Discussion on the New Zealand Railway Charges stamps

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 03 Jul 2010 11:16

Collectors will be familiar with these stamps introduced in 1925, being reasonably common (there's always a few on TradeMe) and catalogued online at Dave Elsmore's site, and recently in hard-copy with the Kiwi catalogue of New Zealand Revenue & Railway Stamps.

Jim Brodie wrote about them in Volume 6 of the RPSNZ handbook series The Postage Stamps of New Zealand (1977).

He described the ongoing issues with a prepaid-by-stamp system, which started a decline in 1928 when the 25% surcharge for pay on arrival parcels was removed, meaning the advantage of prepayment by stamps was largely removed.

By 1940 use of the stamps was limited. In 1951 a new parcels system was introduced and all the stamps were dropped except ones for Newspapers, and those finished in 1959.

So what are these? They are labels showing prepayment of Railways Charges, for affixing to the parcel, or parcel label.

They're all the same stationery number P.L. 10, but all different in some respects other than the depot name.

No idea of the date, but I'd assume from the period when the stamps were in decline.

Are they railway stamps worthy of cataloguing alongside their more colourful and perforated cousins? I think so.

Adam.

stampmogul · Post by **stampmogul** » 03 Jul 2010 17:57

adam78,
It comes down to someone with the knowledge, time & willingness to put together the scans & the information together with a value indication.

The next step is to either publish in print form or create a suitable web site. Without the intimate subject knowledge such a production would be a waste of time & money.

Your examples indicate there is much variety in the "labels", so it would appear to be a subject worthy of a dedicated person. Do you have what is necessary to make a start ?

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 04 Jul 2010 09:58

Um, not quite what I meant. I was asking if they belong in the same class as their better known cousins, or are they more like cinderellas, or even just ephemera?

David Smitham · Post by **David Smitham** » 07 Jul 2010 10:51

Adam

Just a thought only - perhaps these were receipts indicating that the freight on the item(s) had been paid in cash at the station concerned and that no stamps were available there, or used possibly in the post stamp period?

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 19 Jul 2010 16:49

And to widen the story, as well as the green PAID labels, there was a parallel red TO PAY set.

chippin · Post by **chippin** » 05 Aug 2010 01:25

Adam

I think I can help with regard period of use of at least one of your labels. I have the following example:-

This example of label 10-A is attached to a mailtag which is dated 11/2/28

I assume P.L. 10-A is the requisition number for 'Parcel Label' of this type. I also have the following selection of labels (see below). One is an example of P.L. 10A but makes no reference to charges "Paid" or "To Pay". The others are endorsed L 11 so presumably are simple labels and are not related to charges. There are several different formats suggesting local production and possibly different periods of usage.

The P.L. 10 and 10A labels were in use during the period of the Railway Charges stamps and certainly afterwards. With the issue of the special stamps in 1925 all parcels carried by rail had to be pre-paid. The ability to send parcels "To Pay" attracted a 25% surcharge and this option was abolished in 1928.

In the introduction to Jim Brodie's book on the Railway Charges stamps he states that "In 1909 it was estimated that half of the total freight on parcels was paid at the delivery point".

chippin

chippin · Post by **chippin** » 07 Aug 2010 07:17

Just found a few more in a box of "things to write up one of these days"!

These are much more recent than those posted to this thread previously.

The top one has yet another label number P.L. - 38

The bottom one has the option to use for Goods "To Pay" or "Paid".

chippin

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 18 Feb 2014 08:41

I'm resurrecting this old thread rather than start a new one with a similar title.

I've collected the New Zealand Railway Charges (and Newspaper) stamps for some time now. Last year I helped David Smitham with some additional research for the 5th Edition of the Kiwi NZ Revenue & Railway catalogue.

Now I've collected my thoughts, and lots of images of the stamps (at 200%) and related items, into 33 page PDF, and attached it to my website for your enlightenment.

The link to the PDF (5.5MB) is at the bottom of the home page at http://www.stampboards.com/images/78rpm

This is the first draft, and you will read that I am keen to add more, especially relating to the known stations and types of overprints. The large table in Appendix A is intended to bring into one place a lot of useful information, to date scattered. Since the chapter on the Railway stamps in Volume VI of The Postage Stamps of New Zealand (RPSNZ, 1977), and Jim Brodie's subsequent 1983 monograph on the Design & Printing of the Railway Charges stamps, little has appeared in print. I'm hoping my effort will rectify some of that shortage, and raise some topics for discussion.

