Inflating your collection : 0 Introduction a

Imagine, there is only one bakery in town, and 10 possible buyers.
The baker can make 10 birthday cakes, and sell one to each of his customers.
Everyone pleased, everyone feeded - the value of one cake is 1 unit of the currency.

However, if 100 people want to buy a cake, the baker needs to make more cakes.
But maybe he only has one oven, or limited access to flower, milk, butter, staff, place ...
No problem, he can raise his price to 2 units per cake, he knows he will sell anyhow.
One currency-unit, now represents half of a cake, as the full cake costs double.

In normal situations, this is what happens to keep the economy going. There is a raise of prices as time goes by. People will earn more money, to keep up with the prices, prices go up again ...
This is what we call inflation. From a capitalistic point of view, a healty situation.

shoes in 1922

shoes in 2020

As long as prices rise in a moderated way, (let's say 2% per year) there is no problem.
But what if prices double every year (100% inflation) or even faster ...
In that case we talk about hyperinflation.

It happened to Germany after the first World War in 1923, to Greece in 1944, Hungary in 1946, Yougoslavia in 1994 and more recently to Zimbabwe in 2008.
In my post on Venezolan notes I already posted some notes that were subject to hyperinflation.
How bad the situation in Venezuela might be, they don't even reach the top 10 of worst cases...
(https://rainbowstampsandcoins.blogspot.com/2016/01/currency-today-venezuela-01.html)

Venezolan Bolívar

500 bolívares soberanos

to be continued ...

Tasmanian Devils 01: 1/2 Lake Marion errors i - final

This is my last post on the 1/2 Lake Marion errors.
The fields with (LAKE M)ARION have that many flaws that they deserve special attention.

There are not less than 16 possible flaws in the two fields I5/I6.

Flaws 1.10 and 2.56 are similar, but larger in the second one.
In 1.44, the legs of the A are connected at the bottom.
For flaw 2.60 the bottom line of the frame is not straight, this flaw requires as well the marks, mentionned in the previous post.
All other flaws are small white spots in and around the letters or the surrounding lines.

So far all known flaws to start examining the Lake Marion stamp of Tasmania.
Several stamps have multiple flaws in different areas of the stamp.
To be sure of a stamp's position, sometimes the border frame of the watermark is required too.

Happy hunting ...

Tasmanian Devils 01: 1/2 Lake Marion errors h

In today's post, I bring the last quadrant of the 1/2 Lake Marion stamp of Tasmania.
Again here we find numerous flaws, so let's have a closer look.

Similar to my previous posts, I have omitted fields I5, I6, J5 andJ6, as text field on it's own is good for a hugh number of possible flaws.

In row F, we have the value field (F8), where we can discover 3 possible flaws. Two in plate 1 and one in plate 2:

flaws 1.26          -          2.25          -          1.32

The first flaw can be found on stamp 1.26, where there is a white spot in front of the 2 of the value.
Stamp 1.26 has also flaws in quadrant I and III !On the other side of the '2', below de 'd', one of the green lines does not reach the frame (2.25).
Similar is stamp 1.32 has a green line that is broken, before it reaches the frame border. This white spot is lower than position 2.25.

The G-row has several possible flaws.

flaws 1.52          -          1.46          -          1.55

The first can be found in the water (G6) the lines in the water are broken in four places (flaw 1.52).
In the next field, (G7) there is a white spot in the tree (1.46) and in the water part right of that same tree, another white spot indicates position 1.55.

Moving further to the right, there is a white spot within the green part of the ornament (1.15), there is a white spot towards the outer frame (1.25).

flaw 1.15          -          1.25

A bit lower right of the bottom part of the triangular ornament, a white spot within the design (2.14) and a white spot in the border frame (1.53) - field H9

flaw 2.14          -          1.53

Moving to the horizontal triangular frame, (field I7 and I8).
A large white spot indicates flaw 2.60 - for this position, see also below.
Stamp 1.25 has a small spot attached to the triangular ornament on the left side.
On the right side, a green spot between the triangular ornament and the white decoration (1.07) and finally below the white ornament (1.25)

top : flaw 2.60  -  1.25         below : flaw 1.28  -    1.07

Almost identical to flaw 1.25, is flaw 1.59 (smaller white spot):

flaw 1.59

In field J5/J6 the the thick green line below the text frame, shows multiple white small spots, in combination with the ones I presented in quadrant III (flaw 1.17).

flaws in position 1.17

The last part is the white ornament in the right bottom corner (right side).
Stamp 2.18 starts off with few white spots on the outer side of the ornament, towards the frame border.  The longer the plate was used, the more pronounced the flaws are.

flaw 2.18

I left two fields out of this overview, as they will be presented in my next post.

to be continued ...

