Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
These Jamaica pairs show one without the period after the "stamp" overprint.
This South West Africa pair also has one with no period after the latter "A"; the middle bar of the lower stamp's "A" also seems misaligned or missing so it shows the tree line behind.
These South African singles show the normal color pattern (with a possible error color splotch) on the left, and the misaligned printing on the right.
This St. Vincent pair shows the red missing from the front view of the locomotive on the bottom stamp.
This Pakistan pair has the color pink missing.
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That section of my collection is under renovation, but here is a taste:
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Wow, Lars! You never cease to astound me! I guess what I have are mechanical errors in printing?
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I do not go after errors intentionally, but like most things to most collectors, items do find a 'way in' !
So it is with my Flag collection and as I find the USA Flag issues the most exciting, I will show some of those.
What else can I find........
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Excellent Londonbus! I too do not collect these intentionally but keep those I come across.
I also have a few errors or misprints from many of the omnibus series. The nicer ones are the variants of the 1935 Silver Jubilee sets (e.g., extra flag staff) but also some more contemporary ones (e.g., St. Vincent, Andrew and Fergie wedding denomination omitted). Lastly, among my Hong Kong stamps, I have found some of the printing flaws (e.g., extra hook on the N of the name for the Silver Wedding small denomination stamp). Fun to find these by chance.
Peter
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Great Britain ! 
The missing 'P' variety.
One of the scarcest of all GB errors. Only two part sheets of this Christmas issue were found, a total of 27 stamps and some of the stamps from one of the sheets were damaged. This single is from the damaged sheet. Although obviously Imperforate, this single copy was hard to dispose of as all Imperfs are collected in pairs. I managed to sell it on eBay but only after Stanley Gibbons had offered me £10 !!
Londonbus1
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"I also have a few errors or misprints from many of the omnibus series. The nicer ones are the variants of the 1935 Silver Jubilee sets (e.g., extra flag staff) but also some more contemporary ones (e.g., St. Vincent, Andrew and Fergie wedding denomination omitted). Lastly, among my Hong Kong stamps, I have found some of the printing flaws (e.g., extra hook on the N of the name for the Silver Wedding small denomination stamp). Fun to find these by chance."
Can we see them ? It's always nice to see these errors/freaks/varieties/whatever !
Please post'em up.
Here is a cracked plate variety together with normal !!
Londonbus1
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I'll have to dig out those omnibus albums, but here is an excellent site that explains just the many varieties of the KGV Silver Jubilee series. I certainly do not have most of these, and am not into this kind of detailed collecting.
King George V Silver Jubilee Variants
This link is also in our Links section of SOR>
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"I guess what I have are mechanical errors in printing?"
Peter, please don't quote my terminology! I'm just making stuff up for my own amusement. I am certainly no expert on errors. I just put that together as an attempt to understand the subject better for myself. I'm sure there are experts out there that would disagree, and I'm open to any and all critique. That's the only way I will learn.
Cheers!
Lars
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Londonbus - I just LOVE the cracked plate variety! There also seems to be a US 1288/1288d thing going on with the "5".
Lars
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Hello All,
As others have said, I don't really collect errors but sometimes they just come along. My best example is this GB 1969 Chathedrals 9d with black omitted.
James
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Here's another one or three..........
An odd looking Penny Red.
Something missing from this Israel stamp ?
Oh dear ! This GB strike mail label looks like it wants to get away !!
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04:33:24pm
Never learned that spelling of Israel before!
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Hong Kong George V, 1921, SG126a; Scot 140 (variety not listed in my cat). BROKEN FLOWER:
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Hong Kong Queen Victoria, 1898, SG52 (variety not listed); Scott 70 (variety not listed). DOUBLE CHINESE OVERPRINT:
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Hi Everyone;
I'm confused about cocollectibles' Jamaica stamps. Wouldn't the error stamp be the one
with a period? Why is a period needed after the word "stamp", as it is not an abbreviation?
I think the error is the one with the period!
Just thinkin'....
TuskenRaider
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The regular design has a period for those stamps.
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I have a number of EFO's in my collection. One that really struck me was this Greek postal card with the overprint doubled. What you may, or may not, be able to see to the left of the card (left of the text) is also an embossed design of the stamp shown like an 'albino' type.
I was fortunate enough to find this in a dealers box for 50 cents.
When I get time, I'll post a few more EFO's from my collection.
Chimo
Bujutsu
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Hi Bujutsu,
Nice card! 
