Insufficiently Pre-Paid Handstamp

Insufficiently pre-paid handstamps were used to indicate that the correct postage had not been applied. When the handstamp was first introduced, overseas mail with insufficient postage was stamped in Brisbane with an "INSUFFICIENTLY PRE-PAID" handstamp and then usually sent to the Dead Letter Office before being returned to the sender. However, Australian mail appears to have still been delivered. 

By 1881 it had become the practice to forward overseas-bound insufficiently pre-paid letters to their intended destination provided that they bore single-rate franking for the cheapest route.  

After Queensland joined the Universal Postal Union in October 1891, the treatment of underpaid mail for overseas was governed by U.P.U. regulations, and mail insufficiently pre-paid was stamped with accountancy markings and then forwarded to the intended destination, with the deficiency and a fine of the equivalent amount being recovered from the recipient

It is a framed handstamp with 2 lines, the top line reading 'INSUFFICIENTLY' and the bottom line 'PRE-PAID' within a rectangular frame 37½ x 9 mm with rounded corners. Seen used from 1866 - 1882 and rated 3R

• Insufficiently Pre-Paid Handstamp (31 August 1866 - 25 September 1882) rated 3R

Insufficiently Pre-Paid Handstamp

1866

From Yaamba to London, England dated 31 August 1866 with an "Insufficiently pre-paid" handstamp rated 3R. Seen in Prestige Philately auction no 97 lot no 1045

From an unknown location to Bendigo, Victoria dated 1866 with an "Insufficiently pre-paid" handstamp rated 3R. Seen on the Internet

From Charleville to Aberdeen, Scotland dated December 1866 with an "Insufficiently pre-paid" handstamp rated 3R. Seen in Campbell, p. 112

1879

From Cardwell to Toronto, Canada dated 4 July 1879 with an "Insufficiently pre-paid" handstamp rated 3R. Seen on Ebay

1881

Cambooya to Dublin, Ireland dated 2 April 1881 with an "Insufficiently pre-paid" handstamp rated 3R. Seen in Abacus auction no 234

From Mackay to Brandon, England dated 18 April 1881 with an "Insufficiently pre-paid" handstamp rated 3R. Seen in Campbell, p. 115

1882

From Cooper's Plains to London, England dated 21 July 1882 with an "Insufficiently pre-paid" handstamp rated 3R. Seen in Cavendish auction no 662 lot no 2229

From Warwick to Columbia, South Carolina, USA dated 25 September 1882 with an "Insufficiently pre-paid" handstamp rated 3R. Seen at Abacus auction no 234 lot no 146

Customs Duty Paid Handstamps

I am indebted to Dave Elsmore for the material and information on this blog page. Dave's Commonwealth of Australia Customs Duty Revenues exhibit can be seen HERE

The Commonwealth of Australia Customs Tariff Act of 1902 included a 3d per lb tax on foreign price lists, catalogues, and all printed lithographed matter for advertising purposes. This was done to deter such Items from being printed abroad and sent back to Australia. The tax was initially identified by a boxed "Customs Duty Paid handstamp" (type 1), 52 x 8 mm in diameter. 

Around 1903 custom officers began to levy the duty on individual items and two new handstamps were introduced for this purpose; a boxed "Customs Duty  ½d  handstamp" (type 2), 45 x 8 mm in diameter and a boxed "Customs Duty 1d handstamp" (type 3), 44 x 8 mm in diameter.

• Customs Duty Paid Handstamp type 1 (1902 - 8 July 1903) rated 5R - $100 on cover
• Customs Duty ½d Handstamp type 2 (1903) rated 5R - $100 on cover
• Customs Duty 1d Handstamp type 3 (1906 -  2 January 1908) rated 5R - $100 on cover

Top row: Customs Duty Paid Handstamp type 1
Bottom row, L-R: Customs Duty ½d Handstamp type 2, Customs Duty 1d Handstamp type 3

Customs Duty Paid handstamp type 1

1902

Brisbane Customs Duty Paid handstamp type 1. Dated 1902. Rated 5R. Seen in the collection of Dave Elsmore

Brisbane Customs Duty Paid handstamp type 1. Dated 8 July 1903. Rated 5R. Seen in the collection of Dave Elsmore

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Customs Duty ½d handstamp type 2

1903

Brisbane Customs Duty ½d handstamp type 2. Dated around 1903. Rated 5R. Seen in the collection of Dave Elsmore

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Customs Duty 1d handstamp type 3

1906

Brisbane Customs Duty 1d handstamp type 3. Dated around 1906. Rated 5R. Seen in the collection of Dave Elsmore

1908

Brisbane Customs Duty 1d handstamp type 3. Dated 2 January 1908. Rated 5R. Seen in the collection of Dave Elsmore

Deficient Postage Handstamps

Deficient Postage handstamps and accountancy marks were used to indicate that the correct postage had not been applied. The penalty for deficient postage was usually the deficiency plus a fine of the equivalent amount. For example if the correct postage was 4d but only 2d worth of stamps had been used, then the deficiency that would have to be paid (usually by the person receiving the mail item) would be 4d, comprising  2d for unpaid postage plus a 2d fine.

