Australia Philately: 1974 Centenary of the Universal Postal Union

Two postage stamps commemorating the Centenary of the Universal Postal Union were issued on the 9th October, 1974, during National Stamp Week, for two weeks sale at post offices and up to 12 months at philatelic sales centres. The stamps are of 7c and 30c denominations.

The stamps were printed by multicolour photogravure by the Note Printing Branch of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Melbourne, and issued in sheets of 100. The 7c design was printed on the Rembrandt machine on Shoalhaven KP6T unwatermarked coated paper incorporating helecon, and measures 37.75 mm x 24.15 mm; four cylinders were used in the printing and the colours in printing order were ultramarine, rose, deep mauve and black. The 30c design was printed on the Chambon machine on Shoalhaven KP5D unwatermarked paper incorporating helecon, and measures 25 mm x 37.5 mm. Five cylinders were used in the printing and colours in printing order were stone, olive green, deep violet blue, gold and deep carmine. Both stamps were designed by Mr. John Copeland of Adelaide, South Australia, who also designed the first day cover associated with the issue.

Details

Date of Issue: 9 October 1974
Withdrawn Date:
Invalidated:
Designer: John Copeland
Printer: Note Printing Branch, Reserve Bank of Australia, Melbourne
Press:
- Rembrandt (7c)
- Chambon (30c)
Process: Multicolour photogravure
Cylinders: Printing order
- Ultramarine – Rose – Deep Mauve – Black (7c)
- Stone – Olive Green – Deep Violet Blue – Gold – Deep Carmine (30c)
Paper:
- Shoalhaven KP6T unwatermarked coated paper incorporating helecon (7c)
- KP5D paper – chalk coated with Helecon (30c)
Watermark: None
Perf: Comb
- 15 x 14 (7c)
- 13.25 x 13.5 (30c)
Sheet:
- Printed in two panes of 50 stamps (R10 x 5) divided by vertical gutter. (7c)
- Printed in two panes of 50 stamps (R10 x 5) divided by horizontal gutter. (30c)
Quantity:
- 1,909,000 (30c)