AUSTRALIA. GV. VERY RARE 1924 £1 Kangaroo 3rd Wmk \"SPECIMEN\" Type D. Mint. For Sale

AUSTRALIA. GV. VERY RARE! 1924 £1 Kangaroo 3rd Wmk overprinted \"SPECIMEN\" Type D. Mint with gum.Fine mint with gum. Fresh colour and good perfs
According to my 2004 Brusden White (ACSC):
There was a single printing of the type D \"SPECIMEN\" overprint comprising 1200 stamps, delivered in December 1932. An archival record indicates that of this quantity, 600 were spoilt, thus only 600 may have been issued.
The more common type C SPECIMEN overprint was first issued in collectors\' folders in October 1927. There were 4 printings totalling 5520 stamps.
Australian high values overprinted \"Specimen\" were issued (to quote the inscription on the pack) to offer \"collectors a rare opportunity to add official \'Specimen* items to their collections,\" Shortly after the first Commonwealth stamps were issued in 1913, the Post Office made available to the public folders (collector packs) containing the new stamps for £1, later $2. These contained the lower values (up to 5/- or 50c) cancelled to order (CTO) and the higher values (7/6 - £2 or 75c -$4) overprinted \"SPECIMEN\".
Not much value was ascribed to the SPECIMENs, but as the values of the orginal stamps soared to huge prices, interest in the SPECIMENS has also soared in recent years.
The catalogue values betwen types C and D are well out of kilter when comparing the numbers issued. Quoting a very respected Australian stamp Specialist with a global following from his published article in 2018:

The Types “C” and “D” Specimen Kangaroos.

\"Many collectors assume that there are no bargains or sleepers among the Kangaroo stamp higher values. That is actually not true - it just depends on how much experience you have, and exactly how much research you do!

I was pricing up a Third Watermark £1 Grey Specimen into stock this week, and looked up the value in the ACSC catalogue. This one was the heavy overprint font type ”D”. Facially, most assume it is common, as that same font was used on the CofA trio, which sell for small sums really, about $70 for that £1 in hinged mint.

I was most surprised to note in the current 2017 ACSC catalogue, that the spindly and condensed Specimen overprint type “C” is the same price in ACSC as Type “D” - for both hinged and unhinged on both - $850 MUH and $375 hinged for each, respectively.

As a long-time dealer, I know this to be totally absurd, as the Type “D” is a TEN times harder stamp to locate than the type “D” in the same Third Watermark. I see one each few years. ACSC tell us only 600 of the heavy Type “D” were sold, as it was a stop-gap Emergency late print, on this watermark.

The thinner type ”C” overprints occurred for a long run on this Third Watermark, and Dr Kellow’s research in ACSC tells us 4 printings of those were made, and 5,520 copies were sold - near TEN times those of the Type “D”. In reality, the type “D” should be a $1,000+ catalogue stamp hinged.
In fact, it is worth noting that Dr. Kellow’s detailed research of Note Printing Branch files and records in recent years has meant numbers sold of most of the various SPECIMEN and CTO types have now been made available - often correcting older and incorrect information and figures and guesses.

As a totally relevant comparison, the 1913 Kangaroo top values overprinted “Specimen” were sold to the tune of 2,169 sets of 3. The ACSC values those 3 hinged mint at $750, $950 and $850 each. I see FAR more of all 3 each decade, than the Type “D” £1 Third - which is obvious, as only a quarter were sold.

There are of course some very minor variance on the lettering of the Type “C” thinner overprints, and the so called “Type 1a” (previously called Type “C1”) is cat $3,750 hinged. We know that 184 of these were made, so $3,750 for them, and $375 for the type “D” with 600 sold, is WAY out of whack!

This always has been an elusive and greatly overlooked “SPECIMEN”. One client had it on his “want list” for years in the 1990s and even later, and I could never locate him a nice condition example. Price was no object to him really.

He refused to accept no gum copies, or the usual “fluffy” perfs, or toned gum, and the only ones I saw were one, or all, of these! It is a Specimen Kangaroo type that even the massive $7.15 million Arthur Gray sale did not possess.

In the 1999 Edition, the prices for unhinged/hinged for them was $150/$75 “C”, and $225/$125 for “D”. In 2004 when savvier heads worked on pricing, they were $175/$100 and $350/$225 - the hinged stamps being 225% higher for type “D” than Type “C”. Not as much a premium as there really should be, but a fair reflection of scarcity.

The type “D” is offered with gum very infrequently, and is truly scarce. My advice to you is buy ANY type “D” Third, at today’s wacky levels.

Hunt around - you may get lucky. The gum on these was often rather yellowish, and indeed many offered are no gum “unused” for some reason, but if you can track down a fresh attractive MLH copy, grab it NOW!\"

For transparency: There is a tiny discolouration on a few perfs (left reverse image), some hinge remant and a tiny area where the gum appears to be hev been removed (possibly when placed in an album) - but NOT thinned. Please review images.
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