COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Kangaroos - CofA Watermark
Sale No: 242
Lot No:1149
Symbol:*/**
Cat No:46za
5/- grey & yellow-orange Ash Imprint block of 4 with Open-Mouthed Kangaroo ACSC #46za, very lightly mounted & the third unit is unmounted, Cat $5000+ for mounted.
10/- £1 & £2, well centred, very lightly mounted & the £1 is unmounted, Cat $8900. A premium-grade 'set'. Enzo Diena Certificate (1990) for the Pound & Peter Holcombe Certificate (1986) for the Two Pounds.
10/- grey & 'aniline' pink ACSC #50D gutter block of 4 from the top of the sheet, unmounted, Cat $9000++ for a standard shade, the scarce 'aniline' shades being unpriced unmounted. Chris Ceremuga Certificate (2011) as 'grey & pink', issued before the 'aniline' shades were recognised & listed in the ACSC.
We had hoped that by now the ACSC would have changed the term 'aniline' as used for the Third Wmk 10/- to 'eosin', and applied that term also to the CofA shades. Aniline is a chemical in the ink that suffuses the paper & is visible from the reverse. Eosin is a chemical in the ink that fluoresces under UV light as do these 10/- Kangaroos.
£2 black & rose-carmine John Ash Imprint block of 4 with Open-Mouthed Roo ACSC #58za, a couple of slightly nibbled perfs otherwise superb!, the first unit shows only the faintest evidence of having been mounted, the other three units are unmounted, Cat $75,000+ for mounted. As fresh as a daisy. [One of the pre-eminent items for any Kangaroos collection. The ACSC states "At least six blocks of 4 have survived; one is in the Australia Post Archives". A similar block, with only two units unmounted, sold at our auction of 31.8.2019 for $25,016. This block has been off the market for 55 years, since it was acquired on 27.5.1965 for $346!]