Stamp Collecting.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXV, Issue 2, 15 July 1905, Page 53

Stamp Collecting.

The Gibraltar 10c. car mine stamp of 1881), with vain.? omitted, sold by auction iu London for £l5. • • • The ss. blue stamp of Trinidad is now appearing in a much deeper shade than that of the first printing. • • • British New Guinea has now added a 2/6 stamp to the current set. The colour is brown and black. • • • Norway has added a 25 ore lilac and 50 ore brown violet to the current issue of stamps. • • • Gwalior has now a Christmas stamp bearing the King's portrait. The colour is olive green. • • • For Dahomey a 50c brown on azure stamp has been issued with the name in blue, instead of rose as formerly. • • • Three new values have been added to the current set of Hungary on the new watermark paper:—l filler grey, 25 blue, and 50 magenta. • • • The following new colours are announced for the Stamps of Santander: — sc. pale blue. 10c. dull red, 20c. emerald green. 50c. rQse lilac, Ip. deep blur, and sp. rose. • • • In connection with this it is of interest to note that a block of six Niue stamps, four with violet and two with green surcharge is offered in London for £25. • • • , Several overprints are reported on the post-cards of Abyssinia, 5 centimes being 1 garish blue, also 10 centimes, and 20 centimes. The overprint is in aniline red. • • • Tasmania has now a post-card with the portrait of the King. The design is similar to the well-known one, the only change being the substitution of KingEdward's picture for that of Queen Victoria. • • • A fine specialised collection of Barbados stamps, mounted on cards, including provisionals, Id. on half 55., dull rose of 1878, a very tine un severed pair, and two single specimens (the three varieties), sold for £49. The collection included -78 used, and 62 unused specimens. • • • The insurgents in Paraguay looted stock from the Post Office of \ ilia del Pila at the end of 1904. Stamps have now appeared overprinted in black in three lines in script, "Gobierno provisoria, 1904.” On the second type stamps of 1904, with date at top, the overprint appears on the 1 centavos apple green. 2 do. orange, and 5 do. blue, also on the first type of 1903, with date at foot on 10c brown, 20 rose red, 30 dark blue, and 60 mauve. In the light of current w nts in Russia the question arises whether collectors may expect a special issue of stamps from the tiny floating republic on board th.? warship at present held by the mutineers. If there is a printing press on board they might be able to make money out of the gullibility of collectors, by issuing stamps with all sorts of varieties by (‘hanging occasional letters, or merely by incompetent printing. The more the errors the better appears to be the worth of specialists in new issues. • • • Some interesting correspondence appears in E.W.S.N. with regard to the first issue of the New Zealand penny stamp, overprinted for us« in Niue. Mr. W. Gray, secretary, states that the stamps were overprinted at the Auckland Post Office in November. 1991, t at the instructions given w/?re that indel-

liblc ink of dark green colour was to be used, that Mr. Maxwell, postmaster at Niue, had l>rrn questioned, and stated he was <piit.‘ certain that no stamps of the first issue overprinted in violet were sold by him. Mr. <hay adds, **lt appears clear, therefore, that the violet overprint is a forg»-ry.” To this E.W .S.N. adds a foot note that the sjiecimeiis discovered were received direct from Mr. Maxwell. The editor adds, u \\> are quit? willing to believe ’that he did not notice the unusual colour, as he did not make

any remark ilm-i< upon in his L’ltvr. but their is not the ‘‘lightest doubt as tu their W’r reconcile their «-xixteiH • with Mr. Gray'* very definite statement that the whole 12<H) stamps were surcharged in green, by the hypothesis that lhr ink-pad usrd in their preparation had !>?cii previously saturated with violet ink—and that iiiMitlivieiit; green ink was at lir>t applied to eonv- i*, the colour. At least two vertical rows of a >h<*et had been overprinted b.-foi <*lhe pad was stiflicieiit ly re-inked.