STAMP DEALER,
The Clarion Tobacc<-- Store, 260, CHURCH ST., PRETORIA.
P.O. Box 1018, 'Phone 1377.
THE SOUTH AF'RICAN PHILATELIST. 155 Volume I. Completed.
·with this issue we complete our first volume. We have endeavoured to maintain as high a standard a-s possible, and hope that reader& ha,ve been fully satisfied with the quality of fare served.
We started full of hope, and hwve been well satisfied with the support received from readers and advertisers alike, a-nd like all Journals in their infancy. have had our difficulties.
Printers have been our chief source of worry. One printer turned out a very creditable production of high standard-so was hi& price-so much so, that we had to either suspend publication or change our printers.
Another printer gave us a price considerably lower, but the result was a Journal poorly printed, pages often out of register, to sa-y nothing of blocks not being carefully "made ready," and coming out with little or no detail.
Once again we had to change, a-nd now fortunately our di:(Iiculties in this direction have been overcome. Our good friends, Messrs. Walker & Snashall, Ltd., Johannesburg, with their up-to-date linotype and other machinery, are now producing the "Philatelist." Not only is the printing and general finish of the Journal of a- high standard, but the cost of printing leaves nothing to be_ desired.
Now for the next point. The proprietors of the " S.A. Philatelist,"
both keen philatelists, deeply interested in the welfare of our royal hobby, and being of independent means, are conducting this Journal for the benefit of philately in· general and South African philatelists in pa-rticular. They do not by any means wish to pose as philanthropists, but the main point is that pecuniary gain is not their primary coni;iideration.
The " S.A. Philatelist " is now fortuna-tely well establi!!hed, and is here to sta-y,. and we are truly grateful to those subscribers and advertisers who in no small way have eontributed to our success. We sincerely hope that our advertising supporters have succeeded in building up a lucrative South .African trade. As far as readers themselves are concerned, we sha-11 continue to maintain the "Philatelist" at the highest possible standard, but in this respect readers ca-n help us a great deal-and help themselves.
Whenever replying to advertisements, we would ask readers to make a special point of mentipning that they saw the advertisement in the " S.A.
Phllatelist." By i;io doing, the a-dvertiser will see that this Journal is bring- ing results, which helps him and helps us.
A Journal with many more pages than at present can be published if our urc-ulation is increased. and in this way readers can also help a lot.
While the thought is fresh in your mind, will you kindly assist by dropping a line to the Editor and giving him the names and addresses of those who are not subscribers to the " Philate'list," but who are stamp collectors? Specimen copies will willingly be sent to anyone on request.
SOUTH WEST AFRICA.
URGENTLY WANTED FOR CASH.
Complete Sheets (or Panes) if possible, otherwise Mint or Used specimens of Type 2 only (Narrow Overprint), Postage Dues : -
ld. Due (on Pretoria Rouletted Printing).
2d. Due (De la Rue Printing).
3d. Due (De la Rue Printing).
5d. Due lon Transvaal, Mult. C.A.).
Also the following in Type 3, "ZUIDWEST,"
6d. Due, Union De la Rue Printing, overprinted.
CORRESPONDENCE INVITED, S,W.A. ERRORS WANTED.
C. W, REYNOLDS, Box 6363, JOHANNESBURC.
15G THE SOUTH AFRICAN PHILATELIST.
RHODESIA.
By J. E. M. COCH.
(Continued from page 144.) CHAPTER X. (continued).
" SMALL ARMS " ISSUE, 1898-1908,
It will be noted that the £2, £5 and £10 values are included iu this set. This is the first time since the 1890 issue (excepting the reprinting of the £2 value in 18D7) that values above the £1 denomination ,rnre printed, and as there is no imlication on the stamps that they were specifica·lly i&sued for fiscal purposes, the qu.istion arises as to whether these denominations should be considered as postage stamp&. One often sees the statement made that all values above the £1 may safely be dassed Ets fiscals, and J shall here endeavour to make the position dear. According to the Postal Regu- lations in force in Southern Rhodesia at the time of this issue, rnw gold
(bullion) could be sent by registered· post at the rate of ld. per ounce, plus a registration fee of 4d. There was no limit to weight, but the dimensions of the parcel were limited to 24 by 12 by 12 inches. These mea:surements would equal 3,456 cubic inches; and as one cubic inch of raw gold weighs 11.16 ounces (avoirdupois weight), it will at once be seen that an amount of well over £100 could legitimately have been used to cover postal charges.
