Setting of the Overprint

The plate of the CHINA overprint, applied by Somerset House, was compiled from a basic frame of 6 x 2 overprints, which was about half a millimeter too small both horizontally and vertically and varied in detail from printing to printing. This basic frame was used to make a complete plate of 240 and there are noticeable drifts both horizontally and vertically. This meant that on each sheet and within each pane the setting of the overprint alternated between being 23 ½ mm and 24 ½ mm apart in each vertical row.

A couple of different varieties have been discovered over the years, most noticeably in the late 1920’s when a single sheet of the 4 cent camine-rose from Requisition F of February 1922 was discovered with an upward slant to the word China which became more evident so that by the bottom row the word CHI is on one adhesive and the word NA on the next. (Ex-Chan)

Also, a couple examples of stamps exist where the CHINA overprint is much higher in relation to the crown which must have resulted in misalignment of the sheet.

Other varieties of the overprint include:

The 'Broken N' which is shown on the 2 cent sheet of Requisition I in position NW 1-4;

The 'Short A', shown here on the lower right stamp which appeared at SE 10-2 on the 50c Requisition H as well as on the 2c and 4c of Requisition I;

and, most interestingly, the 'Thin H' and 'Broken C' varieties. In 1927, on the H printing , a variety of the overprint appeared where the left leg of the H in position NW 1-2 was noticeably thinned. To date, this has only been recorded on the Requisition H 50c, the Requisition I 2c and 4c and the Requisition J 25c. This set of plate strips is the first time that this variety has been found on the Requisition H $1 and $2 and can therefore prove that these are constant overprint flaws. In addition, position NW 1-3 shows a constant broken C on all three denominations and leads to speculation that this is a previously unreported variety.