Papua New Guinea - rare stamps and covers
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| 1932 ½d Bird of Paradise, no overprint. |
What is the definition of rare? And how does it apply to stamps and related postal history material such as covers, stationary and postmarks? I asked this question of myself in regard to Papua New Guinea recently (December 2021), and on the Stampboards bulletin board. Though it may seem like a relatively simple question, I received no definitive answers from the expert and aged members of the latter, and was not able to find any consolidated listings of examples for PNG. In fact, no one initially answered the questions I raised, suggesting that the questions themselves gave rise to variant answers based upon the knowledge held by individuals who may seek to provide an answer. Why is this? Isn't the definition of rarity clear enough i.e. not found or existing in large numbers? Apparently not, for the issue of philatelic rarity is complicated by factors such as desirability, popularity, attractiveness, value, context, history and locality or place. It is subjective, and not simply based upon a number. Therefore, what I desired in regard to answers was not necessarily what somebody else in the field would, or could, supply, given their area of expertise and individual collecting interests. This blog seeks to address the issue in some sort of definitive manner. It's more like a Beginners Guide to Rare Stamps of PNG if you like, with clear identification of the parameters used. So let's begin.
What is rare?
Rarity is traditionally based on the number of items in existence at any given point in time. It is a relative concept and often used in combination with words/phrases such as not common, hard to find, scarce or even unique. In regards to stamps, covers, postal stationary and postmarks, rarity could relate to the number of items originally produced (printed), and the number or percentage which have survived. In either case the actual number may not be known, or can only be guessed at. Also, are we simply referring to the stamps and associated items which were originally issued to the general and/or collecting public, or are we also including those produced, but not issued and perhaps at some later stage released from archival collections; or, as in recent years, special collector-only philatelic material released at a premium price and in limited editions? In regards to covers, the vast majority are unique, but few are cited as rare. And what of stamp varieties, which can be numerous and may, or may not, be officially recognised or catalogued? In some instances varieties can exist in the form of a single item or low number of sheets of stamps which are subsequently issued, either contemporaneous with the related stamp issue or at some later stage.
All of these factors apply in our discussion on the rarest Papua New Guinea stamps and related materials. It should also be remembered that within those items identified as rare by the so-called experts, there are subsets, such as the imprint block of a sheet, a first day cover or other cover featuring a rare postmark, an overprint variant, a colour variant, different watermark, perforations or paper. As such, there is probably no such thing as a definitive listing of rare PNG-related philatelic material as the topic is so diverse and expansive. And, of course, what is meant by Papua New Guinea? Does it mean ALL the stamps and related material produced by, or for, the island since they first appeared, as in when it was a colony of the Dutch, British and Germans? Also, are we referring to both the western and eastern sections of the island, or just the modern state of Papua New Guinea which has officially issued stamps since 30 October 1952? In this blog I am focusing on the latter i.e., the eastern half of the island from 1952, with a few references to rare items from the German, British and Australian administration period post 1886. The pre-1952 period is a complex area of collecting and research, and way beyond the scope of the current study, as is the philatelic history of the western half of the island, also known as Dutch East India, Western New Guinea or Irian Jaya, and now administered by Indonesia.
Sources of information are many and varied, though not always readily available or definitive. Up until the end of 1969 there is a great deal of relevant information contained within Mark Franklin's Guide to the Stamps of Papua New Guinea (1970). After that date, various modern catalogues are useful, as are related philatelic publications, archived auction sites, and discussion forums such as Stampboards. The Germany-based Papuan Philatelic Society, its website, and journal Papua New Guinea Calling are also significant sources of information, though, at the time of writing, this author did not have access to its archive. Beginning with Franklin, we can usually identify the number of stamps printed and/or sold. This covers all the official issues, though not necessarily all variants such as overprints or fiscals. In most cases we are looking at official releases - not proof copies or unreleased items, though there are a few exceptions to this listed below. One factor which comes into the issue of rarity is value, and this can be dependent on the actual value of the item at the time at issue. For example, a print run of 2,500 for a £1 stamp may result in high resale value and perceived rarity when compared to a similar stamp run for a 6d, ½d or 12t stamp. A good example of this is illustrated at the top of this page in the form of the 1932 New Guinea ½d orange 'Undated' Bird of Paradise without Air Mail overprint, with only 72 stamps believe printed and issued. Rarity does not always equate to monetary value, as is the case with this example which, at present, retails for only around Aus$100.
Another increasingly common example of rarity in regard to the stamps of Papua New Guinea is seen in relation to overprints. As postal rates changed, the local authorities made occasional use of short-term overprints to accommodate this, especially when the new value stamps were not readily available due to delays from overseas printers, such as those coming from Australia and Europe. Bureaucratic and political holdups in confirming release dates were, and are, a factor. Sometimes these overprints are of a limited run, as in, for example, a single proof sheet which may be released, or they can have errors such as double or inverted overprints. Papua New Guinea long had a reputation for its conservative stamp issuing program. However, that reputation was sullied somewhat with the proliferation of overprints beginning in the early 1990s and continuing through to the present day. A few examples of the latter overprints will be listed below, alongside the more common rarities which are often simply small print runs of individual stamps.
