NEW SOUTH WALES 1854-60 issue

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Click here for 1851 issue (Victoria laureated).

1854 Queen Victoria, now with crown, new design, imperforated or perforated (1860)

  1 p red
  2 p blue
  3 p green

These stamps were first issued imperforate in 1856 with watermark 'Number'. A rare imperforate 2 p light-blue exists without watermark (issued 1859). In 1860 these stamps were issued with watermark 'Number' (i.e. '1' for 1 p, '2' for 2 p and '3' for 3 p). Stamps with erroneous watermark exist (2 p with '1' or 3 p with '6').

(Watermark 'Number 3' for the 3 p)

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Cancels:

(a '87' rays cancel, used in Queensland in the Moreton Bay region)

Reprints:

Reprints exist of the 1 p and 2 p (both imperforate,t he 1 p with watermark 'NSW Crown' and the 2 p with watermark '2'), they have the overprint 'SPECIMEN'.

1854 Queen Victoria in a square, imperforated or perforated (1860), these stamps are also known under the name 'Diadems'

(Reduced size)

  5 p green
  6 p violet
  6 p grey to brown
  8 p yellow (also orange)
  1 Sh red (shades of colour)

These stamps were first issued imperforate with watermark 'Number'. In 1860 they were issued with the same watermark, but perforated. tamps with erroneous watermark exist (imperforate 6 p with '8', imperforate 1 Sh with '8', perforated 6 p with '5' or perforated 6 p with '12'). Later the 5 p and 8 p were issued with watermark 'NSW Crown'.

(Watermark 'Number 12' for the 1 Sh stamp)

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Cancels:

(Sydney 'Killer Cancel', reduced size)

Reprints:

Official reprints exist, example:

(Official reprint, overprinted 'REPRINT')

Forgeries:

Forged imperforate stamps exist made from wide margined genuine perforated stamps (especially the 5 p and 8 p, which are worth much more in imperforate condition).

Examples of other forgeries:

These forgeries of the 6 p are the ones described in Album Weeds. The "T" of "SOUTH" is exactly under the "T" of "POSTAGE". The background behind the queen is solid (there should be lines), the ornament above the "T" of "POSTAGE" is larger than in the genuine stamp. The fleur-de-lys patterns outside the central cirlce are not so well done. The postmark on this forgery resembles the genuine one ('NSW' in ovals). This forgery seems to exist perforated and imperforate and in many colour shades. Besides it is a 5 p forgery apparently made by the same forger (also described in Album Weeds as the first and only forgery of the 5 p).

The above forgery of the 1 Sh is the first one described in Album Weeds. The 'T' of 'SOUTH' should be under the 'T' of 'POSTAGE', but here it is placed sligthly to the left of it. The crown points to the center of the 'O' of 'SOUTH', while it should point to the front of this letter. There is also no small white ornament above the 'T' of 'POSTAGE' as in the genuine stamps. The cancel 'N.S.W.' is too small. This forgery exists perforated or imperforate and in two shades of red.

This forgery of the 6 p could have been made by the same forger as of the 1 Sh stamps above (note the same small 'N.S.W.' cancel).

The first forgery has a "VF" cancel (with otherwise unreadable letters, that can be found on forgeries of many other countries as well.

In my view, in this forgery, the ornaments have too much color in it. For example the ornament besides the 'E' of 'NEW' has a solid green triangular shape, which is not so pronounced in the genuine stamps.

Other forgery.

Forgeries of the 8 p, face of Queen very strange:

(Reduced size)

(I've been told that this forgery was made by Jeffreys, but I'm not sure if this information is correct)

Crude forgery with cancel 'SYDNEY JAN .. 930 PM 92 28'. Next to it an earlier issue forgery with the same cancel.

Click her for issues of New South Wales from 1856 to 1903.

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer