What follows are some sublimely audacious claims about the rarity of certain J&K stamps. If used and unused specimens are considered together some 32 catalogue entries (marked with a star *) represent stamps for which fewer than a couple of dozen are still likely extant, with some of them clearly in the next-to-unique class. So far as rarity alone goes they are therefore in the same league as many a celebrated classic; indeed most classics are far more plentiful. Not listed here are usage and production anomalies, proofs, essays, and other unlisted items of note that would markedly increase the number of hyper-rarities. The page closes with a list of unlisted rarities of the regular sort.
*SG2. The ½a ultramarine watercolor circular on native paper. Such is the rarity of this group that it easily makes the list even when both postally used and unused items of different shades are enrolled together. It is not possible to estimate numbers of unused copies because more candidates are claimed yearly now that the very existence of the category has become more widely appreciated. In the past, such half-blues passed perforce as shades of the Special Printing bright blues of a decade later, and others so mislabelled in older collections might be expected to emerge over time. Postally used, there is the ½a grey-blue or dull blue that appears on curious two-venue covers for which a ½a black cancelled at Srinagar accompanies a ½a grey-blue cancelled at Jammu. One of these is the Boggs’ cover of April 1866 and another evidently kindred example exists for June 1866, as reported by Tim Eames in India Post 29 02 1995. Another half-blue, off-cover and cancelled at Jammu, was offered in Lot 20 of the Sturton Sale. The precise shade of that stamp is unknown to us, but it seems not to be the duller blue shade.
*SG3. The 1a royal blue watercolor circular on native paper, perhaps better called bright ultramarine, is the earliest printing of the 1a blues. Its existence in unused condition is not reported. Lot 21 in the Sturton Sale is conceivably an example, but it differs from the undoubted exemplars, certainly as to the characteristic demeanor of the first printing. We are unable to accept an authentication certificate that affirms ‘royal blue’ status for the unused item Type 2.2 in Eames’ Blue Watercolours article. The checklist in the Staal reference, which puts the number as exceeding 100, must include blues of later vintage. Our own solution, if we insist on keeping something of the royal-blue category, is to split off the distinctive 1a bright ultramarine and relegate its immediately successors, which are darker-hued and rougher in demeanor, to a royal blue transition category. A scan of a scan of a photograph of the cover of the Dawson catalogue (see also Sturton Sale Lot 22) might well afford an example of the transition stage. In any case, there was a rapid deterioration from the early high standard of printing, and all material after a certain point melds without clear boundaries into the generic ultramarines of the SG3a family.
SG4. The 1a grey-black watercolor circular on native paper. Unused specimens, which are hardly mentioned in auction fare, cannot exceed a few copies. Whether these be errors of color or were meant to serve a special postal function is probably not knowable. Postally used, we have no clues for guessing numbers, even as to whether the total goes as low as the two-dozen cut-off. Frits Staal considered that at least 100 of these existed together in used and unused condition, but this checklist is known for its large numbers. The color-error theory also becomes implausible if the numbers are that high.
*SG5. The 4a royal blue watercolor circular on native paper. The considerations about the printing color that we made under SG3 would largely pertain to this denomination as well. SG has recently recognized the type, unpriced in both used and unused condition. Again we do not accept an authentication certificate that affirms royal-blue status for the unused 4-anna item Type 3.2 in Eames’ Blue Watercolours article. That specimen, by the way, is more likely an unlisted shade from the Special Printings period. Postally used, is it attested at all?
SG5a. The 4a ultramarine watercolor circular on native paper. To judge by auction activity, this stamp in unused condition would seem to be rarer than the catalogue suggests (as rare as that already is). Even including all shades that can come under the aegis of ultramarine, such as dull blue, etc., there might not be as many as two dozen specimens attested. Postally used, the stamp is merely scarce, and does not qualify for this listing.
*SG6. The 4a grey-black watercolor circular on native paper. There exists some number n, where n is very small. The Staal checklist is again reporting at least 100 unused copies, which strikes us as truly implausible, at least to judge from the auction action over the decades. Postally used, the stamp might be unattested; there was a rumor of a rumor about it once upon a day. Certainly fewer than a dozen in both conditions.
*SG7. The 4a indigo watercolor circular on native paper. This stamp easily makes the list in both used and unused condition. Again, Staal’s list is optimistic (pessimistic?) that as many as 25-100 may exist in both conditions taken together. The catalogue lists this as “for use in Jammu only.” There is however an example (Boggs’ 1941 Blue Book article) of an indigo-type type circular from the same period that was cancelled with the Srinagar seal along with the Kashmir ½a ultramarine rectangular. We do not know how the shades of these two dark blue circulars compare, and we speak provisionally of two issues, a Jammu indigo and a Srinagar indigo. The Srinagar variety, like the Jammu, has been called “blue-black,” in the older literature.
