Member ACCC (Australian Commonwealth Collectors Club of NSW) 03 Jul 2016 06:27:33pm
Those who have both Tasman stamps in mint unhinged, mint hinged or used will know they have the complete set of the blue stamps, but is it a complete set; the answer is no, there are actually 6 to a set of these particular blue stamps.
Issued on October 9, 1963, this new denomination issued to cover parcel rates was the first of a new series of high-value definitives depicting important navigators in Australian waters.
1963: Blue (left). Dark Blue (right).
The first stamp is of a much lighter shade.
The design for the 1966 40 cent decimal was adapted from the existing 4/- stamp. It is printed on unwatermarked Wiggins Teape paper incorporating Helicon. Normal UV reaction is pink on the front and bluish white on the back.
Both blocks of 4 were issued on February 14, 1966 (St. Valentine's Day), the same day Australia adopted the decimal currency
1966: Blue Type 1 (top stamps). Blue Type 2 (bottom stamps).
Type 1 (left) & Type 2 (right)
The two types of this stamp are the result of the use of a 2-on nickel die on which the denominations were separately engraved. The most easily recognised difference is that in Type 1 (left) the surrounds and centres of "40" show shading dashes and dots heavier and more regular than those in Type 2 (right), with some variation in length of dashes.
1966: Dull Blue Type 1 (top stamps). Dull Blue Type 2 (bottom stamps).
Trivia:
4/- Abel Tasman: There were four printings between August 1963 and October 1965, totalling 9,120,000 stamps, of which 5,392,880 stamps were delivered to the Post Office. Following withdrawal 193,828 were destroyed, leaving a total issue of 5,199,052 stamps. It was discontinued at the introduction of decimal currency.
40c Abel Tasman: 39,690,200 stamps were issued on the first day of decimalisation. The Abel Tasman stamp was eventually replaced with the 40c Pioneer Life definitive on November 15, 1972.
4 Members like this post. Login to Like.
"Specialised Collector of Australian Pre-Decimal & Decimal Stamps"