In regard to covers, the issue of rarity is complex and can depend on a variety of factors, including the purpose of the cover - commercial, philatelic, ordinary post; the type of cover - first day cover, souvenir cover, postal stationary such as aerogramme or registered letter; the stamps and postmarks associated with the cover - e.g. first flight; the postal history elements such as the sender, addressee, origin of the item; and finally, the condition - pristine, cut, damaged. Non-philatelic covers are, by their nature, unique items, whilst commercial philatelic items such as first day covers, both official and unofficial, are often produced in large quantities. With most covers there is no information on the actual number produced (printed and used), though some statistics are available for post office stationary and the postmarks applied. Some of the postal history covers relating to Papua New Guinea have sold for thousands of dollars, based on the criteria outlined above. Also, some covers have been subject to overprinting and reuse at a later dates, as with the aforementioned stamps. There is even a 1980s official first day cover for a provisional overprint stamp that is itself provisionally overprinted! At this point, covers are not included as separate items in the list of rarities, though they may be referred to in association with rare stamps and postmarks.
A selection of rarities
The following listing of rare items is arranged chronologically. The listing seeks to be representative, rather than comprehensive. As such, it includes a few pre-1952 items and some of the latter day emergency overprints. Imperforated proofs are not included. Numbers printed and/or sold are given where known; in other instances a speculative guess is presented. The following stamps are included:
1) 1901 Deutsch Neu Guinea carmine and black 5 mark overprinted Ultramar or Specimen (possible c.20 in circulation of c.720 printed)
2) 1901 British New Guinea 2½d black and dull blue Lakatoi (Unique?)
3) 1905 British New Guinea 2/6 black and brown Lakatoi (2,234 stamps)
4) 1914 Deutsch Neu Guinea carmine and black 5s on 5 mark + G.R.I. overprint (35 stamps)
5) 1925 Territory of New Guinea £1 pale olive-green Huts (2,520 stamps)
6) 1925 Territory of New Guinea ½d orange Huts imperforated at top (Unknown)
7) 1929-30 Papua 3d black and blue-green Lakatoi with missing Air Mail overprint (Unique?)
8) 1930 Papua 3d black and blue-green Lakatoi with Air Mail overprint and T.S. Harrison printing (80 stamps)
9) 1930 Papua 1s sepia and olive Lakatoi with inverted Air Mail overprint and T.S. Harrison printing (40 stamps)
10) 1932 New Guinea ½d orange Undated Bird of Paradise without Air Mail overprint (72 stamps)
11) 1932 Papua Lakatoi 9d & 1/3 UPU Specimen overprints (c.20 in circulation of c.418 printed)
12) 1939-41 UPU Specimen stamps - Mauritania Archive (1 set)
13) 1942 Japanese Occupation overprints (unknown)
14)
1952-1968 Papua New Guinea - low number of stamps printed (circa 94,000-171,000 stamps each)
15) 1952-64 Specimen overprints (unknown - ? less than 2,000 each)
16) 1952-58 PNG Training Post Office Specimen 1 overprints (unknown - ? less than 1,000 each)
17) 1957 Stamp Duty 1d. overprint (unknown)
18) 1960 Postal Charges set of six (circa 15,000-20,000 stamps each)
19) 1960 Postal Charges 6d. overprint varieties x 3 (less than 800)
20) 1960 Postal Charges 1d. triple overprint (? 1 sheet - 36 stamps)
21) 1961 5/- Native Patrol photogravure test printings (11 sheets)
22) 1979 20t Musical Bow, imperforated at base, CTO (1 sheet only known, therefore ?10 stamps)
23) 1985 "Leaked" Ceremonial Structures (4 designs) small format trial print (300 stamps each)
24) 1987 Historic ships, 45t, 70t, 80t & K2 (2 sheets / 50 of each stamp)
25) 1994 35t Gogodala Mask with inverted 50t overprint (? 1 sheet - 25 stamps)
26) 1994-5 Beatification of Peter To Rot, 21t and 90t without overprints (unknown - ? 1 sheet)
27) 1994-1995 Emergency Overprint varieties
28) 1995 Tourism set of six without overprint (unknown - ? 4 sheets - less than 100)
29) 1995 Tourism 65t Trekking Adventure non-denominational overprint (unknown - 1 in 80 stamps)
30) 2014 Girl Guides K4.65 with inverted K40 overprint (? 1 sheet - 25 stamps)
31) 2014-2015 Overprints (500 to 1500 of each)
32) 2018 Personalised K1.60 and 6.90K Orchid (160 / 80 stamps)
Descriptions given are as brief as possible, as the detail around many of these rarities is quite expansive. References to further information are included where known or available, either in print or online. Each entry refers to Status and Rarity.
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1) 1901 Deutsch Neu Guinea carmine and black 5 mark overprinted Ultramar or Specimen. This stamp is part of a set of definitive stamps issued in 1901 and referred to as the Yacht series. The design of the definitives was replicated across a number of German colonies in the Pacific and Africa.
