These are Post Office Training Stamps. They are regular mint stamps, blacked over (to prevent use) and provided to Royal Mail Postal Clerks to use during their training. They were provided so the clerks-in-training could practise selling and handling stamps.
They have a nominal value of about $1 each.
Hope this helps.
David Giles
Chris Green Stamps
Ottawa, Ont.
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"President, The Society for Costa Rica Collectors"
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy.. 08 Oct 2014 11:15:10pm
re: Black bars on the face?
Training stamps, yes, but often offered on eBay and by other unscrupulous venders as phosphor bars which on some Wildings do sell for a premium.
Oh when challenged the vender will either ignore the question or plead ignorance.
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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy.. 12 Oct 2014 04:25:22am
re: Black bars on the face?
" ... They are actually one or two thin vertical black graphite lines that were printed on the backs of the stamps, for those who are not aware of these. ...."
And after the experiment failed the remainder of the paper, in large rolls, was used in a random fashion so that certain values may show one, two or even three bars in different configurations. The standard set had multi crown watermarks but also exist with the water marks inverted or sideways. They are an interesting addition to the Wilding series that preceded the ubiquitous Machins.
Most are bought and sold in the fifty cents to a dollar range.I recently bought twelve of them,looking for flyspeck varieties, for fifty cents with $2.00 added to cover the postage.
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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
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