Authentic scan showing inverted POSTAGE on the black-on-yellow 3d Melita. Expert authentication is not supplied.
1926 / Heritage
Melita · 3d · inverted POSTAGE
Melita · inverted POSTAGE · documented major variety
The story behind the issue
The 3d Melita with inverted POSTAGE is a documented major variety with a disputed production and counter-sale history. It later became the subject of a parliamentary investigation.
Technical details
- Issuing authority
- Malta Post Office
- Postal purpose
- Postage
- Currency
- GBP pre-decimal
- Stamp format
- Inverted overprint
- Overprint / surcharge
- POSTAGE inverted
- Designer
- Edward Caruana Dingli
- Printer
- Not documented
- Printing process
- Not documented
- Stamp dimensions
- Not documented
- Perforation
- Not documented
- Watermark
- Not documented
- Paper
- Not documented
- Colour
- Black on yellow
- Quantity
- Not documented
Sources & verification
Partially verifiedGanado examines archival testimony and conflicting accounts of the overprint. The 1926 year attribution is retained without assigning the ordinary issue’s 1 April date to this variety. Quantity, first counter-sale day and specimen authentication remain unconfirmed; the illustration is not an expert certificate.
Image & attribution
Malta Post Office (issuer); Edward Caruana Dingli (designer); Corbitts Ltd (scan), 2017 auction; uploaded by Xwejnusgozo to Wikimedia Commons · Public domain — exact Commons file page explicitly declares PD-UKGov for this 1926 government artwork and reproduction; historical artwork is more than 70 years old
One selected inverted-overprint variety; kept separate from the fourteen ordinary values. Not an exhaustive error inventory.
In the same issue
Explore this issue ↗No other stamps in this issue.