Status: The origin of these stamps is either: [a] sent to the International Postal Union (UPU) in Switzerland for distribution to member countries, and overprinted Ultramar (the Portuguese word for overseas or foreign) by that organisation or by the Portuguese postal authorities upon receipt; or [b] overprinted Specimen by the German postal authorities in a manner similar to the Australian specimen stamp regime. A third possibility, that the 1901 Yacht series was overprinted by Great Britain after 1914 when all the German Pacific territories came under their control, was rejected on a relevant Stampboards discussion here. Rarity: One copy of the 5 Mark stamp overprinted (hand-stamped) Ultramar in blue was sold at auction in 2019 as part of a complete set of similarly overprinted Yachts 3pf to 5mk (Michel catalogue #7-19). These were sourced from the Portuguese Colonial Archives and are obviously ex-UPU. According to James Bendon's UPU Specimen Stamps 1878-1961, approximately 720 stamps were required for distribution in the period 1901-2. Of these, three examples of each stamp were sent out, suggesting that there were 240 countries who received the sample set of the German New Guinea 1901 Yacht series. In regard to rarity and number overprinted, as the majority of UPU stamp sets remain in official post office archives around the world, it is possible that there are only a small number (?circa 20) at present in private collections of the possibly 720 printed.
In regard to Specimen overprints, at a Cherrystone Philatelic Auctioneers auction in 2017, a complete set of the 1901 Yacht series was sold for US$325. The auction description stated: ...complete set, overprinted Specimen in black. Of the thirteen items in the set, only the 5 Mark stamp was illustrated.
Mark Franklin, in his Guide to the stamps of Papua New Guinea (1970) notes of the 1901 Yacht series: The stamps were valid for postage until September 1914, and all values are known overprinted 'Specimen'. The complete set of thirteen - not overprinted - can be seen below for the Mariana Islands. There is a standard font throughout for the Specimen overprints.
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| 1901 German New Guinea Yachts 3pf to 5mk (Michel catalogue #7-19) |
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2) 1901 British New Guinea 2½d black and dull blue Lakatoi. Status: Issued in April 1901 and printed by De La Rue, London. Rarity: Unique item only is known. Dealer Glen Stephens, in 2022, offered the following stamp for Aus$2,750, though no illustration was provided:
1901/05 2½d black & dull blue, well centered; unused on THIN paper, vertical watermark. S.G. #18a and unpriced. Hamilton Croaker: "Lakatoi 1" book (1977) states that "S.G. #18a does not seem to exist as neither I nor any reliable authority I have questioned, has seen a satisfactory copy." ... I have a genuine example, accompanied by a clear 1996 R.P.S. London Photo Certificate which states, "After comparison, S.G. #18a unused is genuine." Has a very small natural paper fibre inclusion not mentioned on the R.P.S. Certificate.
SG4 is illustrated below for comparison.
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| SG4 |
3) 1905 British New Guinea 2/6 black and brown Lakatoi. Status: The initial series of seven Lakatoi definitives were issued in July 1901, whilst the 2/6 value was released in 1905. Rarity: According to Franklin (1970) only 2,234 were sold prior to overprinting with the words Papua, beginning in November 1906.
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| SG8 - thick paper, horizontal watermark |
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| SG16a - thin paper, vertical watermark |
This stamp was first issued on thick paper, then thin paper, with horizontal and vertical rosette watermarks. Three catalogued varieties exist:
* SG8 (thick paper, horizontal watermark) cat £650.
* SG16 (thick paper, vertical watermark) cat £6,000.
* SG16a (thin paper, vertical watermark) cat £1,400.
The stamp was variously valued on eBay (January 2022) from $500 to $3,250, according to variety
and condition (e.g. used or mint). No example on cover is known to the
author. Additional source: The Stamp Forum - Evolution of the stamps of Papua and New Guinea. One variety, which is extremely rare, is the small Papua overprint misplaced vertically, SG 37a cat £7500, with only one sheet of 30 stamps known and not all displaying the full imprint.
A similar oddity is the 1907 1d red and black with sideways printing, SG 39a, catalogued at £9,000, with two sheets of thirty stamps each so printed.
Double and triple overprints are also known. For example, the 1907 6d myrtle-green and black double overprint SG43a, with only 1 sheet of 30 printed and catalogued at £7,000.
Other rarities from this series include the 6d black & myrtle-green, vertical watermark, thin paper, SG 14a, cat £1200, with only 175 issued; and 1/- black & orange, watermark vertical, thin paper, SG 15a cat £950 with only around 180 issued. The 1906 2/6d SG 28 with upright watermark is catalogued at £19,000, whilst the 1907 with upright watermark on thick paper with small overprint SG 45 is valued at £20,000.
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4)
1914 Deutsch Neu Guinea carmine and black 5s on 5 Mark + G.R.I. overprint.
Status: Issued by the British and Australian occupying forces following the declaration of war with Germany in 1914. Rarity: Only 35 copies were overprinted, with the G.R.I. referring to the British monarch George Rex Imperator (Franklin 1970). SG15. Catalogue value and auction price realised UK£10,000 / Aus$12,650.
