South Africa 6d Orange Trees

This won't help you with the flaws, but many collectors have a real hard time determining which catalog number is assigned to each of the variations in this stamp.
I put together this graphic that I use to show how to identify them.

thanks to both JeffS and kgvistamps - both posts very interesting. Regret I'm only a part time collector who normally keeps to Europe only, so very ignorant of the continent of Africa, but am aware of what seem like reams of plate damage/flaws on the stamps of S.A. from the first half of the C20 - the fallen ladder and molehill are striking flaws on this particular low value. I have a pair of mint unmounted 6d.(hyphenated) oranges where the r.h. stamp (South Africa) carries a strong horizontal orange coloured bar in the upper right quarter of the stamp. This flaw runs from the perfs. almost to the middle of the stamp - stopping only where it hits a fruit, and as a bonus there's a thin green line that drops down from the top perfs. - bisects the orange bar - and terminates half way down the stamp. Similarly, there's another fine green vertical line on the other side of the tree. This isn't as spectacular as either of the flaws mentioned, but wondered if in fact it's a known aberration.
I also have this same low value - in an un-hyphenated mint pair - with over-print of OFFICIAL (vertically), but in orange base colour rather than red as the standard 'orange tree'. I'd like to know the SG No. for this one if someone can advise - many thanks.
I can send pix tomorrow some time if of interest.

here then is a bash at posting some pix, and hope it all works.           Whatever happened in the way of damage etc. to the plate concerned, seems to have resulted in a variety of smudging and lack of clarity in the final result.     Look forward to any comments - and thanks for looking.

thanks JeffS - I can't off-hand see any listing of my variety in SG, but will hunt around for more information.                 As you've commented earlier, these 'orange trees' are a minefield  -  IIRC, and I could well be v. wrong, my pair of the OFFICIAL orange - without stops after OFFICIAL (which run down the stamps), and with a horizontal gap c. 14 mm between the two Opt. words, appears to be SG 09 - issued 1929 - 31 - and lacking the hyphen.            Unfortunately, that runs counter to the fact that my pair have the long, extended curved foot to the R for 1926.
So, I'm possibly wrong and mine may not be SG 09  ..........   but looking at the distances quoted for the gap between the words OFFICIAL then all rather confusing.         Anyway, a good pair.

I have many other S.A. flaws on a variety of values so will post one or two in due course. 

This thread is still active so I thought I would share my orchard. There are several eras represented but they have not been checked for odd varieties. The photos are in order of issue. 

Scott 25 - I like the Dock's Capetown postmark 

Scott 59 and 60 

Scott 61 mint pair

Recent addition block of four from stamps I am going through now. Appears to be Scott 61

The last 2 photos are mint and used Official pairs of the later printings I believe. 

vikingeck - airmail rates changed frequently over the life of the 6d printings. A couple months ago I began recording airmail covers by destination and year to try to make some sense of them.

To answer your question (which I sense is tongue-in-cheek) the cover traveled by ordinary first class surface to its destination.

very impressed with your acquisitions JeffS - particularly that block of eight.          Have just dug out this overprint variety, but as with most overprints never entirely sure whether it's logged under the stamp name or the overprint, but will include here for now  -  the complexities of the Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika group can bring tears to the eyes.     German occupation was replaced by the U.K., and currency changes occurred too, so on the face of it there seems to be an anomaly insofar as these three named areas weren't Sterling (I stand to be corrected), whereas S.A. was - hence the 6d. on the orange trees.             This is the only example I have of this overprint, and what I assume was originally a joined pair, though I don't recall splitting them.                Anyway hope of interest, and it's likely others will be able to add some facts and information.   thanks.              

thanks vikingeck - I should have looked at the cancellation - you're quite right of course and these two could never have been joined, I got rather carried away with the fact that the printed text made it appear they might have been - Africaans and English- and ignored the ink. They're a good couple to have and condition v.g. for used:-)

Thanks JeffS - Oh gosh, In that case I sense another album revamp coming .............. ;-);-) I'm keen on overprints, so I've been clumping them together, but jokes aside I imagined it might be easier to locate a given example if they were all in on place. I think my problem is not uncommon ........ I'm trying to do too many countries, so must have a thin out. Anyway, thanks for the advice.

Hi paul1 that crack in the tree is interesting, However is that a white hairline cutting across the foliage into the two lower oranges on the right? And another following the curve of the postmark line at the top of the tree, is it surface damage due to a heavy handed canceller?

Can I ask you to take a closer look at your stamp…..there are two tiny white marks in the left side Top corner and again near the 4th bar up from POSTAGE.

Can it have once had perforations trimmed with scissors or do my eyes deceive?
If so is it really printed on card or is it a stamp still adhering to paper which might soak off ?

Yours in puzzlement. Alex