*SG10. The 4a orange watercolor circular on native paper. Fewer than a dozen unused? How can we possibly guess? This stamp is unpriced in SG both used and unused. Postally used, there is one attested on cover in the Hellrigl collection for November 1872, and at least one other is known off-cover. Certainly fewer than a dozen in both conditions.
*SG11. The 4a carmine-red watercolor circular on native paper. Masson’s ‘cherry red’ probably belongs to this group, and all together they surely cannot exceed the two-dozen cutoff, even half that if we dare say. Postally used, 1876, there is a specimen in the Hellrigl collection, ex Earl.
*SG13b. The 1a orange watercolor circular on native paper. Attested. Postally used, two are reported, one off-cover in the Hellrigl collection. The stamp is unpriced used in SG.
SG15. The 1a deep black watercolor circular on native paper. Quite scarce unused, but should not make the list in unused condition. Postally used, is it attested? Séfi did not know of a used copy. Unpriced in SG.
SG16. The 4a deep black watercolor circular on native paper. Scarce unused, but probably does not make the list. Postally used, there is an off-cover specimen in the Jaiswal collection. Séfi did not know of a used copy. Unpriced in SG.
SG17. The ½a bright blue watercolor circular on native paper. Common in unused condition. There is a stark color variety, of deep imperial-blue persuasions for want of a name, that deserves catalogue recognition (and was indeed under consideration for just that by SG some years back under the name “royal blue” of all things). We cannot say whether it makes the list, probably not. Postally used condition? As to the item that is actually under consideration here, the ½a bright blue, well, with at least three copies known, one on cover in the Hellrigl collection, another on piece in the deep bright blue shade in our own possession, ex Eames, and another in rumor, we dare to say it easily makes the list. The still-low SG pricing clearly does not reflect the rarity of this stamp in postally used condition, possibly in part from lack of auction activity. Séfi spoke of “great rarity.”
SG18. The 1a bright blue watercolor circular on native paper. Rather common in unused condition. There is also a counterpart in the ‘imperial-blue’ for this denomination as well, which deserves catalogue recognition if the ½a version does, and is likely just as scarce or scarcer. Postally used—in spite of the low SG pricing, we are unaware of a used copy in any shade.
SG19. The 4a bright blue watercolor circular on native paper. Not uncommon in unused condition. The same comments apply here as with with SG18, even to the parallel of the imperial partner. Séfi did not know of a used copy.
SG23. The ½a yellow watercolor circular on native paper. Very scarce unused, but would not seem to make the list when shade distinctions (bright, etc.) are counted together. Postally used, there is one known specimen, on cover, in the Hellrigl collection.
SG24. The 1a yellow watercolor circular on native paper. The scarcest of the yellows, according to lore, but still might not not make the list in unused condition. Postally used, it is perhaps unattested, and rightfully unpriced in SG in this condition. Séfi did not know of a used copy.
SG25. The 4a yellow watercolor circular on native paper. Much the same story as the 1a; it’s impossible to tell how it really compares. The copies we’ve seen have been stronger than those in the 1a, which is not saying too much. It certainly makes the list on account of the absence of used copies. Séfi did not know of a used copy.
*SG25a. The 4a deep blue-black watercolor circular on native paper. This item should very easily make the list; even the Staal list suggests fewer than ten copies. Postally used, it is attested with likely fewer than 10 copies.
SG34. The 1a slate-blue oilcolor circular on native paper. When all shade varieties are taken together, this is a common ‘issue’. When counted separately, however, certain distinctive shade types are easily rare enough to make the list. The same might be said of certain of the half-anna as well. Postally used, a true rarity; there is a copy of the 1a in the Hellrigl collection, reported there as perhaps one of only two specimens known.
SG35. The ½a sage-green oilcolor circular on native paper is not uncommon when all printing varieties are included, some of which are usually relegated to reprint status. But that story is far from clear. We distinguish, following Eames, a darker ½a olive-green from the lighter-hued sage-greens. The darker olive-green is understood to be rare enough to make this listing even in unused condition. The low pricing in SG presumably reflects the more permissive range of material. Postally used, there are two copies on cover in the Hellrigl collection. With only a few others known off cover, this stamp should easily make the cut-off even when all shade categories are included. It is unpriced in SG in used condition.
SG36. The 1a sage-green oilcolor circular on native paper. The considerations mentioned above under the half-anna denomination apply here as well, though one somehow expects the 1a denomination to be scarcer. Postally used, is it known at all? So it makes the list.