6) 1925 Territory of New Guinea ½d orange Huts imperforated at top (Unknown)
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7) 1929-30 Papua 3d black and blue-green Lakatoi with missing Air Mail overprint. This arose as a result of part of the sheet being folded during the printing process, creating an albino impression. Four such sheets are known, but the number of missing overprint stamps is very small. SG cat. value £8,000. Copy offered for sale by Richard Juzwin in February 2022 for $11,000.
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| SG114a, missing overprint. |
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8) Papua 1930 3d black and blue-green Lakatoi with Air Mail overprint and T.S. Harrison printing. SG115 variety. Status: Issued 15 September 1930. Rarity: Franklin (1970) states 480 were printed (i.e. 12 sheets) by T.S. Harrison of the Note Printing Branch, Australia. Elsewhere it is stated that only 1 sheet is known. However, it is generally agreed that 80 stamps from 2 sheets survive, with the other 10 sheets destroyed. Refer Stampboards discussions here and here, and below regarding the initial dispersal of the two sheets by J.G. Spychiger.
The following was noted in the first aforementioned Stampboards discussion: There were in fact 12 sheets printed of which 10 were destroyed and 2 sheets of 40 purchased by JG Spychiger from the Port Moresby Post Office. One sheet he sold to Stanley Gibbons who on sold them in blocks and pairs; the other sheet Spychiger kept himself and sold off in smaller ones and twos. Spychiger also made up several philatelic envelopes using the Harrison SG115 and posted them from the Port Moresby post office, all on the same day and dated 14th January 1935. The 2 sheets that Spychiger purchased were different colour Blue Greens. The examples [above] are from the sheet that he kept himself. However, the sheet that was sold to Stanley Gibbons was a brighter colour, more like that of the Ash [printing]. To make things even worse ... not all of the vignettes have the same characteristics and some can at first glance look like an Ash example.
The T.S. Harrison and John Ash versions are distinguished by different papers and the fact that the Harrison vignette in black is smaller than the Ash. As a result it does not impinge upon the blue-green border, especially on the sides.
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| J.G. Spychiger cover with Ash print version of SG115. |
9) Papua 1930 1s sepia and olive Lakatoi with inverted Air Mail overprint and T.S. Harrison printing. SG117a. Status: Issued 15 September 1930. Rarity:
Noted by Franklin (1970) as rare. Only a single sheet of 40 stamps were printed by T.S.
Harrison of the Note Printing Branch, Australia. Catalogue value £15,000. Usually identified as Papua's rarest stamp. As a result, it is subject to reproduction and forgery.
This stamp (without inverted overprint) is also rare with the dark carmine colour, instead of the red, as part of the initial printing.
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10) New Guinea 1932 ½d orange Undated Bird of Paradise definitive, without Air Mail overprint. Status: Issued 30 June 1932. Rarity: Only two sheets are known, i.e., 2 x 36 = 72 stamps. Catalogued as SG190 variety (£100) / Scott C28 variety ($200).
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| 1932, ½d orange Undated Bird of Paradise with no Air Mail overprint |
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| Imprint pair - one of only two known. Illustrated in Franklin (1970). |
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11) 1932 Papua Lakatoi 9d & 1/3 Specimen overprints. Status: Overprinting carried out by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) for dispatch to member countries. Rarity: According to James Bendon's UPU Specimen Stamps 1878-1961, c.418 of the Lakatoi overprints were required for dispersal during 1932. As three of each stamp went to the member countries, this implies that there were 139 members at the time who received the two Papua Lakatoi stamps illustrated below.
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| Genuine examples of the IPU overprints. |
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12) 1939-41 UPU Specimen stamps - Mauritania Archive. Status: One set known, deaccessioned from the Mauritania Archive. Offered for sale at Cherrystone Auctions in January 2023 for US$500. Set of six vertical strips of three, as distributed from the UPU in Bern, affixed on two pieces from the Mauritania Post Office archive and tied by distinctive "Specimen Collection Mauritanie" receiving handstamps in magenta, fine-v.f., rare (Cat No. C10-15S).
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13) 1942 Japanese Occupation overprints. Status: Officially used by the occupying Japanese forces during 1942-3. Rarity: A large number of the overprinted stamps were destroyed during a bombing raid on Rabaul, and very few are known to have survived. The Japanese also used their own stamps during the occupation. According to Franklin (1970), and subsequent research, the Japanese characters for Dai Nippon [Greater Japan] and an anchor were hand overprinted on the following 1931 undated Bird of Paradise stamps: ½d orange, 1d green, 2d vermilion, 2½d green, 3½d pink, 4d olive-green, 6d bistre-brown, 9d violet, 1/- pale blue-green and 2/- lake. A copy of the ½d orange sold at auction in 2020 for UK£100.
This is a very rare stamp as the original without the Air Mail overprint is
rare (refer above). It is interesting that sheets of the un-overprinted ½d orange stamps were available to the Japanese at the time. The following 6d bistre-brown example was sold by Glen Stephens in March 2020 for an undisclosed sum.
