Thursday 28 May 2015

Jesselton Parcel Post Cancellation PP3



I have somehow manage to accumulate a small selection of this uncommon parcel post cancellation. It is quite attractive as it is usually in deep blue or violet. My PP5s are not good enough for showing. I am waiting for my PP6 which I believe to be one of the rarest of Jesselton cancellations. These cancellations were used on parcels which were normally subjected to a lot of trauma and were unlikely to survive intact.










The recorded dates of use for Jesselton PP3 was between February 1918 and October 1923 according to Proud. But one can clearly see dates of 1927 and 1929 in the above stamps. So there was some overlap with PP5 (where was PP4?).

Thursday 21 May 2015

Three of Mt Kinabalu and one of the beach



Nice real photo used as a postcard. It was sent to USA but the stamp was unfortunately removed which devalues it significantly. This sort of pictures were probably on sale in some the photo studios mainly to tourists in the 60s and 70s.


These two photos were from a private collection possibly taken by an expatriate. There are no details on the back to mention location or date. I think they are possibly taken soon after the war but could be a lot earlier and in the vicinity of Kota Belud.

This came with the other two photos above and the only information given was a beach near Jesselton. I do not think it was Tanjong Aru. It was possibly Likas or a bit further north.

This is my contribution which was taken a few years ago while waiting for my flight at the KK International Airport.

Wednesday 13 May 2015

Some aspects of the 1894 $25 revenue stamp


This is similar in design to the 1889 $25 revenue but is inscribed at the top with "the state of". They are not listed in a normal stamp catalogue as they were used purely used for fiscal purposes eg in land deed transfers, court fees etc and were not eligible for postal usage. 

Multiples of this 1894 issue are not uncommon. Complete sheets CTO with the 14 bar cancellation are occasionally seen.  It was lithographed by Blades, East and Blades of London in sheets of 5x4 and perforated 14.

In contrast to the 1889 issue, it was thought no die proofs are in existence. However, one in light olive brown is present in the collection of a senior member of the Sarawak Specialist Society. The above item is in a lighter shade printed on a smoother and thinner paper. It is an imperf plate proof. The differences between a plate and a die proof can be confusing. The main difference is a plate proof is part of a sheet and may existence in multiples whereas a die proof is printed singularly using the original die in an initial printing to test the integrity of the printing plate.
This item is more uncommon and should be more valuable than the many perf CTO copies which are available. A single or multiple mint copy would be quite a coup.

This is an uncommon variety which has been hand stamped Specimen. Specimen sets of postal stamps exist because there was a requirement to send copies to the Universal Postal Union headquarters in Berne, Switzerland from where it was distributed to member countries. 
Revenue stamps are not postal and so specimen items should not exist. It has been postulated that these adhesives were locally hand stamped before they were given as souvenirs to important visitors. It was a measure to prevent subsequent fraudulent use which would have deprived the treasury of revenue. I have a similar version on a 1894 25c adhesive. They are generally uncommon and worth collecting.

The above stamp made my recent holiday trip really worthwhile. Properly used items are quite rare that it was my immense good fortune and perhaps once in a lifetime experience to have the privilege to acquire it at such a reasonable price. I have yet to decipher the fiscal cancellation. It was perforated JUDICIAL and therefore was used in a legal situation. It was originally part of a document and very very few documents like that exist intact nowadays.  

Thursday 7 May 2015

Sabah/North Borneo With Singapore Parcel Post and Airport cancellations


From the period when Sabah joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, stamps from each of the states were eligible for use throughout the federation. For these reasons, stamps from Sabah were sometimes found commercially used with Singapore cancellations. They were also used in the other states but were usually as part of a philatelic cover.
The following high values should not have been that commonly used in Singapore. I have yet to find Singapore stamps used in Sabah during this period. There could be some but they would be quite uncommon. Was Singapore running out of high value adhesives (their highest value was $5) or was it that Sabah had a surplus of these stamps that they rather see used elsewhere including Singapore?



A montage of these two $10 stamps gives a clear impression of the parcel cancellation for Killiney Road Singapore 9. The Killiney Rd post office replaced Orchard Road in 1963. Proud only gives a solitary date of 16.9.63 but it was probably more common than that.

This is another parcel cancel quite likely to be from Singapore as well. There are not enough visual clues to be certain of its origin.

Here we have the parcel cancellation for Serangoon Rd Singapore 12. I bought this stamp recently in Singapore. Note that there is a large dot after S in Sabah which may constitute a new variety if it is found to be constant.



I have added these two for extra interest. They both have the Singapore Airport cancellation. The bottom one is quite special as it is the only 1961 NB stamp that I have that was used in Singapore. The 1961 stamps with Sabah, Malaysia cancellations are also pretty hard to find even though I now have a small collection of acceptable examples.

I have posted this Retour cover before. It was sent from Singapore Airport using Sabah adhesives. Even though I did not realise at the time of purchase, this type of covers are probably quite uncommon. Singapore left the federation in August 1965. I am pretty sure they are glad that they did. The gulf in performance between these two countries is vast for many good reasons.