tps.org.au

Perforated initials were allowed on postage stamps, subject to Government permission, on stamps
bought by businesses and other large users of stamps as from circa 1894, according to the Postal
Guides that I have seen in Hobart some years ago.

Perhaps readers of this BB may have seen early dates of use on perfins. These could include the
well known A punctures used by Tattersalls and some other private punctures. Early dates may
be somewhat difficult to locate but other readers may wish to contribute to the story.

Bill

Thanks to David (USA) and David C (Victoria) an update can be given.

There is a 1d Sideface with DS / & Co puncture (London print) dated (N)O 4 / 96
(Launceston). This seems to be the earliest known but perhaps someone can locate
an earlier date?

The second perfin to turn up is JW & S (earliest date unknown to me).

Third perfin to turn up is McK/S/McK with an early date of AU 4 / 98 (Launceston).

The well known A puncture (Tattersalls) is 4th to appear on the scene. Earliest use
may be 1899 but someone may be able to fill in the details.

There arises the question (thanks to David C) of the highest known denomination seen
with a private perfin from Tasmania. From Ingles' article in Philately from Australia in
December 1967, there's nothing higher than a 6d (both Tablet and Pictorial wmk TAS).
Can anyone locate a perfin on higher denominations (not T or OS, please)?

Sorry, I've been away much too long. Let me lend a hand here.

"A" perfins are 7 types in my scheme of things, arranged by date of introduction. HAPP numbers types of "A" perfins a different way.

Type 1a 14 holes 11x8mm single hole crossbar (EKU 4 July 1899 on 2d S/F) on small format stamps only
Type 1b is a variant of Type 1a, and some would not consider it even worth a sub-type (2nd row of holes noticeably wider than Type 1a) one known 23 August 1899. I think David C considers this a second head on the same punch that created 1a, but only one example found, so ???
Type 1c 14 holes 12x9mm appears only on Pictorials (1899-1900) very few examples. George still alive, and he hated Pictorials because they did not carry the Queen's image.
Type 2 13 holes 9x8mm with 2-hole crossbar is the most common of all, in use 1900-1906 earliest dated use is on 2d S/F 20 February 1900. Appears on all sorts of postage stamps from 1/2d - 6d S/F, Tablets, Pictorials, and 3d Platypus
Type 3 10 large holes 12x10mm (1901-1906) found on 1/2d and 6d Tablets and 1d-6d Pictorials
Type 4 8 small holes with single hole crossbar 9x8mm (1906-1907). The head was damaged sooner after introduction, so undamaged (full) perfins are rare.
Type 5 13 holes with 2-hole LOW crossbar (1907-1909) found on 6d Tablet and 1d-6d Pictorials (less 2-1/2d)

A number of other perfins are found on Tassie stamps, postage and revenue (or both). 4 Railway parcel stamps recorded, the highest value I have is the 9d with perfin "DWM/LTD" (David W. Murray, used perfins 1901-1947). Other high values: I have 9d and 9d black overprint each with versions of "LL/G" (London Liverpool and Globe Insurance, used 1919-1962); the 5/- and 10/- numeral revenue stamps with "RI/Co" (Royal Insurance Co., used 1920-1970) and another variant of Royal Insurance "RI/Co/LD" used 1930-1970 with 2/6, 10/- numeral issues and a one pound Tablet (2 or 3 copies known); "A.A./Co." (Alliance Assurance used 1932-1956) a 9d overprint (red) Platypus, 1/- and 5/- numerals; and "MM" (Mercantile Mutual Insurance Co., used 1941-1975) a 5/= and 10/- numeral issues.

There are a small number of perfins on Tassie stamps that are NOT Tasmanian firms -- likely small sums sent in for mail order which were used on outgoing mail after being perfinned with the firm's initials.

I think Dave Elsmore keeps a catalogue on his web site with scads of information on these.

I have sold off a lot of my Tasmanian material, but I retained the private and official perfins as well as postal-fiscals as two areas where there is still much to learn.

Cheers, David Mc

I have been meaning to get around to sorting out my Type 1 Tattersall perforations but lack of knowledge in this area has held me back. Thank you for your post of 15th April 2015 David, it has been an eye opener for me and enabled me to hopefully sort out what I had correctly. I only read your post the other day when using the BB for information. More people should do it more often. I support your arguement that there were two perforators used contemporaneously in the early period. The wider spacing of the 2nd row of holes and the slope indicate different perforators when useage dates overlap. No one mentioned reverse perforations, I only have one. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I hope the image explains it better than I have here. If I need corrections on any of my comments please enlighten me and others via the BB.