The author is not aware of any contemporary covers bearing these stamps. It is likely that those used in that manner and sent to Japan may have been destroyed by Allied bombing there.
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14) Papua New Guinea 1952-1968 - low number of stamps printed. Status: Officially issued between 1952 and 1968. Rarity: Related to the number printed, and condition. A study of Franklin (1970)
reveals that between 1952 and the end of 1969 the most heavily used stamps saw printed numbers in the area of 4 million+. However, the following definitive
and commemorative stamps were subject to relatively low print / sold numbers:
* SG44 - 1963 10s Rabaul - 95,450
* SG45 - 1963 £1 Queen Elizabeth II - 96,184
* SG22 - 1958 1/7 Cattle - 121,393
* SG75 - 1965 4/- Mask - 142,524
* SG71 - 1964 10/- Bird 148,436
* SG41 - 1963 2/3 Commonwealth Games - 150,000
* SG38 - 1962 2/6 South Pacific Conference - 156,096
* SG37 - 1962 1/6 South Pacific Conference - 156,456
* SG56 - 1964 2/3 Election - 161,713
* SG136 - 1968 25c Human Rights - 171,270
* SG35 - 1962 2/- World Health Organisation - 172,080
* SG15 - 1952 £1 Man Fishing - 173,429
* SG14 - 1952 10/- Map - 230,316
The fiscal 1960 Postal Charges overprints had print numbers of between 15-20K and are described in detail below. Items of postal stationary often had print numbers in the low thousands. However, they are not included in this listing at present.
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15) Specimen overprints 1952-64
In association with special packs issued by the Australian and PNG Post Offices, high value stamps were overprinted Specimen and made available to collectors in limited numbers.
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| 1952-64, PNG Specimen overprints |
Status: Available at official PNG and Australian
philatelic outlets. Not sold for normal postal use, but in sets with
used lower value stamps. Rarity: No printing or sold figures are available for the Specimen overprints, though their numbers would be in the low thousands. Based on a Stampboards discussion on Specimen overprints,
it can be suggested that printing numbers were
perhaps in the range of circa 1-2,000, as only 3,480 of the
Australian Navigators Specimen set from the same era were ever sold, and
both local and Australian sales of the PNG stamps would have been limited by comparison. They include the following:
* SG14 - 1952 10/- Map
* SG15 - 1952 £1 Man Fishing
* SG44 - 1963 10s Rabaul - two types of overprint, located in upper and lower positions on the stamp
* SG71 - 1964 10/- Bird
The PNG specimen stamps were sold in sets at Australian philatelic outlets through to January 1965 viz., Australian Stamp Bulletin, 70(12)4, p.28, January 1965: Because of circumstances beyond the control of the Australian Post Office, the sale of specimen sets containing stamps of Christmas Island, Nauru, Norfolk Island and Papua and New Guinea has been discontinued at this Department's philatelic selling points. Specimen sets containing stamps of Australia, Australian Antarctic Territory and Cocos (Keeling) Islands will continue to be sold.
It is unclear as to when the specimen sets were first sold, or when they were sold out / withdrawn from sale at PNG philatelic outlets. Also, the 10/- Bird was perhaps only available during the final year of pack sale, therefore may be the rarest of the set. A recent auction contained a number of the original Territories specimen sets.
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16) PNG Training Post Office specimen overprints 1952-60
The PNG Training Post Office, or Post Office Training School (POTS), made use of stamps overprinted by a typewriter with Specimen 1 in black or red, or both, due to the bi-colour ribbon used. Status: Training school only overprint on original definitive stamps. Rarity: Numbers produced are not known. These were never released to the public through normal outlets, but instead used for training purposes. Nine different stamps are known to have been made use of in the process, of which seven examples are reproduced below - 2d, 5d (overprint), 1/-, 1/6, 2/6, 10/-, £1. Seven copies are reproduced below. Some are mint, some postally(?) used on paper; one is postmarked and others are subject to manuscript annotations, with two of the latter including the dates 26/9/60 and 27/9/60.
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| PNG Training Post Office Specimen 1 overprints |
A correspondent has noted the following in regard to these stamps: The early POTS specimens were overprinted on a (most likely) Royal typewriter with a half and half red and black ribbon.... Some of the black overprints show red on the extreme top part of the character (the red coming into play via a designated "upper" key) when the ribbon spool was slightly misaligned. In all, there were 8 different designs of that era so overprinted, two of which can be found in either red or black. The 5/- coffee is one of those, and it can also be found as a double overprint in red, and a double overprint in red with one inverted.... Later on, Tony Shields, on a trip to Port Moresby, purchased 2 of the 1973 booklets from the POTS, both overprinted in purple via a cheap rubber stamp variously vertical, horizontal and angular. Tony also mentioned that he had seen (but not purchased) examples of the [1973-4] Panorama Definitives set also so hand-stamped.
17) 1957 Stamp Duty 1d. overprint. A Stamp Duty 1d. plus black bar at the bottom overprint was applied to the 1956 light maroon
Kiriwina Chief's House stamp SG7a, a variety of the original 1952 definitive. Status: Issued October 1957 and cleared for general postage use early in 1958. Rarity: Print numbers unknown and considered 'common' by the trade.
