The Revenue Fee Stamps of Victoria
Dave Elsmore
I believe the Fee cancel stamps of Victoria to be a very rare survivor indeed. It has been a much neglected state for revenue collectors in the past 80 years or so to salvage what they can, but to have collected cut out impressions of the range below must have been looked upon as sheer madness. Victorian hand cancel Fee stamps were used to pay a revenue fee at the Registrar Generals Office.
As we know stamp duty was first introduced into Victoria by the Stamp Duties Act 1879. An amendment to the Stamps Acts 1890 may have seen the introduction of this issue. The earliest recorded date I have is 1892 so until more are reported we will have to use this as a start. I have 64 of these Fee stamps used in conjunction with colourless embossed, impressed & adhesive duty stamps including on documents by themselves.
I can only speculate as to there reason for these fee stamps being used instead of adhesive stamps. Possibly a cost saving measure, how these were accounted for by the end of the day escapes me, and would be open to easy fraud.
The Fee cancels I have in my collection are found on Agreements, Company Registrations & Memorandum of Association documents. I have not found them on sight notes share transfers and the like. I have not seen this kind of cancel from any other Australian State revenue document. They have a date range from 1892 - 1951 in black, green, violet & blue, dated and undated “received”. Cancel applied in red or violet over the fee cancel.
The RGO values I have identified 10 different varieties in these values: 6d, 1/-, 2/-, 2/6, 5/-, 6/-, 10/-, 12/6, 20/-, £1, £1-2, £1-12, £1-13, £2, £3. There must be more? Can you help?
The FEE cancel
Type 1.
In black 1892 FEE with serif capitals 17 mm x 21 mm seen 1/-, 2/-, 2/6, 5/-,10/-, 20/-, 50/-
-------------------------------
Type 2.
Manuscript in black pen 1894 - 50/- & 1898 - £50.
This is within a blank violet double line oval cancel, both signed by Jas Davidson
(Received Collector of Imposts . Stamps Acts) 50 mm x 32 mm
------------------------------
Type 3.
In green 1898 RGO with serif capitals 37 mm x 21 mm double line rectangle
(rounded corners) seen £1-13.
--------------------
Type 4.
In black 1906 FEE with serif capitals 19 mm x 20 mm (double frame line) seen 1/-.
-----------
Type 5.
In black 1916 FEE with serif capitals 25 mm x 25 mm seen (corners concave) 20/-.
---------------
Type 6.
In black & violet 1924 FEE without serif capitals 18 mm x 20 mm seen
6d, 1/-, 2/-, 5/-, 6/-, 10/-, £1, £2, £3.
-----------------------------------------
Type 7.
In black 1926 FEE without serif capitals 21 mm x 22 mm seen 20/-.
-------------
Type 8.
In violet 1948 FEE without serif capitals 22 mm x 22 mm seen £1-12.
-------------
Type 9.
In blue Feb 1951 FEE without serif capitals 20 mm x 20 mm seen 6/-.
----------------
Type 10.
In violet 1951. FEE without serif capitals. 22 mm x 22 mm.
seen 5/-, 12/6 & £1-2.
-------------
Type 1
Also in my collection a 19mm x 21mm 3d & 10/- TO (Titles Office) along side
RGO 1928 use which opens up another can of worms. Maybe other readers can add to this list?
-------------------------------------
The RECEIVED cancel
Type 1.
Received and dated 1892 50mm x 32mm double line oval, all 8 types are in red or violet.
Signed by Henry Palmer (Collector of Imposts, Stamps Acts 1890).
---------------------------
Type 2.
Received and dated 1895 50mm x 32mm double line oval
Signed by Jas Davidson (Collector of Imposts, Stamps Acts).
----------------------------
Type 3.
Received and dated 1916 50mm x 32mm double line oval
Signed by Henry F Metzner (Collector of Imposts, Stamps Acts).
----------------------------
Type 4.
Received and dated 1924 50mm x 28mm double line rectangle (rounded corners)
Signed by Henry F Metzner (Collector of Imposts, Stamps Acts).
-----------------------------------------------------------
Type 5.
Received 'Acting Collector' and dated May 1926 49mm x 37mm double line oval with -FEE- now included
in cancel Signed by Henry F Metzner (Collector of Imposts, Stamps Acts).
-------------------
Type 6.
Received and dated Nov 1928 52mm x 31mm double line oval with FEE now included
in cancel Signed by Henry F Metzner (Collector of Imposts, Stamps Acts).
----------------------------
Type 7.
Received and dated 1948 41mm x 26mm double
line rectangle (corners concave) Signed by unknown (Comptroller of Stamps).
-----------------------
Titles Office
Type 8.
Received and dated 1951 42mm x 25mm rectangle double lined (with corners concaved). Unsigned.
--------------------------
The DULY STAMPED cancel
Type 1.
1959.
Signed by D.G. Richards (Comptroller of Stamps).
---------------------------
Conclusion
What have we learned here? Well firstly there must be a whole range of values to add to the above out there, so please have a dig through your collection and email new finds Dave
© copyright 1997 on
All Graphics. Dave Elsmore
No part of this page may be copied used, saved in electronic form or hard printed.