This is military field post card from 1912/13. It was created by overprinting a 1901 card which already had the two stamp impressions.
The colourless impression is of another 10 lepta stamp and this covered the cost of the card while the carmine stamp was for postage.
This is a good card even without the printing error and was priced at 30 dollars in the last Higgins & Gage price update in 1986.
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Double impression on this German stamp from 1922.
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Thanks for resurrecting this thread, Opa.
This is my favorite and I had owned it for a few years before I realized I had it. I had bought the set and put it in my album, never having heard of the dented frame variety and not knowing to look for it. After buying my first SG catalog and learning of the variety, I went through my stamps to check for the variety. I had no expectation of finding any copies and was shocked to find the one I had was a high value example. A very pleasant surprise!
Gambia Scott 59 and SG 81a
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This one came with a Liberia collection I purchased many years ago. I don't understand how this could be produced. Maybe it's not as odd as I think.
Liberia Scott B5 pair with selvage.
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Of course, we should all be grateful to the previous owner of this nice pair for adding the oh so helpful arrow to the selvage. Otherwise, how would we ever know there's a printing error here? 
Salvador C3 and C3a.
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People collect all types of errors freaks etc. Most are inconsequential but others can have a great deal of value depending mostly on desirability and rarity. Some people get a large quantity of common stamps and look at them tell their eyes are ready to pop, looking for any extra missing spots, lines etc. This is known as fly specking and unless they are quite obvious have little value. My favorite errors are inverted colors in multi colored stamps. I have several of these spattered through my collection but still they are not as valuable as one might think.
Prior to the Christmas season of 2000 I noticed something peculiar with a sheet of Deer stamps in the display case of my small town P.O. It appeared to be some type of error that I had never seen before. After seeking knowledge of what the error was I finally found someone on the Ebay chat board who was familiar with it. It is known as a Repelex error. This happens in the printing process when a drop of water hits the plate in such away that the drop reacts with the greasy ink, producing an oval shape which has "repelled" the ink creating a washed out area of the design. After I had discovered the answer I sent a scan of the sheet to Linn's Stamp Magazine and they in turn featured it in the upcoming issue. Also they publish their write up on Ebay, which gave me just the advertising I needed to sell the sheet as I was not really all that interested in keeping it. Of course there was no way of coming up with a value so I just had to take a guess and it worked out quite well. I thought it best to put a reserve on it instead of looking for a bidding war not ending high enough. I decided the magic number was $1,200. I received several lower bids but the second highest was $600. It turns out the highest bidder did not really collect stamps but had heard the errors can be worth investing in. Well it's been 16 years and I have no idea what's become of it but sometimes wonder what it's value might be now, Scott has not noted it. No doubt with Linn's help I received much more than I would have without. $1,200 for a $8.50 investment and should prompt people to pay attention to what their post office has to offer.
Shown below is the sheet and the write up Linn's did for Ebay.
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Nice story, Mitch. And a very nice ending!
How did the PM or clerk react when you asked for the sheet in the display case?
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Aren't most "errors" merely printer's waste?
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I should clarify... true errors that were released by postal authorities are very cool but there are tons of items in auctions and on ebay that must be be printer's waste that was smuggled out the back door.
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The postmaster was actually a friend who had trained me at another post office. I think she was kind of questioning herself a little bit by letting it go. Postal employees are supposed to pull such items from stock and return them. Printers waste is the stuff that never makes it to the Post Offices. Errors are items that make it out of the print shop one way or another
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I collect errors and varieties as they to me are a very integral part of my stamp collection.
A scarce MUH 1883 perforated plate proof block of 4 of the ½d green. It is imperforate vertically between the stamps.
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THE NOTE PRINTING BRANCH THEFTS
Between 1948 and 1949 a number of previously unrecorded errors of King George VI stamps appeared on the market. Considering the relatively few major errors of Australian stamps which had occurred in the preceding twenty years, suspicion were raised and the matter was investigated by the Postmaster-General's Department.
Their enquiry, undertaken in conjunction with the Note Printing Branch, proved beyond doubt that the material was illegally on the market, having been stolen from spoilt stock destined for destruction at the Note Printing Branch. It is believed that the manner in which the material was obtained was to smuggle in a perfect sheet of stamps, bought at a post office, and substitute this for the faulty one.
1942. King George VI. 2½d. Imperforate. C of A watermark. Deep Scarlet. (Part of the Note Printing Branch theft in the 1940s)
1946. Victory Commemoration. 2½d. Perforation 14½. No watermark. Carmine (Part of the Note Printing Branch theft in the 1940s).
