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January 2018
New NSW Numeral Postmark Catalogue.
I am pleased to review for the first time anywhere, the
superb new book - "Numeral Cancellations of New South Wales" by
Hugh Freeman. This is a large and very heavy 2kg hardbound book,
weighing in at near 400 large size A4 pages, on acid free, low sheen,
archival quality paper. |
Five years in the updating
The first edition of this superb NSW book by Hugh
Freeman, APR, published in 2012, very quickly sold out, and has been in
great demand on the rare occasions when a copy shows up for sale.
Indeed I have seen them get around $500 at Public Auction. I have a CD
Rom of it in stock for those who do not need a paper copy, and even that
costs $A40! |
Your NEW philatelic Challenge?
For any reader looking for an exciting new challenge, this is one to consider taking up. These numerals are found in 99% of cases on cheap, letter rate type stamps, of very minor value themselves. They also are widely found on early Australian Kangaroo stamps up until 1917, when the new PO reprimanded Postmasters (again) for still using them, and not the new COMMONWEALTH cds. |
All copiously illustrated in colour.
NSW issued 2099 different numeral postmarkers, between #1
(Ryde, not Sydney) and 2099 of Toolejah. Even the RYDE numerical
“1” is full of rare possibilities. There are SIX different types
listed. THREE of those are “RRRR” and one is the super scarce “RRRRR”.
And one is very common and “Not Rated”. Which one is which - do
you know - MOST strikes are very valuable! |
Unique “2099” of Toolejah
In 1913 and 1914 - near the commencement of WW1, two teenage brothers wrote to Postmasters of all small NSW PO's, and enclosed SAE envelopes with a 1d Red Roo stamp affixed. PMs were asked to please neatly cancel the cover with their circular cancel, and their numeral, and mail it back. These later ended up in the collection of Norm Hopson, one of the PHILAS founders, and for a long time Postmaster of Clarence Street, Sydney. |
Never returned from WWI.
Hopson’s cancel collection was left to PHILAS, where it
still remains. These two brothers went to Europe to fight in WWI, and
never returned. A very sad story, but many otherwise unique
strikes are due to their enterprise and initiative, with their pocket
money pennies. So it is possible many of the smaller PO higher numerals
exist in Roo collections, not in NSW collections. |
Lindfield PO 100 years apart.
Hugh Freeman certainly has had a mass of NSW material to
sift through, in his half century long search. I first met Hugh some 40
years back when he started and ran Status Stamp Auctions in Sydney,
along with my then neighbour Barry Cooper. Hugh had worked for stamp
auctions in Sydney well before that time as well - Kevin Duffy appointed
him Auction manager in 1969/1971. |
Collected NSW for 50 years.
Hugh has collected NSW
numerals for over a half century, and near all the examples illustrated
in this book are from his personal collection, with some kindly loaned
by other collectors. This book illustrates well over 2000 actual full
colour cancels, on stamps and covers - not drawings, as some other state
handbooks have used. |
Probably a $5,000
stockcard.
As an example of how often the rare cancels occur on
common stamps, Hugh kindly supplied this scan for me of the 9 ordinary
looking NSW stamps nearby, all with “RRRRR” cancels. I suspect
each of them would sell for very many $100s, EACH one more than
doubling the cost price of this book. Many are the unique recorded
strikes. |
Highest NSW so far is $A825.
After doing quite a lot of research I can advise that it
seems clear the highest price so far paid strictly for a NSW cancel was
$A825 for an indistinct "971" of Mount Poole, on a cover to Melbourne.
Mailed in 1881, it had the common 2d blue DLR QV franking. The cover
was daggy, defective and had the flap missing. |
Unique - found in a club Circuit book!
The cancel “543” on a 6d Violet shown nearby Hugh advises was found in a
Geelong Philatelic Circuit Book sitting there unrecognised. The only
known strike of “543”. Hugh advises he now only collects the NSW First
Allocation Barred Numerals and Rays numbers, between 1 and 600, on the
Large Diadems - just like this “543”. |
DOZENS of new “RRRRR” cancels listed.
