1949 3d HMS Vanguard.

Here she is - 1949 3d HMS Vanguard.
Scroll down this page to see her and her six sisters, the only seven known examples.

1948 Royal Visit Design Proposal.
The story of this stamp starts in 1948 with this artwork by the famous stamp designer, James Berry.

 Proposed artwork by James Berry.

 The stamp design above is believed to have come from an earlier design proposed for the 1948 Royal Tour. This is a finished white art paper stamp proposal for the 1948 Royal Visit. It is a 3d stamp entitled Royal Visit 1948 in suggested colours of brown and dark blue. It depicts insets of Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth above the Royal Navy battleship, H.M.S. Vanguard, with surrounds of New Zealand fern leaves and British oak leaves.

The 1949 Royal Visit.
Photo proofs of the four stamps that were printed and then destroyed when the tour was cancelled.

 

 2d - Waitangi Treaty House.                                                                      3d - H.M.S. Vanguard.

 

   5d - Royal Family.                                                                       6d - Royal Crown and Sceptre.

(Images above were kindly sent to us by Ashford Stamps Ltd, Auckland.)

       The 1949 Royal Visit was cancelled due to the ill health of King George VI. The stamps prepared to mark this event were then supposed to have been destroyed. I found these four photographs in a stamp catalogue but they reproduced rather poorly. Ashford Stamps Ltd kindly sent us these nice crisp images. Thanks for that. Note that they all include the words Royal Visit 1949 in their design. It is thought that these might have been proofs sent to the designer, James Berry for approval.

It is believed Waterlow & Sons of London printed 39million stamps for this issue in four values (2d, 3d, 5d & 6d.) All of which was supposed to have been destroyed when the tour was cancelled.

More on these stamps see our post -  1949 - 1952 Cancelled Royal Visits.

3d - HMS Vanguard.

1949 Royal Tour 3d Vanguard Photo Essay.

(Image above was given to us by Ashford Stamps, Auckland.)

 Of course, we are more interested in the second design, of the 1949 Royal Tour set, the 3d HMS Vanguard, showing the Royal Navy Battleship which had been fitted out for the king's visit to South Africa the previous year. The battleship was at that time a very modern state of the art warship, bigger and faster than most other current ships of her kind, having been laid down during World War II but only completed and commissioned after the fighting had finished. As it turned out, HMS Vanguard was to be the last of the major battleships to be launched anywhere in the world. She is a fine looking ship and looks good on this stamp.

This is a genuine, not a fake!   The small punch hole near the right-hand value is part of the printer's security.

       

Please Note: - The images and information below concerning these examples of the 3d Vanguard, are correct to the best of my knowledge but I do have some doubts regarding my sources. If anyone knows more about these stamps, has more images, or would like to correct me, I would love to hear from them. 

1st - Furnace Door Example.

The numbers assigned to these copies are the order in which they appeared in our blog. In no way can they be considered official numbering or related to any other catalogue. I've given them fun names too.

The 1979 Furnace Door Stamp.

(This stamp image was given to us by Ashford Stamps Ltd, Auckland.)

 When I published this stamp (Sept 2013) I believed it was the only example of the 1949 Visit set which survived. When the tour was cancelled, all the stamps were ordered to be destroyed the New Zealand Post Office, but this one was allegedly found caught in the furnace door and saved by a workman. Considering that this stamp survived being very close to the heat and dirt of a furnace, in the image above it appears to be in very good condition other than the missing corner.

Although it is missing part of the upper left corner it is still considered an extremely rare item for a collection of New Zealand stamps. In 1979 it was sold for NZ$14,000.

  

2nd - No Gum and Flattened.

 

2009 - Washed and repaired stamp. (Two images of the same stamp.)

This stamp, appeared in a Harmer’s Of Sydney auction, on June 21, 1979, is not in the as good condition as it appears in the image here. An examination of the back reveals no gum and a number of creases that have been smoothed out. In 2009 it was sold again by Mowbray Collectables for NZ$30,000.   

This stamp is claimed by Linn's Stamp News to have been sold in 2003 at auction for the equivalent of $11,655 US.

