Sale No: 249
Lot No: 2377
Symbol: P
Cat No: Collection
REPRINTED DIE PROOFS: c.1902 unfinished design in indigo, deep green, bright violet, bright carmine & vermilion each on wove paper. Superb! Ex John Dibiase: sold for $808. The 'Besancon' (III) similar group of 7 sold for SFr1028. [These proofs can be distinguished from the previous lot by the existence of a constant vertical colour flaw on the Swan above 'P' of 'PENNY']
(5)
PLATE PROOFS: Imperforate block of 4 in black on ungummed unwatermarked paper, margins close to good except at the base where a little cut-into, burnishing between the right-hand units, ironed-out vertical crease at left. Ex John Dibiase: sold for $868. Dr Cecil Walkley's very fine block of 4 with extensive burnishing sold for $2095.
Sale No: 249
Lot No: 2380
Symbol: F
Cat No: 1 block of 4
IMPERFORATE: 1d black SG 1 block of 4, margins just shaved at centre-right to large, four fine strikes of a void grid canceller, Cat £1400++. A rare and very desirable multiple. Ex John Dibiase: sold for $6590. [Far superior to Dr Cecil Walkley's only used block of 4 that sold at our auction of 14.4.2005 for $1864. 'Besancon' had a couple of pairs only. Lord Vestey had two blocks of 6 (one on the reverse of a cover!) but no blocks of 4]
ISSUED STAMPS: 1d black SG 1, margins just clear - at lower-right - to good, central bold strike of a void grid cancel in bright red, Cat £350+. Ex Lord Vestey: sold for £204 but almost as fine as a similar example that sold for £695!
ROULETTED: 1d black SG 2 clearly rouletted about 12 at the base with evidence of rouletting on the other sides & all clear of the design with a fragment of the adjoining unit at left, 15-bar '3' of Perth, Cat £850. Chris Ceremuga Certificate (2018).
FOUR PENCE: 4d SG 3/3a three singles in different shades, the first two with good even margins, the last with margins close to large, unused, Cat £1275. (3)
FOUR PENCE: 4d slate-blue SG 3c, full rich colour, margins good to large, unused, Cat £4000. Ex Lord Vestey: sold for £1080. BPA Certificate (2007). [Lord Vestey's four other non-marginal singles sold for an average of £1700 each. The similar 'Besancon' (II) example sold for SFr3145]
FOUR PENCE: 4d slate-blue SG 3c, an unusually large example with margins good to large, 15-bars '8' of Fremantle, Cat £1300. Sold at our auction of 11.5.2012 for $1515.
FOUR PENCE: 4d slate-blue SG 3c with unlisted variety 'TE' of 'WESTERN' Joined at the Base, full rich colour, an unusually large example with margins close to huge, unused, Cat £4000+. Ex Lord Vestey: sold for £3360. BPA Certificate (2007).
FOUR PENCE - LISTED TRANSFER VARIETIES: 4d blue with Foot of 'T' of 'POSTAGE' Shaved to a Point SG 3d, margins close to good except at the base where a little cut-into, unused, Cat £2250. Chris Ceremuga Certificate (2007).
FOUR PENCE - LISTED TRANSFER VARIETIES: 4d blue with Base of the 'T' of 'POSTAGE' Shaved to a Point SG 3d, margins good to large, 15-bars '8' cancel of Fremantle well clear of the variety, Cat £1000. David Brandon Certificate (2011). Sold at our auction of 11.5.2012 for $845.
FOUR PENCE - LISTED TRANSFER VARIETIES: 4d pale blue with Tilted Border SG 3i, margins just just clear - at lower-right - to large, unused, Cat £3250. Ex Lord Vestey: sold for £1020. BPA Certificate (2007), with notation "gum removed July 2015". [NB: most stamps offered as the Tilted Border varieties are mis-identified. The key identifier is the small white arcs below 'OS' of 'POSTAGE']
FOUR PENCE - LISTED TRANSFER VARIETIES: 4d blue with Tilted Border SG 3i, margins clear to good, void grid cancel largely clear of the tell-tale White Arcs below 'OS' of 'POSTAGE', Cat £1600. RPSofV Certificate (2006).
Sale No: 249
Lot No: 2391
Symbol: #
Cat No: 3m [Pos R6/4]
FOUR PENCE - LISTED TRANSFER VARIETIES: 4d blue with 'EN' of 'PENCE' Shorter SG 3m [Pos R6/4], margins close to good, unused, Cat £3250. Chris Ceremuga Certificate (2015), states "...rare variety". [Absent from Lord Vestey's array of transfer varieties]
Sale No: 249
Lot No: 2392
Symbol: F
Cat No: 3q [Pos R8/17]
FOUR PENCE - LISTED TRANSFER VARIETIES: 4d pale blue with Squashed 'WESTERN' SG 3q [Pos R8/17], margins close to good, large-part strike of 15-bar '21' cancel of Vasse in blue & rare thus largely clear of the variety, Cat £1800+. Superb. Ex Lord Vestey: sold for £1080. BPA Certificate (2007). [Vasse used a void grid canceller until at least early-1856. PMI states numeral '21' was allocated in 1859 but is recorded only from 1863. However, Pope & Reynolds record covers from AU29/1859. This strike must be one of the earliest usages]
Sale No: 249
Lot No: 2393
Symbol: #
Cat No: 3r [Pos R9/15]
FOUR PENCE - LISTED TRANSFER VARIETIES: 4d blue with Small Head on 'P' of 'PENCE' SG 3r [Pos R9/15], margins close to good, unused, Cat £3750. Ex Lord Vestey: sold for £3000. BPA Certificate (2007).
