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Preview of Stamps Catalogue: VOLUME 1

TASMANIA 1892-1900 and miscellaneous

Return To Catalogue - Tasmania 1853-1856 - Tasmania 1857-1891 - Australia

Note: on my website many of the pictures can not be seen! They are of course present in the catalogue;
contact me if you want to purchase it.

For previous issues of Tasmania (1857-1891), click here.

1892 Queen Victoria, new design, so-called 'Tablets'

  1/2 p orange and violet
  2 1/2 p lilac (slightly different design)
  5 p blue and brown
  6 p violet and black
  10 p red and green
  1 Sh red and green
  2 Sh 6 p brown and blue
  5 Sh lilac and red
  10 Sh lilac and brown
  1 Pound green and yellow

Surcharged (1904)

  '1 1/2 d.' on 5 p blue and brown

In 1892 these stamps were issued with perforation 14 and watermark 'TAS'. The 1 Sh was also issued with watermark 'V Crown' and perforation 11 in 1902. The 1 Sh and 10 Sh were also issued with watermark 'Crown A' in 1905(?).

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

The 1 Pound stamp exists overprinted with 'REVENUE' to be used as a fiscal stamp:

(1 Pound fiscal stamp and another fiscal stamp 'REVENUE 5d.' on 1 Pound)

I have seen this overprint double (one horizontal and one vertical). Futhermore this revenue stamp exists with additional surcharges '5d.' and 1 Shilling ('1 S.'; issued in 1918).

1/2 p with Hobart bar-cancel.

"LOOSE SHIP LETTER" cancel

The forger Sperati made a forgery of the 1 Pound stamp. He used genuine stamps of a lower value of which he bleached out the design and reprinted the 1 Pound design on it. Therefore the watermark, paper and cancel are genuine

Sperati forgery of the 1 Pound value. This stamp is shown in the BPA book on Sperati.

There are some white spots in the bottom left part; just below the most left vertical stroke of the zig-zag pattern (not very clearly visible in the above forgery) and another one below the third bottom loop of this pattern. There is also a white break in the right hand side of the central circle (at the level of the bottom of the ear of the Queen.

1900 Various designs

  1/2 p green (Lake Marion)
  1 p red (Mount Wellington)
  2 p violet (Hobart)
  2 1/2 p blue (Tasman's Arch)
  3 p brown (Spring River, Port Davey)
  4 p yellow (Russell Falls)
  5 p blue (Mount Gould, Lake St.Clair)
  6 p red (Dilston Falls)

Surcharged

  'ONE PENNY' (red) on 2 p violet

Examples of the 'TAS' and 'Crown A' watermarks used on these stamps:

('TAS' watermark on a 2 1/2 p blue stamp)

('Crown A' watermark on a 1 p on 2 p stamp)

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Special cancel "LOOSE SHIP LETTER":

OFFICIAL STAMPS

Many stamps were perforated with a 'T' (1903), 'A' or with 'OS' (1905) to serve as official stamps.

'T' and 'A' perfins

('OS' perfin)

Cancels

Many of the stamps of Tasmania can be found with manual cancels, example:

(Manuscript cancel: '58' Waterloo Point)

(A provisional numeral cancel '14' handwritten)

Numeral cancels also exist. If I'm well informed, the towns corresponding to the numbers were changed in 1861 (so-called first and second allocation). If anybody posesses more information, please contact me.

(Barred numeral cancel '55')

I think the following numbers corresponds to the following towns:

First Allocation:
10: Antill Ponds
11: Avoca
12: Brighton
13: Bothwell
14: Bridgewater
15: Brown's River
16: Bishopsbourne
18: Campbell Town
19: Port Arthur
20: Circular Head
21: Carlton
22: Carrick
23: Cleveland
24: Cullenswood
25: Deloraine
26: Evandale
27: Emu Bay
28: Fingal
31: Green Ponds
32: George Town
33: Glenorchy
34: Great Swanport
35: Hamilton
36: Huon
37: Jericho
38: Jerusalem
39: Kangaroo Point
41: Lake River
42: Macquarie River
43: Macquarie Plains
44: New Norfolk
45: Norfolk Plains
46: New Town
47: Oatlands
48: Hobart Town
49: Port Sorell
50: Perth
51: Prosser's Plains
52: Ross
53: Richmond
54: Sorell
55: Spring Hill
56: Spring Bay
57: Westbury
58: Waterloo Point
59: Launceston
60: Launceston
61: Hobart Town
62: Hobart Town
63: Hobart Town
64: Hobart Town
65: Three Point Hut
66: Port Cygnet
68: Hobart Town
74: Hobart Town
75: Hobart Town

