The fourpence was issued on 1 May 1935, printed by De La Rue. The sheets contained 80 stamps in 8 rows of 10.

An article, based on the evidence given here, has been published recently [1].

Fourpence Plates

There were three frame plates: 1, 2A and 2B and several centre plates. The first centre plate was unnumbered while later plates were numbered 2, 3, 4 and 5. As a further complication, plate 4 was a double plate both of whose panes were initially unnumbered.

Frame plate numbers 2A and 2B appear at the right of the bottom margin while frame plate 1 and the centre plate numbers appear at the left. Therefore, to show the combination of centre and frame plate numbers, a complete bottom marginal strip of 10 stamps is required. They are usually collected in blocks of 20.

Distinguishing the frame plates

A major help in studying the plates is that stamps printed from frame plate 1 can be distinguished from those printed from frame plates 2A and 2B.

In plate 1, the central line in the lowest leaf in the design at the right is strong while in plates 2A and 2B it is weak indicating that some damage occurred in the transfer roller after plate 1 was laid down.

This can be clearly seen in the plate blocks.

Plate 1 was re-introduced late in the life of the issue, but even in these late issues the line remains much stronger than it does in plates 2A and 2B.

I have not been able to find any reference to this difference in the frame plates in the literature prior to my article in The Kiwi [1]. If anyone knows of an earlier reference or of a means of distinguishing between the centre plates, I would be pleased to hear from them.

Early issues

The stamp was first issued on 1 May 1935 on single watermarked paper. In August 1936, it was issued on multiple watermarked paper. The stamps were comb perf 14 x 13½. The frame plate was numbered 1 while the centre plate was unnumbered.

According to the RPSNZ Handbook Vols 1 and 2, in 1938 stamps were issued using new frame plates 2A and 2B in combination both with a new centre plate 2 and with the unnumbered centre plate.

Conflicting account in Vol 6

The RPSNZ Handbook Vol 6 gives a different account from that given in Vols 1 and 2. They state that the original unnumbered centre plate was never used in combination with frame plates 2A and 2B and that a second unnumbered centre plate was produced at this time.

They cite as evidence that the double re-entry in R3/8 never appears in combination with the new frame plates. However, the illustration shows the double re-entry with a weak line in the lowest right leaf indicating that the frame plate is either 2A or 2B.

This confirms the account given in Vols 1 and 2.

Plate 3

A new centre plate 3 was produced in 1940 and due to Blitz damage to De La Rue's premises, this plate along with frame plate 2B was passed to Waterlow. Early issues using centre plate 3 are therefore Blitz perforations.

Stamps from centre plate 3 and printed by De La Rue were issued in July 1942. They were on coarse paper and perf 14 x 14½ and that was the paper and perforation used for all the remaining issues.

Plate 4

Vol 2 and Vol 6 give different accounts of plate 4. Recent evidence suggests that the true story contains elements from both earlier accounts.

According to Vol 2, in April 1943 stamps were issued from a double centre plate. The left hand pane was numbered 4, but the right hand pane was unnumbered. According to Vol 6, a new double plate was not produced. The unnumbered centre plate was the one that had been used in 1938 in combination with frame plates 2A and 2B and the number 4 was subsequently added to this plate.

The evidence given below suggets that:

• a double centre plate was used,
• both panes were initially unnumbered,
• both panes later had the number 4 added.

The following plate blocks of 20 are on coarse paper, perforated 14 x 14½. One has an unnumbered centre plate while the other is numbered 4.

Vol 6 lists four constant flaws that exist in rows 7 and 8 in blocks from both an unnumbered centre plate and from a plate numbered 4. The most prominent is a reversed L shaped flaw in position R8/5. The above two plate blocks both have all the flaws and both have a darker centre impression in position R8/3. There is therefore no doubt that an unnumbered centre plate later had the number 4 added.

However, blocks also exist from an unnumbered centre plate and from a plate with number 4 which have none of the flaws [2]. It therefore seems clear that there were initially two unnumbered centre plates and that both later had the number 4 added.

As it seems unlikely that De La Rue would give the same number to two separate plates, the most likely scenario is the Vol 2 account that there was a single double plate whose two panes were both initially unnumbered and which then both had the number 4 added. The 2d plate 5 is another example in this issue where two panes of a double plate both had the same number although in that case the letters A and B were later scratched on the plate.

Re-introduction of plate 1

In March 1945, stamps were issued from the original plate 1 in combination both with the original centre plate and with a new plate 5.

Conclusions

• The original unnumbered centre plate occurs in combination with frame plates 1, 2A and 2B on fine paper perf 14 x 13½.
• Stamps from a double centre plate were issued in 1943. Both panes were unnumbered and they occur in combination with frame plates 2A and 2B on coarse paper perf 14 x 14½.
• Both panes from the double centre plate then had the number 4 added. Stamps from the panes numbered 4 were issued at the same time as those before the number was added.

Small remaining problem

The following two blocks show the original unnumbered centre plate. One is in combination with 2A or 2B and is on fine paper perf 14 x 13½, i.e. the combination that appeared in 1938. The second is in the re-introduction of plate 1 in 1945. The important point is that they both have a black vertical line (i.e. from the centre plate) in the margin below R 8/1 giving further evidence that the issues in 1938 with frame plates 2A and 2B were with the original unnumbered plate.

Vertical line in margin

The next block is perf 14 x 13½ on fine multiple watermarked paper, i.e. the combination that first appeared in 1936. It is therefore frame plate 1 with the original unnumbered centre plate.

However, it does not have the vertical line! The vertical line appears on the earlier plate blocks on paper watermarked single NZ and star [2]. So, what happened to it?

More study is clearly required.

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Background information on the 4d is taken from The Postage Stamps of New Zealand Vols 1, 2, 4 and 6 published by the Royal Philatelic Society of New Zealand in 1938, 1950, 1964 and 1977 respectively.
[1] Robert G. Clark, The Second Pictorials: Problems with the Fourpence Plates, The Kiwi, vol 52, no 6, pp 133-136, November 2003. Published by The New Zealand Society of Great Britain.
[2] Keith Collins, private communication 2003.
All scans were made by the author.

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