The details addressed on this page are:
- the design of the 1d (1/-) Charity stamp;
- the alternative standard issue 1d stamp in 1900;
- details of printing and issue of the Charity stamp;
- large multiples;
- examples of used stamps of the 1d (1/-) off cover and a reasonably complete list of recorded examples of stamps with a complete date stamp.
Design of the 1d (1/-) Charity stamp.
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The 1d olive-brown stamp was issued to pay the basic letter postage rate.
The design is based on one of the competition entries for the 2d denomination - see the Essay elsewhere. It is the only stamp which has featured the Victoria Cross in this detailed way. Some recent Australian issues have shown winners of the Victoria Cross. The Charity stamp was sold for 1/- - 12 times the face value - to raise money for the Patriotic Fund. |
The 1d Victorian stamp on standard issue in 1899/1900 was first issued in 1890 for the purpose of paying the cost of a local letter. The stamp was designed by Samuel Reading and subsequently modified. There had been many printings in brown up to 1899. Then, to conform with the U..P.U. recommendations that the stamp used for the inland letter rate should be printed in red, the colour was changed first to dull rose-red and then, in 1900, to rosine. Those wishing to send a letter to a local destination therefore had the choice between these two stamps - depending on whether they wished to pay 12 times the basic rate for postage by using the Boer War Patriotic Fund stamp. |
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| Purpose: | Basic letter rate. |
|---|---|
| Date of issue: | 22 May 1900. |
| Watermark: | V over Crown (V4) sideways. |
| Perforation: | 12½ single line perf. |
| Number printed: | Unknown but more than 40,026 (953 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. |
Both stamps in the Patriotic Fund issue were printed from electrotype printing plates in sheets of 42 arranged in six rows of seven stamps.
Multiples of the 1900 Patriotic Fund stamps are very rare. None have been offered at auction since from well before 2000 and then only two examples in 2019 and 2023.
There could be some blocks of four of the 1d (1/-) in existence but there would be few if any - apart from that shown below. The only confirmed block is from the lower right corner of a sheet (Provenance: Stone collection). It was sold at the Rodney Perry Sale in July 1989 Lot 675. Another block of four was sold by Rod at his sale in April 1998 Lot 1036. As no photos were included in the catalogue, it is safe to assume these were the same item.
It is assumed there may be five pairs of the 1d (1/-) stamp existing including the three covers bearing pairs.
A pair of the 1d (1/-) Victoria Cross design. The only pair to be auctioned during the past 20 years. Abacus Auctions, December 2019, Lot 536. |
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As listed below, used 1d (1/-) stamps in good condition with a clear date stamp are scarce. There are at least 11 but probably less than 20 examples recorded.
CTO cancellations are discussed elsewhere.
One example is:
 Elsternwick 22 September 2011 (Late cancellation beyond postal validity). Status Auctions January 2013 Lot 1952. |
Date stamps on the 1d (1/-) stamp.
| Date on stamp | From | Notes | Seller/Reference & Date (lot) |
| 25 May 1900 | Melbourne. | Prestige Philately June 2012 Lot 471. | |
| 28 May 1900 | Melbourne. | Double circle date stamp. | Matthew Bennett April 2003 Lot 2831. |
| 30 May 1900 | Geelong 2. | Duplex - rotated anti-clockwise. | Status February 2003 Lot 1587. Spink May 2018 Lot 346 (part) |
| 2 June 1900 | Rosedale | Unframed date stamp right of centre and rotated about 40 degrees clockwise. | Abacus Sale 227 Lot 450 (part) |
| 5 June 1900 | Spottiswoode | Unframed - with 2d (2/-). | Ebay April 2018. |
| 16 June 1900 | Illowa | Unframed | Phoenix Auctions, Jan 2015, Lot 776. |
| 2 August 1900 | Port Melbourne 7?. | Duplex. | Status February 2012 Lot 1672 |
| 13 September 1900 | Rialto. | Duplex. | Matthew Bennett April 2003 Lot 2832. Richard Juzwin July 2018. |
| 8 January 1901 | Rialto Telegraph Office. | Status May 2006 Lot 1476 Status December 2006 Lot 1641. |
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| 25 May 1901 | Bendigo Registered. | Phoenix December 2012 Lot 842; Phoenix July 2013 Lot 1144. |
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| 5 January 1903 | Maldon | Incomplete and in lower right corner | Ebay July 2018 |
| 22 September 1911 | Elsternwick. | Just touching left margin and below centre. | Prestige August 2012 Lot 272; Status March 2013 Lot 2010. |