at 4:24 PM Posted by Marcel | 4 comments


Ebay News & Reviews

Looking back in ebay in the last few weeks, many interesting items appeared. There are some rare and expensive stuffs of note. The following are a shortlist of what I find worth mentioning:

1. Forged North Borneo Cover



This cover appeared in March 2012 with a starting bid of US$9.00. Two bidders fought over this 'unique' cover and the winner paid US$21.50. Sold by an Austrian seller, the cover is supposed to be sent from "Borneo" to Prague, Czechoslovakia. Purpotedly sent on "28.XI.1932" from "Borneo", the cover is franked with 1¢ British Protectorate stamp (in use from 1901 to approx 1905), which apparently also cancelled with an incomplete obliterator of six bars.

The circular cancel is probably not even a cancel but likely to be a pen graffitti on the cover and the stamp itself with amusing design. There is also a nice blue airmail label affixed. Verdict: FAILED forgery!


2. Sarawak's SG1 Forgery


According to W.R. Forrestor-Wood [Sarawak Stamps & Postal History], crude forgeries on Sarawak's SG1 exist in three forms - (a) Brown on yellow perf. 11½, (b) Orange brown on light brown perf. 11½ and (c) Green on white, usually imperforate.

The one above is the green on white issue with perforations, and appeared in ebay on March 2012 and ended with a final price of US$12.50 after 6 bids. This is a straightforward forgery, but did you know that it was used as an illustration of the genuine stamp in the catalogues and albums of an American philatelic company for some one hundred years? [Ref: Barry Floyd, The White Rajahs of Sarawak, A Philatelic & Historical Study]

3. A US$1,500 Japanese Occupation Stamps?


These collection of Japanese occupations stamps of North Borneo and Malaya are supposed to be rare and they did actually reached a final bid price of US$1,500! The question, however, is that the underbidder's bid was only $130. So it looks a bit dodgy because the winner pushed the ending price from $130 to $1,500! Furthermore, clicking at the winner's bidding profile, this was his only bid in the last 30-days which is quite uncommon. I'm not sure what's the seller's reserve price but he did say that it was a low-ish reserve price and that he had no knowledge of the stamps value.

Put that aside, these stamps consist of North Borneo and Malaya Japanese occupation stamps. The North Borneo group consists of what seems to be SGJ16 (Cat £600), SGJ17 (Cat £1600), SGJ33 (Cat £4500), and SGJ20 (Cat £5.50). The Malaya group consists of SGJ297, SGJ305, Perak SGJ250, St. Settlement SGJ149, among others.

The seller mentions that the stamps were given to his wife by her Japanese frriend, Ms. Michiko Watanabe, an Education Minister(?). The stamps were formerly part of her father's collection, Lt. Watanabe, said to be one of the Japanese offficers stationed in Sandakan during WWII. According to the seller, the collection was found laying beneath Watanabe's drawer after he passed away and was subsequently passed to the seller's wife and in turn to the seller. Apparently only these stamps were auctioned in ebay by the seller.

4. North Borneo Postcards

Offered at US$200 each, all of these postcards are quite scarce. They would certainly reach a higher bidding prices if listed in an auction:


The American Consulate, Sandakan, B.N.B

Type of Native Bridge, B.N.B

Daughters of the Woods, Borneo


5. 1932, Sarawak Airmail Covers



This Sarawak airmail cover was sent from Kuching to Hobart, Tasmania, Australia via the first air mail service between Singapore and Australia on January 14, 1932. Franked with Sarawak's 3¢, 10¢ and 50¢ and tied Kuching Jan 13, 1932. Backstamped Singapore Jan 16, Perth Jan 9 and forwarded to Hobart Feb 10, 1932.

Affixed is a light blue airmail label with the words "BY AIR MAIL".



S.P.G Coloured Postcards of Borneo

at 10:40 AM Posted by Marcel | 0 comments

Carriers in N. Borneo

SPG Coloured postcards of Borneo

S.P.G stands for Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. This was an Anglican missionary organization based in Britain and Ireland. It was founded by Reverand Dr, Thomas Bray in 1701. In its initial mission, priests were sent to North America to provide English colonialists with access to the worship of the  church of England. Since its first inception, the society grew larger and by 1900s thousands of missionaries have been sent venturing into over 50 countries. They worked closely with the indigenous and native people and soon became their priority than the care of the colonialists.

