As I said in that interview, it is the ONE major Commonwealth stamp rarity the Royal Collection does not possess.  KGV was underbidder to Arthur Hind, and who knows, there may still be some interest in it going there.  It was strongly thought by many the Queen was the buyer last time it was auctioned, as buyer was “anonymous” for quite a while. 

I inspected this British Guiana stamp in 2016 at the New York Expo where it was in a clear Perspex case with bright lighting beaming down on it. (The multimillion $ Sweden Tre Skilling Banco was also on show in a collector exhibit there.)  A sad, badly faded, pink little square now.

On July 30, 2002, the USA 1933 $20 coin was sold at a Sotheby's auction held in New York for $6.6 million, plus a 15% Buyer's Premium, and an additional $20 needed to "monetise" the face value of the coin so it would become legal currency - in a bizarre deal the Feds struck with the seller.

This brought the final invoice price to $US7,590,020 - at the time a record price for a world coin I understand.  Half the bid price was to be delivered to the United States Treasury, plus the $20 to “monetize” the coin, while the vendor was entitled to the other half. 

It has not been offered for 19 years, and Sothebys state they expect the $20 gold coin to fetch $US10-15 million hammer price, and even if it gets somewhat less than that, will make it the world’s most valuable coin item after the 20% or whatever Buyer Fees are added. 

One of the more fascinating aspects of the famed British Guiana 1856 1¢ Black on Magenta stamp is the reverse side, which shows the personal owner marks of several of its famous (and infamous) owners over the past Century.  Few stamps exhibit so many owner marks.  No stamp in history has ever COST this much of course!

The new owner of the mega million British Guiana stamp decided recently to flamboyantly add his initials to the reverse of it.  Nothing really unusual about that, as many past owners have done that just that -  Stampboards has videos of this pen vandalism taking place - tinyurl.com/1cVandal

Stuart Weitzman does not really collect stamps.  He designed expensive women’s shoes.  So his brainstorm was not just to initial the back of the stamp at far left with “SW”, but to also add a large stylised woman’s Stiletto shoe under and beside his SW initials.  Brilliant stuff.  Both he and his off-siders in the videos, handled this unique stamp without tweezers or cotton gloves.

Having apparently far more money than sense, Weitzman appears to have executed this vandalism using heavy pressure, with a sharp HB pencil or even a metallic ink ball pen.  See photo of it nearby.  Watching him clumsily sign it on the video was disturbing.  He seemed there to have zero clue about the history of the stamp.

The final leg of the “W” he has used such pressure the stamp paper looks to have nearly been punctured.  I have grave fears the next time this stamp is scanned, this heavy graffiti will show through on the face, on this very thin paper.  Very clever behaviour.  Hopefully it will have cost him a million dollars deducted from bids.

We are all but temporary custodians of any stamp or cover or coin we own, and this kind of dopey and thoughtless stuff is infuriating - to me anyway.  Sure, he can slice it all into little pieces if he really wishes, as it is right NOW his plaything, but such an over-the-top defacement was excessive to most who commented online.

If he bought one of the 17 existing copies of the Magna Carta would he also go scrawling stiletto heel graffiti all over that too?  Anyway, what is done is done, and hopefully now that Weitzman has already tired of it, someone with a bit more common sense will own it, and not repeat the same wanton ego madness. 

Also for sale on the same day as the British Guiana stamp and $20 coin, is the unique Plate Block of 4 of the USA 1918 “Inverted Jenny” 24¢ stamp.  The block is hinged which means a big hit on Jenny prices, but being the plate block, will likely still fetch several millions - likely not as many as Sothebys estimate of $US5-7 million, before commission. 

In 2005, it sold at auction by Siegel Auction Galleries in New York, where it sold to bond tycoon Bill Gross for $US2,970,000.  Mr. Gross's ownership was short-lived, as he swapped it within a week to Donald Sundman of Mystic Stamp Company, for the USA 1¢ blue Franklin “Z” Grill rarity he needed to complete his USA collection. 

Gross has owned LOTS of “Inverted Jennies” - including several blocks. They are not really scarce at all (just pricey!) as the full sheet of 100 copies are all basically still floating about the global stamp market.  I have things in stock priced at $1000s, not millions, that FAR less than 100 copies exist of!

In general Stanley Gibbons catalogues are remarkably accurate, and offer a solid and reliable quote re the value of scarcer stamps.  Naturally they are NOT always correct, which is where my lifetime mantra comes into play - “Knowledge Is Power”.  Dealers closer to the scene often are more knowledgeable.

I recently purchased a FU copy of the £1 First Watermark Kangaroo, overprinted North West Pacific Islands - “NWPI”.  This is a very rare stamp, as records show only FOUR sheets were overprinted in the middle of WWI, and most of these high values were used on Telegrams etc, not postally.