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| 1957 Stamp Duty 1d. overprint on SG7a, with misplaced lower bar |
The two part overprint - upper and lower - was attempted for the 1960 Postal Charges series but was quickly abandoned when it was found difficult to align the two parts on the stamps such that the original denomination was obscured. This 1957 Stamp Duty 1d. was the first PNG ordinary use stamp overprinted as such. A specific set of stamp duty stamps with generic design has been issued in 1952, but without a 1d value. This stamp is catalogued as Barefoot 21, or SG JB21. Though now viewed as 'common' by stamp dealers, the lack of information in regard to actual print numbers, and relative online scarcity, suggests to this author that it may in fact be scarce, or rare. One cover postmarked Buin, 1958, is known to the author, with an imprint block of four used for general air mail postage.
Another cover with the stamp tied to a 4d stamp is known, as is a piece with 3 of the stamps and a 4d stamp, postmarked Rabaul. None of these covers actually indicate its use as a duty stamp as a result of insufficient postage or some other tax.
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18) 1960 Postal Charges set of 6. Status: Issued 1 March 1960 as fiscals. Rarity: Varies, according to varieties of overprinting, though also rare due to low issue numbers and limited use in regard to stamp duty and other postal charges. Not eligible for normal postage, though on occasion seen used as such.
* SG D2 - 1d on 6½d - Kiriwina Chief's House - light maroon - overprinted in black on the 1956 SG7a reprint. Number sold: 2,364 / 17,410 = 19,774. Uncatalogued triple overprint variant in carmine and black also known.
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| SGD3a |
* SG D4 - 6d on 7½d - Kiriwina Yam House - blue - overprint in red on the original SG8; double overprint variant also known SGD4a. Number sold: 3,912 / 14,736 = 18,648.
* SG D5 - 1/3 on 3½d - Papuan man with headdress - black - overprinted in orange on the 1958 SG6a. Number sold: 5,040 / 12,443 = 17,483.
* SG D6 - 3/- on 2½d - Bird of Paradise - orange - overprinted in black on the original SG4. Number sold: 2,829 / 12,226 = 15,055.
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19) 1960 Postal Charges 6d. overprint varieties (3). SG D1 / SG D1a / SG D4a.Reproduction forgeries are known.
[a] SG D1 - Extended overprint Postal Charges 6d. / O |X|X|X|X|X
(SG D1). Status: Issued 1 March 1960. Rarity: Limited to about 20 sheets (720 stamps). This represents an abandon proof printing due
to alignment problems. The stamp usually retails for around Aus$700,
with a certificate of authenticity. Forgeries are common.
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| 1960, SG D1 |
[b] SG D1a - Postal Charges 6d. / O |X|X|X|X|X / Postal Charges 6d. / O |X|X|X|X|X double extended overprint in red on the original 1952 7½d Kiriwina Yam House stamp. Status: Issued 1 March 1960. Rarity: It is estimated that only 3 sheets (3 x 36 = 108 stamps) of the overprint were released as part of the Postage Charges set of fiscal stamps. There were 532,248 sold of the original 1952 issue. This 1960 overprint was an initial, proof printing, carried out at Port Moresby. Due to problems in aligning the lower portion of the overprint, it was subsequently abandoned and only the upper part was used for the remainder of the printing. This variety - a double printing of the extended (two part) overprint - is one of the rarest of all most PNG stamps. Franklin cited it in 1970 as THE rarest.
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| 1960, SG D1a |
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| 1960, SG D4a |
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20) 1960 Postal Charges 1d. triple overprint of the light maroon
SG7a in 1960. SG D2a (uncatalogued). Status: Issued on 1 March 1960. Rarity: The triple overprinting uses carmine and black
inks and is likely limited to a single proof sheet of 36
stamps. The initial carmine overprint was applied, then a black print over that, followed by another black print higher up on the stamp. This variant is not catalogued by Stanley Gibbons, though three others within the 1960 Postal Charges series are, including the 7½d Kiriwina Yam House as SG D1a and SG D4a (see above), and the 3d on ½d Tree Kangaroo as SG 3a. All are listed as double surcharges. The stamp under discussion would require a triple surcharge listing. Therefore, herein it
is referred to as SG D2a pending official cataloguing. A copy sold at auction in 2014 as a "genuine printer's proof of unknown origin" for Aus$750. Reproduction forgeries are known.
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| 1960, SG D2a |
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21) 1961 5/- Native Patrol photogravure test printing. Status: Unissued test printing. Rarity: Originally known in a number (circa 11) of sheets of 60 stamps, with two printings, in Melbourne and London, though a limited number of these survive or are in circulation. As this stamp was never officially issued, it is not generally catalogued. Copies retail for circa Aus$1,000. The design was rejected because the natives were carrying guns. A number of sheets are preserved in Australian and PNG archival collections.
