Australia 1937 6d Kookaburra CofA Watermark Perf 13½ x 14 Varieties

I recently purchased two 1937 6d Kookaburra's both CofA Watermark Perf 13½ x 14 with two different varieties. The varieties are Curl over "I" of "Australia" and Flaw on "S" of "Australia". I am a member of a great stamp forum known as The Grumpy Old Men's Club, and purchased these from a fellow member. Thanks Jubilee.

This stamp was released on 2nd August 1937 as part of the Zoological Definitive Series. The design of the 6d Kookaburra was decided, however the design was altered to copy a photograph.

The stamps in this series and their denominations are:

     ½d Orange Kangaroo

     4d Green Koala

     5d Mauve Merino

     6d Brown Kookaburra

     9d Sepia Platypus

     1/- Dull Green Lyrebird

In today's blog I will show you both the varieties Curl over "I" of "Australia" and Flaw on

"S" of "Australia".

These stamps were printed in sheets of 160 (2 panes, each with 10 rows of 8) on watermarked (CofA) paper and perforated 13½ x 14. It was recess-printed in Brown by John Ash.

These are two listed varieties of three known on the CofA Watermark Perf 13½ x 14 issue.

The first variety we will look at is the Curl over "I" of "Australia", which is located on ShA R2/1.

Curl over "I" of "Australia" Variety

Curl over "I" of "Australia", close up of the variety

The second variety we are going to look at is the Flaw on "S" of "Australia" located on ShA L9/7.

Flaw on "S" of "Australia" Variety

  

Flaw on "S" of "Australia", close up of the variety

There were four printings of this stamp made between May 1937 and December 1940 with a total of 33,600,000 stamps issued.

There is one other variety on this stamp, it is the Flaw on first "A" of "Australia" which I still need to acquire.

Until my next blog.

Happy Stamping!

The Mountains of the Australian Antarctic Territory

On the 12th March 2013 Australia Post released a set of stamps showing different Mountains/Ranges in Antarctica. There are four in total Mount Parsons, Mawson Escarpment, South Masson Range and David Range.

The denominations of these stamps are 2 x 60c, 1 x $1.20 and 1 x $1.80 and are perforated 13.76 x 14.6.

These stamps were issued to continue the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) Landscape series which began with the Iceberg issue in June 2011.

Antarctica is the highest continent on earth with Mount McClintock (11,450ft / 3490 meters), in the Eastern Sector of the AAT being the highest mountain. Elevations in the Western sector of the AAT exceed 13,123ft / 4000 meters, although these are ice domes and are generally not considered as mountains.

The first 60c stamp shows Mount Parsons is a 3,675ft / 1,120m mountain peak in Antarctica and is located within the David Range, it also ranks as the 2046th highest mountain in Antarctica.

Mount Parsons was mapped by Norwegians in 1936-37 by aerial photos taken by the Lars Christensen Expedition. In January 1956, the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) led by John Bechervaise visited the peak.

It was names by Antarctic Names Committee of Australia (ANCA) for Neville Parsons, who was a cosmic ray physicist at Mawson Station, in 1955.

The next 60c stamp is Mawson Escarpment is a flat-topped west facing escarpment which extends in a North-South direction for 70 miles / 112km which runs along  the east side of the Lambert Glacier.

This escarpment was discovered by Flying Officer J. Seaton of the RAAF and he was part of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) while on a investigation flight in November 1956.

This escarpment was named by the Antarctic Names Committee of Australia (ANCA) for Sir Douglas Mawson.

The $1.20 stamp is the South Masson Range in to three parts Northern, Central and Southern. This stamps is of the southern part and rises to 3510ft / 1,070m and extends to 2 mile in a NE-SW arc.

In 1929-31 Masson Range was discovered and named by the British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE), under Sir Douglas Mawson.

The South Masson Range was mapped by Norwegians in 1936-37 by aerial photos taken by the Lars Christensen Expedition.

The approved name South Masson Range was suggested by the Antarctic Names Committee of Australia (ANCA) in 1960.

The $1.80 stamp is of the David Range which is located 5 miles west of Masson Range which it runs parallel, in the Framnes Mountains. The David Range extends 16 miles / 25km in a NNE-SSW direction, with peaks rising to 4921ft / 1,500 meters.

The Range was discovered in February 1931 by the British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) under Sir Douglas Mawson, who named it for Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth David.

A Nice Little Flaw on Australian 1953 3½d Young Farmer's Clubs SG267

The Australia 1953 3½d Young Farmer's Clubs SG267

 

Released on 3rd September 1953 to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Young Farmers Club. The organisation was founded in New South Wales in 1928.

 

The stamp features a Jersey Calf and two childen.

 

These stamps were in sheets of 100 (10 rows of 10) on Unwatermarked paper and perforated 14¾ x 14½. It was also the first recess-printed stamp to be bicoloured (Red-Brown and Green).

 

This is one listed variety of two known as the "7" shaped flaw under "3" of 1953, which is located at Sh? 6/2. I was lucky enough to find one recently.

 

I am a confused with the "Sh?" can anyone please clarify this?

 

 

 

 

 

 

A total of 27,279,300 of this stamp were issue, making over 227,000 sheets.

 

The best known variety on this stamp is a colour shift where the brown vignette must fall outside of the green border.