Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
1934 - Centenary of Death of John Macarthur
The first printing is known as "White Hills" the die was corrected for the second printing to give better definition and is known as "Dark Hills" as can be seen in the background hill
"White hills"
"Dark hills"
1936 - Opening of Tasmanian Telephone Cable
Type A has a tiny line joining the frames adjacent the lower serif of the letter "d" - where I have placed the yellow arrow
Type A
Type B
1957 - Centenary of Responsible Government in South Australia
Type A the scroll just bisects the hyphen between the dates whereas it extends through it on Type B
Type A
Type B
1959 - 64 - Definitive, 4d QE2
Type A has a break in the outer shading line of the numeral 4 as indicated by the arrow, Type B has no break at this point
Type A
Type B
1959 - 64 - Definitive, 5d QE2
Type A has 4 lines of shading inside the loop of the numeral 5, Type B has 5 lines of shading.
Type A
Type B
1959 - 64 - Definitive, 8d Tiger Cat
No reference to this variety appears in catalogues that I have but there is definitely 2 types that seem to occur in similar numbers (2 master plates were used), easily distinguished by a small white spot in line with the lower part of the eye on the right face outline
No spot on nose
Spot on nose
1960 - Centenary of Northern Territory Exploration
The easiest way to tell the types apart is by the "spur" on the horses mane on type 2 , there are other differences to the reins, forelock & ears.
Type 1
Type 2
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I don't have a very large collection of Australia but there are some in my world wide collection. I like these small differences and fly specking. Time to pull out the WW albums. Thanks for the post.
Vince
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Helpful indeed sir. Going to check what types I have in my collection. 
Eric Carlson
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There is actually 3 to the 1960 - Centenary of Northern Territory Exploration stamp, the third is known as type 1a.
Type I.
Type Ia.
(a) It is similar to Type 1.
(b) Outline of horse's ears incomplete.
(c) Near (left) rein thins out towards neck.
(d) Horse's forelock (mane) indistinct in middle.
Type II.
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Jan-Simon and Rob,
Thank you so much for this information. You have extended the breadth of my Australian collecting.
Regards ... Tim.
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With the 1960 8d Tiger Cat the first master plate was identified by the characteristic "halo" over the animal's back, and the tail has a relatively smooth outline. By comparison, stamps from the second master plate lack the "halo" effect, and the tail has a "ragged" appearance. The Tiger Cat was printed on unwatermarked paper.
The stamp came in two shades, Red-Brown (First Master Plate) and Brown (Second Master Plate).
The stamp you have Jansimon that shows a spot on the nose is most likely one of many small varieties rather than a plate identification.
First Master Plate (showing "halo") and smooth outline of tail
Second Master Plate ("halo" removed) and ragged outline of tail
The actual stamps.
First Master Plate
Second Master Plate
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Approvals
Most variations that occur in Australian stamps are the result of minor differences in the printing plates resulting in an easily overlooked difference between 2 seemingly identical stamps. This list is something I prepared years ago. It is not an attempt to list all possible variations but merely a guide to the more common differences not listed in basic catalogues. I hope you find this information helpful.
1934 - Centenary of Death of John Macarthur
The first printing is known as "White Hills" the die was corrected for the second printing to give better definition and is known as "Dark Hills" as can be seen in the background hill
"White hills"
"Dark hills"
1936 - Opening of Tasmanian Telephone Cable
Type A has a tiny line joining the frames adjacent the lower serif of the letter "d" - where I have placed the yellow arrow
Type A
Type B
1957 - Centenary of Responsible Government in South Australia
Type A the scroll just bisects the hyphen between the dates whereas it extends through it on Type B
Type A
Type B
1959 - 64 - Definitive, 4d QE2
Type A has a break in the outer shading line of the numeral 4 as indicated by the arrow, Type B has no break at this point
Type A
Type B
1959 - 64 - Definitive, 5d QE2
Type A has 4 lines of shading inside the loop of the numeral 5, Type B has 5 lines of shading.
Type A
Type B
1959 - 64 - Definitive, 8d Tiger Cat
No reference to this variety appears in catalogues that I have but there is definitely 2 types that seem to occur in similar numbers (2 master plates were used), easily distinguished by a small white spot in line with the lower part of the eye on the right face outline
No spot on nose
Spot on nose
1960 - Centenary of Northern Territory Exploration
The easiest way to tell the types apart is by the "spur" on the horses mane on type 2 , there are other differences to the reins, forelock & ears.
Type 1
Type 2
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re: List of type variations of Australian Stamps - Pre decimal issues
I don't have a very large collection of Australia but there are some in my world wide collection. I like these small differences and fly specking. Time to pull out the WW albums. Thanks for the post.
Vince
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re: List of type variations of Australian Stamps - Pre decimal issues
Helpful indeed sir. Going to check what types I have in my collection.
Eric Carlson
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re: List of type variations of Australian Stamps - Pre decimal issues
There is actually 3 to the 1960 - Centenary of Northern Territory Exploration stamp, the third is known as type 1a.
Type I.
Type Ia.
(a) It is similar to Type 1.
(b) Outline of horse's ears incomplete.
(c) Near (left) rein thins out towards neck.
(d) Horse's forelock (mane) indistinct in middle.
Type II.
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re: List of type variations of Australian Stamps - Pre decimal issues
Jan-Simon and Rob,
Thank you so much for this information. You have extended the breadth of my Australian collecting.
Regards ... Tim.
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re: List of type variations of Australian Stamps - Pre decimal issues
With the 1960 8d Tiger Cat the first master plate was identified by the characteristic "halo" over the animal's back, and the tail has a relatively smooth outline. By comparison, stamps from the second master plate lack the "halo" effect, and the tail has a "ragged" appearance. The Tiger Cat was printed on unwatermarked paper.
The stamp came in two shades, Red-Brown (First Master Plate) and Brown (Second Master Plate).
The stamp you have Jansimon that shows a spot on the nose is most likely one of many small varieties rather than a plate identification.
First Master Plate (showing "halo") and smooth outline of tail
Second Master Plate ("halo" removed) and ragged outline of tail
The actual stamps.
First Master Plate
Second Master Plate
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