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| 1961, Native Patrol 5/-, un-issued |
There is a description of the stamp on Stampboards here. According to a correspondent, apart from the Glen Stephens sheet (serial number 002840): .... there also existed 2 full sheets affixed to album pages and held in the Territory of Papua New Guinea collection in Port Moresby, though their present whereabouts are unknown; 3 full sheets held in the Australia Post archives, having been delivered to them by the Note Printing Branch (along with 2 part sheets of 56 and 55 stamps); plus 2 full sheets from the Melbourne printing held in private hands, one of which still exists and both can be identified by their sheet numbers. There is also another sheet (002992) from the London printing that was probably the first to have been broken up, by Barry Kleinberg. So at this stage we know that at least 11 full sheets escaped destruction.
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22) 1979 Musical Bow, imperforated at base, cancelled to order. Status: One only sheet known. Therefore a maximum of 10 stamps available.
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23) 1985 "Leaked" Ceremonial Structures (4) small format. Status: A Leigh Mardon, Melbourne, trial print of the stamps which were later increased in size (height and width) and released as SG496/9. Rarity: A maximum of 300 stamps each is known. The trial stamps had no 't' in the denomination and included a 10t value which was replaced by a 15t value. The released stamps were printed by Heraclio Fournier of Spain. In the trial print, the structures intrude upon the country name at the top of the stamp, with the latter printed in black for three of the stamps.
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| Trail print (upper) and released stamps (lower). |
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24) 1987 Historic ships, 45t, 70t, 80t & K2. Status: Withdrawn before official release. Rarity: Sheets were sent to the US and 40+ stamps were sold prior to withdrawal. The unissued set of 4 stamps was originally intended for issue on 4 February 1987, as the first part of a set of 15. However, the quality of the printing by BDT International Security Printing Ltd. was deemed inferior and the stamps were withdrawn. Some sheets had been sent to the U.S. agent Herrick in advance of the proposed issue, and of these 40+ were sold "in error" in New York before remaining stocks were returned to PNG for destruction. Herrick sold stamps from 2 sheets (each containing 25 stamps) of each denomination, making a possible total of 50 sets of 4, though single and corner or imprint blocks would have lessened this number.
According to details in a Leski Auctions sale of 29 September 2015, the stamps were lithographed on ordinary paper with a perforation of 13½. Replacement stamps with colour changes were then printed by Helio Courvoisier in photogravure on granite paper and with a perforation of 11½. These were issued on 15 June 1987 as part of a set of 15 historic ships (SG543-SG557). Designs for the 45t & 70t were directly transposed to the new set; no 80t was issued, though the design was used for the 35t value; and the K2 was issued with a pink border, instead of the earlier blue grey. The set of 4 has sold at auction for up to $2,415. Reference is made to the withdrawn / unissued stamps by Stanley Gibbons in connection with the catalogue entry for SG557.
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| 20 of the 1994-5 Emergency Overprints. Source: Glen Stephens. |
26) 1994 Gogodala Mask with inverted overprint. SG 736a. Status: Originally issued 11 July 1990 / overprinted 1994/5 and issued during January 1995. Rarity: Known from a unique sheet of 50 stamps. Retails for circa Aus$1,000. This is stated by dealer Glen Stephens on Stampboards as: ... the scarcest PNG post war issue that is verified as being sold by the Post Office.
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| SG 736a, inverted overprint |
A cover featuring the 1994 Gogodala Mask with double overprint and postmarked Goroka, 13 January 1995, sold on 3 March 2021 for a "world record" price of $4,750 for a PNG cover. It is suggested that only a few used copies of the double overprint are known.
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27) 1994-5 Beatification of Peter To Rot, 21t and 90t overprints. Status: The two stamps are known in four states, with one state printed but unissued; two printed and issued; and another illustrated in a brochure but never printed. Rarity: Unknown. Late 1994 and 1995 saw a number of PNG emergency overprint stamps printed due to shortages in the 21t letter rate. K1.00 rate and other rates. The Beatification stamps got caught up in this. The four states are illustrated and described below.
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| Four states of the 1995 Beatification issue. |
[a] 1st state - No overprint. Unissued. 21t (Peter To Rot) SG745 and 90t (Pope John Paul II) SG746. These two stamps were printed in a row of three, with a non-denominational information stamp in between. This was printed during late 1994 (September-October?) at Leigh-Mardon, Melbourne, Australia, but unissued due to a planned increase in selected postage rates effective 1 January 1995. The details of the rate change were ultimately delayed until November. It appears that some of these 1st state stamps - bearing no overprint - were released. A quick look on eBay during January 2022 revealed a 1st state strip of three selling for UK£71.50, whilst in August 2022 a top of sheet two rows (8 stamps) sold for $380 at Phoenix Auctions. The 90t stamp without overprint is therefore rare.
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| 1st state - no overprint. Unissued. |
[b] 2nd state - K1.00 original stamp. Not printed. The artwork for the 11 January 1995 release publicity brochure included with first day covers shows a version of the K1.00 stamp without overprint and the 90t replaced therein by a K1.00 in red. This stamp was never printed, either singularly or in line with the other two stamps, likely due to the fact that the 90t stamp had already been printed, and it was cheaper to overprint rather than reprint.