SG37. The 4a sage-green oilcolor circular on native paper. Again the same considerations apply as for the two lower denominations. Postally used, there is a specimen found on cover in the Sturton Sale, Lot 133, which has a claim to uniqueness. This stamp is unpriced in SG in used condition, which is always a safe tip for claiming that an item makes the grade.
*SG38. The ½a red oilcolor circular on European laid paper is not attested in unused condition. Postally used, there are at least three known covers that bear it. Others might be lurking on account of the difficulty of judging paper on cover.
SG39. The 4a red oilcolor circular on European laid paper. To judge by the slight auction action on this item, one expects this rare stamp to make the two-dozen list, but the situation is not clear hereabouts. Postally used, there is some auction activity; rare still and might make the list.
*SG46. The 4a slate-blue oilcolor circular on European laid paper. Numbers here unguessed, but the item expected to make the list on the basis of the lack of auction activity. Three specimens at least are known used in the distinctive slate-grey, so that variety at least will make the list. Postally used, the stamp is attested. No guesses here.
*SG47. The 4a sage-green oilcolor circular on European laid paper. This issue might makes the list in unused condition, with perhaps a couple of dozen known. Postally used, there is an example on cover, Sturton Lot 133. No example was known to Séfi & Mortimer in used condition.
*SG48. The ½a yellow oilcolor circular on European laid paper. Its numbers are not known in used condition, but it is listed R in the Staal checklist, and thus is expected to make the list on that account. There is a rare shade variety in olive-yellow and also something called ochre-yellow. Postally used, there is what may be a unique example cut-round on piece in the Hellrigl collection.
*SG49. The “sugar-wove,” a famous rarity that easily makes the list: The ½a (dull) rose-red oilcolor circular on thick yellowish wove paper is not attested in unused condition. Twelve copies, five singles and seven covers, were accounted for at the time of the Haverbeck auction, with five of them offered in that venue alone, Lots 1292-96.
SG52. The ½a grey-black watercolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. In unused condition, this first usage in the low denomination from the plate easily makes the rarities list. Postally used, it also makes the grade, with perhaps a dozen attested altogether on and off cover.
*SG53. The 1a grey-black watercolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. In unused condition, a celebrated rarity. Postally used, also a major rarity. Total numbers in any condition probably do not exceed a half-dozen or so. Say it makes the list.
SG55. The 1a indigo watercolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. This shade probably makes the list in unused condition. Postally used, the shade does not make the list.
SG57. The 1a deep ultramarine watercolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. Like the 1a indigo, this shade probably makes the list in unused condition. Postally used, the shade probably does not make the list.
SG63. The 1a orange-red watercolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. This shade probably makes the list in unused condition. Postally used, the shade probably does not make the list. A continuing theme, and why not?
*SG65. The 1a orange watercolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. This rarity certainly makes the list in unused condition. Postally used, the stamp should also readily make the list. Fewer than a dozen in both conditions.
SG66. The ½a bright blue watercolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. This rarity certainly makes the list in unused condition. Postally used, the stamp very likely does not make the list.
*SG69. The 1a emerald-green watercolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. Just a few unused copies are known. Postally used: While it is usually the case that used copies of Jammu rectangulars are more common than their unused counterparts, this is possibly an example the other way—a stamp even rarer in used condition.
*SG69b. The 1a jet-black watercolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. Just a few unused copies appear in the auction literature. Postally used, the stamp may be at least as rare as unused copies.
SG72. The ½a brown-red oilcolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. Attested. Postally used, the stamp is common. There is a range of significant but unlisted shades, however, some of which are rare.
SG73. The 1a brown-red oilcolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. Attested? Postally used, the stamp is common.
SG74. The ½a black oilcolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. The Haverbeck auction catalogue mentions that fewer than 20 copies in unused condition were known at that time. We assume this stamp still does not make the list. Postally used, the stamp is scarce but does not make the listing. Very few indeed on cover.
*SG75. The 1a black oilcolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. Only a few copies are reported in unused condition. Postally used, the stamp easily qualifies for the list. Say fewer than a dozen in both conditions.
*SG76. The ½a deep blue-black oilcolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. Unattested in unused condition? Postally used, fewer than a half-dozen are likely in existence. There is one on cover in the Hellrigl collection.
*SG77. The 1a deep blue-black oilcolor Jammu rectangular on native paper. Unattested in unused condition? Postally used, the stamp is assumed to exist. We have heard no account of it and there is nothing I have gleaned about it from the auction lit.
*SG78. The ½a red oilcolor Jammu rectangular on European laid paper. An unused copy was alluded to in the Haverbeck catalogue and a copy was offered in Sturton Lot 187. We do not know if these are the same item. Postally used, three or four off-cover copies are bouncing around and a couple on cover. Thick paper and an even rarer medium paper has been distinguished, the latter possibly unique.