Tasmanian Devils 01: 1/2 Lake Marion errors g

In my previous post, I have skipped the text frame 'LAKE M(arion), as there were too many flaws in the fields I3 and I4.
Now we can have a closer look at it:

There are a dozen flaws to detect in this area. Most of them occur in plate 1, some in plate 2.

Some flaws need to be combined with flaws in other positions on the stamp, in order to be sure of the correct position of the stamp in the plate.

to be continued ...

Tasmanian Devils 01: 1/2 Lake Marion errors f

This post is dedicated to the bottom part of the 1/2d Lake Marion stamp of Tasmania.
The top part was under my attention in my previous 4 posts.

After breaking up the stamp into 4 quadrants, I will take a closer look to the bottom left part.

The text part 'LAKE M(ARION) is filled with flaws, these will be explained in a later post.
Plenty of flaws to look at in the rest of this part of the stamp.

flaws 1.26 - 1.32

There are two possible flaws in field F1, the bottom part of the left value frame.
Both flaws are from the first plate, position 26 has a white spot in front of the 2 of the value, position 32 has a white spot which breaks the geen line below the 'd' of the value.

flaws 1.48, 1.15           and           1.24

There are 2 fields in the 'water'-part of the stamp, showing 3 possible flaws, again in plate 1
In the H-line, field H2 can have a white spot in the plants (1.48 and 1.15) and H4 can have a dark spot in the water (1.24)

Line I has several interesting possible flaws, but for now, I leave the text frame out of consideration.
The white ornament in the left bottom corner has an additional white line in flaw 2.57, a small spot in flaw 1.08, and a large spot in flaw 1.15.

flaws 2.57, 2.28 and 1.26

flaws 1.08 and 1.15

In the triangle shaped ornament, in the same left bottom corner, a small white break can be found on position 2.28, while a bit lower a white spot interrupts the line from the dark triangle towards the border of the frame right to it.
For the last 4 flaws, we need to look at field J3 and J4.
We can find white spots in the frame line underneath LAKE M(ARION).
A large spot under the A indicates flaw 2.56, whilst a similar spot under the K indicates position 1.24.
As shown above, position 1.24 comes with the dark flaw in the water.

flaws 2.56           and        1.24

flaws 1.08 and 1.17

Under the KE of 'LAKE' and continuing under M(ARION), a large number of white spots is connected to position 1.17. On the same spot, but less present, indicates flaw 1.08.

There are numerous flaws within the LAKE MARION frame, that will be presented in my next posts.
Note also that, in order to determine some positions, flaws on other parts of the stamp might be essential too. A border watermark frame need to be present in some positions too.

to be continued ...

Tasmanian Devils 01: 1/2 Lake Marion errors e

In this post, I take a closer look at fields B5 and B6, the text field (TASM)ANIA.
Because of the many flaws that appear in these two fields, it is interesting to present them seperately.

Although there are less errors to discover then in the first part of the word, the last 4 letters have been subject to many possible dots and stripes.

To be sure of a certain position in a sheet, you might have to check the other quandrants which I will present later, or the post previous to this one.
Some flaws require the frame of the watermark, to be sure of the position, as similar spots appear on different stamps in a sheet.

to be continued ...

Tasmanian Devils 01: 1/2 Lake Marion errors d

In today's post, I present the second grid of 25 fields from the Laka Marion stamp of Tasmania.

Again, the 1.xx refers to the first plate, 2.xx refers to the second plate.

Grid II - fields A5 to E9

Because of the multiple flaws in the fields where we see (TASM)ANIA, these flaws will be discussed in a next post.
First a closer look at row A, where we find flaws in column 5 and 9:

top : flaw 2.22 and 2.06 - middle : flaw 1.60 - under : flaw 1.54

In the second frame, a white spot appears between the M and the A of Tasmania (2.22).
A bit further, a break in the top line, above the first leg of the N, indicates flaw 2.06.
In the right corner, the top line starts to be thinner on two places (position 60 and 54 on plate 1),
the longer the plate was used, the more clear the lack of ink is visible.
By the end of the usage of the plate, the top line is even completele gone.

Flaws 2.38 and 2.46 (only plate 2) exist in a white spot in the lower and the higher part of the mountain. (field E5 and D6).

3 fields in column 7 ask for our attention too.
Just above the upper ornament, a white spot refers to flaw 2.13 .
Left of the right ornament a white spot in the sky for flaw 2.45, and lower, right of the 1 in the value frame, another white spot indicates flaw 1.27

There are also 3 fields in row 9 that are worth having a closer look too.