I do not, however, for a, moment think that any single parcel of gold of the maximum dimensions did ever pass through the post, but there must have been many smaller parcels of bullion despatched through the various Post Offices upon which postage up to £15 was paid.
I ma:y mention that the present (1923) po~tal rate for bullion is ld. per ounce plus a registration fee of 4d. up to a limit of four pounds in weight.
The old rates applicable to bullion have been abolished since August, 1922, and stamps above the value of £1 are no longer used for postal purposes.
FRAUDULENT CL:E:ANING OF FISCALLY USED POSTAGE STXl\IPS.
·while on this subject of high values, l am taking the opportunity of warning collectors to carefully examine all stamps of this Colmtr~-, both so-called " mint " and " postally used " copie,. There are large numbers of these sta:mps on the market which have been fiscally used; the fis(•al cancella- tions have been chemically removed, and the stamps either re-gummed and sold as " mint " copies, or postmarked and sold a:s " fine used."
Unfortunately, these fakes are to be found in the approval books of the · leading stamps dealers in England and South Africa, and I would advise would-be purchasers to seek expert advice before accepting such specimens for their collections. Dealers could be of considerable assistance in putting a stop to the sa:le of these forgeries, and I would suggest that the~- clearly mark, or give a guarantee that the copies offered for sale a·re genuinely postally used or mint, as the case may be.
The greater proportion of these fakes bear the genuine postmark
"BULAWAYO-REGISTERED," or "BULAWAYO-REGD." (There is no doubt tha_t some person has at times had free access to the Bulawayo Post Office cancelling stamp.) One will often find either the word "REGISTERED"
only, or " BULA "\VA YO " only, and sometimes the complete postmark; but in rriost instances the year da:te is conveniently missing.
Cleaned stamps bearing the postmarks of other offices are also to be found, but not nearly so common as the " RC"LA "\VA YO." The above remarks are applica:ble to all issues, including the 1910 (King anu Queen) and the • 1913-22 issues. Oue would hardly credit that the la&t issues, which are printed in fugitive inks, could be tampered with in any way, but, neverthe- less, such ,s the ca·se, particularly in the higher values! Collectors shouhl therefore take ev,ry preca:ution before placing these " abominations " in their collections ! !
The highert denomination of this issue which l have seen genuinely 11ostally used in the £10, but such copies are rarely met with.
THE SOUTH AFRICAX PHILATELIST. 157 It is of interest to note that during the period of this issue, Rhodesia entered the r~1iversal Postal Union (1st April, 1900) and adopted the Im- perial Penny Posta:ge (1st December, 1908).
OBSLDIONAL CURHE~CY STA~IPS, l'.JUU.
Altho11gh these currency ca-rds are not placed in the same categol'y as post~ge st .. mps, mention should be made of them in passing, to show to what use sttrmps '.lave· been put in Rhodesia.
Currency Cards Illustrated.
During the Anglo-Boer ,var in 1900, Bulawayo was once again cut oft from supplies, owing to the Boers holding the railways and high roads.
l\Iouey became very scarce, and to remedy this the Administration issued ca:rds to which postage stamps of varions issues were affixed. 'l'he stamps wer? affixed to the plain side of the card, the other side having the following printed on it:-" The Civil Commissioner, Bulawayo. Please pay in c&sh to the person rroducing this card the face value of the stamp affixed thereto, if presented· on or after the 1st August, l!)OO."
It bear!:! the imprint "Chronicfo Printing '\Yorks, Bulawayo," and 1s stamped w:th the rubber stamp of the Administrator's Office, Bulawayo, m purple. a'l.d signed H. Marshall Hole, Secretary, in black.