Sale No: 249
Lot No: 2394
Symbol: #
Cat No: 3t [Pos
FOUR PENCE - LISTED TRANSFER VARIETIES: 4d blue with 'PE' of 'PENCE' Closer Together SG 3t [Pos R10/15], margins close to good, unused, Cat £3750. Chris Ceremuga Certificate (2015). [Lord Vestey's example sold for £2880]
FOUR PENCE - LISTED TRANSFER VARIETIES: 4d blue with Narrow 'N' of 'PENCE' SG 3u [Pos R10/16], margins good to large, 15-bars '16' cancel of York largely clear of the variety, Cat £1500. Chris Ceremuga Certificate (2009).
Sale No: 249
Lot No: 2396
Symbol: F
Cat No: 3y [Pos R8/11]
FOUR PENCE - LISTED TRANSFER VARIETIES: 4d blue with No Colour over 'GE' of 'POSTAGE' & Colour Line below 'FOU' of 'FOUR' SG 3y [Pos R8/11], margins close to large, 15-bars '8' cancel of Fremantle in blue largely clear to fully clear of the varieties, Cat £1800. Superb. Ex Lord Vestey: sold for £1560. BPA Certificate (2007).
FOUR PENCE - LISTED TRANSFER VARIETIES: 4d pale blue SG 3 marginal block of 18 (3x6) from the top of the sheet [3-5/103/105] including Boil on Head of 'S' of 'AUSTRALIA' [25] and 'EN' of 'PENCE' Shorter [104] SG 3m, margins good to humungous, horizontal creases through the margins between the second & third rows & the fifth & sixth rows, a few other units creased, professionally cleaned to remove residue from the original gum, Cat £9625++, for unused singles. Ex Frank Chadwick. Sold at our auction of 31.8.2020 for $11,680.
ONE SHILLING: 1/- salmon SG 4, margins good to large except at the top where the design is a little cut-into, tiny nick at the top & minor crease at upper-left, unusually fine strike of the Grid '14' of Albany in brownish red, Cat £4750. A rare & underrated stamp: most examples offered for sale are misidentified. Chris Ceremuga Certificate (2015) states "Great rarity as less than ten definite examples of this shade are known to me". Superior to Trevor Hiscock's two examples that sold in 2013 for $3030 & $2680 respectively. Dr Cecil Walkley's very fine example sold for $11,650.
ONE SHILLING: 1/- deep red-brown SG 4a with Line through 'A' of 'POSTAGE', margins just touching - at left - to good, unused, Cat £2000. Ex Lord Vestey: sold for £960. BPA Certificate (2007).
ONE SHILLING: 1/- deep red-brown SG 4a, margins just touching to large with a fragment of the adjoining unit at left, unusually fine strike of the Grid '14' of Albany in brownish red, Cat £1100.
FOUR PENCE: Rouletted 4d blue SG 5a, rouletting clear of the design on three sides & imperf at left also well clear of the design, unused, unpriced by Gibbons who price the pale blue shade SG 5 at £4000.
TWO PENCE: 2d brown-black/pale red SG 15, good margin at right & elsewhere just touched/shaved, good colour, unused, Cat £9000. A very attractive example of this rare stamp. Ex John Dibiase: sold for $4310. The similar 'Eureka' example sold at our auction of 31.8.2019 for $4075.
Sale No: 249
Lot No: 2405
Symbol: #
Cat No: Collection
TWO PENCE: 2d brown-black/pale red Printed on Both Sides SG 15a with the original printing on the 'reverse' upright relative to the 'face' & with Red Background Printing on Both Sides, an unusually large example with margins just clear to good - except at left, where just touched - and with a fragment of the adjoining unit at right, minor ironed-out diagonal crease at lower-left, unused, Cat £12,000. Chris Ceremuga Certificate (2015) states "Great rarity in unusued condition with only...several recorded. This is the only example known to me [with red colouring on both sides]". [Absent from Lord Vestey's collection. His three unused examples of SG 15 - Cat £9500 - sold for an average of £4230. The Mogens Juhl/Michael Lewin/'Besancon' (I) example of SG 15 sold for SFr7200]
TWO PENCE: 2d brown-black/red Printed on Both Sides SG 15a with the impression on the 'reverse' upright relative to the face, cut very close, Pre-Printing Paper Fold despite which the design is complete, void-grid cancel, Cat £900+. RPSofV Certificate (2003).
