The Australian Commonwealth Specialists’ Catalogue, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II 1952-1966
The Australian Commonwealth Specialists’ Catalogue, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II 1952-1966 Editor Geoffrey Kellow, soft cover, ISBN 0-9587630-3-8, xi + 252 pages (George VI); ISBN 0-9587630-7-0, xii + 343 pages (Elizabeth II); published 2006 by Brusden-White, Suite 25, 89-97 Jones Street, Ultimo NSW 2007.
The Australian Commonwealth Specialists’ Catalogue has been a faithful guide for philatelists for 80 years and never more so than the past 13 years under the editorship of Geoff Kellow. The ACSC comprised a single volume until 1993, when the present series of sectional volumes began appearing. With last year’s Kangaroos and Early Federal period, 1901–12, the process of publishing nine sectional volumes covering Australian Commonwealth stamps from 1901 to 2001 was completed.
The latest addition to the catalogue range is the new editions of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II Pre-Decimal volumes. This is the first update of the two volumes since the original publication in 1995. Not a lot has been added to the listings, because in the editor’s words “there has been little new significant research into these issues.” Nevertheless, new work has been incorporated, including some new plate varieties and new shade listings.
The revision has been possible through the records of the Note Printing Australia, held for public access in the Reserve Bank of Australia headquarters, Sydney. Since 1995, new records have been examined that supplement information on the printing quantities of individual stamps. Geoff Kellow has pursued this research diligently for many years and this is reflected in the vast scope of information contained in the pages of the ACSC.
The George VI period is particularly important for several unique die proofs and rare plate numbers. Some new plate numbers have been added to the listing and the overall listing has been revised by differentiating between those plate numbers with or without dots and dashes. The most important new item is the unissued 2d Edward VIII stamp of 1936, which only came to the stamp world’s attention in 1996. (A unique, corner block of six stamps from an uncut sheet taken from the press and presented to the Governor of Victoria, is held in a private collection.) The George VI catalogue has been increased by 35 pages over the first edition.
The Elizabeth II period has been revised by improved illustrations of all plate varieties and the inclusion of Australian Antarctic Territory and Cocos (Keeling) Islands stamps (these being valid Australian stamps for postage). The Elizabeth II Pre-Decimal catalogue has been increased by 80 pages over the first edition.
The market for stamps of the two reigns has increased spectacularly for all rare and unusual material, over the past decade. No doubt this is in large part due to the ACSC and the comprehensive way in which it presents background information. Needless to say there has not been much movement in the price of ordinary stamps of this era – evidence of the sophistication of the market and its concentration on scarcity. For example, the plate numbers that were catalogued at around $300–$500 in the first edition are now listed at round $5,000-$7,500.
There could hardly be a more worthwhile pursuit for anyone interested in Australian Commonwealth philately than to study the 3,470 pages of the nine-volume ACSC.
Published by kind permission of the author.
First published in Philately from Australia (June 2006).
