TWO PENCE: 2d red SG 15 block of 4 with Dry Printing affecting both right-hand units, rouletting in places & otherwise cut from the sheet to preserve the design, 'PAID' cds of JY22/1861 in blue, Cat £92+++. A very scarce & desirable multiple.
Sale No: 249
Lot No: 1050
Symbol: F
Cat No: Collection
TWO PENCE: 2d pale red Printed on Both Sides SG 15a with the original impression on the 'reverse' being unusually strong & orientated upright relative to the 'face', rouletting significantly misplaced so cut from the sheet to largely preserve the design, a few split roulettes, GPO cds of 1860, undercatalogued at £950. A rare & desirable error. RPSofL Certificate (1973) states "defective" which we consider to be unnecessarily harsh.
Rouletting of these issues was effected with hand-held wheels & the accuracy of the process was only as good as the clerk's hand-eye coordination. Stamps with roulettes clear of the design on all side are rarely encountered. Many stamps were separated along roulettes that passed through the designs, resulting in 'deformed' impressions, or were cut from the sheets using scissors on one or more sides in an effort to retain most if not all of the design. This is not so much a 'defect' as a consequence of haphazard workmanship.
It was standard practice for sheets of stamps that were underinked, printed at an angle, or with otherwise unacceptable impressions, to be turned-over and printed on the other side. In this instance, the reason for the re-printing is not obvious: the impression on the 'reverse' is well-defined & correctly orientated. Gary Diffen's example exhibited the same characteristics: he stated that there were only three examples, all used, in private hands, plus two others in the Royal Collection. We support the comment there that this stamp is easily confused with the similar error in the Second Roulettes (SG 24ab).
TWO PENCE: 2d pale red Printed on Both Sides SG 15a horizontal strip of 3 with the original impression on the 'reverse' on a slight angle & inverted releative to the 'face', full rouletting, very fine 'PAID/FE23/1861/ 5 /=ADELAIDE SA=' cds in blue, Cat £2850++, for singles. Superb. Ex AE Fryar and Julian Beresford. Gary Diffen's block of 6 - corner fault at lower-right - sold for £5040. Remarkably, both items are cancelled on the same day and are almost certainly from the same sheet, but they are not contiguous.
The price at the Fryar sale, in 1955, was £100, which was a fearsome sum at the time. In fact, only one other item in that auction sold for more: the 4d ultramarine with Surcharge Omitted SG 68c (now Cat £55,000), that made £160. [See Lot 1143]
TWO PENCE: 2d red SG 15, an unusually large example with rouletting clear of the design on three sides & just into the design at the base, tied to outer to "North Rhine" by very fine 'PAID/MY23/1859/ 6 /=ADELAIDE SA=' cds in blue, very fine 'TOO-LATE' handstamp & largely superb 'ANGASTON' arrival b/s of the next day. More 'character' than the similarly-franked 'Besancon' (III) local letter that sold for €181. [The addressee, Joseph Keynes, arrived in the Colony in 1839. In 1841 he established Keyneton Estate which, 180 years-on, remains in the family. After initial failure, he became a prominent landholder & breeder of merino sheep. Keyneton and North Rhine, later the site of a copper mine, are in the Eden Valley Wine Region]
SIX PENCE: 6d slate-blue SG 17 with full rouletting, large-part o.g., Cat £1500+, for unused. Superb. A significantly underrated stamp, and superior to Harry Lower's single that sold for $1570.
We cannot be certain, but it appears that this single originally adjoined the next lot at right.
SIX PENCE: 6d slate-blue SG 17 horizontal strip of 3 with full rouletting, the first unit with a separation fault at upper-left, the third unit with two ironed-vertical creases, large-part o.g., Cat £4500++ for unused singles. An extremely rare multiple.
SIX PENCE: 6d slate-blue SG 17 block of 6 (2x3) with full rouletting, a couple of insignificant blemishes otherwise superb, circle-in-bars cancels of the GPO, Cat £450++, for singles. An extremely rare & desirable multiple. Ex Colonel Harry Napier.
SIX PENCE: 6d slate-blue SG 17 with full rouletting tied to cover to Hampshire "p overland mail" by circle-in-bars cancel in blue with matching 'PAID/MY17/1859/ 6 /=ADELAIDE SA=' cds below, superb 'SOUTHAMPTON/AU6/1859/=PACKET-LETTER=' arrival cds on the face, minor blemishes. A scarce franking.
ONE SHILLING: 1/- yellow-orange SG 18 block of 6 (3x2) from the right of the sheet with vertical marginal watermark line at right, full rouletting largely clear of the designs, neat 'PAID/SP25/1860/ 5 /=ADELAIDE SA=' cds in blue, Cat £330++, for singles. A superb and gorgeous multiple. Superior quality and appearance to Harry Lower's and Michael Blake's blocks of 4 that sold for $2300 & $2560 respectively, and to the 'Chartwell' block of 8 (4x2) that sold for £2640.
ONE SHILLING: 1/- yellow-orange Printed on Both Sides SG 18a with the original image on the 'reverse' inverted in relation to the 'face', a few split roulettes into the design at right, a little aged, Cat £2500. Gary Diffen has advised us that this is the only example he has recorded.
ONE SHILLING: 1/- yellow-orange Printed on Both Sides SG 18a with the misplaced impression on the 'reverse' - portions of four units - orientated upright relative to the 'face', small separation fault at left, Cat £2500. At least the equal of Gary Diffen's example, that sold for £1320.
ONE SHILLING: 1/- yellow-orange SG 18 with full rouletting, on envelope with 'FRANCIS CLARK & SONS/BLYTH ST/ADELAIDE' embossing on the flap, to England "via Marseilles" with 'PAID' cds of AU23/1861 in blue, small London arrival cds of OC16/61 in red, repaired flap-tear clear of the embossing. The rate was 6d shipletter + French transit fee of 6d for ¼oz-½oz. A top-quality cover, franked with the then highest denomination. Superior to Harry Lower's and Michael Blake's similar covers that sold for $3680 & $2210 respectively.