TWO PENCE: 2d brown-black on Indian red Printed on Both Sides SG 16a, a remarkable stamp with vivid red background & unusually strong impression of the design with Inscriptions Largely Absent leaving only 'TERN...STA...TWO PENCE' and the original impression on the 'reverse' inverted relative to the 'face' & misplaced, a little cut-into at the top otherwise with margins just touching to large with a chunk of the adjoining unit at left demonstrating how close-together the transfers were laid-down, fine void grid cancel, Cat £950+. From a technical perspective, a highly significant item.
SIX PENCE: 6d golden bronze SG 17 with Defective Transfer at Lower-Right [Type 12; Pos 176], margins just shaved (at top) to large, untidy void-grid cancel, Cat £2500. Ex Michael Haden: sold at our auction of 30.4.2011 for $1690.
This is one of the more obvious examples of the "golden" bronze that we have offered. Under illuminated magnification the gilding metal particles are quite obvious. However, our experience is that most examples of these shades are extremely difficult to positively characterise as "golden-" or "black-"bronze.
SIX PENCE: 6d golden bronze SG 17, margins just clear to good, light void-grid cancel, 'Georg Buhler' guarantee handstamp on the reverse, Cat £2500. Superb.
SIX PENCE: 6d golden bronze SG 17, margins just touched - at lower-right - to huge with fragments of the adjoining units at left & base, tiny defect at upper-left otherwise superb, void-grid cancel, Cat £2500. Chris Ceremuga Certificate (2011). One of the largest & finest examples we have offered.
SIX PENCE: 6d grey-black SG 19, strong impression with margins just touching to good, unused, Cat £14,000. Rare. Ex John Dibiase: sold for $7485. The slightly larger 'Besancon' (II) example sold for SFr9075. Lord Vestey's two similar examples - both with Void at Upper-Right Corner - sold for £5400 & £4200 respectively.
TWO PENCE: Rouletted 2d brown-black/red SG 20, an unusually large example with rouletting on all sides & misplaced at base with a chunk of the adjoining unit below, 15-bar '1' of Perth, Cat £2000.
SIX PENCE: Rouletted 6d black-bronze SG 22, an unusually large example with rouletting at top & otherwise cut from the sheet clear of the design with a fragment of the adjoining unit below, 15-bar '2' of Perth, Cat £1400. Superb.
1860-64 Printed in the Colony from the Perkins Bac
Sale No: 249
Lot No: 2415
Symbol: P
Cat No: Collection
TWO PENCE: 2d imperf plate proof block of 4 in black on ungummed unwatermarked paper, margins just touching - at lower-left - to good, ironed-out horizontal crease at the base of the upper units doesn't detract from the very fine facial appearance. Ex John Dibiase: sold for $2035. An important proof that was absent from the Dr Cecil Walkley & 'Besancon' collections. This block is at least the equal of Lord Vestey's block of 4, the significance of which was not appreciated on that occasion.
Pope & Reynolds at pp19-22 of 'The Two Pence Perkins Bacon Plate' (1995) give a detailed analysis of the various plate proof sheets. This block, from the Alpha proof sheet, is almost identical to that illustrated at p19 (Ex Western Australian Museum) where it is stated that it "has markings which cannot be found on the Beta proof sheet, the Imprimatur sheet, or on the stamps as issued". This therefore reveals a case of progressive plate proofs, a situation most unusual for recess-printed issues from any country.
PLATE PROOFS: 4d imperforate marginal horizontal pair in dull claret on ungummed unwatermarked paper from the right of the sheet, margins just clear - at the top - to huge. [The 4d colour proof sheet was rejected, with an instruction to make "a much greater distinction between the 4d & 1d [red] stamps"]
PLATE PROOFS: 6d imperforate plate proof marginal horizontal pair in dull mauve on ungummed unwatermarked paper, margins close to huge. Ex John Dibiase: sold for $575. [The 6d colour trial sheets were rejected with an instruction to make this value "more of a slate colour", though the issued sage-green hardly conforms to that directive]
Sale No: 249
Lot No: 2420
Symbol: F
Cat No: 24 with Plank
ISSUED STAMPS 2d pale orange SG 24 with Plank on Swan's Head [9], margins just touched - at upper-right - to good, light 15-bar '13' cancel of Pinjarrah largely clear of the variety. Ex John Dibiase: sold for $745. [Pope & Reynolds at pp23-25 discuss the cause of this flaw - a foreign object on the plate - and state that only 6 examples, all unused, had been recorded. Arthur Tilby, editor of 'The Black Swan' has advised that there are now ten unused & eight used examples recorded]
ISSUED STAMPS: 2d pale orange SG 25, orange-vermilion SG 25a & a deeper brighter shade (with Chris Ceremuga Certificate that states "rare intermediate shade but not deep enough to classify as SG 25b"), all with full margins, unused, Cat £430+. (3)
ISSUED STAMPS: 2d orange-vermilion SG 25 marginal block of 9 from the right of the sheet [38-40/58-60], margins just touched - middle stamp at left - to huge, unused, Cat £1350++. Ex Frank Chadwick and John Dibiase: sold for $2395. [This block demonstrates how the application of the ink was irregular. The three units at right have a distinctive Dry Ink appearance &, by themselves, would be classified as 'pale orange' SG 24]