1946. Victory Commemoration. 2½d. Perforation 14½. With watermark. Carmine (the official commercial issue).
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A rare very early cracked plate of the 1938 John Ash ½d Wallaroo. This block of 4 was printed in 1949 two years after the death of John Ash; while waiting for the new die for the ½d roo, W.C.G. McRacken substituted the Ash imprint with his own; the constant heavy use of this particular die cracked, leaving three stages of damage (I have all 3).
This particular block of 4 is the only one known according to ACSC (Australian Commonwealth Specialists' Catalogue (2015 edition); there is no picture of it in the ACSC though the editor has received the image and it will be added in the next edition.
ACSC 178cz. Very early stage of cracking and the absence of the bottom central perforation pip, which is shown on the other two stages.
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Only 160 of the scarce 1949 dull yellow orange on the left exist; the normal colour for the 1949 wallaroo is orange shown on the right for comparison.
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Lars, I particularly love your unique page design and the verbiage describing the stamps. Very well done, and apropos for that particular category of a collection.
Do you have this is in a shareable (Word/PowerPoint/Other) format - and would you consider sharing with fellow SoR members?
I'll even add a little watermark "Page format by larsdog" at the bottom of my pages if that's ok.
Dave.
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Danzig 1920, Michel 16 I, Overprinted "5" split in the middle. (center stamp). I had this one proofed.
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"Do you have this is in a shareable (Word/PowerPoint/Other) format - and would you consider sharing with fellow SoR members?"
Dave, the format varies. Mostly it's PNG files but some of the simplier pages are Word. The background, however, is not something in my files. I buy blank pages from White Ace with the scrolls to match the format of my pre-printed pages. I'm probably about 90% pre-printed Commemoratives, 75% pre-printed Airmail, and 5% or less Definitives and BOB. 100% of Beyond BOB (where the errors are) is my text, and most of those pages are in Word. CORRECTION: I have two pre-printed White Ace pages for CSA and 2 pre-printed White Ace pages for UN.
"I'll even add a little watermark "Page format by larsdog" at the bottom of my pages if that's ok."
Not necessary. Just PM me if you want some pages. No need to re-invent the wheel.
Lars
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I won this 1921 Libia #25a NH invert at auction this last weekend. It is a little different as it is a bi-color stamp but both of the colors are very similar making it not so obvious. It is a rather old invert and most people would probably think it a pretty valuable error. However the NH cat price is only $42.50, I picked it up for $9.50.
It is probably quite scarce with only a couple hundred produced but not any where near as valuable as the million dollar inverted Jenny with a production of 100. It can't be because it isn't a beautiful stamp.
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Something I like to do in the winter time. Searcing my overprints for errors, etc.
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I'm not sure which category this ink smear falls into. I don't know how something like this would happen since only a small portion of the stamp was affected, but I'm guessing this occurred during or immediately after printing.
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Keesindy, Smudging like that is really quite common resulting in poor handling during the printing process. They would have been culled if spotted and regarded as printers waste.
I would not attach much of any value to it.
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Thanks, Mitch. I can imagine how easy it might be to miss these once in a while at the printer, but it's not something I've seen very often.
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Here is a link to a brief history relating to printers waste.
https://www.apfelbauminc.com/blog/printers-waste
The 1942 and 1945 stamps I posted above are from the note printing branch theft of the 1940s, these are considered printers waste as they were originally destined for the furnace; the fact of the sheer volume stolen left the printers red-faced (the majority were recovered), and those that were not are now scarce, some are worth over a thousand dollars each; the 1942 and 1945 pairs are valued at $500 each.
Not all printers waste will have a worthwhile monetary value, some are worth $50 or less and some are deliberately created for sale to philatelists; these I consider worthless.
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Just wondering, if the waste was stolen why is it not classified as stolen property and recovered to be incinerated?
I appreciate that in some countries a principle of "Market Ouvert" applies but stolen goods should be seized and returned to the rightful owners under normal circumstances.
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"Just wondering, if the waste was stolen why is it not classified as stolen property and recovered to be incinerated?
I appreciate that in some countries a principle of "Market Ouvert" applies but stolen goods should be seized and returned to the rightful owners under normal circumstances."
The stamps recovered were sent back to the printers to be destroyed but the remainder that was not recovered were obviously still stolen property, and today may well be still classified so; but the Post-Master General's Department and the Police no longer had any interest in the few that were not recovered and closed the case.