Many types of postcards exist but S.P.G. postcards are quite notable for their coloured version although Black and White issues also exist.Because of its worldwide missionary expediation particularly in the British colonies, postcards were produced in countries like New Guinea, India, Australia, Japan, Burma, China, Korea, Singapore and many more. The first 6 postcards from the society were published around 1904 on scenes in Chotta-Nagphur, India; West Africa; New Guinea; N. India, portrait of Chinese Mandarins and picture of Christian Japanese graduate in Kobe, Japan.

In the context of Borneo (North Borneo & Sarawak), several coloured postcards were issued. Two of the known postcards depicting North Borneo showed scenes originally published by Funk & Sons, Sandakan on (1) Carriers in North Borneo; and (2) Dusuns, Native of North Borneo. Three known postcards showing scenes of Sarawak depict: (1) A group of Dyaks; (2)  Christian Dyaks, Borneo; (3)  S.P.G Mission School, Banting, Sarawak.

Some of the SPG postcards on Borneo are as follow:


Women and Children, N. Borneo


A Group of Dyaks.

Christian Dyaks, Borneo

SPG's first Postcards:



There is a nice article written by the Malaya Study Group here on SPG missionary postcards.
 



North Borneo cover sold for $26,670!

at 1:01 PM Posted by Marcel | 0 comments


A US$26,000 North Borneo Cover

It is amazing how this cover reached a surprising final price of HK$207,000(US$26,670)! The initial estimate for the cover was HK$ 1,500 - 2,000. It was auctioned in Hong Kong on 9-10 March 2012.

The cover was sent from Sandakan to Austria and franked with North Borneo 2¢ red brown (SG38) paying postage to Singapore and Straights Settlements 8¢ orange (SG52) paying postage to Austria, both are tied by oval grill killer with Singapore AP 6 90 transit alongside. Two May transits on reverse.

The top most aspect of the cover is printed with "Noord-Borneo Tabak Maatschappij" (North Borneo Tobacco Society). Below, the capital "AMSTERDAM" was scribbled and "Sandakan B.N.B" inscribed in its place. The cover is addressed to Anton Frank Esq, Vienna, Austria.

Tobacco Estates in North Borneo

Tobacco plantation played an important role in North Borneo's economy in the early 1900s. In 1888 alone, there were about 70 private-owned tobacco companies in the whole state with a total of approximately 600,000 acres of land acquired. Forty of these companies were based in Sandakan Residency, mostly owned by Dutch entreprenuers.

Noord-Borneo Tabak Maatschappij is one of the bigger tobacco companies, producing its own coins for payments to the labour worker:

SSS Spring Auction

at 12:59 AM Posted by Marcel | 0 comments

Introduction

As the snow melts, spring ushers with blooms of flowers and warm sunshine. April has arrived. 31st of March marked the Sarawak Specialist Society's Spring auction which was unequivocally another successful one by the ever expanding society. It was held in Tiverton Hotel, Devon, UK and comprised of 684 total items being auctioned. It was a pity that although I had planned to join the event this time, something else turned up and I ended up going for some conference in Dublin. Nevertheless, I think that the auction was still worth mentioning albeit superficially so.

The one-day auction ended on 31st March involving 684 items of British Borneo (Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, North Borneo) and St. Settlements. Sarawak represent almost half of the items auctioned totalling 320 (46.8%), followed by North Borneo/Labuan amounting to 243 (35.5%), Brunei 30 items (4.4%) and the rest including St. Settlement, British forces, and Japanese occupation numbering 91 (13.3%).

At the end of the auction, 484 items were sold (70.8%) while the remaining 200 items remain unsold and should be available for purchase at a reserve price, 14 days post auction. The total amount of the auction reached approximately £36,200 excluding the vendor's and buyer's premiums. Two items stole the show by being the most expensive items on the auction at a stagerring £1,650 each.

The Spotlights:

Although there were many nice items being auctioned, several items proved to be of exceptional quality. These are:

1. Post Office Memo (GDP 3000 -4/08) to J.G. Rowan reading '2 Taxed letters await your applicationat this office. Postage Due 24c', with JESSELTON 7 MAR 1913 B.N.B. cds. On reverse, B.P. 24c POSTAGE DUE tied JESSELTON 8 MAR 1913 B.N.B.
Note: Unfortunately, no photo was shown in the auction catalogue which would be nice for future perusal. The new owner may hopefully share the picture of this philatelic gem. Final Price: £1,650.

2. 1888-97 unissued $2, $5 and $10 unmounted stamps of Sarawak.

 


Note: These three stamps are valued at £950 each according to Stanley Gibbons catalogue. They were prepared for use but were never issued. Final Price: £1,650. 

