Published by kind permission of the author.
It is 25 years since the last Australian surcharged stamp was issued and it is unlikely that collectors will see another issued in future by Australia Post. Surcharged stamps have not been issued very often during this century, although during the 19th century Australian colonial surcharged stamps appeared much more frequently.

A surcharged stamp can be defined as being the application of an overprint – generally to an existing stamp – to alter its denomination to a new face value. In Australia, surcharged stamps have usually been associated with postal rates increases and these stamps were issued to meet a need for new denomination not present in the existing range of stamps. Thus, surcharged stamps were a temporary expedient intended to last only until stamps bearing the new denominations could be issued.

Not all Australian surcharged stamps, however, had short lives, A “Ninepence on Tenpence” stamp issued by New South Wales in 1871 remained available for the next 32 years until a permanent 9d stamp was issued! Also, the 1891 New South Wales surcharges in the little-used values of 7½d and 12½d remained current for over a decade. From the first surcharge stamp issued by South Australia in 1866 until the end of states’ stamps in 1912, there have been 26 basic stamps surcharged. A description of each of these is beyond the scope of this article, which instead deals with the nine surcharged stamps of the Australian Commonwealth.

These nine stamps were issued on five occasions, each of which involved increases in postal rates – in 1930, 1941, 1959,1967 and 1974. The 1959 surcharges were applied to Australian Antarctic Territory stamps, but since these had postal validity throughout Australia, it is appropriate to include the stamps. Also, the issue of three surcharged states’ stamps in 1912 was connected to the impending general issue of uniform Commonwealth stamps, so these too are included. Lastly mention is made of an unadopted proposal in 1971 to issue a surcharged stamp should this have been required by a postal rate increase.

1912 States’ Stamp Surcharges
Dunng 1912, the Federal postal authorities had anticipated the issue of uniform Commonwealth stamps and so wished to use up stocks of States’ stamps, particularly 2d stamps. This value had served as basic letter postage for most categories of mail until May 1 1911, when a uniform 1d rate was introduced throughout Australia. This meant that 2d stamps were in less demand and large stocks might still remain when Commonwealth stamps were issued.

Three states’ 2d stamps were surcharged “One Penny” during 1912 – those of Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania. The stamp overprinting was carried out by the Stamp Printing Office in Melbourne where the stamps of these three states (as well as those of South Australia) were produced. For better contrast, the “One Penny” overprint was applied in red ink on Victoria’s 2d Queen’s head stamp and Tasmania’s 2d “Pictorial” stamp, both of which are mauve in colour. The overprint is in black on Western Australia’s 2d “Swan” stamp, which is yellow in colour.

The Victorian 1d on 2d surcharge was the first to be issued, officially, on June 29 1912. It is recorded that 1,870,080 stamps were delivered to the General Post Office. The Tasmanian and Western Australian 1d on 2d surcharges then followed in October-November 1912. None of these stamps is scarce today and, indeed, there was a lot of speculative buying of unused supplies at the time, apparently because speculators believed that the “last state stamps” would become valuable. Presumably the supplies of 2d value stamps of New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia were not sufficiently large enough to warrant being surcharged.

1930 George V Surcharges
On August 4 1930 new postal rates were introduced which involved an increase in basic letter postage from 1½d to 2d. A new 2d George V stamp in red (to conform the Universal Postal Union’s requirements) was issued on August 2, but to ensure that adequate supplies of 2d stamps were available, a “Two Pence” surcharge on the 1½d red George V head stamp was issued on July 31. Approximately 18 million 2d on 1½d surcharged stamps were produced.

The postal rate increase created a need for a 5d stamp chiefly to meet the cost of registered mail – the 3d registration fee plus 2d basic letter postage. A new 5d brown George V stamp was issued (in Melbourne) on August 27. To meet the need for a 5d stamp before this date, a “Five Pence” surcharge on the obsolete 4½d violet George V stamp (which had previously paid for registered mail) was issued on August 2. Only about 250,000 5d on 4½d surcharged stamps were issued.

Just prior to the new postal rates, a new printing plate for the 4½d stamp was made from a reworked die. This plate was used to print a supply of 4½d stamps, almost all of which received the “Five Pence” overprint. The main differences between the new 4½d stamp die (“Die 2”) and the previous 4½d stamp (“Die 1”) are found in the lettering and figures of value. On Die 2 stamps the lettering and figures are thicker and more even than on Die 1 stamps. Also, Die 2 stamps show greater contrast of light and shade in the design than Die 1 stamps. A small supply of Die 2 4½d stamps, which were not surcharged “Five Pence”, were cancelled-to-order for inclusion in collectors’ “Specimen” sets. Even rarer are mint examples of the Die 2 4½d stamps, which escaped being postmarked. It is believed that an entire sheet of 120 mint 4½d Die 2 stamps came into the possession of a Melbourne stamp dealer (most of which has never come onto the market). Also, ten mint examples were sold in Australia Post’s 1987 Archival Tenders.

