The case for a third single circle Train Mail cancel

I previously showed some used stamps with a difficult to fit Train Mail postmark. Recently, I acquired a group of similar stamps and repeated the exercise with the same results.

This cancellation fits D10 quite nicely, Curiously, it has exactly the same date of 11 JUN 62 which was the first recorded date for a Proud D10.

 A Train Mail cancel which fits well with a Proud D9 with the date of 21 NOV 59.

On piece, we have a 1954 QE 10c stamp but unfortunately not the "extra chimney" variety but an almost complete Train Mail with the date of 7 SEP ??.

This postmark is not a D10 but does not fit D9 by a significant margin. It has the date of 12 AUG 58.

But it fits the postmark on piece very well. It looks like these two used stamps has a SC Train Mail cancellation which is yet to be classified.

This is confirmed by the above measurements. The D9 and D10 from Proud's standard reference both measures 25mm. My proposed third SC Train Mail postmark on the two items on piece both measures 26mm. Please also take note how the line drawn from the second leg of the letter "N" in TRAIN transects the letter "B" in BORNEO.

Some relatively uncommon items

It is probably a bit boring this week showing some early items which are relatively uncommon especially in good overall condition.

It is hard to understand the need for this stamp unless it was for revenue purposes. The other is the peculiarity of design. There are seven oars protruding from the side of the ship on this stamp whereas there are eight oars in the 1c stamp. Note the white dot above the right side of "N" in "BORNEO". It might give some idea to its position on a sheet of 50. There was only one transfer used in the printing process.

The 1886 1 cent orange is similar in design to SG1 but perforated 14.  There was only one transfer used during printing as there was little need for a stamp of this value for postal purposes which accounted for its rarity as used items.

The same stamp as above but imperforated. It is normally priced as a pair mint or CTO.

This forgery is actually not that common. It looks rouletted instead of the usual perforations. It probably originated from Italy. Well known forgers such as Nino Imperator of Genoa and Erasmo Oneglia of Turin would be among the prime suspects. 

When compared to the 4c stamp just below, one can see that the colour is the wrong shade and the details are less well defined. The main giveaway is the chinese characters on the right. For some reason, it was wrongly inscribed 2 cents in chinese instead of 4c. This error is present in all the forged values of this issue.

The 3 cents provisional of 1886 was hardly justified unlike the 5 cents which was the rate for newspapers to the UK and also the rate per 2 oz for sending books and printed material, again to the UK. The 3 cents has the the very rare variety small "3" which occurred on one stamp per sheet of 50, as the fourth stamp on the third row, stamp number 24 or R3/4.

This is the perf 12 variety. The condition of the perforations on this stamp is actually quite good in comparison to similarly perforated stamps of this 1883 issue. This is a used item with the Sandakan 14 bar cancel which was normally used to frank used stamps on cover during this period. The town postmark was usually elsewhere on the envelope. However, this item also has part of a red Sandakan postmark, invariably a D3.

This untidy looking perf 12 specimen has the undated dumb cancel from Singapore which signified use for overseas mail. It is an uncommon cancellation on this stamp.

Another perf12 stamp which I find rarely in a used condition. I would have preferred some sort of cds but it would do for the time being as my dealer friend let me have it for £45, a very deep discount to the £350 SG catalogue value.

extra chimney variety

It has been said that philately is the art of uncovering mistakes and imperfections.

This variety on the North Borneo 1954 10c stamp (SG378) was first written about by a prominent member of the Sarawak Specialist Society in the Sarawak Journal in 1972. It was later positioned as the top right stamp on a sheet, R1/10. To date, this variety has not been noticed in the very similar 1950 George V 10c stamp.
It was brought to my attention a few months ago by the June edition of  Gibbons Stamp monthly. The catalogue editor has strongly implied that this variety would be included in the 2014 edition of the Stanley Gibbons catalogue after 40 years!
So how uncommon is this stamp? To date, I have only seen 4 copies of this variety after perusing much in excess of a hundred over copies of this stamp. Two of the stamps are shown above, a mint and a used example, between which is the normal for comparison. I also had sight of the part mint sheet with its position in the possession of a fellow member of the society. The variety is shown as an "extra chimney" on the sawmill at the top of the design. There is at least one example of this stamp on cover.                                

Update on a previous post

I have updated some interesting information on my previous post in November 2011 on some postage due stamps. You can read  it by clicking here.