lilac overprints

Material relating to the philately of the reign of Queen Victoria.
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MIKE
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2016 1:44 pm

lilac overprints

Post by MIKE »

Could anyone advise on the best method of identifying the listed blue-black version relating to the Victorian 1d lilac overprints.
HeerbruggM8
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2021 9:08 pm

Re: lilac overprints

Post by HeerbruggM8 »

Hi Mike,
Both the late Michael Astley, and the late Tony Wiseman have stated that light transmission microscopy (i.e. shining a light through the stamp) is the best way to identify the blue-black ink varieties on the 1d lilac IR Official overprint issue. The only limitation to this is if the stamp is still attached to the envelope/paper or is heavily hinged this does not work very well.
Good luck!
MIKE
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2016 1:44 pm

Re: lilac overprints

Post by MIKE »

Hi - many thanks for the reply - very interesting and not a process I would have thought of, I have a bantum with a super blue-black cancellation of which I posted a query about on the site sometime ago and had assumed the colouration would be somewhat similar but annoyingly we all live and learn even at our sage age.
Mike
HeerbruggM8
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2021 9:08 pm

Re: lilac overprints

Post by HeerbruggM8 »

Hi Mike - in case I wasn't clear - I only have limited knowledge of the overprint ink itself (i.e. the words stating "IR Official") on the stamp and how to detect that ink being in blue-black ink and in that instance light transmission microscopy is the way to go. I do not know whether this technique can be used for any other blue-black inks (i.e. your cancellation). One of the things that's so interesting about the blue-black ink departmental official overprints is that you cannot really identify them easily with a magnifier or loupe so they are rather tricky to identify!
Kind regards,
H
MIKE
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2016 1:44 pm

Re: lilac overprints

Post by MIKE »

Hi I have several hundred overprints from Edward VII through to the lilac and given some spare time I will check the Victorian and let you know if anything interesting pops up.
Mike
HeerbruggM8
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2021 9:08 pm

Re: lilac overprints

Post by HeerbruggM8 »

Wow! several hundred overprints should keep you pretty busy - good luck looking through them and yes it'd be great to hear if you find anything of interesting!
Kind Regards,
H
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