaroo" stamps to compare, or one is very good at color tints, take the color designations with a grain of salt.)

1913 Scott 11  2sh brown

"Kangaroo and Map"

Typo, Wmk 8

A Melbourne, Victoria postmarked 2sh brown, a Wmk 8 1913 variety, was found (CV $140). There is also "dark brown" (CV $ 145) listed in Scott. I really like this stamp!

I should mention that, although all of the "Kangaroo" stamps I bought at PIPEX were correctly described by the dealer, it is important to double check the watermark to make sure one has the expected stamp.

1915 Scott 38 2p gray

"Kangaroo and Map"

Typo, Wmk 9

A Wmk 9 1915 issue 2p gray was picked up (CV $16). 

1915 Scott 41 9p violet

"Kangaroo and Map"

Typo, Wmk 9

Finally, a Scott 41 Wmk 9 9p violet (CV $ 52+) was found. 

1914 Scott 18 6p lake brown

"Kookaburra"

Engraved, Perf 11, Unwmk

Yes, I always wanted this stamp, but none of the Australian collections I purchased previously had an example (CV $ 62+).  Nice!

1932 Scott 132 5sh gray green

"Sydney Harbor Bridge"

Engraved, Perf 11, Unwmk

Generally, it is rare for a stamp that was issued after 1930 to have a high CV, but Australia's 5sh gray green "Sydney Harbor Bridge" stamp is quite well known as an exception. I've always wanted one (who doesn't? ;-), especially after seeing the scene for myself when we visited Australia.  The 2020 CV is $275, but I note the 2011 CV was $300, so it has gone down slightly.

Out of the Blue

My Australia collection is a little more complete! :-)

Comments appreciated!