Color shift on NZ 1962 Christmas stamp
Though Christmas is still far and away, it’s not going to stop me from displaying this nice looking EFO Christmas postage stamp from New Zealand. As usual, the topmost image is of normal item, the latter image displays the freak (with shift of red color).
1962 New Zealand. The lower stamp has a very noticeable shift of red color.
Quite stunning how noticeable difference such a small (few millimeters) color shift can make on design.
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Nice one u got there… Just curious.. was this a constant flaw?
@Ronny… This is just of those lucky finds I’ve managed to do.
As this is a color shift, I’d say this was a single print sheet glitch – nothing permanent. Possibly some blog reader has access to Campbell Paterson’s NZ catalog, and he/she could confirm or rule out my theory.
I have in my collection a 1992 45c stamp which has the colour missing on the Bay Stamp. I have had this stamp since it came out in 1992 from the Scenic Booklet Series.
The Post Mark showing nice and dark and compares well with the other stamps in the series the stamp hasnt any fading nor has it been tampered with in any way (Bleaching) etc and is in good condition. The background is in the base colour Blue showing no other colour then this. Can you please help me with this one.
Regards Catie.
Hi Catie,
as I don’t have access to Campbell Paterson’s NZ catalog I’m pretty much helpless with NZ stamp varieties. AFAIK it is a must have catalog if coming up anything out-of-ordinary with NZ stamps… I did check Pierron’s errors.info (a free and superb resource for commonwealth EFO stamps), but it didn’t list your stamp.
But that’s all I can say about it… If you can share a picture (=upload a photo of stamp to Photobucket, Flickr or some other free photo sharing website) of item, it would be nice.
is it just me or is there also a shift in the blue and yellow as well? is this considered an “error” or a “freak” and what (or whom) defines the difference? (i noticed you call it a freak)
i have several stamps that exhibit varying degrees of shift but have not been able to determine how they should be properly classified.
Hi Mike,
You have good eyes. Yellow is slightly shifted too, but I think it is inside “normal variation”
As for definitions between error and freak (and oddities)… I don’t think there is any official drawing of the line. But if you ask me, a freak is a stamp that is neither normal nor a major error.
Hello Keijo
I have the CP Catalogue, and there is NO mention of colour shift on this issue, (CP: SC3A 2 1/2d “Madonna”). In fact, there is only 1 (one) variety, and that is a Flaw on shawl (at left shoulder), Plate 1A, R7/1.. Also, according to the catalogue there are 2 (two) colour varieties.
1: Black, blue, IVORY & red.
2: Black, blue, YELLOW & red.
I also have several copies of the 9d Flag of NZ 1960 Pictorial issue, CP: O10A), where the Red print is in several different positions, more noticeable on the Union Jack section of the flag.
Hope this is of help and of interest.
Regards
David
Thank You, David.
This was truly useful. The fact of this being unlisted is IMO a strong indication that my item is a short term freak – not a constant flaw/error. The color variation piece also sounds very interesting; it could very well explain the different looking yellow parts on the above stamps.
Small color shift, worth approximately 10 – 20 smackeroos.
@anon… yikes… I was thinking 1-2$ max….
HI
I collect pre-decimal NZ and currently live in NZ
I am currently picking up where i left of as a teen.
I also use the album easy page maker. so much easier than a GUI based software. Just type some commands, create the page, preview then print.
Anyway, this website may interest those who also collect NZ.
cheers
Peter
@Peter… That’s one juicy link you’ve found. I just browsed some KGV pages, and there’s plenty of useful information.
another useful link i just discovered.
http://www.sergent.com.au/stamps/newzealandstamps.html
Thanks Peter
I would agree on the $1-2 as a maximum value. These sort of variations are fairly common in this period. There were ‘painting’ type designs and minor colour shifts tended to get lost in the detail. the 9d pictorial can be spectacular but the red needs to be shifted so that no stars are seen.
I mean that no red is visible in the stars.