The green triangle in the right ornament show white spots in stamp 31 of the first plate.
At the same hight, but now underneath the top white ornament in the right corner, position 42 of plate 2 has also a white spot.
Finally, in the "d" of the right value frame, stamp 2.18 has a small spot in the green middle.

For flaws within the text frame 'TASMANIA', I refer to my next post.

to be continued...

Tasmanian Devils 01: 1/2 Lake Marion errors c

In my previous post, I explained the first quadrant of 25 fields, taken from the 1/2d Lake Marion stamp of Tasmania.
Two fields (B3/B4) I left for this post, as there are too many flaws to be found in those two small areas.

Most of the flaws in and around the letters TASM of 'Tasmania', are white spots.
Plates 1 or 2 and the stamp position whitin the plate are mentionned.

A number of flaws (1.14 and 1.44) have additional marks, mentionned in my previous post.
Both marks need to be present to ensure you found the right stamp for that specific position.

Stamps positioned on the border of each sheet, might require a border frame watermark, to determine the correct position too.
Of course some of the mentionned stamps, also have flaws in the other parts of the stamp, and will be shown in following posts.

to be continued...

Tasmanian Devils 01: 1/2 Lake Marion errors b

After splitting the stamp in a grid of 99 boxes, I took one quarter of the stamp, resulting in 25 fields.
9 fields have no flaw, but the 14 have some flaws and 2 others are quite a challange...

Grid I - A0 to E4

Some flaws do not come as a single mark, but come in combination with flaws in other parts of the stamp - together they indicate the position in the sheet.
Some flaws might not appear clearly on the stamp as the flaw is not constantly present.
Some flaws occur on more stamps, and the border frame of the watermark is needed to determine the correct position.

First the 'easy' ones.
1.xx refers to plate 1 - 2.xx refers to plate 2

In field A2/B2 we find some marks
Underneath the black triangle in the same field B2, a white spot can be seen for stamp 1.23
A white spot above the ornament on the left, a white spot in the triangular shape. (see also field B3)

When a white spot, on top of the T is seen, it refers to flaw 1.26.

flaws 1.23          -      2.20               -           1.26    

In the top border, a white spot above the T indicates flaw 2.20 (together with previous spots),
A spot abouve the S for flaw 2.14 and flaw 1.06 shows a thicker frame line between the S and the M.

  flaws 2.20          -       2.14            -         1.06                         

In field B1, flaw 2.25 shows a spot in the armpit of the ornament, downwards, in field C1 a white spot under the ornament indicates flaw 1.32, for this last one, also a white line under the T (field C3) is needed.

flaws 2.25         -            1.32            -         1.32

In field C4, under the second leg of the M, a white spot can be detected on position 1.14.
The same stamp also has a white dot in the mountains (D3).
Position 1.28 shows several white spots in the sky in field C2

flaws 1.14             -        1.14            -         1.28               

Three more fields need a closer look:
D1, shows a black spot attached to the dark green decoration : flaw 1.44
in field D2 a white spot above the mountain - stamp 2.26 and finally in field E4 there is a white spot on stamp 1.16.

flaws 1.44             -       2.26            -         1.16       

Two fields are extremely filled with flaws, B3 and B4, this will be discussed in another post.
Other flaws may be present in the indicated fields, but are occasionaly, or not present as a constant flaw.

to be continued ...

Tasmanian Devils 01: 1/2 Lake Marion errors a

Between 1899 and 1910, Tasmania issued a set of 8 stamps, depicting Tasmanian landscapes.
This set can be devided in 3 periods:
1900 - perf. 14 - WM "multiple TAS" - engraved
1903 - perf. 11, 12 1/2 or 11x12 1/2 - WM "V over Crown" - litho- and/or typographed
1908 - perf. 11, 12, 12 1/2 and compound - WM "Crown over A" - litho- and/or typographed

Watermarks as used in Scott-catalogue (78 - 70 - 13)

           engraved            -           lithographed          -         (electro) typographed

In 1911 3 stamps were redrawn, a bit larger (2p), in slightly different colours (4p) and with more coloured lines in the waterfal (6p).

The third emission (from 1908 on) consists of 2 plates, each of 60 stamps.
There are many flaws and plate errors that can can be found and these can help to reconstruct a full sheet (or two).
Listing up 120 possible variations is not the most attractive way to start searching for varieties.
Therefore, a different approach...
First of all, I have devided the stamp into 99 smaller boxes.

All boxes have their own coordinates, going from A0 to J9.
This will be useful to find each flaw in a relative fast way.

I will go more into detail in my next post(s), but in the picture below, I have indicated the plate flaws in yellow (plate 1) and blue (plate 2):

plenty to looking forward to...

to be followed ...