Caution re 10/- and £1 Tblets

[bill]

This note is a cautionary note re the De La Rue printings of 10/- (1892) and £1 (1897)
in the Tablet series. The inks are prone to run if used examples of these stamps are
soaked in water, especially the £1. It is important to be aware of this as the £1 is a
relatively expensive item to add to one's collection.

The earliest reference to this matter that I have seen in print is in the Weisz catalogue
of circa 1920 (published in Australian Philatelic Record).

This caution also applies to £1 stamps with Revenue overprint (both printed normally
as listed in Gibbons and in Craig & Ingles and in Dave Elsmore's online catalogue) and
with a rubber handstamp applied diagonally (rare). The same remark applies also to
the 5d and 1/- surcharges of 1919 (in Craig & Ingles and also Elsmore listings).

[bill]

The warning given for the 10/- and £1 Tablets should be updated to include the 5/-.
Easton's De La Rue History states on page 695 that the indent of 1 September 1896
for new 5/- and £1 stamps specified the use of doubly fugitive ink for these values.