3. 1875 THREE CENTS RECEIPT stamp, imperforated colour trial strip of 6 printed in blue with large inscription panel below SARAWAK GOVERNMENT RECEIPT STAMP THREE-CENTS..& Maclure & Macdonald Lithrs London imprint. Final Price: £1,110.

4. 'British North Borneo Herald' newspaper wrapper addressed to EE Abrahamson, c/o China Borneo Co, Sandakan, bearing a superb strike of SANDAKAN ONE CENT POSTAGE PAID cds. Final Price: £800.

 

5. 1875 THREE CENTS RECEIPT stamp - Lithographic proof in black on thick white paper. Showing coloured line between top front lines above corner C and coloured spot in the curve of C in RECEIPT. Ex-Shipman collection. Final Price: £800.

 

6. 1934 definitive set (no 'a' nos) in plate proof pairs on gummed paper. Final Price: £600.

7. A fine used example of the 1899 2 CENTS/TWELVE CENTS red, with surcharge inverted. Accompanied with B.P.A. Expertization Certificate dated 28 Jan 1985. Final Price: £575.

 
8. Sample impression on envelope (Addressed to C F N Wade Esq Sandakan, endorsed by Air Mail) in the upper left corner inscribing 'sample impression' in red. Also a superb strike of boxed Air Mail cachet on the upper right corner . Final Price: £540.

Sabah Triple Ring Postmark June 1964

at 11:42 AM Posted by Marcel | 0 comments

 


Sabah Undated Triple Ring Postmark, 1964

This interesting SABAH triple ring postmark appeared recently in ebay and ended at AU$150 after 9 bids. The postmark consists of a triple ring mark inscribed SABAH MALAYSIA with an empty centre.

This cover is interesting because the current opinion on the postmark is that it was applied primarily on mails bearing North Borneo stamps. [P. Cockburn, SSS Journal 2011 Vol 64:1 pg 29-30]. It is evident now that mails bearing foreign stamps may also bear this postmark as exemplified by the cover above. It is noteworthy to mention, however, that because the mail above was redirected from Tawau to Sandakan, this internal domestic delivery may have prompted the application of such a postmark. To date, there is no record on regular application of such a postmark on incoming mails to North Borneo.

The mark  was used in seven offices - Jesselton, Sandakan, Tawau, Labuan, Kudat, Beaufort and Railway T.P.O. The mark is usually strucked in violet (as cover above) but other colour variations are said to exist as well (black and blue). Used primarily in June 1964 with the earliest recorded date is 8th June 1964 and the latest date of use is 30th June 1964. In genereal, usually applied on North Borneo stamps of QEII issues before the overprinted Sabah stamps arrived in 1st July 1964.

Sarawak Bogus Stamps

at 1:56 PM Posted by Marcel | 0 comments


Sarawak Bogus Stamps

People like occasional lies to brighten up the days, provided that they know the truth. There are always makers, takers and fakers around, but a totally bogus issue not resembling the original issue is quite rare. Hitler once said that if you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed...This might be the prime motivation of the original issuer of these bogus Sarawak stamps.

These interesting issues of bogus Sarawak stamps appeared in ebay recently with decent ending prices. The seller explicitly mentioned that they are bogus or Cinderella stamps, and yet, as expected, people still bid for them. The reason is that although they are outright bogus and carry no real philatelic significance, they are quite uncommon and therefore of some interests to Sarawak collectors.

According to W.R. Forrester-Wood, several values have been recorded: 2c (green), 3c (blue), 4c (sepia), 5c (vermillion), and 10c (mauve). Other known values include 25c., 50c., and $1. The issue is printed on smooth white wove paper and perforated 11.5.

Design

The stamps depict two sailing vessels: a 3-masted schooner on the left side and a native boat on the right. The background is a mountainous coastline. The stamp consists of a monocolour deisgn, with the value typographed in black. The top frame is inscribed with "SARAWAK" and the bottom frame is inscribed "POSTAGE (value) CENTS". The side frames consist of two pillars surmounted by shileds of arabic (Jawi?) and Chinese writings. The middle pillar bears a diamond-shaped device containing a crescent below and a five-pointed star above.

The stamps may be cancelled with bogus cancellations or remain as mints.

The year of issue remains an unsolved mystery. Perhaps the Sarawak collectors can provide some input...