I'd particularly like the following:
1. A 300dpi scan of a 10/- to use on the front page

2. Proving examples for station overprints not noted - post them on this thread by all means. I know there are lots I'm missing.
3. A clear scan of a KINGSWAY BOND watermark
4. Thoughts on the station scarcity banding idea
5. Corrections - grammar, spelling and especially errors of fact.

My email is in the PDF if you want to contact me that way.
I don't guarantee to use everything, but due acknowledgement will be made in the document for those I do use, and where the supplier wishes it.

Cheers,
Adam.

alltorque · Post by **alltorque** » 18 Feb 2014 23:10

Hi Adam,
just checked your links and found myself wandering around your items for quite a while.
Some very interesting information you have posted.

I also liked your "78" record appraisal values to any collectors/estates as to what they might have and values.
Good honest opinions...!
Cheers,
Ian

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 23 Feb 2014 08:43

Some additional stations seen recently on ebay

REEFTON Type I, missing "R"

ST ANDREWS Type I

ORARI Type I

ALBURY Type I

A small lot, including the ALBURY & REEFTON above sold on ebay for NZ$170 (item 291069940987)

Adam.

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 23 Feb 2014 11:27

Updated PDF now at at the bottom of the home page at http://www.stampboards.com/images/78rpm

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 07 Mar 2014 17:05

9d with DUNEDIN doubled, once reading up, once reading down.

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 16 Mar 2014 15:05

Good money being obtained on TradeMe for some interesting stations. Values in NZ$.

PETONE (Band 4) on 2/- pink (Kiwi cat $25) $152

https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=704635943

Pleasant Point (band 10) on 1d violet (cat $10 pr) $83

https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=704642118

Springston (Band 10) on 4x 2d blue (cat $40 for 4) $466

https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=704636813

And in a small lot, a 10/- overprinted ROTORUA (not the usual overprint for these very rare stamps) 10/- Cat $1250, went for $1680. The 8d is nice too.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=704365539
Adam.

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 22 Mar 2014 09:04

The 10/-'s are like buses, none for ages then two at once!

This one went for NZ$1690. It has the more usual THORNDON overprint.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=706194552

Adam

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 12 Apr 2014 12:09

An updated PDF (version 4) is now at:

http://www.stampboards.com/images/78rpm/couriers/NZR/New%20Z ... 0ebook.pdf

Adam

RedKiwi1969 · Post by **RedKiwi1969** » 29 Dec 2014 20:43

Adam,

A very informative product that you have produced.

Thanks for sharing your PDF.

Jason

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 30 Dec 2014 12:22

You're welcome.

Version 5 is now up on the site, plus a similar article on the New Zealand Railway Newspaper stamps of 1890-1928.

http://www.stampboards.com/images/78rpm, scroll to end of page.

Adam.

RedKiwi1969 · Post by **RedKiwi1969** » 30 Dec 2014 14:23

Adam,

Thanks again for allowing me to gain access to your pdf's.

Jason

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 06 Feb 2015 08:55

Just picked up on TradeMe for $293 (against a catalogue value of just $15!)

Once sales to the public ceased in 1933, the predominant business continuing to use the stamps were newspaper publishers. Bundles of newspapers continued to be delivered to stations for pickup by local deliverers, and general stores.
This is an exceptionally rare survivor, being a printer’s single-sided proof pull of two pages of The Buller Times (published 1937-1941), used to wrap 8 newspapers from Westport to Seddonville, on July 5 1941.

I know of no other NZ Railway Charges (or Railway Newspaper) stamps used on a newspaper. If you have one, please post!

(This scarcity of items on full newspaper continues from the 1873 ½d Newspaper stamp. Many millions were printed and used to 1895, but less than 10 newspapers are recorded bearing the stamp.
My two articles on this topic can be found linked from the RPSNZ website Contents of the New Zealand Stamp Collector, for September 2008:
https://www.rpsnz.org.nz/index.php/our-writings/the-new-zeala ... c-contents)

Adam.

chippin · Post by **chippin** » 06 Feb 2015 10:56

Adam

That is a spectacular piece.

chippin

Global Administrator · Post by **Global Administrator** » 06 Feb 2015 11:03

adam78 wrote:
(This scarcity of items on full newspaper continues from the 1873 ½d Newspaper stamp. Many millions were printed and used to 1895, but less than 10 newspapers are recorded bearing the stamp.