It was also found out during the trial of the offender that many of the stamps were sent overseas, some of these stamps years later found their way back to Australia.
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Rob, thanks for the additional information, guess the destruction made everyone else have more valuable stamps.
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Sheepshanks, an imperforate pair of the 1947 2½d Sesquicentenary of City of Newcastle showing the image of Lieutenant John Shortland of the Royal Navy is currently selling for AU$1,400, a lot more if it were a block of 4.
I'll eventually purchase a full set of these particular stamps and yes, today there is money in them.
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Germany, 1920 Bavaria overprints.
20 Pf.; Damaged "R" in in the word "BAYERN. F instead of R.
1 1/4 Mark; Damaged "B" in the word "BAVARIA". C instead of B.
1 1/2 Mark, 3 Mark & 10MK with empty field.
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It seems that the bottom overprints had been misplaced, I believe it should have been in the centre of the stamps rather than over the name of the country. I doubt that during the regime of the Third Reich the printers would have been all too fussed checking the sheets for errors.
Apart from that all of the stamps, especially the last two are very interesting varieties.
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" I doubt that during the regime of the Third Reich the printers would have been all too fussed checking the sheets for errors."
Interesting idea. I wonder why you draw that conclusion - I should have thought that efficiency might be particularly demanded by the Ministry of Posts. Do you have any evidence that official matters slackened during that period? I am reminded that during the very last days of the war it was considered imperative to get the post through, even if delivery was by horse or foot rather than train.
Meanwhile, are you sure these stamps were issued during the Third Reich?
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"It seems that the bottom overprints had been misplaced, I believe it should have been in the centre of the stamps rather than over the name of the country."
The overprints are all in the right place. The fact that these have empty fields make them a bit different. These are from wrongly cut sheets.
On April,1,1920 the Bavarian Post became part of Reichs Post. The last stamps, the "Farewell issue" were overprinted with "Deutsches Reich" and used through-out the rest of Germany.
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Thanks for correcting me Opa; Now I now a little more about German varieties.
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"Interesting idea. I wonder why you draw that conclusion - I should have thought that efficiency might be particularly demanded by the Ministry of Posts. Do you have any evidence that official matters slackened during that period? I am reminded that during the very last days of the war it was considered imperative to get the post through, even if delivery was by horse or foot rather than train.
Meanwhile, are you sure these stamps were issued during the Third Reich? "
Just my humble opinion. Now how does that saying go? Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor bombing raids stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.
It may be imperative to get the mail through, proof checking printed stamp sheets would have been ignored; in fact during the dying days of the Nazi regime, the paper used were extremely inferior this would have caused many irregularities during the printing process.
I have a few pages of WWII German stamps and of the occupied countries and the paper was very inferior.
"Meanwhile, are you sure these stamps were issued during the Third Reich? ""
You will have to ask Opa that question.
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This 30pf. stamp has a small Triangle over the and to the right of the "N" in "BAYERN".
Right stamp normal, left stamp with flaw.
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I don't think of these Spanish stamps as errors, mistakes, or freaks. They are all intentional "varieties" which must have been meant to defraud collectors:
Perhaps I am one of those defrauded collectors, since I bought them, but I think they're interesting. They were apparently reprinted from the same printing plates used for the privately issued Lindbergh commemorative — one of a set — that the Spanish post office authorized for use for three days during the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. At the left below is the original stamp; the "normal" reprinted is at the right:
Scott lists both of these stamps, and states that the value of the reprinted stamp is 1/10th that of the original. It doesn't say anything about the "varieties," which I'd like to know more about. It appears to me that the original was intended to be a bi-colour stamp since the vignette was clearly printed separately in the reprints. Or, possibly, new printing plates were prepared for the reprints, one without the vignette and one without the frame, so that the "errors" could be manufactured. But the "errors" have to have been intentional, or so it seems to me. Simply inverting half-finished sheets of stamps couldn't have resulted in the errors shown.
See more information about these stamps at my web page, A Charles Lindbergh Puzzle — What's that darned cat doing there?.
Bob
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As some of you already has said, even if you don´t specially collect errors they are passing by...
Here are some of mine:
And the most extreme area I have ever seen:
And I have many more from this area..
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08:45:38am
This is just a passing interest to me but increasingly I find myself looking out for errors such as these. Please share what you collect too.
These Jamaica pairs show one without the period after the "stamp" overprint.
