Barred numeral 78 of Sandspit - is this an example ?

[Peter Allan]

Yesterday I thought I had made a lucky find while sorting a cheap eBay lot. 5 minutes research showed that my BN 78 of Sandspit was in fact most likely not what it appeared. I have never seen BN 78 and its considered rare. The Receiving House was located at Rheban near Orford and according to John Hardinge's Post Offices of Tasmania, Second Edition, closed in 1869. That makes it impossible for the numeral to appear on sideface, as my example does. The 1d red is perf 14 with an unlined TAS watermark, making it the 1878 printing I assume.
However, an unofficial( but creditable ) Rarity rating lists BN 78 as being seen on Sideface and rates it 5R, and comparison of nearby numerals such as 81 and 76 shows extremely similar fonts including the height of the 8.
You will see in the scan that there is a faint bar to the L of the 7. This could be the numeral 1, making it 178, but its almost definately not a 2 or 3. I think it looks most likely to me to the the slightly curved bar enclosing the numeral but its hard to be sure. Green books do not record this number being transfered to another Office.The 8's around number 178 are smaller by about 2 mm than my example, which is 8 mm in height, and assuming they are from the same batch as 178, that might mean its not BN 178.
Can anyone help with this identification ? A scan of BN 78 would be most useful, and a scan of BN 178 may help too. I do not have this BN 178 in my collection.

[John Shepherd]

Pete,

It is definitely a De La Rue 1d, thus post-1878.

It looks like "178" to me. The bar to the left of 7 looks straight rather than curved.

[John Shepherd]

Definitely 178 (Geeveston).

78 - the 7 is thicker and has a thicker vertical serif.

178 - the 7 is much thinner, and only has a hint of a serif.

[John Hardinge]

Yes, this example is 178. However, 78 does exist on sideface and was reallocated after the Sanspit closure, most likely to Riversdale, which opened 1873 or very late 1872.