Second Allocation (1 to 96 alphabetical, introduced in 1861?)
1: Antill Ponds
2: Avoca
3: Bicheno
4: Bishops-Bourne
5: Black Brush
6: Bothwell
7: Breadalbane
8: Bream-Creek
9: Bridgewater
10: Brighton
11: Broadmarsh Upper
12: Broadmarsh Alexander Lower
13: Brown's River
14: Port Sorell
15: Cambridge
16: Campbell Town
17: Carlton
18: Carrick
19: Chudleigh
20: Circular Head
21: Clarence-Plains
22: Cleveland
23: Cressy
24: Cullens-Wood
25: Deloraine
26: Don
27: Eastern Marshes
28: Elizabeth Town
29: Emu Bay
30: Evandale
31: Exton
32: Falmouth
33: Fenton Forest
34: Fingal
35: Forcett
36: Forth
37: George Town
38: Glenorchy
39: Kangaroo Point
40: Hadspen
41: Hagley
42: Hamilton
43: Huon (later Franklin)
44: Huon Track
45: Jericho
46: Jerusalem
47: Jerusalem Lower
48: Kangaroo Point
49: Kelly's Point
50: Lake River
51: Latrobe
52: Launceston
53: Leven
54: Longford
55: Lymington
56: Macquarie Plains
57: Macquarie River
58: Melton Mowbray
59: Mont Acute
60: Mount Direction
61: Muddy Plains
62: New Town
63: New Norfolk
64: Oatlands
65: Ouse
66: Oyster Cove
67: Peppermint Bay
68: Perth
69: Port Arthur
70: Port Cygnet
71: Port Esperance
72: Port Sorell
73: Prosser's Plains
74: Queensborough
75: Recherche Bay
76: Richmond
77: Ross
78: Sandspit
79: Shipwright's Point
80: Snake Banks
81: Sorell
82: South-Arm
83: Southport
84: Spring-Bay
85: Spring-Hill
86: Swanton
87: Table Cape
88: Tamar East
89: Three Hut Point
90: Tinderbox Bay
91: Torquay
92: Tunbridge
93: Victoria
94: Waterloo Point
95: Westbury
96: White-Hills
97: Bagdad Upper
98: Long Bay
99: Taylor's Bay
100: Corners
101: Kentishbury
102: Deddington
109: Lisdillon
110: Somerset Cam
112: Bowwood
114: Cape Portland
116: Mangana
117: Old Beach
122: Fossil Bank
130: Surges Bay
134: Lyndhurst
178: Geeves Town
204: North Mount Cameron
238: Irish Town
265: East Meander
302: Snake Plains
384: Gunns' Plains (highest number)

Other 'mute' cancels:

(Grill cancel; this cancel is rare)

Fiscal stamps

1863 St.George and the dragon, imperforate or perforated

The values 3 p green, 2 Sh 6 p red, 5 Sh green, 5 Sh brown and 10 Sh orange exist. Fiscal stamps in the above design (2 Sh 6 p red, 5 Sh green and 10 Sh red) were sporadically also used as postage stamps from 1882 to 1900.

These stamps exist with additional 'REVENUE' overprint on the values 2 Sh 6 p red, 5 Sh brown, 5 Sh green and 10 Sh orange (issued in 1900).

(2 Sh 6 p stamp with overprint 'REVENUE')

In 1918 the 10 Sh orange stamps received a surcharge of '5d.':

(Reduced size)

Reprints of these stamps:

The following forgeries were made by Jeffryes:

Jeffryes forgeries; the "P" of "PENCE" is slanting too much when compared to a genuine stamp.

These Jeffreys forgeries exist with forged Hobart or Launceston duplex cancels.

1880 Platypus

In the above design exist: 1 p grey, 3 p brown, 6 p lilac and 1 Sh red.

The stamps 1 p blue, 3 p brown, 6 p lilac and 1 Sh red were used from 1882 to 1900 as postage stamps.

(Additional 'REVENUE' overprint)

These stamps exist with additional 'REVENUE' overprint on the values 1 p blue, 2 p brown(?), 3 p brown, 6 p lilac and 1 Sh red (1900). A further surcharge '1d.' exists in three types on the 3 p brown value (1903).

In 1930 some additional values were issued: 9 p green, '9D.' on green (no value in the original stamp), 7 Sh 6 p on orange (no value in original stamp).