This South West Africa pair also has one with no period after the latter "A"; the middle bar of the lower stamp's "A" also seems misaligned or missing so it shows the tree line behind.
These South African singles show the normal color pattern (with a possible error color splotch) on the left, and the misaligned printing on the right.
This St. Vincent pair shows the red missing from the front view of the locomotive on the bottom stamp.
This Pakistan pair has the color pink missing.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
That section of my collection is under renovation, but here is a taste:
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06:09:36am
re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Wow, Lars! You never cease to astound me! I guess what I have are mechanical errors in printing?
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
I do not go after errors intentionally, but like most things to most collectors, items do find a 'way in' !
So it is with my Flag collection and as I find the USA Flag issues the most exciting, I will show some of those.
What else can I find........
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02:27:01pm
re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Excellent Londonbus! I too do not collect these intentionally but keep those I come across.
I also have a few errors or misprints from many of the omnibus series. The nicer ones are the variants of the 1935 Silver Jubilee sets (e.g., extra flag staff) but also some more contemporary ones (e.g., St. Vincent, Andrew and Fergie wedding denomination omitted). Lastly, among my Hong Kong stamps, I have found some of the printing flaws (e.g., extra hook on the N of the name for the Silver Wedding small denomination stamp). Fun to find these by chance.
Peter
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Great Britain !
The missing 'P' variety.
One of the scarcest of all GB errors. Only two part sheets of this Christmas issue were found, a total of 27 stamps and some of the stamps from one of the sheets were damaged. This single is from the damaged sheet. Although obviously Imperforate, this single copy was hard to dispose of as all Imperfs are collected in pairs. I managed to sell it on eBay but only after Stanley Gibbons had offered me £10 !!
Londonbus1
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
"I also have a few errors or misprints from many of the omnibus series. The nicer ones are the variants of the 1935 Silver Jubilee sets (e.g., extra flag staff) but also some more contemporary ones (e.g., St. Vincent, Andrew and Fergie wedding denomination omitted). Lastly, among my Hong Kong stamps, I have found some of the printing flaws (e.g., extra hook on the N of the name for the Silver Wedding small denomination stamp). Fun to find these by chance."
Can we see them ? It's always nice to see these errors/freaks/varieties/whatever !
Please post'em up.
Here is a cracked plate variety together with normal !!
Londonbus1
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04:25:45pm
re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
I'll have to dig out those omnibus albums, but here is an excellent site that explains just the many varieties of the KGV Silver Jubilee series. I certainly do not have most of these, and am not into this kind of detailed collecting.
King George V Silver Jubilee Variants
This link is also in our Links section of SOR>
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
"I guess what I have are mechanical errors in printing?"
Peter, please don't quote my terminology! I'm just making stuff up for my own amusement. I am certainly no expert on errors. I just put that together as an attempt to understand the subject better for myself. I'm sure there are experts out there that would disagree, and I'm open to any and all critique. That's the only way I will learn.
Cheers!
Lars
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Londonbus - I just LOVE the cracked plate variety! There also seems to be a US 1288/1288d thing going on with the "5".
Lars
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Hello All,
As others have said, I don't really collect errors but sometimes they just come along. My best example is this GB 1969 Chathedrals 9d with black omitted.
James
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Here's another one or three..........
An odd looking Penny Red.
Something missing from this Israel stamp ?
Oh dear ! This GB strike mail label looks like it wants to get away !!
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A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent).
17 Nov 2014
04:33:24pm
re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Never learned that spelling of Israel before!
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Hong Kong George V, 1921, SG126a; Scot 140 (variety not listed in my cat). BROKEN FLOWER:
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Hong Kong Queen Victoria, 1898, SG52 (variety not listed); Scott 70 (variety not listed). DOUBLE CHINESE OVERPRINT:
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Hi Everyone;
I'm confused about cocollectibles' Jamaica stamps. Wouldn't the error stamp be the one
with a period? Why is a period needed after the word "stamp", as it is not an abbreviation?
I think the error is the one with the period!
Just thinkin'....
TuskenRaider
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04:35:13pm
re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
The regular design has a period for those stamps.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
I have a number of EFO's in my collection. One that really struck me was this Greek postal card with the overprint doubled. What you may, or may not, be able to see to the left of the card (left of the text) is also an embossed design of the stamp shown like an 'albino' type.
I was fortunate enough to find this in a dealers box for 50 cents.
When I get time, I'll post a few more EFO's from my collection.