That is pretty amazing when you think on it!

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 30 May 2015 15:27

A trio of lots of these stamps sold recently on ebay for surprising sums. All from Norwich seller wildy62.

Ebay item 301607028731

NZ$260. Kiwi cat $60. I'm guessing it's the pair with the "21 AUCKLAND" handstamp, but they're not really that scarce.

Ebay item 301607027772

NZ$450. Kiwicat $30. WINCHESTER is Band 7 scarcity, ORARI Band 6, but even so...

Ebay item 291442610213.

NZ$740. Kiwi cat $300. NGAHERE is Band 7, but both badly damaged, and I see another "21 AUCKLAND" handstamp.

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 30 May 2015 15:29

Double overprints on the Types II and III overprints (3mm stencil or letterpress) are not uncommon.

Below is the first double overprint I've seen with the Type I (2.5mm "typewritten") overprint.

Anyone got a pic of another?

Adam

Kiwidude · Post by **Kiwidude** » 28 Jul 2019 20:57

Hi there,

I've got 2 of these & some other items for NZ Rail.

I'll post the others tomorrow.

I'm not sure, How old it is but as it's 1/. its before 1967.

Fancy having to pay for a pillow.

Panterra · Post by **Panterra** » 28 Jul 2019 23:49

Great to see some L-11 labels on this thread!

As a railfan, I have been collecting these for some years, but only have mint ones, so no idea on the period of use.

NZ Railways: freight destination labels (L-11): Auckland suburban stations.

These date back some years, when stations had fulltime staff, and accepted crates and parcels to be railed to any other station within New Zealand. Any carton accepted for freight would have one of these labels glued on to it, showing the name of the station it was consigned to. On arrival at that station, the clerk would send a postcard to the addressee, advising that the box was ready to collect at the station. They are known as L-11s.

Used ones are elusive, as they tended to be destroyed with the box or wrapping. Mint ones are also elusive, but some seem to have come on to the market from closed stations.

Various colours and styles were used. No precise dates of use are known.

NZ Railways: freight destination labels (L-11): Dannevirke, Oaro, Queenstown, and Ngongotaha.

Note the different colours and styles for Dannevirke. Maybe someone has knowledge on what date each came into use?

As a child living in the rural hamlet of Te Aroha, I recall my parents frequently receiving wooden crates of stonefruit sent by railway from Central Otago by this system. I gather most parcel despatch in New Zealand was via Railfreight, as they were the cheapest and easiest service around.

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Kiwidude · Post by **Kiwidude** » 29 Jul 2019 09:25

No Idea's on the age of these or even if they plentiful.

New Zealand Rail New L17 Luggage Tag

New Zealand Rail New L-11 Taumarunui Label

This last item probably shouldn't be here.

NZ 1d red pair KGVI & I'm not sure what happened to it ( date wise ) 1 p/m 27 MR 1940 & the rail one 30 JA 1940
Buckland's Beach & Frankton Junction Railway

Thanks for any comments

Peter

Panterra · Post by **Panterra** » 29 Jul 2019 15:45

Great to see your items, Peter! And especially the Taumarunui L-11 label.

I have a couple from that town too, but both of mine are different from yours. Here is my page:

NZ Railways: freight destination labels (L-11): Taihape, Kati Kati, Woodville, Taumarunui, Glenbrook, and Okoroire.

Your Taumarunui label differs from mine in having "New Zealand Railways" spelled out in full, whereas my black label only has the initials (which I suspect to be the earlier version, as most such labels I have seen the paper is more age-toned, and the typeface more "vintage".)

Wikipedia wrote:Taumarunui railway station in Taumarunui, New Zealand was the main railway station in Taumarunui. Formerly it was an important intermediate stop with a refreshment room on the North Island Main Trunk line; the subject of a ballad by Peter Cape.

The NIMT was opened to through Auckland to Wellington trains from 9 November 1908, with the first NIMT express trains from 14 February 1909. Trains also ran to Stratford from 1933.