David listed out many dozens of cancels thought
not to exist in the last edition, that definite strikes have now been
recorded for. That data is a little too detailed for a general article,
but amazing that so many NEW finds have been made between Editions.
Most of these are now given the highest Rarity Rating of “RRRRR”.
Locate just one, and a nice strike will be very many $100s. |
$2000+ ! Would YOU spot this one?
I have noticed some Victoria cancels selling for terrific
prices, and I record one here for the possible interest/profit of
others. This Victoria “1432” cancel shown above was invoiced in late
November 2011 for over $2,000
on an estimate of $300 by Phoenix Auctions in Melbourne. Numeral
“1432” was allocated to Glenmaggie, and later renamed Dawson. A very
nice find by someone! |
Post Office 3KG Express Satchels 3¢ each.
Some very strange things go on in the online world, and I saw a doozy
this week that truly beggars belief. One really seriously wonders how
vigilant Australia Post Security really is, in protecting their bottom
line, and actively addressing fraud? |
Here are some online “BARGEENZ”.
eBay of course has slumped heavily in recent years - the
stamp division especially, as they allow stamp forgeries and regums to
be offered with total impunity, even when advised of them, and allow
active “shill” bidding by sellers to push up prices - hence adding to
their eBay and paypal profits. |
Post Office cost is $A15.65 each.
A 3 Kilo Gold Express pre-paid satchel costs $A15.65 from
your Post Office, so clearly 3¢ each seems a tad suspicious, even to
those of limited IQ! As you can see from their images, their satchels
being offered apparently have AP tracking numbers, and the peel off
receipt tabs on them etc. |
“5 million units a week.”
Again, if Australia Post ever gets organised enough to
RECORD the serial number batches of what is stolen from them, and simply
set their system to trigger an internal alarm when this stolen material
is being scanned in, they have a clear path to the stolen goods. The
sender, and sending PO will glow like a beacon! |
Small painting sells for $A600 Million.
“Salvator Mundi” (“Saviour Of The World”)
the long-lost Leonardo da Vinci painting of Jesus Christ,
commissioned by King Louis XII of France more than 500 years ago, sold
at Christie’s in New York for $US450.3m (=$A600 Million) in
mid-November. This realisation totally shattered the world record, for
any work of art ever sold at auction - way more than doubled it, in
fact, |
Slightly larger than a stamp stockbook!
This painting was a commission from King Louis XII of France and his wife, Anne of Brittany. It is later documented in the collection of the wife of King Charles I of England in 1649, before it was sold at auction by the Duke of Buckingham's son in 1763. No trace of it for the next 137 years. About 20 early copies were made, and tracking the ORIGINAL is tough. |
Sold for £45 at Sotheby’s in 1958!
The same painting
it is thought, was much later purchased in 1900 by Sir Frederick Cook,
from Sir Charles Robinson who thought it was a painting by Bernadino
Luini. It was next recorded sold for £45 at Sotheby’s in London
in 1958, where it was not regarded or advertised as a genuine Leonardo
da Vinci work. It had been badly restored over this period - a 1912
photo shows it was heavily re-painted, and the Americans “restored” it
far more! |
“Aggressively over-cleaned” and abraded.
An art lover viewing it wrote - “a well-known expert in the field leaned over and asked me a question. “Why is a Leonardo in a Christie’s Modern and Contemporary Art auction?” Before I could say, “Yeah - Why?” he answered - “Because 90 percent of it was painted in the last 50 years.” He is right. |
Buy $10,000 - sell $80m. “Ripped Off”!
