One of my favourite medallions, and stamps

Prior to 1901, Australia was not a country, but a collection of British colonies. On 1st January 1901, the colonies all officially joined into the Commonwealth of Australia. Still with the British monarch as head of state, but with a federal government that could make its own decisions.

In 1910, Australia released the first regular, locally designed designs (More on that in another post). And in 1913, Australia issued its first postage stamp, the “Kangaroo and Map” design, featuring a kangaroo inside an outline of Australia. To mark the centenary of those stamps, this commemorative medallion Postal Medallic Cover (PMC) was issued.

I love the detail and the lines on the medallion. The silver and bronze lines on an almost copper background work really well to show off the subject.

The back features some information about the stamps:

“The 15 denominations of Australia’s first national postage stamp carried the same design, which was controversial for its simplistic form, fraught conceptualisation and republican spirit. It has since become one of Australia’s most desirable stamps. The £2 stamp depicted on this medallion was the highest denomination, and like the other high-denomination stamps it was printed in two colours – the £2 design printed in carmine and black.

Stamp and cover design: John White, Australia Post Design Studio Imagery: courtesy of National Philatelic Collection”

The reverse of the medallion features a close up of the kangaroo on a more solid background.

Because I really liked the design that inspired this, I went and got a small set of the stamps myself. They come in a rainbow of colours which makes it easier to tell the values apart:

• Kangaroo ½d green 1st wmk, “CLARE” SA pmk
• Kangaroo 1d red die IIA, “NORTHCOTE” Vic pmk
• Kangaroo 2d grey 3rd wmk die I, “JUNEE” NSW pmk
• Kangaroo 2½d blue 3rd wmk, “P.P. RAILWAY UP(?)” SA pmk
• Kangaroo 3d olive 3rd wmk die I, “LATE FEE / ADELAIDE RAILWAY” SA pmk
• Kangaroo 6d ultramarine 3rd wmk die IIB, “GAWLER RAILWAY” SA squared circle pmk
• Kangaroo 6d chestnut 3rd wmk “OS”, “WARRAGUL” Vic pmk
• Kangaroo 9d violet CofA, “INVERELL” NSW pmk
• Kangaroo 1 shilling 3rd wmk die IIB, “COONABARABRAN” NSW pmk

Huge thanks to eBay seller drmagoomba who sold me these stamps, and also threw in some stamp pages to present them in (I had them spread out a bit more, but brought them close for the group photo!)

While I’m looking at this design, there was a commemorative 50c coin, and also a Postal Numismatic Cover featuring it:

Apologise for the coin photo – the PNC is in a sealed plastic cover which is hard to photograph through. The Numista entry has more photos of the coin. Interesting to note the mintage numbers too:

• 15,000 sold by the mint in coin cards
• 56,065 in PNCs
• 7,500 in a limited Melbourne Stamp Expo PNC featuring a different design envelope and an M privy on the coin.

The reverse of the PNC includes some more info on the stamp design:

“KANGAROO AND MAP: 1913-2013
2013 marks the centenary of the first Australian Commonwealth stamp issue. Prior to 1913, the colonies had produced their own stamps for some 60 years, creating the rich philatelic heritage celebrated in our Colonial Heritage stamp series. This last issue in the series recognises Australia’s first national stamp issue. Two designs were combined at the behest of Postmaster-General Charles Frazer, and the resultant Kangaroo and Map design proved controversial: the king’s head was absent, a kangaroo was adopted as a national symbol and the design was considered rudimentary. In the years since its release, it has become the most desirable Australian stamp issue.
Stamp and cover design: John White, Australia Post Design Studio

Cover illustration: Hal Eyre, Charles Frazer with Kangaroo and Map stamp, Daily Telegraph, 1912, courtesy of Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria Inc.”