This SG #83 is wildly under-rated stamp in TODAY'S market.  If I were to take a rough guess, I'd suggest there are TEN times more existing of the ''common'' later £1 brown and blue Kangaroo, Third watermark, SG 99, mint or used. Those readily change hands at about the $A500 level mint or used globally.  So this one should be 5 or 10 times that level.

The Third watermark NWPI also has some pretty pieces.  I have sold this quite superb MUH “A/B/C” setting strips of 3 block of SG 99 several times over the years, for a few $1000 each time. If it were not overprinted, you could add several zeros   UN-overprinted it is cat over $100,000 for 6 singles! 

The stock supply chart that exists for shipments of SG 85 stamps to NWPI shows only 4 sheets of 120 were supplied to New Guinea, leaving Melbourne December 17, 1915.   Of the sheets they received, James Bendon’s superb UPU handbook tells us 378 of them received the full face RABAUL cds dated “5 JULY:16”.  Near all used copies existing have that cds.

Most of those UPU copies are still in global postal archives.  I placed the First Watermark VFU £1 brown and blue Roo shown nearby into stock, which has a non UPU cancel of “31 JL 16”.   Gibbons number is SG 85, and I checked with surprise to see that the current 2021 catalogue value of this exceedingly rare stamp is only £700 used.

That seemed AWFUL low to me, as I have not had one for 10 or 20 years.  Out of interest I went got out my SG Cat from 1988, and SG 85 was cat £850!  20% higher than today - 23 years on.  Weird.  No more supply has appeared of course, and global demand for all things NWPI is literally about 5 times what it was 23 years back.

Also this week I added to stock a fresh MVLH 5/- First Watermark NWPI, SG #83 for $2,500, which, as all who collect NWPI realise, is pretty much the rarest basic stamp of the entire country - cat today of that is £2,750 mint.  I checked what this 5/- First Watermark was rated at, in the same 1988 SG, and it was priced LOWER than the £1 SG 85, at £750 used!  Today it is £3,750 used - exactly 5 times higher.

And even that seems rather low priced from the few on offer - leading US dealer in Commonwealth stamps, Colonial Stamp Company has a used one for auction this month with an estimate $US10,000 - plus his 15% Buyer Fee.  That of course is well over DOUBLE the full SG level, so it will be interesting to see what it fetches.

Allegedly onIy one sheet of 120 x 5/- First Watermark was overprinted in error along with the rather common 5/- Second Watermarks that were sent to Rabaul.  This was all tangentially raised in a Military Court Of Enquiry at the time, when a Sydney dealer actively stirred the pot about how many strange things were being created and sold - and to whom, and for what price!  

A warning when buying these.  Many have the undated “CANCELLED NAURU” Telegraphic non-postal cancel as shown nearby.  A leading Melbourne dealer - a past President of APTA for goodness sakes, has the one illustrated here priced at $A2,750!  He also states that only one sheet was overprinted of this value.

HE certainly knows it is misleading NOT to clearly describe it as a non-postal cancel, when asking many $1000s, but many do not have that knowledge to know what it is. To that end, I am suggesting Gibbons add this footnote in the NWPI listings, to in future protect the unwary from those who know better, from getting conned in future, into paying postal used type prices.

"High values exist with crisp steel undated dual outer circle cds inscribed 'CANCELLED NAURU'.  This was from Telegraph usage, and the value is about 20% of a postal cancel.  Violet oval Telegraph cancels bleached off easily, and beware of no gum stamps, or treated copies with fake cds added later. 'BASE OFFICE' is totally spurious, but often seen." 

Some NWPI specialists have been communicating with SG along the same lines, and one was pushing for the NAURU cancels to be rated at 10% of postal used.  20% to me sounds about right - exactly like the ACSC rates Telegraph punctures on Australia roos.  We shall all soon see.

So common sense, and market supply says the £1, SG 85, based on the current 5/-SG 83 prices, should also be now at least 5 times higher now in SG 2021 versus 1988, at about £4,250!  So there are still under-rated bargains out there in NWPI stamps.  I put this £1 into stock at $A800 and did not give one hoot at what insane level SG currently use - they do NOT have any in stock, and I do!  It sold within an hour.  Smart buyer.

My tip to all reading this is, if you EVER see a mint or postally used NWPI SG 85 for sale - grab it NOW, at today’s silly prices.  Hopefully someone in the SG deep labyrinths will jolt themselves into 2021, and crank this one up to several times from today’s silly low levels, in quick order.  It is a MAJOR Rarity.  Any buyers purchasing on today’s nutty low levels, will then have a large smile on their face. 