Bouvier’s move to resell the work within weeks, at a
mark-up of more than $US47 million, later prompted a litigious response
from both Rybolovlev AND the New York art dealers. Typical
American greed! Buy for $10,000 in 2005, sell for a massive $US80
million just 8 years later, and scream and squeal you were duped and
conned! |
Prince Albert II and shunned Rybolovlev.
Rybolovlev reportedly poured some 300 million Euro into
the “AS Monaco” Team, (who performed rather well) so that certainly
‘buys’ some influence - anywhere. Not money well spent it seems, as
Prince Albert and the Monaco Government reportedly now essentially
regard Rybolovlev as “persona non grata” based on this scandal,
reports in French media claim. |
Make $US323m profit - and sue everyone!
Rybolovlev, despite the painting he paid $US127m for, selling for $US323
million MORE than that at auction, is suing near everyone in sight! He
has now enjoined Sotheby’s in legal action - AFTER the auction, claiming
they were somehow involved in him paying what he says was “too
much” at $US127m - despite his recent sale at more than TREBLE
that! |
Leonard da Vinci headed to Abu Dhabi.
Art Lovers will be able to view the painting at the “Louvre
Abu Dhabi” a United Arab Emirates franchise of the Paris
museum, Christie’s Auction House told Bloomberg early December. The
museum confirmed this, tweeting that, “Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi is
coming to Louvre Abu Dhabi.” It is unclear at this time, when the
painting will be first displayed. |
Saudi Crown Prince buys Christ painting.
“The Guardian” reported December 9 as I filed this story, that US intelligence assessments seen by “The New York Times” and “The Wall Street Journal” had identified the recently VERY controversial Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman Bin Salman, the powerful heir to the Saudi throne, as the true buyer of the da Vinci painting. With long time close friend Bin Abdullah acting only as an intermediary at Christies. |
The REAL da Vinci buyer, it is mooted.
I find it absolutely bizarre that the leader of Saudi
Arabia, the strictest Muslim country, home of Mecca - birthplace of
Mohammad, bought a painting of Jesus Christ titled “Saviour Of The
World” and will use it with his equally strict Muslim land
neighbours, Abu Dhabi, to attract tourists to their new Art Gallery! |
Season’s
Greetings To All!
The stamp business for me has gone BALLISTIC this
year. The weak $A has seen a vast surge in orders from overseas, USA
especially, and particularly for better pieces in the 3 and 4 figure
plus range, that I mostly deal in. Other dealer friends report the same
kind of story and pattern this year. |
Faroes tanned Cod Skin stamps a hit!
We travelled an awful lot during this year, and one long
trip was to Oslo Norway (via Dublin!) then to the Faroe Islands -
somewhere I always wanted to visit, to see Puffins etc, and buy the
tanned Cod Skin stamps shown here! MANY readers collect the superbly
produced Faroe Islands stamps - attractive and conservative. |
Grass roofed houses everywhere.
This Christmas we fly somewhere not often visited - to
Nicosia Cyprus, via Vienna and Copenhagen, and will spend New Year’s Eve
in Portugal, and fly back home via Barcelona and Frankfurt. |
NOTE: The initial Freeman “NSW Numeral Cancellations” book was a massive success, as only about a QUARTER as many were printed as there was world demand for - as I predicted and of course it sold out fast. Status International Auctions ran one in their November 1st, 2012, auction - Lot #90, and it was invoiced with all fees etc, for around $A430 after a bidding battle - SEVERAL times the reserve, and many times issue prices - to the owner’s great delight I am sure. I saw even higher prices elsewhere of $A500 a copy. If anyone wants it for researching cancels, and to avoid the high postage cost overseas of 2KG weight of the updated volume I have a few high resolution CD Rom of the many 100s of pages catalogue, exactly as it appears in the printed version, with all colour photos etc. Data and ratings are very largely unchanged in the 2 editions. I offered some clients free shipping if they allowed me to retain the CD to sell later. Price is $A40 plus $A5 airpost globally if anyone needs it – please contact me. (Mention stock number 637KT) |
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