A number of different Deficient Postage handstamps were used at Queensland post offices. For further information see HERE. Several of these types were used at the Brisbane general post office. Some had specific postage deficiency amounts and fines printed on them, while for others the amounts were entered by hand. The ratings below refer to the deficient postage handstamp type and not the various amounts shown on them. 5 different type have been seen for Brisbane dated from 1872 to 1897 and rated 4R - 5R. I assume the reason no handstamps have been seen after 1897 is because  accountancy marks were used instead

• Type 4 (12 October 1878 - 7 January 1888) rated 4R - $45 on cover
• Type 6 (1866 - 27 February 1872) rated 5R - $80 on cover
• Type 7 (19 March 1880 - June 1881) rated 5R - $80 on cover
• Type 8 (8 August 1887 -  23 August 1892) rated 4R - $80 on cover
• Type 9 (28 June 1897) rated 5R - $100 on cover

Top Row Left to Right: type 4, type 6
Bottom Row Left to Right: type 7, type 8, type 9

Deficient Postage Handstamp type 4

1878

Brisbane deficient postage handstamp type 4. Dated 12 October 1878. Rated 4R. Seen in Spink auction no 9011

1884

Brisbane deficient postage handstamp type 4. Dated 1 July 1884. Rated 4R. Seen in Phoenix auction no 12 lot no 747

Brisbane deficient postage handstamp type 4. Dated 1884. Rated 4R. Seen in Soler y Llach Sale 464

1885

Brisbane deficient postage handstamp type 4. Dated 5 January 1885. Rated 4R. Courtesy of Dave Elsmore

1888

Brisbane deficient postage handstamp type 4. Dated 7 January 1888. Rated 4R. Seen in Rumsey Sales no 93 lot no 4207

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Deficient Postage Handstamp type 6

1866

Brisbane deficient postage handstamp type 6. Dated 1866. Rated 5R. Seen at auction

1872

Brisbane deficient postage handstamp type 6. Dated 27 February 1872. Rated 5R. Seen at Prestige Philately auction no 98 lot no 823. I assume this is Brisbane and not Caboolture, and that the deficient postage handstamp was applied at Brisbane

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Deficient Postage Handstamp type 7

1880

Brisbane deficient postage handstamp type 7. Dated 19 March 1880. Rated 5R. Seen in the Queensland Stamp Collecting Facebook Group

1881

Brisbane deficient postage handstamp type 7. Dated June 1881. Rated 5R. Seen in the collection of Henk Godthelp

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Deficient Postage Handstamp type 8

1887

Brisbane deficient postage handstamp type 8. Dated 8 August 1887. Rated 4R. Seen on Ebay

1888

Brisbane deficient postage handstamp type 8. Dated 29 April 1888. Rated 4R. Seen on Ebay

1890

Brisbane deficient postage handstamp type 8. Dated 15 February 1890. Rated 4R. Seen in Ramsay auction no 71 lot no 2394

1892

Brisbane deficient postage handstamp type 8. Dated 23 August 1892. Rated 4R. Courtesy of Dave Elsmore

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Deficient Postage Handstamp type 9

1897

Brisbane deficient postage handstamp type 9. Dated 28 June 1897. Rated 5R. Seen in Prestige Philately auction no 161 lot no 363

Unknown / Unusual Brisbane cancellations

I have come across a number of Brisbane cancels that I have only seen once or a couple of times. I list them here and hopefully one day more will be seen or it will become possible to assign them to their correct place

Boxed cancel

Brisbane 1872 taxed cover to Italy with a Brisbane boxed cancel. A code 5. Only known example. Seen in Phoenix auction no 63 lot no 1129

Unknown datestamp

An unknown Brisbane datestamp type dated 11 July 1869 and code 1 or I. Similar to datestamp type 5a but a slightly earlier date and the double arcs either side are longer

Unknown cancel

An unusual cancel, Brisbane at top with a full stop either side and an arch joining them up, used per favour to cancel a postal stationery item. Two examples known, This one in the collection of Iam McMahon, and one in my collection