1941 George VI Surcharges
The introduction of a ½d war tax on most articles of mail led to the second release of surcharged stamps. Basic letter postage within Australia and to British Empire countries was increased from 2d to 2½d, basic letter postage to foreign countries went from 3d to 3½d and the cost of registered mail went from 5d to 5½d. This created the need for three surcharged stamps – 2½d on 2d, 3½d on 3d and 5½d on 5d. When the new postal rates took effect on December 10 1941, the production of new stamps in 2½d, 3½d and 5½d denominations had not advanced sufficiently to enable their issue by that date. Consequently, the issue of the surcharged stamps on December 10 meant that these were the only stamps in the three denominations available for use.

From a philatelic view point, the three surcharges are unusual in that three different means of applying the overprints were used. The 2½d on 2d red George VI stamp features a circular impression in blue ink with the “2½d” appearing as a reversed-out image within the circle. This allows the red colour of the stamp to appear through to form the new value. The 3½d on 3d blue George VI stamp the form of the surcharge is bicoloured. The first overprint comprises a reversed-out  block in black ink over the right-hand “3d”. The second overprint in yellow ink is across the reversed-out “3½d” to make this image clearer. The 5½d on 5d mauve Merino stamp is a simple pattern in purple ink, which involved printing “5½d over the right-hand “5d” and obliterating bars across the left-hand “5d”.

Close ups show the three different means of overprinting new values on the 1941 ‘war tax’ surcharges.

The three surcharged stamps were printed in fairly large quantities which lasted until the early months of 1942 – 32,366,400 2½d on 2d stamps, 2,946,080 3½d on 3d stamps and 3,820,500 5½d on 5d stamps. The definitive stamps that replaced the surcharges were issued progressively during early 1942. The harsh wartime conditions encouraged efforts to conserve paper supplies and the new stamps were issued to post offices only as supplies of the surcharged stamps became exhausted. For this reason no usual arrangements were made for the simultaneous issue of the new stamps at all post offices. The earliest periods of issue for these stamps are early January 1942 (2½d Red George VI), late March 1942 (3½d Blue George VI) and mid-February 1942 (5½d Slate-Blue Emu).

1959 Australian Antarctic Territory Surcharges
During 1959 the Australian Post Office developed four new stamps for the Australian Antarctic Territory, which when added to the first 2/- stamp issued in 1957, would form the Territory’s full definitive series. The four new stamps were to comprise 4d, 7d, 1/- and 2/3d denominations and were scheduled for issue during September-October 1959.

However, the clan to issue the stamps – in the indicated denominations was upset by a increase in postal rates from October 1 1959. By September, the printing of the all four stamps had almost been completed. The was then overcome by surcharging 5d on the 4d stamp (basic letter postage) and 8d on the 7d stamp (surface letter postage to foreign countries). The 1/- and 2/3d stamps did not require alteration, as these were overseas air mail rates that did not change.

The method adopted for overprinting both stamps involved two letterpress operations. The first stage was the printing of a plain circle in grey-blue ink across the obsolete denominations. The second stage involved a stencil-like overprint on top of the first overprint, allowing the grey-blue colour to show through the open portions and form an outline of the new denominations. The second overprint was applied in black ink to the 4d stamp and in dark blue ink to the 7d stamp.The additional work delayed the issue of the four stamps in Australia until December 16 1959.

It was intended that the 5d on 4d and 8d on 7d surcharged stamps would be replaced and new dies of these stamps with re-engraved values were all prepared during 1960. The re-engraved 5d stamp in blue and the same design as before was issued in Australia on July 5 1961. The projected, re-engraved 8d stamp was not issued, as stocks of the surcharged stamp were sufficient to last until the end of “pounds, shillings & pence” currency in 1966.

1967 5c on 4c Stamp Booklet Surcharge
This surcharged stamp had its origin in a proposal to increase basic letter postage from 4c to 5c in 1967. Normally, changes to postal charges were submitted to Parliament as part of the annual Budget proposals during August-September and therefore usually take effect from October 1. However, on this occasion separate legislation for new postal charges was submitted to Parliament in May 1967, but it was rejected by a non-Government majority in the Senate. The increased postal charges would have to await inclusion in the Budget later that year.

In the expectation that 5c basic letter postage would come into effect in May 1967, the Post Office took action to have new 5c stamps in readiness. A large stock of 4c Red Elizabeth II stamps in uncut booklet sheet format was held by the Note Printing Branch and these were surcharged “5c” for make up into stamp booklets. However, since the 5c rate did not take effect until October 1 1967, there was sufficient time to produce stamp booklets containing the new 5c Blue Elizabeth II stamp. The 5c on 4c surcharged stamp booklets would still be utilised, however, and the two types of stamp booklets were issued on September 29 1967. A total of 33,350,000 5c on 4c surcharges were issued in both $1 booklets (1,656,000) and in the 50c booklets (23,000).