Chimo
Bujutsu
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Hi Bujutsu,
Nice card! This is military field post card from 1912/13. It was created by overprinting a 1901 card which already had the two stamp impressions.
The colourless impression is of another 10 lepta stamp and this covered the cost of the card while the carmine stamp was for postage.
This is a good card even without the printing error and was priced at 30 dollars in the last Higgins & Gage price update in 1986.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Double impression on this German stamp from 1922.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Thanks for resurrecting this thread, Opa.
This is my favorite and I had owned it for a few years before I realized I had it. I had bought the set and put it in my album, never having heard of the dented frame variety and not knowing to look for it. After buying my first SG catalog and learning of the variety, I went through my stamps to check for the variety. I had no expectation of finding any copies and was shocked to find the one I had was a high value example. A very pleasant surprise!
Gambia Scott 59 and SG 81a
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
This one came with a Liberia collection I purchased many years ago. I don't understand how this could be produced. Maybe it's not as odd as I think.
Liberia Scott B5 pair with selvage.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Of course, we should all be grateful to the previous owner of this nice pair for adding the oh so helpful arrow to the selvage. Otherwise, how would we ever know there's a printing error here?
Salvador C3 and C3a.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
People collect all types of errors freaks etc. Most are inconsequential but others can have a great deal of value depending mostly on desirability and rarity. Some people get a large quantity of common stamps and look at them tell their eyes are ready to pop, looking for any extra missing spots, lines etc. This is known as fly specking and unless they are quite obvious have little value. My favorite errors are inverted colors in multi colored stamps. I have several of these spattered through my collection but still they are not as valuable as one might think.
Prior to the Christmas season of 2000 I noticed something peculiar with a sheet of Deer stamps in the display case of my small town P.O. It appeared to be some type of error that I had never seen before. After seeking knowledge of what the error was I finally found someone on the Ebay chat board who was familiar with it. It is known as a Repelex error. This happens in the printing process when a drop of water hits the plate in such away that the drop reacts with the greasy ink, producing an oval shape which has "repelled" the ink creating a washed out area of the design. After I had discovered the answer I sent a scan of the sheet to Linn's Stamp Magazine and they in turn featured it in the upcoming issue. Also they publish their write up on Ebay, which gave me just the advertising I needed to sell the sheet as I was not really all that interested in keeping it. Of course there was no way of coming up with a value so I just had to take a guess and it worked out quite well. I thought it best to put a reserve on it instead of looking for a bidding war not ending high enough. I decided the magic number was $1,200. I received several lower bids but the second highest was $600. It turns out the highest bidder did not really collect stamps but had heard the errors can be worth investing in. Well it's been 16 years and I have no idea what's become of it but sometimes wonder what it's value might be now, Scott has not noted it. No doubt with Linn's help I received much more than I would have without. $1,200 for a $8.50 investment and should prompt people to pay attention to what their post office has to offer.
Shown below is the sheet and the write up Linn's did for Ebay.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Nice story, Mitch. And a very nice ending!
How did the PM or clerk react when you asked for the sheet in the display case?
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11:41:51am
re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Aren't most "errors" merely printer's waste?
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01:45:44pm
re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
I should clarify... true errors that were released by postal authorities are very cool but there are tons of items in auctions and on ebay that must be be printer's waste that was smuggled out the back door.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
The postmaster was actually a friend who had trained me at another post office. I think she was kind of questioning herself a little bit by letting it go. Postal employees are supposed to pull such items from stock and return them. Printers waste is the stuff that never makes it to the Post Offices. Errors are items that make it out of the print shop one way or another
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
I collect errors and varieties as they to me are a very integral part of my stamp collection.
A scarce MUH 1883 perforated plate proof block of 4 of the ½d green. It is imperforate vertically between the stamps.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
THE NOTE PRINTING BRANCH THEFTS
Between 1948 and 1949 a number of previously unrecorded errors of King George VI stamps appeared on the market. Considering the relatively few major errors of Australian stamps which had occurred in the preceding twenty years, suspicion were raised and the matter was investigated by the Postmaster-General's Department.
Their enquiry, undertaken in conjunction with the Note Printing Branch, proved beyond doubt that the material was illegally on the market, having been stolen from spoilt stock destined for destruction at the Note Printing Branch. It is believed that the manner in which the material was obtained was to smuggle in a perfect sheet of stamps, bought at a post office, and substitute this for the faulty one.
