Annual Conference

1926 - 27 Typographed ½d, 1d and 6d - SG 30 - 32 or SACC 29 - 31

This Issue can be differentiated from the later Rotogravure Printings by the curved shape of the
Leg of the R in AFRICA or AFRIKA - See illustration at left
The illustration at right depicts the shape of the R on a Rotogravure Printing

1927- 30 London Pictorials
The Recess printed 2d, 3d, 4d, 1/-, 2/6, 5/- & 10/- SG 34 - 9 or SACC 33 - 39

Initially Perforation 14 - Later they were perforated 14 x 13½ with the perforator moving either upwards or downwards
The foregoing perforations are not exactly accurate and stamps are often offered Mis-described
Rather than using a perforation gauge there is a simple method that is thought to be infallible
It involves looking for a half perforation

Identification is easy as the Delville Wood War Memorial, having not been built, does not appear in the design over the top left of the value tablet - It exists in all three perforation types 14, 14 x 13½ down and 14 x 13½ up and is an interesting stamp - The perforation 14 is also known with its watermark inverted and is rare

The perforation 14 x 13½ up is
also known with its
watermark inverted and is rare

4d - SG 35bw (SACC 35f)

Watermark Inverted
Perforation 14 x 13½ up

Peetoom Collection

London Printing

Green & brown

This is a new design so there's no difficulty identifying it. Issued in 1936 it is the first of the pictorials to be partly screened. Here it is the frames. The first stamps have bright gold centres and exist with the watermark upright or inverted. Some of the first printing have the shading on the mine dump very faint or entirely missing. From 1940 the centres changed colour to dull gold or yellow buff and the watermark is upright only

SG 58a Grey & purple

In 1941 the colour was changed to grey & purple. They are produced from the same cylinders as the previous issue so are identical in all other respects. Again confusion can occur between these and the earlier unhyphenated but the shade is unlike them and the hyphen, albeit small, is there

Slate & lilac

There were many different printings of these stamps where the centre is, for the first time, screened. They are quite easy to identify as a group being quite unlike any others.
The first issue is identified by the "2" in the value tablet touching the surrounding circle. These are in a darkish shade of slate & violet. The next issues are in slate & lilac and the "2" is now clear of the circle. The later issues are the same but appear in a slate and vivid violet shade.

Issued in March 1950 the whole stamp is now screened. The slate blue & plum shades are characteristic of the issue, especially the frame. The new feature of the screened frame is quite apparent under magnification where all the lines appear fuzzy.

SG 134

The reduced size of these stamps makes identification easy. They appeared in a number of shades.

Issued in February 1940 this was printed from 2 cylinders. The interior cylinder has a cross-hatch screen easy to see in the sky. The frame is unscreened. The centring is often inexact either leaving a pale line over the top of the trees or doubling of the frame in the same area if centred high. The shades vary from blue to ultramarine. The strength of the inscription also varies.

Issued in April 1949 it was again printed from 2 cylinders so the same comments regarding the centring apply. The frames are now screened and look quite different (HG37). The lines of shading appear more even and have a fuzzy appearance. The shade is a dull ultramarine.

SACC 116b Blackish Blue

Issued in March 1951 the whole stamp is again screened but this time they were produced from a single cylinder so that the centring is always exact and the comments above regarding poor centring can't occur. The colour is deep blue and this is probably the easiest way of differentiating this stamp from its predecessor. The shades are often a very dark blue.
One printing in 1954 with large perforation holes (SACC 116b) appeared in a characteristic blackish blue. Because of the difficulty of identifying it for certain Gibbons no longer list it separately. Other printings also have the large perforation holes so it should only be bought with a certificate.

Issued in August 1952 this is easy to identify as it is the only 4d of this design with a clear hyphen between SUID & AFRIKA. It was produced from a single screened cylinder and the shading of the sky appears as a series of dots.

Issued in October 1937 this is easily differentiated from its predecessors by the presence of the hyphen between SUID & AFRIKA .
This inscription measures 16.25mm leaving a bit of a gap between the "S" and 2nd "A" and the side frames (HG41). The easiest way of quickly identifying this stamp is by noting the faint background shading behind the tree.