1971 Unissued 8c on 6c Elizabeth II Surcharge
In June 1971, the Post Office faced the likelihood of postal rate increases in the Budget later that year and a 7c Elizabeth lI stamp was prepared in the expectation that the Government would increase basic letter postage from 6c to 7c. In the event, this is what happened and a 7c rate was introduced on October 1 1971. However, in June 1971 it was still uncertain whether the increased rate would be 7c or 8c. If it became 8c then a stamp in this value would be needed, but at that stage no action had been taken to engrave an 8c stamp die.

It would not be possible to provide sufficient 8c stamps for issue on October 1 and a plan was developed to surcharge “8c” on the 6c Orange Elizabeth I1 stamp, should this be necessary. This took the form of an 8c overprint in black ink similar in style to the 5c on 4c surcharge of 1967. Several trial sheets of 100 of the 8c on 6c surcharged stamps were produced, which are now held in the Australia Post archival collection. This stamp was not known until recently when the sheets were uncovered and one was featured in “The Rare & The Beautiful” exhibition in the Post Master Gallery earlier this year Subsequently, the Note Printing Branch engraved an 8c Elizabeth II stamp die in readiness for the next rate increase. Of course, this stamp was never issued as 8c basic letter postage did not eventuate. Interestingly, a proof in black ink taken from the 8c stamp die (dated “March 1972”) came onto the market a few years ago and this is now in a private collection in Australia.

1974 9c on 8c Opal Surcharge
This is the last surcharged stamp to be issued by Australia and is probably the most interesting considering the circumstances behind its production. In July 1973 the Post Office issued the Marine Life And Gemstones series comprising low-value definitive stamp to replace the Elizabeth II series. This meant the substitution of multicolour photogravure printing for singlecolour recess printing of the base rate definitive stamp, which was made possible by the acquisition of a larger photogravure press (the “Rembrandt”). The base rate definitive stamp then comprised about 80% of all stamp production and this stamp could not be printed efficiently on the original photogravure press (the “Chambon”) because of the press’s limited production capacity.

The new photoeravure base rate definitive was the 7c Agate stamp in the Gemstones series. Also included in this series is an 8c Opal stamp. The Post Office believed that the Government might introduce 8c basic letter postage in the 1973 Budget and to prepare for this a large stockpile of 8c Opal stamps was produced. However, there was no change in basic letter postage that year and the stock of 8c stamps had to be held back for the time being.

The high inflation that followed in the wake of the 1973 oil price rises meant that when an increase in basic letter postage was proposed in 1974, the rate was to rise, not to 8c, but to 9c. Also, the Government planned that the 9c rate would come into effect ahead of that year’s Budget. Special legislation to arrange this rate was submitted to Parliament in July 1974, but like the experience seven years earlier, this was voted down by a non-Government majority in the Senate and the 9c rate would have to await inclusion in the Budget legislation. Meanwhile, the Post Office had planned for the rate increase by Rhodonite stamp and making use of the unwanted stock of 8c Opal stamps by surcharging these “9c”.

A further complication emerged – inflationary pressures were so great in mid-1974 that the increased rate of basic letter postage proposed for the 1974 Budget paper was not 9c, but 10c. Consequently, on October 1 1974 the rate jumped from 7c to 10c. A 10c Star Sapphire stamp was added to the Gemstones series on October 16 1974. The stock of 9c on 8c Opal surcharges had become useless. In the ordinary course of events this stamp would not have been released even though stocks of the surcharges had been delivered to post offices awaiting issue.

Around this time a spate of robberies of post offices was occurring, which usually involved after-hours break-ins to steal stamp supplies held in safes. These stamps were then sold cheaply to shady businesses for postage. One such robbery of a suburban post office in Melbourne involved the theft of its stock of 9c on 8c surcharged stamps. This created a dilemma for the Post Office, as inevitably some of these unissued stamps would eventually come onto the philatelic market. To avoid the prospect of trading in stolen stamps, the – Post Office decided to proceed with the issue of the 9c on 8c surcharge.

The stamp was issued on October 16 1974. The total release of 35,704,000 9c on 8c surcharges was far in excess of what postal use could be made of this value. No doubt the level of philatelic sales was sufficient to cover the production costs of the surcharge, but the number of stamps sold must could been no more than a few million and the great bulk of the printing must have been returned by post offices for destruction. The stamp, however, was not withdrawn from philatelic sale until June 30 1978.

At the outset of this article it was stated that there is little likelihood that Australia Post will issue another surcharged stamp in the future. This requires an explanation. Technology used for stamp production today is obviously very different to that of just several years ago. A new printing plate can be produced in a few hours, instead of weeks taken to produce recess dies and plates or photogravure cylinders. If a plate featuring an obsolete stamp denomination needs replacement, it is a simple matter to do this and it would hardly be necessary to alter the value by surcharging stamps. Also, there is no single base rate definitive stamp provided these days, making it unlikely that a large stockpile of an obsolete value would exist which might be surcharged. The era of surcharged stamps has 9c passed.