Reprints exist, example:

Reprint with overprint "REPRINT"

1904 Numeral

The following values exist in this design: 1 p blue, 2 p brown, 3 p yellow, 4 p blue, 5p red, 6 p violet, 9 p brown, 1 Sh green (shades), 2 Sh 6 p violet, 2 Sh 6 p orange, 5 Sh brown, 10 Sh orange, 10 Sh green, 1 Pound green and 1 Pound red. A surcharged stamp '1/2 d.' on 1 p blue exists. Specialist distinghuish several types of these stamps.

BEER DUTY

Some large sized stamps were issued with inscription 'BEER DUTY' from 1880 to 1918. They are quite rare. Examples:

EMBOSSED PLATYPUS (Duty Envelopes?)

(Inscription 'STAMP DUTY TASMANIA SIX PENCE', embossed revenue?)

I have also seen the values 10 Pounds red and 20 Pounds red (more values exist ranging from 1 p to 20 Pounds).

UNKNOWN FISCAL STAMPS

What are these?:

(Inscription 'TASMANIAN GOVERNMENT STAMP DUTY PRE-PAID)

I have seen the above 6 p label in several colours. I've also seen them as a gambling tax (printed on the ticket). They were issued around 1898.

Postal Stationery

ENVELOPES

1883 Queen Victoria in an ellipse

  1/2 p red
  1 p red (2 types)
  2 p green

1883 Queen Victoria, inscription 'TASMANIA REGISTRATION'

No picture available yet. If anybody posesses a picture of these stamps, please contact me!

  4 p blue
  (2 p) blue (no value inscription

POSTCARDS

1882 As postage stamps

No picture available yet. If anybody posesses a picture of these stamps, please contact me!

  1 p red

1892 New design, Queen Victoria

No picture available yet. If anybody posesses a picture of these stamps, please contact me!

  1 1/2 p brown

Other postal stationery:

Walch's Tasmanian post card (does anybody have information about this card?):

Local stamps

Local stamp, inscription 'Wilkinson Hobart town Chemist &c Elizabeth St.':

I've been told that this stamp (still on letter) is genuine.

This seems to be a local stamp issued somewhere around 1840-1850. It seems to have been only discovered in 1972 and is very rare. It could have been used as a private courier service but this is not quite clear at the moment. More information can be found in "Cinderella Stamps of Australasia” by Bill Hornadge, 1st Ed. page 7.

Railway stamps

Example:

The above label with inscription "T.G. RYS. 2D. NEWSPAPER STAMP." is a railway stamp of Tasmania, it stands for Tasmania Government Railways. I have also seen the values 1/2 p, 1 p, 3 p, 4 p, 5 p and 6 p (all in black). The cancels on these stamps can have many colours (I've seen black, red, violet and blue).

(T.G. RAILWAYS Parcels Ticket, 3 p and 6 p, reduced sizes)

(Tranport Dept. Railway Branch Newspaper Stamp: 1 p)

1955(?) Parcels Stamp Tasmanian Government Railways

10 Sh orange

I've also seen a 4 Sh blue and 1 Pound red in the above design.

More railway samps of Tasmania exist, for example with the image of a Garratt train and inscription "TASMANIAN GOVt RAILWAYS":

1917 issue; in this design I have seen (all in black): 4 p (no text), 6 p "HOBART", 1 Sh (no text), 1 Sh 9 p "LAUNCESTON". A 3 p, 9 p, 1 Sh 3 p and 2 Sh should also exist. In 1918 the whole set was issued in blue color.

1919 issue, all values in different colors.

1951(?) with diesel train at station; I've also seen 3 p blue and 1 Sh 6 p black

1953(?) With "SUBJECT TO THE RAILWAY MANAGE-MENT ACT, 1935." overprint.

Litterature: 'The Revenue and Railway Stamps of Tasmania' by Craig and Ingles (1978). I have not seen this book myself.

Click here for more Australia Railway stamps.

Parcel Stamp (Webster Rometch)

Issued somewhere in the 1920's for a bus parcel service between Hobart, Franklin, Huonville, Kingston and Geeveston. The value and the townname were printed seperately. The values 6 p, 9 p, 1 Sh and 1 Sh 3 p should exist. They exist in red, violet and red on yellow colors. It also exists with overprint "Astor Motors Pty. Ltd.". The book 'Local Stamps of Australia' by Bill Hornadge lists these stamps and their history.

(issued somewhere around 1925, reduced size)

Fournier forged cancel

Forged "TASMANIA" cancel made by the forger Fournier. I don't know on which of his forgeries he used this cancel (perhaps on cleaned up fiscally used stamps?).

Bogus Issue

A bogus "BARBADOS REGISTERED" imperforate stamp. I've also seen the same stamp, but with Tasmania (even with inverted center) in different colors.

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer