FOR STAMP COLLECTORS

Evening Star, Issue 21753, 22 June 1934, Page 3

FOR STAMP COLLECTORS

—~ [By I’hu.atkust.] Last week reference was made to tb ever-increasing number of coinmcmora tivo issues. Since those lines wen penned an article in the * Philatcla Journal of (front Britain ’ has comunder notice. Contained therein is ; list of what may bo called “ abnonna stamps ” that have been issued during the fourteen-year period 1919 to 193by various foreign countries. The fig arcs are as follow (the first ligun quoted indicates conunemoratives, charity stamps, exhibition stamps, etc., aim the second figure indicates air mai. stamps)ltaly, 150, 42; Italian col onies, Oil, BO; Latvia, 121, 03; Nicara gua, 34, 09; Paraguay, 24, 65; Portugal, . 2.11, 10; Russia, 119, 41; San Marino, 37, 10; Spain, 207, 80; Switzerland, 77, 10; Uruguay’, 68, 56; Belgium, 109, 5; Brazil, 35, 30; Bulgaria. 49, 17; Ecuador, 70, 14; Germany, 83. 35; Holland, 76, 9: Honduras, 6, 73. These total 2,093 comnieinoratives, etc., and 097 air stamps. It is a formidable array of figures, and prompts one to ask: “ Are they necessary?” Great Britain during the same period issued nine commemoratives and no air stamps. Verb. sap. Latest Australian advices are that the Victoria centenary stamps will be distributed on July 1, The issue is to comprise three values—2d, 3d, and Isrwith a design common to all values. Details of the design -have not yet been made public. The Macarthur commemorative is expected to appear about the middle of July. The original decision to show the head of Macarthur in tiie design has been abandoned, and instead thereof will be depicted a typical merino sheep against a background of the Blue Mountains (N.S.W.) —actually a view of one of Macarthur’s original sheep rims. Both issues will be awaited with interest.

Registration labels are being collected and studied by over 200 collectors in Australia, and many -of these collectors do not even collect stamps, but devote the whole of their attention to what is perhaps the most essential part of the most important article that the Post Office deals with—the label on the registered letter. There is at least one society that circulates an exchange book of registration labels. The method of exchange is somewhat unique. Each member takes the labels that appeal to him, and replaces them with his duplicates. The labels are mounted in albums and annotated on the same lines as stamps. In many ways they resemble stamps, such things as errors, provisionals, changes of colour, renamed labels, etc., adding variety and interest to the hobby. Renamed labels are the equivalent of surcharged stamps. If you do not already know, you no doubt will be interested to learn that there is a stamp with a pictorial representation of an overweight letter, denoting tho fact that there is more to pay. It is a postage duo stamp from Hongkong. RECORD AIR STAMP PRICE. A new high-water mark in air stamp prices was readied at auction in New lork when a specimen of the 24c U.S.A. 1918 air stamp with inverted centre was sold for 2,750d01, or £350 at tile current rate of exchange. The name of the purchaser was not disclosed, but it is believed that the stamp ultimately will find a home in Great Britain. Only 100 copies of this stamp exist, and two years ago it was predicted by experts that within a very short time the value would rise to the neighbourhood of 5,000d0i. A block of four was purchased lor 15,000d0l in July, 1931, by an American collector, Mr John Asliinwall. GERMAN SECRET MARKS. , Although not mentioned in the Gibbons catalogue, the German stamps of the 1889-1900 issue bore secret imprints of which traces are sometimes brought out as a result of chemical reaction. At first the secret print consisted of parallel lines in invisible ink applied to the back of the stamp paper before the stamps were printed. From 1892 onwards, in lieu of the back print, groups of four small designs were similarly printed with invisible ink on the face of the paper. These marks consist of a small crown (top left), posthorn (bottom right), and the German eagle in the other two cornel’s. As the German stamps were not watermarked, these devices took the place of that method of avoiding forgery, and also served to prevent the cleaning of stamps with chemicals for reuse in the post. Tho secret was well kept, and philatelists first got to know about it as a result of the wreck of the s.s. Eider, a North German Lloyd vessel which stranded off the Isle of Wight in January, 1892. The ship’s supply of German postage stamps were recovered, but immersion in the salt water had brought the secret marks to light. ADVERTISEMENTS ON FRENCH STAMPS. The ten centimes Sower stamps of France, with the inscription “ Mineraline ” on tiie perforated margin, come from little booklets eacli containing one leafiiet of ten stamps, issued as an advertisement of a firm of manufacturing chemists. The variety is comparatively scarce, for out of a printing of 20,000 leaflets (200,000 stamps) the majority were used up in tile post and destroyed. The date was 1927. There are numbers of other similar advertisement appendices to modern French stamps, which are collected in all their varieties in France. In the specialist catalogue the 10c Mineraiin is listed at forty francs, unused or used. GUIDE DOTS. Guide dots are tiny marks on stamps made by similar dot indications on the printing plate, which have served the transferer as guides in roiling in the successive impressions of the roller-die, to get them in alignment and position*, In many cases the guide dots are eliminated in the rolling-in of the impression, but even where this is intended to be the case a slight misjudgment in positioning may leave the dot outside or inside the stamp impression, and so it shows up m the printed stamp. This will explain why some examples of the same stamp show guide dots while others show none. The dots are often helpful to the “ plater ” who endeavours to reconstruct plates or sheets oi stamps, and are frequently of use in expert work.