tps.org.au

This is listed on ebay at the moment, item # 191753193201. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tasmania-imp ... Swv-NWYle3

Any thought on whether it is genuine or not?

I think it's probably a cut-out of an indicum from a 2d letter card. The colour of the paper suggests one of the cards issued in 1903 or later. It might be worth making (or asking for) some detailed measurements of the outer frame dimensions and paper thickness, so they can be compared with letter cards. The indicum outer frame on the letter cards is about 24.5 mm high and 32.3 mm wide, as for the issued pictorial stamps. The letter card paper thickness is approximately 0.14 mm.

I was wrong in suggesting that it's a cut-out from a letter card. Sorry! The printing quality is far higher and has the characteristics of the original recess-printed DLR issue. The paper seems to have distinct wove characteristics too and I can now see the "V over Crown" watermark in the ebay image. That's a puzzle, as the DLR issue and imperforate plate proofs (see Tinsley's book "Tasmania - Stamps and Postal History") were on paper with a "TAS" watermark. Tinsley mentions that the proof sheets were sold in 1976 and cut up into blocks and singles. The ebay item might have come from a DLR proof sheet, except that the watermark is wrong. The vendor has given a very fair description, although I can't see the postmark he mentions. it's an interesting and puzzling item!

It is certainly from the lithographed printings on V over Crown paper wmk sideways left. The DLR printings are much deeper purple in colour and none were produced on paper other than wmk TAS. The proofs were on unwatermarked paper and the imperforate sheets were on TAS wmk paper

I have seen a number of imperforate singles with margins this wide but it is hard to be certain they are imperforate as I have also seen examples of perforated stamps with margins this wide.

Someone in the past had great 'fun' cutting off the perforations off many suitable candidates with wide margins

Someone punted $6.60 on it.