My New Website for Collectors of Australian Varieties

It's been a very long time since my last blog, but I'm hoping to get back to blogging regularly.

I've created a website of high resolution scans of varieties on Australian stamps, the Australian Commonwealth Stamps Varieties Image Database.

The Australian Commonwealth Specialists Catalogue is the "bible" for collectors, but the images are quite poor. I hope my site can help collectors to identify varieties more readily.

SG116a with "re-entry to T and neck" (BW138e)

The site is still quite bare, but new images are being uploaded daily. If you think the site will help you, please bookmark it and pop back often. You can also subscribe to receive advice of updates.You can even make a small donation if you have a mind to!

Australia 1½d KGV SG59a Cracked Electro?

A potential new find

I recently purchased a large holding of Australia King George V used heads (and they look wonderful in a stock book!). 

The varieties on the KGV heads can be a life-long obsession for collectors, and it becomes second nature to put every stamp under the glass for a closer look.

Whilst sorting, I came across this stamp. It's SG59a 1½d chocolate, large single watermark, perf 14. 

Obviously, the top left corner caught my eye. This looks for all the world like a cracked, if not broken, electro. A closer scan reveals that the top left corner of the stamp is slanted downwards. 

The stamp is intact, with no hidden or repaired tears.

I can find no reference to anything this dramatic in the Australian Commonwealth Specialists Catalogue (ACSC - King George V 2007).

If anyone has a significant number of this stamp, please check them. I would appreciate any information about the status of this flaw