The building was opened on 1 December 1903, including cattle-yard, engine-shed, and railway workers' cottages, and closed on 25 June 2012 when the passenger stop was dropped from the Northern Explorer's schedule, except for pre-booked groups of 10+.

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Panterra · Post by **Panterra** » 12 Sep 2019 18:05

Been a while since anything new on this thread, so I am adding a few more of my L-11 destination-station labels.

NZ Railways: freight destination labels (L-11): Trentham, Pokeno, New Plymouth, Marton, Ngaruawahia, Aramoho, and Otorohanga.

The Pokeno one appears the oldest (as the paper is more age-toned, and the typeface more "vintage".)

Wikipedia wrote:Otorohanga railway station has served the town of Otorohanga, on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand since 1887. It was 4.45 km south of Kiokio and 9.21 km north of Hangatiki, but is now one of only 9 stations on the line served by the Northern Explorer.

Trains calling at Otorohanga included The Overlander, Blue Streak, Scenic Daylight, Daylight Limited, Northerner and Night Limited. By 2012 passenger numbers had dropped to an average of two per train, which brought about a brief closure from 24 June. Initially the reinstatement was for summer only from 10 December.

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Panterra · Post by **Panterra** » 09 Oct 2019 13:21

Here are a few more of my L-11 destination-station labels.

NZ Railways: freight destination labels (L-11): Auckland, Strand, Remuera, Helensville, Mercer, New Lynn, Manurewa, and Napier.

The Remuera and Mercer ones appear the oldest (as the paper is more age-toned, and the typeface more "vintage".) But it would be interesting to find some means of establishing when these labels were first used, though I can see no practical way to do so (given that they were not datestamped, and usually destroyed on arrival.)

Wikipedia wrote:The 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, also known as the Napier earthquake, occurred in New Zealand at 10:47 am on 3 February, killing 256,[2] injuring thousands and devastating the Hawke's Bay region. It remains New Zealand's deadliest natural disaster. Centred 15 km north of Napier, it lasted for two and a half minutes and measured magnitude 7.8 Ms (magnitude 7.9 Mw). There were 525 aftershocks recorded in the following two weeks, with 597 being recorded by the end of February. The main shock could be felt in much of New Zealand, with reliable reports coming in from as far south as Timaru, on the east coast of the South Island.[/size]

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Panterra · Post by **Panterra** » 22 Oct 2019 13:20

Here are a few more of my L-11 destination-station labels.

NZ Railways: freight destination labels (L-11): Whangarei, Okaihau, Waikino, Waiouru, Waitara, Levin, Wellington, and Mangapehi.

These are all North Island train stations.

Wikipedia wrote:The Okaihau Branch, sometimes known as the Kaikohe Branch and rarely the Rangiahua Branch, was a branch line railway that joined the North Auckland Line of the national rail network of New Zealand at Otiria. It was the most northerly line in New Zealand and was intended to run all the way to Kaitaia. It opened to Okaihau in 1923 and closed in 1987.

Although Kaikohe has become established as the service centre of the Far North, it failed to generate much rail traffic in the early years of the line. During the first ten months of existence, just 1,500 tons of inbound freight was carried, with roughly half that carried outbound; the decline continued to the point that in 1918 Kaikohe lost its stationmaster. Minimal services were offered, and although losses increased up to 1930, fortunes had somewhat improved by 1940, and by 1950 there was sufficient traffic to justify six trains each way a week. Two carried solely freight, while four were mixed trains, also carrying passengers. Full complements of staff were employed at Kaikohe and Okaihau, where a locomotive depot was located.

Folk singer Peter Cape wrote and sang his song The Okaihau Express in the 1950s about the Okaihau train, which consisted of a steam engine, a carriage and a guard's van.

When railcars were introduced on services north of Auckland in November 1956, they ran all the way to Okaihau.

Previously, a carriage train known as the Northland Express (or the Opua Express) had run from Auckland to Opua with connections to Okaihau via the mixed trains, but with the change of the northern terminus to Okaihau, the branch increased in importance. This proved to be short-lived; in July 1967 the very popular railcar service was withdrawn due to mechanical problems plaguing the railcars. Passengers had to use the mixed trains, with significantly older rolling stock on a slower schedule, and demand slipped. The branch closed to passengers on 21 June 1976.