1942. King George VI. 2½d. Imperforate. C of A watermark. Deep Scarlet. (Part of the Note Printing Branch theft in the 1940s)
1946. Victory Commemoration. 2½d. Perforation 14½. No watermark. Carmine (Part of the Note Printing Branch theft in the 1940s).
1946. Victory Commemoration. 2½d. Perforation 14½. With watermark. Carmine (the official commercial issue).
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
A rare very early cracked plate of the 1938 John Ash ½d Wallaroo. This block of 4 was printed in 1949 two years after the death of John Ash; while waiting for the new die for the ½d roo, W.C.G. McRacken substituted the Ash imprint with his own; the constant heavy use of this particular die cracked, leaving three stages of damage (I have all 3).
This particular block of 4 is the only one known according to ACSC (Australian Commonwealth Specialists' Catalogue (2015 edition); there is no picture of it in the ACSC though the editor has received the image and it will be added in the next edition.
ACSC 178cz. Very early stage of cracking and the absence of the bottom central perforation pip, which is shown on the other two stages.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Only 160 of the scarce 1949 dull yellow orange on the left exist; the normal colour for the 1949 wallaroo is orange shown on the right for comparison.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Lars, I particularly love your unique page design and the verbiage describing the stamps. Very well done, and apropos for that particular category of a collection.
Do you have this is in a shareable (Word/PowerPoint/Other) format - and would you consider sharing with fellow SoR members?
I'll even add a little watermark "Page format by larsdog" at the bottom of my pages if that's ok.
Dave.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Danzig 1920, Michel 16 I, Overprinted "5" split in the middle. (center stamp). I had this one proofed.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
"Do you have this is in a shareable (Word/PowerPoint/Other) format - and would you consider sharing with fellow SoR members?"
Dave, the format varies. Mostly it's PNG files but some of the simplier pages are Word. The background, however, is not something in my files. I buy blank pages from White Ace with the scrolls to match the format of my pre-printed pages. I'm probably about 90% pre-printed Commemoratives, 75% pre-printed Airmail, and 5% or less Definitives and BOB. 100% of Beyond BOB (where the errors are) is my text, and most of those pages are in Word. CORRECTION: I have two pre-printed White Ace pages for CSA and 2 pre-printed White Ace pages for UN.
"I'll even add a little watermark "Page format by larsdog" at the bottom of my pages if that's ok."
Not necessary. Just PM me if you want some pages. No need to re-invent the wheel.
Lars
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
I won this 1921 Libia #25a NH invert at auction this last weekend. It is a little different as it is a bi-color stamp but both of the colors are very similar making it not so obvious. It is a rather old invert and most people would probably think it a pretty valuable error. However the NH cat price is only $42.50, I picked it up for $9.50.
It is probably quite scarce with only a couple hundred produced but not any where near as valuable as the million dollar inverted Jenny with a production of 100. It can't be because it isn't a beautiful stamp.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Something I like to do in the winter time. Searcing my overprints for errors, etc.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
I'm not sure which category this ink smear falls into. I don't know how something like this would happen since only a small portion of the stamp was affected, but I'm guessing this occurred during or immediately after printing.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Keesindy, Smudging like that is really quite common resulting in poor handling during the printing process. They would have been culled if spotted and regarded as printers waste.
I would not attach much of any value to it.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Thanks, Mitch. I can imagine how easy it might be to miss these once in a while at the printer, but it's not something I've seen very often.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Here is a link to a brief history relating to printers waste.
https://www.apfelbauminc.com/blog/printers-waste
The 1942 and 1945 stamps I posted above are from the note printing branch theft of the 1940s, these are considered printers waste as they were originally destined for the furnace; the fact of the sheer volume stolen left the printers red-faced (the majority were recovered), and those that were not are now scarce, some are worth over a thousand dollars each; the 1942 and 1945 pairs are valued at $500 each.
Not all printers waste will have a worthwhile monetary value, some are worth $50 or less and some are deliberately created for sale to philatelists; these I consider worthless.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Just wondering, if the waste was stolen why is it not classified as stolen property and recovered to be incinerated?
I appreciate that in some countries a principle of "Market Ouvert" applies but stolen goods should be seized and returned to the rightful owners under normal circumstances.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
"Just wondering, if the waste was stolen why is it not classified as stolen property and recovered to be incinerated?
I appreciate that in some countries a principle of "Market Ouvert" applies but stolen goods should be seized and returned to the rightful owners under normal circumstances."
