1931 Arms Postal Fiscals

		Cat.	Mint	Hinged	Used
1/3	Orange Yellow / Black (from 1955 on)	44a	$16.00	$8.00	$4.00
	(i) Lemon Yellow (1931 only)	44a1	$120.00	$60.00	$120.00
	(ii) Orange Yellow (1931 on)	44a2	$32.00	$20.00	$2.40
	(iii) Orange Yellow / Blue (1956 colour error)	44a3	$36.00	$20.00	$28.00
2/6	Brown	44b	$40.00	$24.00	$2.40
4/-	Red	44c	$44.00	$24.00	$3.20
5/-	Green	44d	$48.00	$32.00	$4.00
6/-	Pink	44e	$100.00	$56.00	$11.25
7/-	Blue	44f	$112.00	$60.00	$16.00
7/6	Grey	44g	$200.00	$120.00	$180.00
8/-	Blue	44h	$160.00	$108.00	$56.00
9/-	Orange	44i	$160.00	$100.00	$64.00
10/-	Red	44j	$80.00	$48.00	$16.00
12/6	Claret (from 1935 on)	44k	$640.00	$400.00	$360.00
15/-	Olive	44l	$192.00	$120.00	$80.00
£1	Pink	44m	$120.00	$72.00	$15.00
30/-	Brown	44n	$720.00	$400.00	$320.00
£2	Violet	44o	$328.00	$240.00	$96.00
£3	Green	44p	$400.00	$280.00	$176.00
£4	Blue	44q	$480.00	$200.00	$360.00
£5	Blue	44r	$640.00	$400.00	$240.00
	Set of 18	44s	$4,256.00	$2,557.40	$1,903.65

In 1929 Linley Richardson was commissioned to design a new set of fiscal stamps. His design incorporated his own interpretation of the New Zealand Coat of Arms which varied considerably from the version authorised by Royal Warrant and included the New Zealand flag in place of the Union Jack.

The 1/3 stamp was first issued in a pale lemon yellow colour which made the design very hard to see, and so was reissued in a darker orange yellow. From 1955, black text was added to make the stamp easier to read and in 1956 this was accidentally printed in blue ink.

Although all values were authorised for postal use, several values were not typically used for postage. For simplicity, this catalogue lists only those stamps that were postally used on a regular basis.

In two situations, the Arms stamp design printed in red but without any value in the top and bottom borders was surcharged for use as a provisional postage-only stamp. These stamps are listed separately in this catalogue under 1950 King George VI and Arms Provisionals and 1964 Provisional.

Distinguishing postally and fiscally used stamps can be quite tricky. All stamps with pen cancellations, punched holes or embossing are fiscally used. Stamps should be inspected under ultraviolet light to see if a fiscal pen cancellation has been removed. Embossed designs were frequently employed on documents and attempts to iron these out have been noted in the past. If the stamps have been postmarked, fiscal cancellations give the region while postal cancellations give the individual post office where the mail was cancelled. Simple circular date stamps with no region or place, and circular 'Stamp Duties Dept' or 'Inland Revenue' date stamps on Arms issues are fiscal cancellations, and if only the outer ring of the cancellation is visible on the stamp it is safest to assume you have a fiscal cancellation.

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Catalogue · 1930 · 1931 · 1932 · Postal Fiscal (Arms)
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