Wikipedia wrote: Waikino is a small town at the southern end of a gorge in the North Island of New Zealand alongside the Ohinemuri River, between Waihi and the Karangahake Gorge. The Waikino district lies at the base of the ecologically sensitive Coromandel Peninsula with its subtropical rainforests, steep ravines and fast moving rivers and streams. "Waikino" is Māori and means "water in a gorge".

The population of Waikino was 213 people in 90 households in the 2013 New Zealand census.

Gold mining around Waikino has a history dating back to early colonisation of New Zealand. Waikino was the focal point of gold mining in the Waikato-Bay of Plenty district with the 1897 construction of the Victoria Battery on the edge of what was a busy town supporting the extensive local mining industry. Waikino's Victoria Battery processed ore from the large Martha Mine in Waihi. The Victoria Battery was then New Zealand's largest industrial complex. Besides processing ore, it supported carpenters' shops, a sawmill and a foundry. With 200 stampers, the battery was the largest quartz crushing plant for gold extraction in Australasia, and was capable of crushing over 812 tonnes of ore each day to the consistency of sand. The loud thumping sounds of crushing rock could be heard 10 kilometres away.

There is also a community sponsored heritage railway from the Waikino station café to Waihi, the Goldfields Railway. This line used to be part of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway and opened in November 1905, but in 1978, a deviation to the south opened and made it redundant. The Goldfields Railway successfully saved the 6 km of track between Waihi and Waikino and is now a popular tourist attraction, running trains daily with preserved steam locomotives and diesel locomotives providing motive power.

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adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 30 Oct 2019 18:03

Some railway charges items from the Pre-paid and To-Pay regime.

And from the much later period 1984-85.

The pinkish items are actually bright flouro-orange - confuses my scanner!

Panterra · Post by **Panterra** » 25 Nov 2019 21:06

Here are a few more of my L-11 destination-station labels.

NZ Railways: freight destination labels (L-11): Whangarei, Okaihau, Waikino, Waiouru, Waitara, Levin, Wellington, and Mangapehi.

These are all North Island train stations.

Wikipedia wrote:The Okaihau Branch, sometimes known as the Kaikohe Branch and rarely the Rangiahua Branch, was a branch line railway that joined the North Auckland Line of the national rail network of New Zealand at Otiria. It was the most northerly line in New Zealand and was intended to run all the way to Kaitaia. It opened to Okaihau in 1923 and closed in 1987.

Although Kaikohe has become established as the service centre of the Far North, it failed to generate much rail traffic in the early years of the line. During the first ten months of existence, just 1,500 tons of inbound freight was carried, with roughly half that carried outbound; the decline continued to the point that in 1918 Kaikohe lost its stationmaster. Minimal services were offered, and although losses increased up to 1930, fortunes had somewhat improved by 1940, and by 1950 there was sufficient traffic to justify six trains each way a week. Two carried solely freight, while four were mixed trains, also carrying passengers. Full complements of staff were employed at Kaikohe and Okaihau, where a locomotive depot was located.

Folk singer Peter Cape wrote and sang his song The Okaihau Express in the 1950s about the Okaihau train, which consisted of a steam engine, a carriage and a guard's van.

When railcars were introduced on services north of Auckland in November 1956, they ran all the way to Okaihau.

Previously, a carriage train known as the Northland Express (or the Opua Express) had run from Auckland to Opua with connections to Okaihau via the mixed trains, but with the change of the northern terminus to Okaihau, the branch increased in importance. This proved to be short-lived; in July 1967 the very popular railcar service was withdrawn due to mechanical problems plaguing the railcars. Passengers had to use the mixed trains, with significantly older rolling stock on a slower schedule, and demand slipped. The branch closed to passengers on 21 June 1976.

Wikipedia wrote: Waikino is a small town at the southern end of a gorge in the North Island of New Zealand alongside the Ohinemuri River, between Waihi and the Karangahake Gorge. The Waikino district lies at the base of the ecologically sensitive Coromandel Peninsula with its subtropical rainforests, steep ravines and fast moving rivers and streams. "Waikino" is Māori and means "water in a gorge".

The population of Waikino was 213 people in 90 households in the 2013 New Zealand census.

