Dear All KGVI collectors,

A couple or more decades ago, I saw an item in Murray Payne's list for an "Official notch" in the margin of sheets of the GB 1937 Coronation stamp. The notch was on a series of sheets of the Morocco overprint...

A small order resulted resulted in the arrival of a sheet each of 20 no stop, 20 with stop and a lower third of a sheet of 20 no stop that had a notch cut out of the right side margin. This notch was at the exact level, but the opposite side of the sheet as the control. That is, alongside rows 18 and 19. Dickon Pollard of Murray Payne had invented the term “Official notch”. It turned out he’d inferred that this had to be at least an officially sanctioned action, for it had occurred on a significant number of the sheets Murray Payne had handled in this consignment. My one-third sheet was the last piece.

To cut a long story short, I searched far and wide for sheets of the overprint on both panes of cylinder 20 and ended up with more than 40 of them!

I now understand what happened, and want to write it up. But... ever had one of those days when you cannot find a stamp? After searching all morning I give up. I cannot find that piece with the notch. Sadly, and stupidly, I did not photograph the thing! Today, it would get scanned as a matter of course...

Can anybody help please? At the least I need to see what the notch looks like, and a decent scan will certainly be enough. At the best, I'd be more than happy to discuss and exchange thoughts with anybody who has one of the pieces with the notch...

It occurs to me that the GB stamps used overseas might be "colonial" or not considered genuine GB by some purists. If there is a group somewhere that specializes in GB-used-abroad, might somebody kindly tell me?

Many thanks for ANY response.

Robin Restall

Robin,
I would suggest your best bet would be to contact the GB Overprint Society.

Dear All,
No need to respond. I found the piece a few minutes ago! Apologies.
Robin R.

Thanks Harvey,

I literally found the piece a couple of minutes ago.

But the variety has nothing to do with the overprint - and all to do with the sheets being askew and crooked when cut into two panes. But, to recall a point made rather strongly by RobinT, does the overprint mean that the stamp is not a GB? Or to put the question hopefully clearer, are used-overseas not considered real GB stamps?

Cheers, Robin

Hello Robin

You have raised an issue that has been troubling moi considerably for a while now - sad case that I am!

I want to enter competitions with my stamps, but, dare I add these "colonial" OP's?

If I do will I be marked grossly out order and lose marks -

or if I do will I be credited for broadening the horizon of my entry and have marks added -

or if I do will I be seen as an oddball - not difficult given what I collect - and disqualified for sheer cheeky impertinence?

If you want a specialist overseas GB club then go to the Great Britain Overprints Society (GBOS), they seem to have a more liberal way of looking at things, go to www.gbos.org.uk I can only say their website is v good and worth studying.

No doubt I have now committed the ultimate heresy by mentioning this Society. Their newsletter and magazine is also v good.

Let me know how you get on.

PS For some reason GBOS do not see my beloved SPECIMEN or CANCELLED OP's as Overprints, so I am no longer a member.

Dear Anon,

Very interesting, and thanks a bunch. Whilst I am at the moment only concerned with the SPECIMEN and CANCELLED overprints on KEIII and KGVI Coronation - I am intrigued by certain aspects of the whole overprint subject.

With regard to turf definitions, I cannot understand why an overprint that allows a British stamp to be used overseas is not regarded (at least technically) as a British stamp. The stamp IS a British stamp, subject to the same printing (with all the complications of flaws, errors, watermarks and perforations).

Is it not the piece of paper, but how it is used that defines a stamp?

Anyway, I'll be researching the colonial OPs to see whether there is any way to figure out what is real, possible, and faked. And incidentally, I note that SG say there is virtually no information on them. How, I wonder then, do the certifiers of whether something is genuine or not know what they are doing? How do they know they're right?

More on this before long. I have two copies of the '37 Coronation stamp overprinted CANCELLED - one with a certificate one that it is genuine, the other being a certificate saying it is a fake!

Cheers, Robin R.