Essays
Three essays of the two denominations were prepared by William Gullick (the newly appointed Government Printer for NSW). Details of these are obscure. Richard Peck reports they are held in the NSW Archives. There is one poor reproduction on the cover of Sydney Views for May 1888.
Proofs of the 1d (1/-) stamp.
Proofs of the 1d (1/-) design were printed in the issued colours on thin, unwatermarked card.
They were perforated 11 x 11.
The number of proofs printed is unknown but it likely to be only one sheet of 30. Very few proofs are recorded as still existing (probably less that 10) and it may be that there are only the three described below.
It had been generally accepted that all the proofs were overprinted SPECIMEN but the second example shows that is not correct.
![]() Proof overprinted SPECIMEN. Five stars. Perforations in lower right corner fairly straight at a 45 degreee angle. Status April 1982 Lot 182. |
![]() Top right star very faint. Status July 2002 Lot 1243. |
![]() Proof overprinted SPECIMEN. 5 stars. Perforations in lower right corner flattened and several along the right side are comparatively longer. Prestige Auctions, May 2012 Lot 1134. |
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The 1d (1/-) proofs differ from the final designs in a few minor details - for example the proofs have:
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Proofs of the 2½d (2/6) stamp.
Proofs of the 2½ (2/6) stamp are equally rare. It is considered on the evidence below that five proofs exist. Some sources claim only three proofs exist.
The respective proofs can be distinguished by the position of the overprint relative to the gold decoration before JUBILEE.
Millennium Auctions: |
Corinphila, May 2018, Lot 62. |
Stanley Gibbons September 2001 Lot 1312. |
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![]() Detail of the above Proof overprinted SPECIMEN.
Status Auctions, July 2002, Lot 1241. |
![]() Detail of Proof overprinted SPECIMEN.
Status Auctions, July 2002 Lot 1242. |