Gold mining around Waikino has a history dating back to early colonisation of New Zealand. Waikino was the focal point of gold mining in the Waikato-Bay of Plenty district with the 1897 construction of the Victoria Battery on the edge of what was a busy town supporting the extensive local mining industry. Waikino's Victoria Battery processed ore from the large Martha Mine in Waihi. The Victoria Battery was then New Zealand's largest industrial complex. Besides processing ore, it supported carpenters' shops, a sawmill and a foundry. With 200 stampers, the battery was the largest quartz crushing plant for gold extraction in Australasia, and was capable of crushing over 812 tonnes of ore each day to the consistency of sand. The loud thumping sounds of crushing rock could be heard 10 kilometres away.

There is also a community sponsored heritage railway from the Waikino station café to Waihi, the Goldfields Railway. This line used to be part of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway and opened in November 1905, but in 1978, a deviation to the south opened and made it redundant. The Goldfields Railway successfully saved the 6 km of track between Waihi and Waikino and is now a popular tourist attraction, running trains daily with preserved steam locomotives and diesel locomotives providing motive power.

This message previously posted, but the photo seems to have died, so here it is again.

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adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 29 Nov 2019 15:46

Some pages from my collection, before it was broken up and sold.

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 29 Nov 2019 15:49

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 08 Dec 2019 18:48

FYI: The 13th edition of the New Zealand Railway Charges online article and the 8th edition of the Railways Newspaper one are now available via the RPSNZ website.

http://www.rpsnz.org.nz/index.php/items-of-interestnz-philatelic-gems

These get updated once or twice a year as new discoveries are made.

Adam.

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 18 Jan 2020 07:58

Small collections of New Zealand Railway stamps, both Newspaper and Charges, frequently appear on TradeMe.

The one shown here is typical, at least at a glance. The full catalogue value (in decent condition) would be about NZ$45 for the Newspaper ones, and the same for the Charges.

I can only imagine the seller's surprise (and delight) when it finally sold for NZ$2,912, after a lengthy bidding war between alison2002 and jackobluey, both of whom often win Railway Charges lots, especially the more unusual ones (which are generally the scarce station overprints).

And initially this is what we have here. The Type I ROLLESTON on the 2d blue is rated 9, while the Type II HEATHCOTE is a 10 (and had not previously been sighted by me). The other stamps are run-of-the-mill.

Nonetheless, rare station overprints tend to go for between $100 & $250, so there must be more going on.

The answer lies in the cancellations. Both are very unusual in having Post Office date-stamps rather than the usual railways cancel (as on the 1/-), or just crayon cancels like the rest.

...

HEATHCOTE A-Class 25AU32 .................................. ROLLESTON J-Class 12DE31?

I've only sighted a couple of others with Post Office cancels so the combination of the rare stations and postal markings seems to have made this lot extremely desirable for two very keen collectors. I'll add these into the next update of my online publication, noted in the previous post.

norvic · Post by **norvic** » 19 Jan 2020 04:24

adam78 wrote:A trio of lots of these stamps sold recently on ebay for surprising sums. All from Norwich seller wildy62.

.... who is a member here.

W5LDY · Post by **W5LDY** » 20 Jan 2020 01:51

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 26 Jan 2020 08:28

Sold yesterday on Trademe for NZ$1,765, this pair of very rare stations - rated 10.

Both thinned, and the 6d has a tear at top. As seen with the earlier pricy lot, condition is much less a factor than rarity.
The larger letterpress overprint is also doubled, which helps desirability too I guess.

Trademe - https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=2496085805

Mercer is a small town south of Auckland, 2006 population 105. Presumably even less around 1930 when these were in use.

Is there the same pricing range for the Australian railway stamps with station overprints? Has anyone tried to catalogue them at the station level?

MJ's pet · Post by **MJ's pet** » 27 Jan 2020 14:16

Is there the same pricing range for the Australian railway stamps with station overprints? Has anyone tried to catalogue them at the station level?

For Tasmania, there is no catalogue pricing, but small stations tend to get better prices than the larger stations.

This thread has really opened my eyes to NZ railways. Very interesting. Thanks!

