The details addressed on this page are:


Design of the 2d (2/-) Charity stamp.


2d emerald 1900 Charity stamp single for Victoria

The 2d emerald stamp was used to pay the 2d inter-colonial postage rate.
It featured three members of the Victorian contingent which served in the Boer War campaign:

* an infantryman "on guard" with a mounted bayonet:
* two mounted troopers, each with rifles, scanning the Transvaal horizon (the rider on the right possibly using binoculars).

The Charity stamp was sold for 2/- (12 times the face value) to raise money for the Patriotic Fund.
The stamp was not valid for overseas use.

The standard 2d. stamp.

2d violet Naish design single for Victoria


The 2d Victorian stamp on standard issue in 1899/1900 was first issued in 1888
for the purpose of paying the cost of sending a basic inter-colonial letter.

The stamp was a modified design of that prepared by Charles Naish. There were many printings in violet shades.

Those wishing to send a letter to another Australian Colony therefore had the choice between these two stamps -
depending on whether they wished to pay the extra amount of 12 times the basic rate by using the the Boer War Patriotic Fund stamp.


Both the stamps in the Patriotic Fund issue were printed from electrotype printing plates.


Main details of printing.


Purpose:
Inland letter rate.
Date of issue:
22 May 1900
Watermark:
V over Crown (V4) sideways.
Sheet arrangement:
42 stamps in six rows of 7 stamps.
Perforation:
12½ single line perf.
Number printed:
Unknown but more than 20,034 stamps (477 sheets) plus
some sheets which were sent to the Victorian Agent General in London for sale.
Supplied to Bern Bureau (UPU):
Unknown.
Destroyed under Treasury Authority:
Unknown.
Number issued:
About 4,000 stamps.


Multiples.


There are only two recorded multiples - both pairs - of the 2d (2/-) stamp.
One pair has no selvedge while the other has selvedge at the right side.

1900 Vic horiz pair no selvedge
Horizontal pair with no selvedge at right.
Provenance: Abacus Sept 2019, Sale 237 Lot 536;
Johnstone;

1900 Vic horiz pair with selvedge at right
Horizontal pair with selvedge at right.
Provenance: Stone Collection.
(Rodney Perry Auction in September 1993).
Dubois Collection (Corinphila June 2023 Sale # 307, Lot 20435).
Johnstone.

A CTO horizontal pair with Melbourne 28 July 1902 cancellation across the join was sold by Status International in July 2002 as Lot 1472.


Used stamps off cover.


As noted elsewhere, used 2d (2/-) stamps in good condition with a clear date stamp are scarce.
There are at least 15 but probably less than 25 examples recorded. It is doubtful if any of these cancelled stamps were used for valid postal purposes.
Some examples with cancellations are:

used 1900 2d at Melbourne 25 May 1900
25 May 1900 at Melbourne.
Three days after issue.
Prestige Philately June 2012
Lot 471.
used 1900 2d at Essendon 16 June 1900
16 June 1900 at Essendon.
used 1900 2d at Wodonga 26 June 1900
26 June 1900 at Wodonga.
Ebay December 2025.
used 1900 2d at Essendon 16 June 1900
22 September 1911 at Elsternwick.
(Late cancellation - out of postal validity).
Status Auctions January 2013 Lot 1952.

Used 2d (2/-) stamps off cover.


The list below records the clear date stamps on the 2d (2/-) 1900 Victorian Charity stamp.
Faint, smudged and incomplete date stamps are not included because of the difficulty in ascertaining their degree of genuineness.


CTO cancellations are discussed elsewhere as are the covers with the 2d (2/-) stamp affixed.