Sale No: 249
Lot No: 1516
Symbol: F
Cat No: Collection
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FIVE SHILLINGS: 5/- pale rose-pink, 'PARCEL PO ADELAIDE/SE3/91/[S.A]' cds. Unlisted by Gibbons. See 'The Empire in Australasia' at page 146, and Ed Williams at pages 45-46, where this stamp is illustrated. For the reason for introducing this overprint, see page 14.
The is one of the great unrecognised rarities of Australian Colonies philately. It is believed that only 20 stamps were overprinted, of which four have survived, all of which exhibit similar centring, and all of which are cancelled in August or September 1891.
There has been much (in our opinion unjustified) controversy in respect of this stamp. Its existence has been known of since the 1890s. Writing in Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal (Feb 1899 at page 127), the usually reliable commentator George Blockey wrote that twenty stamps were overprinted with Block 'O.S.' in June 1890; that ten of them were issued in the same month; and the other ten were released in April 1891. If Blockey is correct, and we have no reason to doubt his veracity, the stamps were overprinted 11 months before the Wide 'O. S.' 2/6d & 5/-.
In 'The Australian Philatelist' (Jan 1904), Blockey identified two postally used examples. In 'The Australian Stamp Journal' (Oct 1936), AE Fryar wrote "...The two stamps have since 1891 been in the possession of the same collectors...and were acquired by me only a fortnight ago".
At the sale of the Fryar collection in 1955, the stamps were offered as a rejoined pair. 'The Empire in Australasia' (1962) listed the issue and stated "only two examples are known, both dated 13.8.91". They were priced at £30 each, compared with £25 for the Wide 'O. S.' 2/6d and 5/-, either unused or used. The pair is illustrated by Ed Williams at page 46. From Fryar, the pair was acquired by Henry Frenkle, and then by Peter Jaffé. At the Jaffé auction, the pair sold for $7865. The only other recorded example, which has been expertised, was discovered after the publication of Williams' book. In 'Besancon' (III) it sold for SFr2300, and at our auction of 30.8.2020 for $4790.
Grade A (Image1)
Estimate AU$5,000
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Opening AU$ 3,800.00
Sold...AU$ 5,500.00
Closed..Nov-08-2022, 18:00:00 EST
Sold For 5500
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