Issued 8 months later in June 1938 the frame has been redrawn and "SUID-ARIKA" measures 17mm so that the gaps between the lettering and the side frames is reduced (HG43). The background shading behind the tree is noticeably darker. Shades vary from green & orange to vermilion or red-orange.

Issued in November 1946 the design has again been redrawn. The size of the stamps has been reduced from 18.5x22.5 to 18x22mm. The most noticeable difference with previous issues is that the scrolls under the "S" & "A" of the inscription are simplified and closed. The shade is generally green & reddish orange. (HG45)

Issued in January 1950 the design remains the same but the whole stamp is now screened (HG47). This is most apparent in the shading behind the tree where, under magnification, the lines appear as zigzags or a series of dots rather than continuous lines. The catalogues differentiate the shades into red- or brown-orange. There are, in fact, a number of shades but most fall easily in to one category or the other.

Issued in February 1939 this is easily distinguished from previous issues by the presence of the hyphen between SUID & AFRIKA. English singles can also be identified by the restoration of the shading to the right of the scroll under the "S" of South. The catalogues describe the shade as brown & chalky blue which is reasonably accurate for the early issues which appear in sepia brown and grey-blue, then pale violet-blue. After the war, however, there were several smallish printings in much more strident colours, including one in 1947 with aniline centres.

The stamps were also issued in January 1948 from new cylinders characterised by a mark in the hills in front of the leading gnu's head. This stamp also had the distinction of being the only rotogravure issue to have its marginal arrows printed in the colour of the centres of the stamps (Illustrated at left). It is worth mentioning because, although unscreened, its appearance is quite similar to the later issues.

Issued from 1950 these stamps are similar to the final issue above but the stamps are now completely screened. This manifests itself most clearly in the shading of the sky which appears as a series of dots rather than continuous lines. There are a number of shades though they generally fall into the brown & blue or black & ultramarine shades of the catalogues. Great care should be exercised, however, if purchasing the blackish shade with Official overprint (SGO47a). There is a relatively common deep sepia shade which looks "blackish" when compared to the browner shades and is quite often confused for the scarce
SG O47a. The frames of the scarce stamp are definitely ultramarine rather than blue.

Issued from 1949 these stamps are easily differentiated from their predecessors by the presence of the hyphen. They are also all completely screened causing the lines in the sky and frames to appear as dots or zigzags. There were 3 issues of this stamp. They are all clumped together by SG but separated by SACC. The first was in green & brown, the 2nd (1952) was in a brighter green & cinnamon brown and the 3rd (1954) had larger perforation holes and a coarser screen giving a streaky appearance to the hills described as a "heatwave" effect.

Issued in October 1933 this is the first stamp to appear with a hyphen between SUID & AFRIKA. There is, in fact, no unhyphenated rotogravure issue of this stamp. The first issue was in a grey-black & myrtle green shade with the watermark upright or inverted. In fact, in this shade the watermark inverted is a little more common than the upright. All later issues have the watermark upright. The catalogues divide the stamps into frames which are either "green" or "blue-green". This is rather misleading. The first shade is relatively scarce and there is a typical blue-green frame which was issued in 1945 which is more common. There are, however, a number of other shades which are also relatively common but aren't blue-green. A jet-black & intense green shade appeared in 1940 and again towards the end of the decade. A black & grey-green shade was issued in 1947 and the stamp was "re-issued" in 1950 (after the first screened issue) in jet-black & blackish-green. Which shade grouping you wish to place these stamps in is up to you.

Issued in 1949 and 1952 these are differentiated from the previous 5/-s by the fact that the whole stamp is screened. Again this causes the lines of the sky, and the frames, to be formed by a series of dots. There is no difficulty in distinguishing the 2 stamps of this group as they're in completely different colours. The first is in grey-black & dull blue-green whilst the second is in pale grey and deep yellow green.

There is no trouble identifying the basic stamp as it is the only one of this design. The centres are from screened cylinders whilst the frames are unscreened. Issued from 1939 it had a long life and it appears in many shades. The centres vary from blue to "electric" blue to violet blue or ultramarine. The frames come in light or dark sepia, sepia black, dull black or deep charcoal.

I hope you've found this guide useful. If you have found any section difficult please let us know and we'll try and improve it.