tps.org.au

On looking at the £1 Tablet postally used, it seems that most postally used examples
have dates in 1900. Yet this stamp appeared in 1897 so we wonder why used copies
are seldom found with dates in 1897 to 1899.

Perhaps someone might wish to suggest some reasons for this observation.

Bill,
I agree with your observation but have never come across an explanation.
Some Tasmanian items come from one particular hoard or source and perhaps these postally used tablet stamps are all from one accumultion which only included items from a particular timeframe. Just a guess really.

Pete

Pete

There is the possibility that many £1 stamps were used for bulk postage up to early November 1900.
Probably, not all users bothered to save the £1 stamps (plus others) thereby used and handed back
as receipts for posting bulk mail. We suspect that these used stamps were returned to the sender
as there are quite a few £1 stamps about, even though it exceeded normal parcel post rates, both
within Tasmania and to all other destinations as a rule (except 1900 for countries affected by the
Boer War, no doubt because of obvious dangers to postal staff). There is little documentation for
the rules of bulk postage, apart from the brief descriptions in the postal guides of those days.

NB. After Federation, especially from 30 June 1902, stamps used for bulk postage were not handed
back to the sender. Instead, they were retained by the Post Office and later destroyed.