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:
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St. Kilda to South Yarra. 25 October 1897. St. Kilda duplex with barred numeral 78. 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.
Date | From | To | Seller/Reference & Date (lot) |
25 October 1897 | St Kilda | South Yarra | Status July 2008 Lot 1569. |
28 October 1897 | Bendigo | Bendigo | Status July 2008 Lot 1568. |
28 March 1898 | Hawthorn duplex (cover has a slight tear). |
Rodney Perry 14 September 1993 Lot 1034. |
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Mornington to Broken Hill, Two singles of the 2½d (2/6) stamp on a plain cover.
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South Yarra to Stuttgart, Germany 5 April 1898. Numeral '200' duplexes of South Yarra. Pair of the 2½d (2/6) stamp. 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.
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5d registered intra-colonial rate: to Stawell, very late 9 June 1905 usage.
Pair of the 2½d stamp. Same address and handwriting as on a cover shown elsewhere with a 2½d (2/-) pair and a ½d green. Intra-colonial letter rate: 2d;
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Listing of the known covers with 2½d (2/6) multiples:
Date | From | To | Type of multiple franking | Seller/Reference & Date (lot) |
3 November 1897 | Law Court | Sydney | Pair in mixed franking | Prestige Philately, January 2004,
Lot 626. Prestige Philately, May 2012, sale 173, Lot 733. |
4 November 1897 | Mornington 113 duplex | Broken Hill, NSW. | 2 singles | Corinphila May 2018 Lot 3483. |
5 April 1898 | South Yarra | Stuttgart, Germany | Pair | Millennium Auctions August 2004 Lot 208. Millennium Auctions Rarities October 2004 Lot 65. |
9 June 1905 |
Stawell | Pair | Matthew Bennett February 2003 Lot 578; Millennium April 2003, Lot 657. Prestige Philately June 2010 Lot 688. |
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".
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In the example shown here and in the detailed scan below, it is clear that the two cancellations are of different format and size. |
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Also the cancellation on the ½d green is clear of the Charity stamp which may be covering a space previously occupied by another stamp. |