NSW 1d Shield - Inverted Watermark

The NSW 1d shield must rank among the most unloved of all classic-era definitive postage stamps. This one, which would be SG 289, has an inverted watermark, but watermark varieties are unlisted in my Gibbons, despite the fact that they are listed for Commonwealth issues.

I'm under the impression that late state issues frequently had inverted watermarks and they are not priced in the catalogues because they're so common. Does anyone know if this is also the case with the 1d shield? (I have 500 of them and only one with an inverted watermark, so I don't think they can be THAT common.)



Thanks for looking!

From their note in the Empire and Commonwealth catalogue, I assume that they don't list them anywhere. The note I read is probably the same or similar to the one you are referring to. "In Australia, they just didn't care, and we just don't care, and we couldn't possibly posit values, anyway, so we won't list them for stamps not printed in Great Britain (where we care about such things)."

I'm paraphrasing, of course. I would say if you've identified 499 normal watermarks, and one inverted watermark, that is exactly the kind of thing that collectors would like to know about. Some literature must reflect it, but it seems like it won't be Gibbons.

Thanks for the observations, Cjd. I asked about the 1d shield because I have only found one with an inverted watermark. With the Tasmanian pictorials, by contrast, I've only ever owned around 50 of these, but at least 10 had inverted watermarks. It would seem that the Gibbons attitude, so to speak, is justified in the case of Tasmania, but not necessarily in the case of NSW.

I think there's a general lack of interest in late state issues generally. To harp on about the 1d shield, zillions of these were printed, but I've never seen a mention anywhere of plate flaws or other errors. It stands to reason that with such a great many of these stamps being printed, there must have been some varieties, but among Australian collectors interest in varieties seems to have centered on the KGVs and the roos to the exclusion of all else.

Watermark = Crown over single-lined A inverted $40 used
Watermark = Crown over double-lined A inverted $5 used

Thanks for looking, Aussie Al.

This one is Crown over NSW. Is that listed too?

Jimjamtwo
Crown over NSW does not mention inverted

Oh well, that's what I've got.

One can only be baffled by such selective listings.

Does this mean the stamp is extremely common (too common to list) or previously unknown?

May I ask what reference work you're using, Al?

Australian Commonwealth Specialists catalogue
Kangaroos and the Early Federal Period by Brusden White.

Thanks, Al. Would you recommend it?

It's not bad I bought it mainly for the Roos ,As far as the states go it only covers 1901 to 1912