Indeed all things NWPI are worth taking a look at as a new collecting sideline.  A LOT of the stamp issues sell for peanuts relative to the Australia basic stamps.  Strange but true. The 5/- Roo SECOND watermark is a scarce stamp mint or used from Australia, but overprinted NWPI, sells for only about 10% as much - go figger.  A cheap way to fill an album space for SG 30!   There are a lot of bargains about.

The one I think has a lot of upside is the 10/- First Watermark grey and pink, in mint condition . In NWPI this is SG 84, cat £150 mint and £190 used.  The non-overprinted stamp, SG 14 is cat £900 mint.  Do be fussy, and only buy FRESH examples, but for well under the cost of the current post office Year Album, for something well over a century old, that cost someone near a week’s wages to buy, is a steal in my view.

Do not ask me for one, as I do not have any right now, but each time I sell for $150 or so, I am amazed they trade for so little money.  That will change. Tinyurl.com/opNWPI is a 600+ post discussion on stampboards on NWPI stamps, detailed settings info, and forgeries etc, with some leading world experts being active on there, for those interested to raise new matters and questions. 

Records show that the 10/- FIRST Watermark had only a few dozen sheets sent to New Guinea, and of those, and at least 378 were then RABAUL full face cancelled “5JY16” and forwarded to Berne to the UPU for global Specimen distribution, and many were also used for Telegram payments etc, and not postally cancelled.

Be cautious when buying NWPI (and many other areas!) from eBay, as all kinds of forged overprints have been peddled, and dubious cancels added to stamps worth a lot more used than mint.  And most especially, be cautious about anything with OS perfins on ebay, as one forger has made masses of those, mostly on used stamp of course.

Gibbons list this stamp as SG 27 at £48 - under HALF what it should be in SG.  ACSC is $A90 for the cheapest shade, and that is more like the retail level of anything half decent.  Track down some nice examples where you can, but be CERTAIN the seller is not “dreaming” with the watermark ID - as they mostly are, sadly.

This SG 27 was an Emergency Printing on the Crown over A watermarked paper, made for the far wider sized KGV head stamps.  Why?  As the regular paper could not be sourced from Europe - due to merchant shipping to here being sunk by the Germans etc.  Same story with consistent colour printing inks from Europe during WWI not being available.

The rather common 9d Third Watermark was issued less than one year later, on new paper made for the Roo sized stamps.  Hence the Second Watermark paper had a VERY short life, and only 1 printing was made. Things were in crisis during WWI, and few were buying or saving stamps with very minor print changes etc.

Issued with no philatelic fanfare or prior advice (no FDC exist of course of ANY values of this watermark) in July 1915 - just after the Gallipoli Landing, and carnage in Europe, folks had FAR more on their minds in life than a stamp watermark change.  TOP used examples I sell rapidly at $150, and very nice ones are in the $100 region.

One 9d I scanned from stock is illustrated nearby.  Light crisp Kalgoorlie “thimble” cds, they do not come much better looking than this postally used, for a stamp used primarily to mail small parcels - check YOUR copy, and see how it compares!   You’d THINK a VFU 9d stamp is simple to source - until you go looking! 

There are NO Post Office “CTO” copies of this stamp possible, so the only way to get a nice one is search - and search - and search.  And MOST are pretty rough.  Mint are 4 times used retail, so no-one adds vague corner cancels to heavy hinged mint etc, as occurs on many other values, such as 6d CofA normal, and “OS” overprint etc.

One highly sought after variety on this 1915 9d Kangaroo, is the “Inverted Watermark”.  They are very scarce, but I do like it, and actively seek them, and have owned and sold nearly all the known copies over the past decades, as they are very popular, and get more so each year.

Ever since Stanley Gibbons have listed and priced all INVERTED watermarks, global demand has really taken off for all of them, and for scarcer things like this, with just a dozen or two examples recorded globally, it is basically a sellers’ market.  WHO has any stocks?

Even my dog-eared 1979 ACSC has the 6d Inverted watermark at $175, and this 9d inverted watermark at $550 - priced over 3 times higher.  Logically, using historical relativity, this 9d stamp should be worth the current $55,000 of the 6d, plus 300% = $A165,000. 

However oddly, it is only priced $5,000 today.  Only a few used are known, and most of those are faulty.  I just bought a rather decent looking used example very well this month, that I added to stock for $1,600, if anyone is missing that gap in their collection.  FAR, far, scarcer than any “Inverted Jenny” 24¢!

The few known postal used copies all have Queensland cds postmarks of April or May 1917 - as does this one nearby I sold recently, with a neat cds of "MUTTABURRA - 10 MY 17 - QUEENSLAND".  (Population of the entire tiny farming AREA was 106 last Census!)

Be mindful that probably HALF of what I see in stamp albums happily sitting neatly in the “Second Watermark” spaces are NOT that watermark at all, so be super careful where you source them from.  Be very vigilant and observant, as it is easy to be conned. 