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| 2nd state - K.100 Pope John Paul II. |
[c] 3rd state - K1.00 on 90t overprint. Issued 11 January 1995. Sufficient notice of the increased rates was given to allow for local overprinting of the 90t stamp in time for the 11 January 1995 release. The 90t was covered by a rectangle and K1.00 was printed in black in the lower left corner of the stamp, as seen in the first day cover below.
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| 3rd state on first day cover, 11 January 1995. |
[d] 4th state - 50t on 21t overprint. Issued 1 December 2001. Overprinting of the 21t stamp by a rectangle and 50t printed in the lower left corner of the stamp (by Imprint of Port Moresby) to met "increasing needs" for that denomination, and continued overprinting of the 90t stamp to the value of K1.00 as in the third state described above. It is assumed that this overprinting took place on those sheets left over from the 3rd state overprint, and that new sheets were not printed. SG745a - 50t on 21t; SG746a - 1.00K on 90t.
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| 4th state, 1 December 2001. |
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28) 1995 Tourism set of six without overprint. Status: Issued as part of a set of eight, with six stamps overprinted and released on 11 January 1995. Rarity: Like the Peter to Rot Beatification stamps, these stamps were printed during late 1994 and subsequently released in an overprinted form. An unknown quantity of the sheets (? 4 sheets - 100 stamps for each set of two) were released without the overprint. A set of 4 of the pair of Diving stamps sold on eBay during January 2022 for $695 (see illustration below). Copies of the the Resorts and Trekking Adventures stamps without overprint are also known.
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| Block of 4 - no overprint on left, overprint as issued on right |
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| The Resorts and Trekking Adventures stamps without overprint. |
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| Tourism first day cover |
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29) 1995 Tourism trekking adventure missing denomination error. Status: Issued on 11 January 1995 in sheets of 80 stamps. Rarity: Occurs with the Trekking Adventure set of two stamps, whereby one of the overprints in the sheet is missing the 65t denomination value. This is apparently consistent across all the sheets printed and is found at location row 8, stamp 3. Examples in blocks sell for around $50. SG751a and SG751b.
30) 2014 Girl Guides K40 inverted overprint. Status: Originally issued 10 April 2010. Overprinted 2014 with K40 on K4.65. Due to inversion, there was an extra line cancel made over the original value. Rarity: 500 printed of the normal overprint, in 50 sheets of 25. It is likely that only a single sheet (25 stamps) was subject to inverted printing, due to the subsequent rarity of the stamp. SG1387a. Offered for sale on eBay (January 2022) for $2,500. An article discussing the origin of the overprinting (not the inversion) can be found here.
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| Inverted overprint (above), normal overprint (below) |
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31) 2014-2015 Overprints. Status: Twenty seven different provisional overprints were issued during 2014-2015. Rarity: Print runs were from 500 to 1500 according to a Steve Zirinsky listing and article on their origin here. See also a discussion regarding these stamps and associated variants on Stampboards here. As a result, they are some of the rarest modern stamps officially issued by Papua New Guinea and included in the standard catalogues. Though they were not put on general and philatelic release, they were provided to various post offices on a needs basis.
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| 2014 Overprint samples. Source: Glen Stephens. |
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32) 2018 Commercial P-stamp, K6.90 and K1.60 Orchid Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce & Industries. Status: Personalised stamps ordered to commemorate the 95th Anniversary of the organisation. Rarity: Only four sheets (80 stamps) were printed for the K6.90 value and eight sheets (160 stamps) for the K1.60 value. P-stamps were introduced by Post PNG in 2007 due to a decline in the use of postage stamps and move to franking machines. A similar 85t P-stamp had been ordered in 2007. There are many such P-stamps that have low print numbers and, as a result, may not be valued as "rare" stamps. P-stamps are no longer issued by Post PNG in sheet form.
Reference: Steven Zirinsky, PNG Personalized Stamps.
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As can be seen from the above selection, the rarity of various stamps, and covers, can be due to a variety of factors. The market value of rarities can also vary wildly, and is dependent not only on the rarity of the item but also the desirability at any given point in time. Perhaps that is why my initial question to the Stampboards community regarding a definitive list of PNG rarities was met with such a mute response. Such is the nature of the topic.
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Acknowledgements
In the compilation of this listing I would like to acknowledge the information obtained from the Stampboards discussion list and its numerous participants over the years. I would also like to thank Doug Spencer for assistance with corrections and ideas for additional items, such as the 1987 unissued historic ship series. Comments and corrections are welcome.
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Australia: Airmail 1931 | Australia in Space 2024 | Souvenir Covers 1970-1997 | Souvenirs Covers 1997+ | WWF 50 Years |
Papua New Guinea: 1934 3½d Pink | 1952 6½d | 1952 7½d | 2/6 Lakatois | FDCs | Forgeries | Hutt PNCs | Japan | Leaflets | OS Lakatois | Overprints | Peter & Horse | Philatelic Bureau | PSEs/PSPs/Aerogrammes | Rare | Revenue & Postage Due | Souvenir Covers |
Last updated: 3 March 2023
Michael Organ, Australia
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