As noted for the 1d (1/-), most known uses of these two Hospital Charity stamps are on philatelic covers.
Examples of the covers together with a listing of known covers are included:
St. Kilda to South Yarra and tied with a St. Kilda duplex with barred numeral 78.
1d local letter rate overfranked by 1½d on a philatelic cover.
Cover to Armadale and tied two strikes of an UPTRAIN/MG 15/Victoria framed Travelling Post Office cds.
Maybe a 1d local letter rate overfranked by 1½d on a philatelic cover.
Listing of the known covers with a single franking of the 2½d (2/6) stamp.
- 25 October 1897 cover sent from St Kilda to South Yarra. Status Auctions July 2008 Lot 1569.
- 28 October 1897 cover cancelled at Bendigo for local delivery. Status Auctions July 2008 Lot 1568.
- 28 March 1898 cover sent with a Hawthorn duplex (cover has a slight tear). Rodney Perry 14 September 1993 Lot 1034.
- 4 July 1898 cover sent from Numurkah to Armadale. Ebay February 2026.
- 31 August 1898 cover sent from Armadale with UPTRAIN/MG15/VICTORIA' framed Travelling Post Office date stamp. Abacus Auction 261 September 2025, Lot 979.
Multiple franking of the 2½d (2/6) on cover.
Mornington 113 to Broken Hill, NSW
Two singles overpaying the inter-colonial rate.
Provenance: Corinphila May 2018 Lot 3483.
South Yarra to Stuttgart, Germany
Pair of the 2½d (2/6) stamp tied by Numeral '200' duplexes of South Yarra.
8d foreign registered letter rate, 2nd step. Use of a 3d Registered envelope to Germany
uprated with a 1897 Charity 2½d pair tied by 'R' within a circle.
The cover has backstamps of Melbourne and Stuttgart.
Provenance: Millennium Auctions August 2004 Lot 208.
Millennium Auctions Rarities October 2004 Lot 65.
Franked by a pair of the 2½d (2/6) brown paying
the 5d registered intra-colonial rate to Stawell.
Same address and handwriting as on a cover shown elsewhere
with a 2½d (2/-) pair and a ½d green.
Intra-colonial letter rate: 2d;
Very late usage.
Provenance: Matthew Bennett February 2003 Lot 578;
Millennium April 2003, Lot 657.
Prestige Philately Sale 156 June 2010 Lot 688.
The following are the only two covers recorded with a multiple of the 2½d (2/6) brown stamp from the 1897 Victorian Charities issue.
- 3 November 1897 Law Court Sydney - pair in mixed franking.
Provenance: Prestige Philately, January 2004 Lot 626 and in May 2012, sale 173, Lot 733. - 5 April 1898 South Yarra sent to Stuttgart, Germany with a pair of the 2½ (2/6).
Provenance: Millennium Auctions August 2004 Lot 208.
Millennium Auctions Rarities October 2004 Lot 65.
Combination and mixed franking of the 2½d (2/6) on cover.
A combination franking on cover from Melbourne Registered to Ronneburg, Germany.
Two singles of the 1d (1/-) blue and a single of the 2½d (2/6) stamp mixed with a 1d orange Naish design on a plain cover.
Provenence: Millennium Auctions August 2004 Lot 208.
Millennium Auctions Rarities October 2004 Lot 65.
See elsewhere for a listing of the 1d (1/-) multiples used on cover.
Many covers were "artificially treated" to give the impression they were genuine. Sometimes original stamps would be soaked off and a Charity stamp affixed and "cancelled".
Also the cancellation on the ½d green is clear of the Charity stamp
which may be covering a space previously occupied by another stamp.
In the example shown here and in the detailed scan below,
it is clear that the two cancellations are of different format and size.