SG79. The ½a red oilcolor Jammu rectangular on thick wove paper. Are unused copies attested? Postally used. The stamp probably does not make the list.
*SG80. The 1a red oilcolor Jammu rectangular on thick wove paper. Unattested in unused condition? If copies are now extant in postally used condition, there have to be very few indeed to judge from the absence of auction action. The Staal checklist assumes that fewer than ten probably existed. Unpriced in SG both ways.
*SG84. The ½a red oilcolor Jammu rectangular on thin laid bâtonné paper. Are unused copies attested? Postally used, the stamp easily makes the list. Three copies on the backs of two covers are mentioned in the Haverbeck Lots 1366 and 1367.
*SG85. The 1a red oilcolor Jammu rectangular on thin laid bâtonné paper. That at least one copy exists is indicated by the priced entry in SG. As to postally used, no information here. Possibly even unattested?
SG87. The ½a black watercolor Kashmir single-die on native paper. Easily makes the list in unused condition; perhaps a dozen copies? Half that? Postally used, the stamp does not make the list. At least a couple of dozen are likely on cover.
SG89. The 1a black watercolor on native paper. Fewer than ten copies in unused condition? Postally used, the stamp is not uncommon for the purpose at hand.
*SG93. The 1a ultramarine watercolor on native paper. Among the first rank of rarities. Postally used, perhaps a dozen have been reported, about half on cover. One dozen or so in all?
SG100. The 4a sage-green watercolor on native paper. Much rarer than catalogue prices would suggest, but we do not know if it makes our cutoff in unused condition. Postally used, same comments apply as for the unused condition.
SG100a. The 4a myrtle-green watercolor on native paper. Fewer than a dozen are likely existing in unused condition. Postally used, the stamp probably does not make the list, though it might. A 4a jade-green watercolor sub-shade distinction has been made, informally SG100b.
Some of the full sheets are rare, such as the 2a black on laid paper in State I of the plate (two or three known). A number of post-1881 issues will make the rarities list if full sheets are asked for, and many are unattested as such.
*SG101b. The ¼a red perforated. Possibly unattested.
*SG103. The 1a red perforated. Fewer than 5?
*SG104a. The 1a violet perforated. Fewer than 5?
*SG104b. The 2a violet perforated. Fewer than 5?
SG130a. The ¼a ultramarine watercolor. Unused copies should easily make the list; with used copies possibly not. A tentative *.
*SG130b. The ½a orange perforated. Makes the list with new and used copies combined. Fewer than 5?
*O1. The ½a black perforated. Two known on cover. A couple more off cover?
• Eames (Sale Lot #30) reports a ½a brownish-orange watercolor circular on native paper, possibly unique postally used, cancelled with the black Jammu square seal. One unused copy reported on this site.
• Type 3.2 in Eames’ Blue article, a 4a ‘dark blue’ watercolor circular on native paper. As mentioned in the article, the shade has some affinity with that of Types 2.1-3, though it is of a very different, watery, demeanor. As discussed up-screen, we cannot regard this item as belonging to the royal blue story.
• The 4a rose watercolor circular on native paper. Unrecorded item in the Hellrigl collection, ex Atkinson. Postally used, there are no attested copies.
• The ½a carmine-red watercolor circular on native paper, March-June 1876. The shade is known also as “cherry red.” There is one item known in the Hellrigl collection, ex Atkinson. Postally used, it is not reported.
• Important counterparts to the preceding in the Jammu rectangulars are deserving of a catalogue listing. The ½a cherry red is attested by nine copies in used condition and by one copy in the 1-anna denomination. Another distinctive pigment in this ‘family’ is the ½a lake or dull carmine-red on covers in the September 1875 period, also uncatalogued.
• The 4a slate-blue oilcolor circular on native paper. Rare shade varieties for which the deep blue aspect is reduced are reported, such as slate-greys and slate-violets. Postally used, these rare shades are probably unknown.
• The 1a red oilcolor circular on European laid paper. Two unused copies in the Hellrigl collection. Since they are not known postally, perhaps it is wise to retain these items in a non-postal category (as conceivable paper trials or even laid paper reprints).
• The 4a slate-grey oilcolor circular on European laid paper. Perhaps only three are recorded in unused condition. There is also a shade in slate-violet that is also best distinguished from the mainstream 4a slate-blues of which these two uncatalogued items are considered to be shade varieties.
• The ½a bistre-yellow oilcolor circular on European laid paper. A pigment variety, perhaps, of the catalogued yellow, or conceivably another of the emerging laid-paper reprint class.