Going by the perf damage bottom centre it looks like this might be another image of the stamp above but it appears to be cleaner and different in colour. Of course, colour is likely an internet image problem but there is no trace of the stains seen on my first images of this stamp. These images show the problems of colour and quality found when using online images. No doubt, I am probably making it worse with the images I am showing here. In this last image, I believed that scans of this stamp were doctored and brightened to hide most of the creasing, stains and scrubbing.

3rd - Reverse Image Example.

2015 Reverse Image Stamp.

Now I am confused about this item. A reverse image like the one above is usually created when ink offsets onto the sheet above during printing. This is often seen in stamps but usually not as perfect an image as this is. It was being offered for sale in an auction by Paul Fraser Collectibles and was expected to fetch over NZ$25,000. Which is surprising considering the copy in 2009 sold for NZ$30,000. Both images appear to be the same stamp, notice that distinctive notch in the lower perforations, I believe this must be our third example.

Our 4th Example.

These next two stamps appear to be different from the ones further above. Two more copies, each with different perforations to the others on this page. So now do we have five of these, out of a known seven copies? I just wish they were real and sitting in my own collection.

 

This example appeared in a Mowbray Collectables auction in 2009. They also used an image of this stamp for a personalized stamp used to advertise and promote their company. 

(See lower down this page)

5th The First Mowbray 2017.

  This copy is the one sold by Mowbray Collectables in March 2017. After being fiercely bid, it eventually was sold for NZ$67,850. By the look of it, this would be the best example of these seven stamps.

6th - Mowbray late 2017.

Another copy of this stamp sold by Mowbray Collectables late 2017 for $53,000.

(See the comment below 30th July, 2018.)

We have looked at this stamp as close as we can using just the image above and have concluded that this is the 6th one which means there is only one other known example left. See there is a black mark in the top right corner and what appears to be a tear below the 'U' in Vanguard, both of which do not appear on any of the stamps above.

7th - The Worst Copy.

Here it is, the seventh and worst copy. It is damaged, a real mess with corners missing and bad creasing. Out of all the seven copies, this is the only one that really looks like it might have escaped the flames of the furnace. The photograph is a poor image too but I'm sure you will agree that it is great to see all seven copies on one page like this. For that reason alone we have considered showing such a poor image.
In 2003, this photo was sent to a stamp dealer by an anonymous member of the public for comment and valuation. In spite of its condition, it is believed to be a real copy. 

So what can we make of all this? Well, nothing was known of this stamp until the damaged one burst on the scene in 1979. Now we know of at least 7 different copies, two of them with pieces missing. While I can probably except that the first and last examples with corners missing, may have been caught in the furnace door it becomes harder to believe all seven did. I realise that they are all damaged copies with creases and some cases missing pieces but none appear to show any real obvious heat damage. 

I personally think we may be looking at a case of printers waste, possibly taken from a rubbish bin, rather than the story of being saved in the furnace door. Now having been a printer I know that full sheets are often found in their waste bins. Could it be that there are others maybe even a full or large part of a sheet waiting to be slowly broken up and dripped into the market? Only time will tell.

3d Vanguard Forgeries.

Now here is something interesting. We have found an interesting collection of forgeries, including this stamp from the 1949 Royal Visit and 1952 Royal Visit issues.  Forgeries. 

 

This is my copy of the 1949 3d HMS Vanguard - a very light grainy image on a perfect stamp with a fully glummed back. Yes, it a forgery sent to me that now carries the word "FAKE" written on the back. I do not want anyone to try and pass it off as a real one.
These fake or forgery copies began appearing in E-bay over recent years. We tracked some down to  Taiwanese seller (eBay) Scott Visnjic. He makes all kind of fantasy stamps as well as forgeries of real ones - from King Edward VIII stamps, Malta telegraphs, Western Australia Court Fees, fictional countries like 'Imperial Coldland' etc. It is all very well making fantasy stamps but this one, a copy of a very rare and expensive real one can only be considered a forgery.

Personalised Stamp.

A personalized stamp featuring the 3d HMS Vanguard.

Since Mowbray Collectables has been involved in selling a few copies of this stamp they decided to create this personalized stamp for their postage and promotion of their business. We believe that this is stamp number 4 in our collection above, See the unusual perf cut in the bottom right-hand corner.

A mint copy of the same personalized stamp issued for Mowbray Collectables Ltd.

A joint post by Allan & Asami.