On places like eBay where sellers are generally clueless rank amateurs with no real world experience, they cheerfully decide the sole 9d in their Kid’s collection must of course be the most expensive watermark!  It is a jungle out there - so use great caution buying these.                                        

As the First, Second and Third watermark stamps all have very similar looking Crown over A watermarks, experienced eyes are needed to sort them apart.  Especially in USED, where hinge remains and gunk etc often cover a good deal of the reverse. 

The 5/- shown nearby I can tell at a glance the watermark, just from the image - can you?  I must have handled a million Roos over 40+ years, and with most of them you can ID at a brief facial glance with experience, even with no postmark date.  Just slight nuances.  (It is the pricey SG 30!)

The same rule applies for the other Second Watermark stamps of course, except the 3 low values, which are readily sourced at modest cost.  However even wrong identified examples of these I see in near every stamp collection that I buy here.  Be careful.

The 9d, 1/-, 2/- and 5/- are all worth MUCH less in the fairly common Third Watermark equivalents, so remember always, that wonderful old saying - “a LITTLE Knowledge Is Dangerous”!  On the 2/- or 5/- you can be stiffed $100s a stamp on eBay etc, if you get it wrong. 

Moving along to the higher values in the Roo series, the Bi-Colour Kangaroos have one standout contender in my view, as the most under-rated value, and that prize goes to the 1913 10/- First Watermark, SG 14. This stamp had a rather short life, near all of it during WWI.

It was quietly replaced during WWI by the Third Watermark version, in the same colours, which then stayed on sale for 11 years, and if the major catalogues want us to believe this First Watermark is only worth twice a Third Watermark version, they are wildly wrong, and they do not sell these for a living, as I do!  

Indeed, 5½ times more were sold of the latter, and that roughly reflects my stockholding at any time over 40 years - 5 or 10 to one.  Today I checked and have 8 of the 1913 10/- in stock in used, and 48 of the 1917, covering all condition grades - most are pretty ordinary sadly. 

Yet SG price is only double, and they are plain WRONG.  The 1913 10/- literally had LESS copies sold than the 1913 £1 and £2 Roos, and postally USED are about equally scarce as those two.  Grab any NICE ones you see - and from long experience I can tell you only one in 20 is “nice”.

We must remember that MOST of these 10/- were used on Telegrams, and were destroyed by PO after audit and storage for a year.  Some Postmasters furtively leaked out the audited copies to dealers, which exhibit the large circular auditor punch holes.  They are sold as “space fillers” for about 20% the price of un-punched examples.

But a nice postal used copy is a RARE beast.  I sold the one illustrated nearby recently for $A995, and it is about as nice as you can source these, postal used.  Terrific perfs and centering and colour with about the lightest cancel possible on a heavy parcel.

Indeed now I am loading the scan up here, I’d probably buy it back for that, as it really was a top shelf example, and I was rather underweight on my price, now I look at it.  A condition grade seldom encountered, on this stamp, that was used on a very heavy box etc.

The majority of “used” SG 14 out there are corner CTO copies from presentation packs and Specimen packs - which cost way more than postal used, oddly.  Many serious collectors eschew those Specimens, for one POSTALLY used, which are near non-existent.  

I DEFY you to show me a nicer looking Postal Used example for sale - GLOBALLY - at any price!  The CTO cancels - there are 4 different dates and types of them listed in ACSC, run to about DOUBLE the postally used prices, so they are not a budget buyer option either.

Strangest one I ever saw was this week, when I bought the example shown cancelled “HONOLULU - HAWAII - 1914”.   Sure a few normal letters and postcards sometimes dodged cancelling here, and were done at arrival country, but a 10/- Roo??  That was on a huge sea parcel, and not getting cancelled here is beyond belief.

Usually the perfs and centering are terrible on all these 1913 issues, as the paper choice was poor for stamps, with long very tough fibres, that ripped out perfs readily when separated.  Near all short perfs on First Watermark are on the SIDES.  A little known fact!

This tough to tear apart horizontal mesh paper was never used again after this series, as it caused so many complaints at Post Offices.  So, finding a clean and fresh copy, with no repairs, and nice perfs and centering and colour, is a task that might take you years to achieve. 

About $A1,000 is where you will be starting at, for very decent ones, and a few $100 more for the elusive premium examples like the one above, so happy hunting!  Perfs and centering are both big issues for this, and heavy cancels and damage and foxing etc are NORMAL! 

Even a really basic average used example will still set you back around $500, as SG cat is £700=$A1400 - and has been for years.  Still worth tracking down, if you like a challenge!  Aim for QUALITY, and pay for that, if buying with an eye to re-sale down the track.