Tuesday 5 February 2013

A Definitive Scare!!

Runny Ink

I had a bit of an alarming moment last night. I recently purchased a 1924 KGV Southern Rhodesia 1/- on a terrible scrap of paper. Last night I placed it in water to soak it off. Imagine my horror when the blue ink started to leach into the water!!! I quickly grabbed the stamp out of the water, and it was fine. Phew! The blue is just slightly muted now. I know there are some issues with which one must deal very carefully, but I had no idea the ink on this stamp was so volatile. Anyone know anything about this issue??

1924 1/-

Stay Stamp Crazy!!

4 comments:

  1. Hi Matt, I have always thought that Recess Printed stamps were waterfast. Have only heard of Surface printed stamps bleeding most famously the 1883 GB definitives. Purple cancels can be Parcel or more probably Fiscal which I think this is. Looks to me that the cancel didn't run. Wondering if this is a forgery of some type, can you see/feel the ridges which are a feature of Recess Printed stamps?

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  2. I have found a ½d Green from this set with hinge reminder and gum residues now soaked off and no hint of ink run but being a different colour the ink with be a different chemical composition.

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  3. P.S. Fiscal handstamps are usually Purple, sometimes black and mostly on higher value stamps. Generally these have a significantly lower value than stamps with a postal cancellation.

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  4. Hi Roger, I thought the same as you about this type of stamp being colour fast. It really surprised me to see the blue starting to run!! Your though that it may be a forgery is an interesting one. The stamp does *seem* to be missing ridge detail, but it's difficult to be sure. Are forgeries of Southern Rhodesia prevalent? Can it be worth more? Being on a fiscal cancel its value is a fraction of its regular CV. I just bought it as a space filler...

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