The Winton M. Blount Postal History Symposia - Smithsonian ...

7 6 • s m i t h s o n i a n c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o h i s t o ry a n d t e c h n o l o g yFigure 7. The highest value (five- shilling) stamp had the lowestprinting quantity. From the collection of Janet Klug.Figure 8. Doubled overprint of the three- pence value. Only onesheet of 160 was printed in error with a doubled overprint. From thecollection of Janet Klug.and the sheets were formatted differently. Thus the serifprinting was spaced more widely apart but is otherwisesimilar to the other serif printings.The serif printings have many varieties. Some of themore noticeable varieties, such as the wrong font “6” in“1946,” are listed in some catalogs. The Australian CommonwealthSpecialists’ Catalogue, King George VI doesthe most extensive job of listing varieties of BCOF overprints.The serif BCOF overprints (including the high values)offer stamp collectors much challenge and resultingexultation when they have found something unusual.The sans serif stamps have fewer varieties. The scarcestis a doubled overprint on the threepence stamp, ofwhich only one sheet of 160 impressions was made byerror (Figure 8).Postal Usage of the StampsA large percentage of mail weighing four ounces orless sent by Australian BCOF military personnel to Australianaddresses required no postage stamps, provided itwas sent surface mail and inscribed “Free.”Airmail was preferred by many of the Australian military,at a concessionary rate of threepence per half ounce.This was the most common usage of BCOF stamps, mainlypaid by a solo use of one threepence stamp (Figure 9).Registered mail was used frequently, especially forsending cash equivalents such as uncancelled stamps andpostal orders, as well as legally or illegally obtained currency.The basic registration rate that included no compensationfor loss was threepence. Higher rates appliedfor articles requiring compensation for loss. Often anotherthreepence stamp was used to pay for registration on airmailletters to Australia, but a sixpence stamp also coveredbasic registration and airmail.Parcels to Australia were charged concessionary ratesbased upon weight. Australian military had to pay nonconcessionarystandard postage on mail sent outside Australiaand for other special services.Non- Australian use of AustralianMilitary Post Offices in JapanBritish, Indian, and New Zealand forces used stampsfrom their respective countries of origin. However, whentransiting through an Australian base, letters sent fromnon- Australian BCOF forces were readily accepted by theAustralian military post offices and received correspondingcancels from the Australian field post office (FPO),unit postal station (AUPS), base post office (ABPO), Armypost office (APO), or Royal Australian Air Force postoffice (RAAFPO).