Queensland 2nd Sideface Damaged Frames

All the Queensland 2nd Sideface issues have a number of frame flaws. Where there are additional frame lines or ink marks outside the frame these are known as reglet flaws. I have covered these here. This post however deals with damaged frames where part of the frame is missing. 

There are three probable causes.

The first is caused by partial strikes which are a variation in the normal balance of coloured and non-coloured parts of the design. These occur when the die and mould meet unevenly so that the die enters the mould at an angle, and therefore not to an even depth over the whole surface. It shows as an under-coloured area and will usually affect the frame or periphery of the stamp.

The second is caused when stripping the copper electrotype from the lead mould which can lead to damage of  the copper electrode. This is because the copper, as deposited by the electric current, is of a fine crystalline composition - hard and brittle - and thus is liable to be broken; and if cracked, the crack may increase during use causing a portion to break away. This latter is more noticeable in the dotted frame portions of the design. When a portion of the mould is torn away in this manner, it causes a flaw which then occurs in all future electros from that mould.

The third involve the gutters between the clichés which have irregular ridges that are normally removed by hand once the "rolling in" process is finished. Damaged frames could be caused by the "hand-finishing" process being a little over-enthusiastic resulting in part of the design being removed along with the irregular ridge.

Examples can be found for the various issues here:

1 Shilling

2 Shilling