5a Datestamp

Brisbane Datestamp Page 

Type 5a - An unframed circle 24 mm in diameter, with 'BRISBANE' round the top, 'QUEENSLAND' at the foot separated by two small curved bars at each side. The date is in two lines in the centre; month and day in the first line, year in two figures in the second line and a code italic lower case letter at the top. Not listed by Campbell. The dates range from 7 September 1870 - 9 June 1871 and italic letter codes a and d are known. Rated 5R

• Code a (7 September 1870 - 14 May 1871) rated 4R - $50 on cover
• Code d (30 September 1870 - 9 June 1871) rated 5R - $75 on cover

Brisbane Datestamp type 5a

Code a

1870

Brisbane datestamp type 5a. Code a. Dated 7 September 1870. Rated 4R. Seen on Ebay

Brisbane datestamp type 5a. Code a. Dated 23 November 1870. Rated 4R. Seen on Ebay

Brisbane datestamp type 5a. Code a. Dated 27 December 1870. Rated 4R. Seen in Abacus auction no 234

1871

Brisbane datestamp type 5a. Code a. Dated 14 May 1871. Rated 4R

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Code d

1870

Brisbane datestamp type 5a. Code d. Dated 30 September 1870. Rated 5R. Seen on Ebay

Brisbane datestamp type 5a. Code d. Dated 15 November 1870. Rated 5R. Seen in Tasmanian Stamp auctions

1871

Brisbane datestamp type 5a. Code d. Dated 9 June 1871. Rated 5R. Seen in Abacus auction no 258 lot no 649

Parcel Post Branch Type 5

Brisbane Parcel Post Branch Page

Type 5 - A framed circular datestamp 28 mm in diameter with 'PARCELS POST' round the top, and 'BRANCH' beneath in a straight line, and 'BRISBANE' round the foot; the date is in one line in the centre with code, a full stop and a dash, day with full stop, month in three letters with a full stop, and the year in two digits. The word 'BRANCH' is 13mm long with letters 3 mm high, and there is a fleuron with a dot in the middle line above 'BRISBANE'. Code numbers seen so far are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10,11,12. Campbell type 3(b) and rated Common

• Type 5 (7 August 1901 - 14 May 1913) rated Common - $10

Type 5. Two examples showing variations including the different placement of 'BRANCH' in relation to 'PARCEL POST'. The variations are not regular or consistent enough to split these into subtypes

Distinguishing between Types 3, 4 and 5

• 3  Code no  _ _  date, Branch 10 mm long, letters 2 mm high, month in 2 letters, Fleuron has a solid line
• 4  Code no  . .    date, Branch 13 mm long, letters 3 mm high, month in 3 letters and a full stop, Fleuron has a dot in centre of line
• 5  Code no  . _   date, Branch 13 mm long, letters 3 mm high, month in 3 letters and a a full stop, Fleuron has a dot in centre of line

Note also the placements of the Letters "B" and "H"  in "BRANCH" in relation to "PARCEL POST" above it. They differ for each type

L-R: type 3, type 4, type 5, type 5. Type 3 has 2 dashes between code and date, type 4 has two dots and type 5 has a dot and a dash. Also note the placement of the letter 'B' for 'BRANCH' in relation to the word 'PARCEL' above as they differ

L-R: type 3, type 4, type 5, type 5. Type 3 has 2 dashes between code and date, type 4 has two dots and type 5 has a dot and a dash. Also note the placement of the letter 'H' for 'BRANCH' in relation to the word 'POST' above as they differ

1901

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 7 August 1901. Rated common

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 9 October 1901. Rated common

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 11 October 1901. Rated common

1902

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 14 May 1902. Rated common

1906

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 16 November 1906. Rated common

1906

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 27 November 1906. Rated common. Seen in the collection of Henk Godthelp

1907

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 1 January 1907. Rated common

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 30 January 1907. Rated common

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 21 June 1907. Rated common. Seen in the collection of Henk Godthelp

1908

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 3 January 1908. Rated common

1909

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 15 January 1909. Rated rare

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 15 January 1909. Rated rare. Seen in the collection of Henk Godthelp

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 2 March 1909. Rated common

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 10 March 1909. Rated common

1910

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 25 January 1910. Rated common. Seen in the collection of Henk Godthelp

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 25 February 1910. Rated common. Seen on Ebay

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 2 March 1910. Rated common

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 1 June 1910. Rated common. Seen on Ebay

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 6 July 1910. Rated common

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 13 October 1910. Rated common. Seen on Ebay

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 22 November 1910. Rated common

1911

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 23 February 1911. Rated common. Seen in the collection of Henk Godthelp

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 12 December 1911. Rated common. Seen in the Queensland Stamp Collecting Facebook Group

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 14 December 1911. Rated common

1913

Brisbane parcel post branch type 5. Dated 14 May 1913. Rated common