Malta: Stamps

Here's the first lot of images, showing differing stages of the Halfpenny error "Malta printed twice" 

ourdadsstamps

I think these stamps were printed by multi-color lithography with all inks laid down in sequence on one press. Thus what you are calling a shifted second printing (impression) is simply a mis-registration of one of the colors needed to color the MALTA text as well as NEOLITHIC text. I think the design is an unintended printers' nightmare as far as color registration is concerned.

These are listed varieties in the Stanley Gibbons catalogue as Malta printed twice and 1/2d printed twice, examples do exist where the double printing is even more pronounced with the 1/2d printings being 6mm apart or more.

This 1/4d. value (one farthing - quarter of one pre-decimal penny and one  eighth of a British one new pence) remained in postal use from 1901 through to about mid 1950s - perhaps a reflection of social conditions on Malta during that time.       

Issued  originally in January 1901 as SG 31, and with several colour shades  of brown and red-brown along the way, the general design of 'Valletta Harbour' appears not have changed materially until February 1938 when the entire series of defs. we re-printed  to  accommodate the new monarch's head of George VI, and along the way looks to have  received various different SG catalogue Nos.               In  fact this farthing stamp was the only value not to show a picture of the bust of George VI, and looks like its size  was a reflection of  its value - it's the smallest of all the defs. and too small to carry the bust, so instead it carries  only the Royal Cypher. 

The design changes in 1938 aren't immediately obvious,  but changes  there are - including a slight alteration to the title of the stamp which became 'Grand Harbour'  and the  same revised design was retained for the final years of the life of the stamp - including the 1947-1948 'Self-Government' overprint by Waterlow.

None of which were reasons for posting ...................   as can be seen on normal stamps, the inner frame carrying Maltese Crosses and value, has at each side a bar of solid chocolate brown, which stop short of the corners.     In the attached pix, one of the stamps shows this solid bar absent on the left and only partial on the right side.                 I have fifteen to eighteen of this design all of which are 'normal'.
I don't see this listed as a known plate flaw  -  is anyone aware of other examples of this colour fault?         

2011 The end of an Era A series of stamps showing buses used in Malta.

Malta was well-known for its bus transportation system which was also a tourist attraction.Most of these buses were withdrawn from service in UK and were shipped for further use in Malta.They were customised and modified in local workshops ,often creating a bus with a unique appearance which was usually driven by the owner.They were withdrawn from service in 2011 when a modern bus fleet was introduced.