(Also interesting that ebay has no traction in NZ

:

Trade Me is the largest internet auction website operating in New Zealand. Managed by Trade Me Ltd., the site was founded in 1999 by New Zealand entrepreneur Sam Morgan, who sold it to Fairfax in 2006 for NZ$700 million. Trade Me was publicly listed as a separate entity on 13 December 2011 under the ticker "TME". In May 2019 Trade Me was acquired by private equity firm Apax Partners for NZ$2.56 billion.

As of 20 March 2019, Trade Me's website was the fifth most visited in New Zealand and was ranked 2,711th globally according to Alexa Internet. In a country with a population of 4.8 million, the Trade Me site has, as of August 2015, 3.7 million active members. As of June 2015, an average of 878,000 people visit the site each day.)

satsuma · Post by **satsuma** » 30 Jan 2020 18:35

Any ideas on the value of this these days?
#157 of 500

satsuma · Post by **satsuma** » 31 Jan 2020 08:29

Here's a couple from my collection.
I have all in this value range except for the 8d.
Was the ½d value just for make-up?

David Smitham · Post by **David Smitham** » 31 Jan 2020 10:18

The ½d was used for transporting a single newspaper.

This rate and other rates/information may be found in Appendix X of the 7th edition of the Kiwi Catalogue and Handbook of New Zealand Revenue and Railway Stamps, recently published by Mowbray Collectables, price $35.00 postpaid inland.

David.

satsuma · Post by **satsuma** » 31 Jan 2020 11:25

Thanks, David

satsuma · Post by **satsuma** » 31 Jan 2020 11:58

I had a look at this site
https://www.rpsnz.org.nz/index.php/items-of-interestnz-philatelic-gems
and found in the appendices that Rakaia was considered to be band 6.

The stamp on the left is from that site.
The stamp on the right is from my collection.

Is the horizontal overprint more common or scarcer than the vertical reading up?

Thanks

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 01 Feb 2020 07:49

A good question, and one I can't answer definitively.

However, as the writer of the paper you reference, I have some observations.

Almost every station which has a recorded overprint, has a Type I example known - the horizontal "typewritten" one.
That implies when they kicked the scheme off, they created lots in preparation, and presumably shipped them out.

For many smaller stations (say rarity 5 and above) that may have been a sufficient supply as demand fell off fairly quickly after 1928 so only really in full use for 3 years. So by the time they were reprinting with the vertical overprints, they had no need to ever supply those stations with more stamps.

They appear to have started using the larger vertical overprint almost immediately, especially for the larger centres where presumably supplies of the Type I ran out much faster e.g. Dunedin. So for those, the Type I overprint ones are probably scarcer. But many smaller stations have yet to be recorded with the larger overprint. That may make the vertical overprint scarcer for those ones - like your Rakaia - when they do exist.

Only a few stations are so far recorded with only a Type II or III overprint, and no Type I.

The station handstamps (Type IV) are definitely scarcer though.

It would need those with massive collections to determine that relative scarcity for all stations.

Adam

satsuma · Post by **satsuma** » 01 Feb 2020 12:10

Thanks Adam78

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 21 Jun 2020 11:04

In Feb & May some Railway Charges stamps were sold on Trademe with the extremely scarce perfins.
All from Wellington.
Good prices realized, notably the EW Mills which hadn't been sighted before.

: MGM perfins - $900

: MGM perfins back

: EW Mills perfin - $865

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 18 Jul 2020 09:28

Sold recently on ebay for a couple of pounds was this unusual item. It has a variant of the usual Type I "typewritten" station name overprint, which usually reads horizontally, here reading down.
It is also slightly larger font, being nearer 3mm high and 22 mm long, rather than the usual 2.5mm high by 18 mm long for AUCKLAND.

: AUCKLAND Type I reading down

On checking with someone more expert than I on these stamps, it turns out a few other copies on other values are known, most dated late 1927. Thought to be a trial used in parallel with the much more common horizontal overprint, before the introduction of the larger Type II vertical overprint.

adam78 · Post by **adam78** » 14 Jan 2021 19:56

.
Old photos taken many years back of the only two full sheets I'm aware of, of the New Zealand Railway Charges stamps, just prior to them being sold by the RPSNZ by private treaty to the Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa).

Both ex Brodie.

Shown here for the record.

: NZ railway charges 1d (no dot) full sheet

: NZ railway charges 6d full sheet

Note the different positions of the sheet numbers.