Member ACCC (Australian Commonwealth Collectors Club of NSW) 07 Nov 2017 11:14:17pm
For many years and by the information in the ACSC a unique very early cracked plate was mentioned, to date the plate mentioned is in my collection.
A few days ago, a specialist stamp dealer informed me of some Arthur Grey stamps that his company bought and a strip of 4 looked very similar to my very early cracked plate, upon sending me a high resolution scan of the Arthur Gray stamps we started comparing.
It turns out that the block of 4 mentioned in the ACSC as the unique very early cracked plate is actually a burnished variety, where McCracken removed the Ash imprint and substituted with his own.
Arthur Gray has a strip of 4 burnished stamps less defined as mine but it is part of the series showing the course of the burnishing resulting in the plate cracking, hence the late and very late state.
We also came to the conclusion that there was never a unique very early cracked plate, as the two burnishing shows a continuous event from the first burnishing to the very late cracked plate, eliminating any suggestion that a broken line of events exists.
ACSC will be informed of this discovery.
Arthur Gray’s description of the set of stamps.
"Substituted imprint showing burnishing marks below imprint as a result of the removal of the Ash imprint".
Shown are the two burnishings and the two cracked plates that followed.
Ex-Arthur W. Gray
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Member ACCC (Australian Commonwealth Collectors Club of NSW) 08 Nov 2017 04:38:09am
re: Update to the unique 1938 cracked plate series
"First 2 scans are of a different plate from the second 2. First 2 have no guide pips but other 2 have guide pips.
Post does not make sense with these illustrations."
The ACSC does not describe the reason why there is no pip, it only describes that it is part of the series of cracks that lead to those that do have the perforation pip as illustrated.
Both types are classified as part of one series of progressive deterioration of the plate by the late Arthur Gray.
The reason behind the absence of the pip is still being researched, and when I am thoroughly satisfied that the result of the research explains why there is no perforation pip I will post that information.
Rob
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"Specialised Collector of Australian Pre-Decimal & Decimal Stamps"
re: Update to the unique 1938 cracked plate series
Please excuse my ignorance here, but, I am not familiar with the term 'perforation pip'. Would you please explain this? If I don't ask, I will never learn.
Member ACCC (Australian Commonwealth Collectors Club of NSW) 08 Nov 2017 07:06:33pm
re: Update to the unique 1938 cracked plate series
Sheepshanks is correct. The "perforation pips" otherwords, the perforation guide marks, was to ensure accurate pinning points where the sheets were secured prior to passing through the perforating machine.
Rob
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Member ACCC (Australian Commonwealth Collectors Club of NSW) 08 Nov 2017 07:14:07pm
re: Update to the unique 1938 cracked plate series
The burnished imprint caused a weakness in plates 1 and 2, creating a weakness in that area, eventually causing the plates to progressively crack.
As for the perforation pip, these dots are punched into the Master plates, when McCracken removed the Ash imprint the pip also was removed from one of the plates.
Rob
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"Specialised Collector of Australian Pre-Decimal & Decimal Stamps"
re: Update to the unique 1938 cracked plate series
Now I am probably going to show my ignorance but as the cracked/burnished plate does not affect the actual stamps how does this make the stamps unique.
Maybe it is the plate itself that is special but if the stamps were taken separately they would not be special in any way.
Presumably these came with a premium price but are we now pricing selvedge?
I'm sure there is a logical answer which will be made very apparent through our experts.
Pleading ignorance and not knocking anyone.
re: Update to the unique 1938 cracked plate series
Rob
You said "The burnished imprint caused a weakness in plates 1 and 2, creating a weakness in that area, eventually causing the plates to progressively crack.
As for the perforation pip, these dots are punched into the Master plates, when McCracken removed the Ash imprint the pip also was removed from one of the plates."
Do you have a published paper to support this. How do you know that pips existed on both upper and lower plates. If sheets were separated vertically for perforating then pips would not be required on both upper and lower plates.
The Master Plate (there was only one) for this issue was never used for printing - it was used only to create an alto which in turn was used to create the printing plates. So it is unlikely that McCracken did any work on the Master.
Member ACCC (Australian Commonwealth Collectors Club of NSW) 09 Nov 2017 08:21:08pm
re: Update to the unique 1938 cracked plate series
Hi Sheepshanks
I don't know if this helps but here goes.
What makes the stamps unique is the result as to how many were not discovered by the printer. Not all burnished plates cracked, those that did were naturally replaced and the damaged stamps destroyed, Most that escaped the furnace are scarce, in the case of what was believed to be the very early state of plate crack, only one was ever cited making it unique.
The selvedge is important to identifying corner positions of stamps and whether or not the stamps having an imprint, in the case of cracked plates it is the only way to identify a cracked plate, without it, it would be in many cases a simplistic block or strip of stamps.
Most cracked plate varieties come with a premium because of their status to being scarce to rare.
Rob
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Member ACCC (Australian Commonwealth Collectors Club of NSW) 10 Nov 2017 12:11:41am
re: Update to the unique 1938 cracked plate series
Hi Sheepshanks
Not so much the stamp but the selvedge, but there are cases of the selvedge and stamp being affected, or just the stamp, and in the case of my stamps, just the selvedge.
Rob
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"Specialised Collector of Australian Pre-Decimal & Decimal Stamps"
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