Arms Postal Fiscals - Part Three.

Back to  Arms Postal Fiscals - Part Two.

         This will be my last post on Revenue Stamps. I feel its about time I moved on to something else. In this, my final post of Revenue Stamps, I want to just present a small collection of items where the Arms Stamps have been used. First I have included some postal items using Arms Type stamps. Lower down we come to a few examples of Revenue use, including a nice little collection of telephone toll cards. I will end this study with what I have called the ultimate Revenue document. Make sure you check that one out.

Postal Use. 

A First Flight Pictorial cover, dated 19th July 1940, sent to USA and return, via Noumea, Canton Island, Hawaii. The postage was 4/- paid with a 4/- Arms stamp. 

Arms Postal Fiscals - Part Two.

Back to Arms Postal Fiscals - Part One.          Forward to Arms Postal Fiscal - Part Three. 

      In this post I will show you the complete Arms set. Both the original 1931 Issue and the 1940 Overprint Issue. When I first began to study Revenue stamps I thought that the 1940 Overprints were bold black figures overprinted on existing stamps but actually, in the lower values, most of them were new values being added to the 1931 set. You will notice that further down the page, some of the high values were existing stamps overprinted in 1940. Because of this overlap between issues I have decided arranged them on this page with both issues being combined as one set. 

  

1/3 - Lemon.                                   1/3 - Orange/Yellow.                                 1/3 - Black Text.                                1/3 - Blue Text.

 1s 3d - Lemon Arms Type was issued in 1931. When it proved difficult to read it was re-issued a few months later in an Orange-Yellow colour. It was issued with black text in 1955.  In July 1956 a mistake was made with blue lettering in place of the black.    

Arms Postal Fiscals - Part One.

Forward to Arms Postal Fiscals - Part Two.



The Arms Design.

In 1929 Linley Richardson was commissioned to design a new set of fiscal stamps. His design incorporated his own interpretation of the New Zealand Coat of Arms which varied considerably from the version authorised by Royal Warrant and included the New Zealand flag in place of the Union Jack. Compare this with the old type NZ Arms below.



4/- Red - NZ Arms

An interesting and Detailed Design, often overlooked by collectors.  

Queen Victoria Fiscal Stamps - Part Four.

        Back to QV Fiscal Stamps - Part Three.

         In this, our last post on the QV Fiscal Stamps, we are going to look at the design of the long-type fiscal/postal series from 1880 and compare them with the 1882 2nd Side-Faced Issue. Then I have some examples of how the QV Fiscal Stamps were used, both for revenue stamp duty and for postage.

I love to enlarge these old stamps when I get a good quality image. It is only then that we can really enjoy the fine workmanship of these classic stamps. Often enlarging brings out details that are missed in the tiny images. For example in the image above of the 6/- Rose, look at the fine detailing in the scrolling work in the borders. Also, it was only when I enlarged the image that I discovered the ferns in the triangles in each corner.   

Queen Victoria Fiscal Stamps - Part Three.

Back to QV Fiscal Stamps - Part Two.               Forward to QV Fiscal Stamps - Part Four.

1880 QV Long-type Fiscal Stamps - The Complete Set. 

      In my first post on the Queen Victoria Fiscal Stamps, we looked at a series of issues leading up to the famous 1880 Revenue/Postage stamps. In my second post, we looked at the 1880 set itself. Included in that post was a set of the stamps most commonly used for postage after these stamps were authorised for postal use in 1882.

       Now we come to the question - What about all the other stamps from this series? Well, there is a large number of them, around 60 approx., it is hard to tell as some values appear in different colour shades so I'm unsure if they are varieties or separate stamps. I now think I have all the values except for one and in time I hope to fill in this gap too. The main purpose of this post will be to show all of them, as in this way you can get an idea of the actual size of this important issue.

       As you go through the collection on this page you will notice some appear to be mint while others have been cancelled in various ways, using date strikes, punch marks and handwritten dates. As I said above, I have also included some more obvious colour varieties too.

      Also, notice how the design changes as you go down the page. It is particularly noticeable in the frame around Queen Victoria's head. This is very similar to what happened in the Side-face postal issues as well. The design retains the words 'New Zealand' at the top and 'Stamp Duty' further down but the frame around Queen Victoria's portrait goes from a circle to part circle top and bottom. It then becomes a square, a hexagon and finally to an elliptical circle.     

Queen Victoria Fiscal Stamps - Part Two.

Back to QV Fiscal Stamps - Part One.               Forward to QV Fiscal Stamps - Part Three.



1880 Queen Victoria Long-Type Postal Fiscals.

The 1880 Queen Victoria Long types are by far the most diverse set of revenue stamps printed in New Zealand. 14 different printings were made over the 51-year history of the issue (even long after Queen Victoria had died!) with different papers, watermarks and perforations evident between each issue. This, combined with the wide range of values, from 4d to 1000 pounds, makes this an exceptionally interesting set to study.

A History of the Issue.

        By 1878 the die II revenue printing plates were beginning to wear. This resulted in several options for their replacement being considered. In 1878 and the following years, several important decisions were made by the New Zealand government. These resulted in major changes to both postage and revenue stamp production.

1878

        It was decided that for the 1d denomination, most in demand of the revenue stamps, a new stamp of a completely different design would be introduced. Since this stamp would be used on many different documents a more convenient size was also considered. This resulted in the introduction of a smaller sized stamp based upon the British 1d Inland Revenue stamp. The design also reflected some of the current stamps in New Zealand's 1882 Second Side-Faced issue. Initially, this stamp was printed in lilac (15th June 1878) but due to the stamp's faded appearance was later printed in blue (from 14th December 1878).

            

1878 - 1d Lilac.                                  1878 - 1d Blue.

Queen Victoria Fiscal Stamps - Part One.

Forward to QV Fiscal Stamps - Part Two.

When New Zealand introduced postage stamps in 1855 it soon became apparent that stamps could also be useful for the payment Government taxes and levies. This was introduced in 1867 and soon became known as 'Stamp Duty.' Upon payment, a revenue stamp (Fiscal Stamp) would be attached to the transaction document as proof of payment. Often these stamps would also be signed and dated as well. Sometimes holes were punched in them as well to signify that they were used. 

Is this wrong? The Date is too early!



         Revenue stamps were officially introduced on 1st January 1867, however, it appears that some were released earlier as the above image clearly shows the date 17/12/1866. It is unlikely this date was written in error as presumably the new year would well and truly be entrenched in the clerk's mind by November 1867, some 11 months later, so we should consider the date must have been November 1866 and the stamp was used before its official issue date.