The stamps recovered were sent back to the printers to be destroyed but the remainder that was not recovered were obviously still stolen property, and today may well be still classified so; but the Post-Master General's Department and the Police no longer had any interest in the few that were not recovered and closed the case.
It was also found out during the trial of the offender that many of the stamps were sent overseas, some of these stamps years later found their way back to Australia.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Rob, thanks for the additional information, guess the destruction made everyone else have more valuable stamps.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Sheepshanks, an imperforate pair of the 1947 2½d Sesquicentenary of City of Newcastle showing the image of Lieutenant John Shortland of the Royal Navy is currently selling for AU$1,400, a lot more if it were a block of 4.
I'll eventually purchase a full set of these particular stamps and yes, today there is money in them.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Germany, 1920 Bavaria overprints.
20 Pf.; Damaged "R" in in the word "BAYERN. F instead of R.
1 1/4 Mark; Damaged "B" in the word "BAVARIA". C instead of B.
1 1/2 Mark, 3 Mark & 10MK with empty field.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
It seems that the bottom overprints had been misplaced, I believe it should have been in the centre of the stamps rather than over the name of the country. I doubt that during the regime of the Third Reich the printers would have been all too fussed checking the sheets for errors.
Apart from that all of the stamps, especially the last two are very interesting varieties.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
" I doubt that during the regime of the Third Reich the printers would have been all too fussed checking the sheets for errors."
Interesting idea. I wonder why you draw that conclusion - I should have thought that efficiency might be particularly demanded by the Ministry of Posts. Do you have any evidence that official matters slackened during that period? I am reminded that during the very last days of the war it was considered imperative to get the post through, even if delivery was by horse or foot rather than train.
Meanwhile, are you sure these stamps were issued during the Third Reich?
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
"It seems that the bottom overprints had been misplaced, I believe it should have been in the centre of the stamps rather than over the name of the country."
The overprints are all in the right place. The fact that these have empty fields make them a bit different. These are from wrongly cut sheets.
On April,1,1920 the Bavarian Post became part of Reichs Post. The last stamps, the "Farewell issue" were overprinted with "Deutsches Reich" and used through-out the rest of Germany.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
Thanks for correcting me Opa; Now I now a little more about German varieties.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
"Interesting idea. I wonder why you draw that conclusion - I should have thought that efficiency might be particularly demanded by the Ministry of Posts. Do you have any evidence that official matters slackened during that period? I am reminded that during the very last days of the war it was considered imperative to get the post through, even if delivery was by horse or foot rather than train.
Meanwhile, are you sure these stamps were issued during the Third Reich? "
Just my humble opinion. Now how does that saying go? Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor bombing raids stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.
It may be imperative to get the mail through, proof checking printed stamp sheets would have been ignored; in fact during the dying days of the Nazi regime, the paper used were extremely inferior this would have caused many irregularities during the printing process.
I have a few pages of WWII German stamps and of the occupied countries and the paper was very inferior.
"Meanwhile, are you sure these stamps were issued during the Third Reich? ""
You will have to ask Opa that question.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
This 30pf. stamp has a small Triangle over the and to the right of the "N" in "BAYERN".
Right stamp normal, left stamp with flaw.
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
I don't think of these Spanish stamps as errors, mistakes, or freaks. They are all intentional "varieties" which must have been meant to defraud collectors:
Perhaps I am one of those defrauded collectors, since I bought them, but I think they're interesting. They were apparently reprinted from the same printing plates used for the privately issued Lindbergh commemorative — one of a set — that the Spanish post office authorized for use for three days during the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. At the left below is the original stamp; the "normal" reprinted is at the right:
Scott lists both of these stamps, and states that the value of the reprinted stamp is 1/10th that of the original. It doesn't say anything about the "varieties," which I'd like to know more about. It appears to me that the original was intended to be a bi-colour stamp since the vignette was clearly printed separately in the reprints. Or, possibly, new printing plates were prepared for the reprints, one without the vignette and one without the frame, so that the "errors" could be manufactured. But the "errors" have to have been intentional, or so it seems to me. Simply inverting half-finished sheets of stamps couldn't have resulted in the errors shown.
See more information about these stamps at my web page, A Charles Lindbergh Puzzle — What's that darned cat doing there?.
Bob
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re: Share your collection of errors, mistakes, freaks, etc.
As some of you already has said, even if you don´t specially collect errors they are passing by...
Here are some of mine:
And the most extreme area I have ever seen:
And I have many more from this area..
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