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Dear All

I have been talking to Ross about this triangular punch as I did not have one and had not seen one.

Ross informed me he has some in his next auction and David Andersen reminded me that there was one in David McNamee's Gold medal exhibit. Which is up on perfins.com.au if you want to look at it. I seems that I need to walk through it again.

I was looking to write an article for our next edition of the Perfin Club Bulletin on these. But rather than reinvent the wheel has this ground already been covered and has a census of issues been done.

I would be grateful for any information and images

David

Interesting topic David

.......images of the two examples that I have for "disposal"
To the best of my knowledge, there was no convict station operating at Campbell Town
by the mid-1850s so I'm not sure if there ever was a "convict connection" re this puncture.

No formal census taken that I am aware of, but I do have recorded a number of auction lots describing perhaps 6 different Courier 4d singles. I have 2, neither of which acquired at auction. Estimates have been made of 10-15 examples may exist on Courier 4d. A couple of Chalon 4d and one or two Courier 1d have been seen or described in the literature. The Tinsley collection had a Chalon 4d Lg Star on cover 11 OCT 1855 Cambell Town to Hobart. A Courier 1d on 11 JUL 1855 Campbell Town drop letter was sold at auction, and Courier 4d on piece dated 18 MAY 1855 sold by Millennium in 2006, but perhaps the top item is a vertical strip of 4 Courier 4d on cover 20 JUN 1855 Campbell Town to Hobart. HL White collection contains a folded entire from Launceston to Campbell Town received 30 MAY 1854 with Courier 4d canceled BN59 and then forwarded to Hobart 31 MAY 1854 with an added Courier 4d cut to shape and with triangular punch canceled BN18.

No one really knows anything about these triangular punches except that nearly all are canceled BN18 (Campbell Town). Tinsley had a Courier 4d canceled BN59 (Launceston) as a loose stamp, but that is the only exception to BN18 reported. References in the literature include articles in PJGB April 1939, The Philatelist March 1961, Sydney Views May 2003 and November 2007, and the South Pacific Perfins Bulletin January 2007.

David McNamee

I can report that I have a single example on 4d Courier and it turned up in a recent rummage. It is illustrated below.
Patrick