Ebay Reviews the Last few weeks

at 4:14 PM Posted by Marcel | 5 comments

Introduction

Looking back in ebay several weeks ago, many interesting items appeared. It is apparent that demand for good quality and rare stamps from this country remains strong and shows no sign of abating anytime soon. It is likened to the unstoppable rise of the Chinese stamps in recent years. The most recent Stanley Gibbons catalogue of 2012 documents  this quite clearly with many British Borneo (N. Borneo, Sarawak, Labuan and Brunei) show significant increase in catalogue pricing compared to, for example, Straits Settlement and other traditional 'philatelic' countries.

Here's some of the more interesting stuffs that I think worth having a second look:

1. Kudat D2



This interesting Kudat cancel yielded a finishing price of £95.88 after 7 bids. Appeared and ended in ebay on 15.01.2012. The date is "A 6 FE 1890". We know that there are many varieties on the Kudat D2 postmark, for example (a) The year code is strucked in two digits from 01.01.1894; (b) The time code (which is either A or P) invariably omitted from about 09.06.1895; and (c) Usually strucked in blue ink from about 10.03.1894 to 09.06.1895.

This Kudat D2 postmark however, only bears the first two digits of the year plug. As can be seen, the year is completed with a pen, making it 1890. This is not documented in Proud's postal history book. I'm not sure of the relative rarity of such a cancellation but surely, varieties are the spice of life and my guess is that it's not terribly common at all.


2. Royal Dutch Airlines (K.L.M) via Singapore / via Alor Setar


Registered mail from Sandakan to England carried by the Royal Dutch Airline (K.L.M) in 1936 via Singapore. The rate is 75 cents franked with 10c, 16c, 24c and 25c stamps of 1926-28 issue. Registration fee in 1936 to all destinations was 15c. The KLM service to Great Britain was 60 cents, making the overall cost of sending a registered letter using this service to Britain to be 75c. Ended on 13.01.12 in ebay at £280.

Apart from the usual delivery, mails were accepted for airmail transmission via KLM by 1932. A postal notice published in 1932 stated that all letters for this service was to bear a special "BY AIR MAIL" blue label.



This interesting cover appeared in ebay and ended on 29.01.12 with a final price of £348. The cover is franked with Straits Settlement stamps of 50c. and 5c. (55c.) and cancelled Labuan 17 May 1934. Sent to Wales.

The cover is also inscribed in red ink, "By Royal Dutch Air Lines, KLM. Singapore - Alor Setar - London service". Affixed with the blue airmail label required for all KLM flights.

3. Labuan SG12 6c. on 16c. blue


Nice Labuan stamp with two upright surcharge of "6" cents in dim red ink. Cancelled with dotted Labuan K1 cancel in red, somewhat concealing the surcharges. This stamp was listed in ebay and ended on 12.02.2012 at US$385.00 after 15 bids.

4. Registered Jesselton 1928 cover with Jesselton GPO and R10 marks


This magnificient cover appeared in ebay on 7 Feb 2012 and ended after 10 days with a suprisingly 'low' final price of €266!

The cover is franked with 10 stamps (1c.x 3; 2c. x 2; 3c. x 3 and 4c. x 2) i.e. 24 cents, all cancelled with the rare Jesselton R10 (in use from 22.02.28 - 10.12.30) dated 7 AUG 1928. Note also of the faint Jesselton GPO mark at the left lower corner. White Jesselton registration label is affixed on the lower left. 
At the back shows a myriad of other cancellations including three red wax seals. The one on the right shows a nice imprint of the North Borneo coats of arms. The Singapore registration mark shows a date of 13 AU 1928. The Jesselton R10 cancel on this cover is black compared to Patrick Cassels' collection auction 2008 (No. 278) which bears a violet ink.

5. Bandau postmark on Malaysia FDC


This FDC is expensive because of the postmark. I doubt it would reach its final price of US$63 if usual cancellation was applied. Bandau postmark was used, according to Proud, from 11.12.1962 to approx. 15.09.63. Very little is known about Bandau as a town and incidentally if you google 'Bandau' it will show another village in Germany.

6. Sadong cancel on Sarawak Postal Stationery


Now a little bit of interesting Sarawak item. This one is a 3-cents postal stationery of Sarawak, addressed to Singapore. The most interesting part is of course the rare "SADONG" D2 postmark dated 29 Nov 1899. Ended at a stagerring final price of US$ 611.67 after 13 bids!

The postal stationery is Sarawak's first postal stationery, which was only produced after the country joined the U.P.U in 1897. It bears a 3-cents value showing the Rajah's face (believed to be from a photo taken when he was 57 years old). Sadong as a post office was opened in the early 1890s but was later transferred to Simunjan in 1937.

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