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Recently a Post Office Savings bank cover dated 2 De 1892 has come to light. The cover is a form letter from the Post Office Savings Bank office, GPO Hobart to Fingal and is a Post Ofice form confirming a deposit of 5/- by the Fingal Post Master on behalf of Master Herbert Williams. The cover was sent as Free Mail bearing the relevant Frank Stamp and endorsed "On Public Service only"
This is the first such form I have seen and is interesting as it gives an insight into the operation of the Post Office Savings Bank at the time.
Its also interesting as the oval steel datestamp seems to be unrecorded. The date is 2-DED 92 and the inscription around the perimeter is MONEY ORDER OFFICE/& SAVINGS BANK, the date in one line and HOBART below.
The Fingal Type 1 datestamp on the back is dated DE 3/92.
If anyone has seen this oval MOO & SB oval datestamp, please let us know. This would now be the first type of MOO& SB datestamp known as far as I am aware. The first type 1 cds early date is 29 Mar 1897. The Chief Office unframed datestamp of 1865 was used in the Money Order Office in Hobart (within the Chief Office at the GPO) but at that time the Post Office Savings bank did not exist.
Images are shown below:

The post prompted my memory to look for an example I remembered from 1980's


Sadly I do not know it's whereabouts or contents.

I have found a third example. It's faint, but undoubtedly the same stamp in violet, dated 10 Mar 93.

Thanks Allen.
Since the first example turned up I have gone through a lot of Free Mail covers and found there quite a few oval datestamps struck in purple on government agency envelopes.
It seems that these are brass handstamps that were designed to identify correspondence with the name of the Agency and the date. Sometimes they are used on the actual correspondence rather than or as well as the cover. I don't think they were intended for Postal purposes but were occasionally used as such. One example where postal use was more the norm is the Tasmanian International Exhibition Handstamp which is quite rare but recorded as a postal handstamp in Hardinge.

There are variations in exact shape and size .

I am hoping to write a short article on these so if you see any further examples please feel free to let me know.

Pete