Duncan’s research shows that Small landed on the very first day of the Gallipoli campaign on Anzac Cove - the infamous "Anzac Day" of April 25, 1915.

Small enlisted early - on 4 September 1914, and served on the Gallipoli Peninsula as chief tunnel engineer, where the French forces recommended him for the Croix de Guerre.

Small served as a Sapper on Gallipoli with the 3rd, 5th, then 9th Field Company Engineers, and was promoted to Company Quarter Master Sergeant, then 2nd Lieutenant, then Lieutenant (on Gallipoli) before reverting to 2nd Lieutenant.

He was discharged as medically unfit 1/6/1916 and sent back to Australia “for change” - suffering asthma, dysentery and gastric debility, the medical Board recording “Strenuous life at Anzac [Gallipoli] working underground in bad air for long hours.”

Small, on recovery, travelled the 10,000 long miles back to London, and re-enlisted in the Engineers as a 2nd Lieutenant on 10-7-1917. It appears he was finally discharged from his Military career in 1919.

Small kept a very extensive diary of his WWI service. Particularly his time in Egypt prior to, and during his experiences on Gallipoli. This diary is now in the Australian War Memorial.

After marrying in Australia, Small moved to Great Britain, where he was a pioneer in Rayon production, the new “miracle” fibre. In 1924 the Smalls moved to the USA.

They first lived in Cumberland, Maryland, where he worked as an engineer for the Celanese Corporation, rising to Vice President in 1940 - the year he bought the stamp from Hind’s widow.

Through Finbar Kenny’s auspices, Small made the 1¢ available for exhibition. It was featured at the 1947 USA Stamp Centenary in New York, at MIPEX63 in Melbourne, and the Stanley Gibbons Catalogue Centenary 1965 - the first time the stamp had been shown in the UK since 1923.

As I reported recently, a 60¢ letter rate Irish new issue was withdrawn from sale on the morning it was to be issued in January.

“An Post” believed the man on the stamp was of Captain Jack White, a former British army officer, who volunteered for the Irish Citizen’s Army in 1913.

The PO panicked when it learned at last moment, the WRONG photo had been used on the stamp. The caption lied!

They urgently recalled all stock, with strict instructions that none were to be retained or sold, and they were to be fully accounted for. 

This recall order went out before Post Offices opened January 23, and was almost universally complied with, right across the country it appears.

Not all stamps were withdrawn. Of course some reached the market. Including a very few singles offered recently on eBay.

A dealer in Cork, “Ravenstamps” is shown nearby holding a complete sheet he bought of this issue.

Padraig O’Shea, who runs Raven Stamps in Cork, sourced a sheet of 15 of the withdrawn stamps, which had been purchased at face value six days earlier.

‘‘It’s the first time here stamps have been issued and withdrawn - this has never happened before’’ Padraig told the independent.ie newspaper.

Padraig is a stampboards.com member, and raised the find there. He paid €3,000 for the sheet of 15 stamps he is shown holding nearby, or €200 apiece.

“I’ve no way of knowing what they could be worth because it’s dependent on how many more could appear. When you buy, the risk is that more will appear. But the reward could be that they don’t, and then the price will rise’’ he said.

Months after issue date he summarized the known copies in May - “It is now over three months since the Citizen Army error was released.”

“At this stage I am aware of at least six sheets that were purchased plus a small number of individual stamps, I also know of eight "used" examples and one first day cover.”

‘‘That’s not a lot, when you think of the world market,’’ he concluded.

tinyurl.com/EireStamp has the full discussion, and follows the fate of the few stamps offered to the trade and on ebay.              

The single stamp first offered was by ebay seller “jblunden” and attracted 40 bids, selling for $US566 via 3 last second “snipers” that doubled the price in last seconds.

Many at the time opined that was a very high price. My own thoughts were that it was bargain if An Post did not re-issue it in annoyance, and if it was listed in SG.

That same seller offered a single in mid-May and my prediction came to fruition - this one sold to 28 bids for $US1,226.51 (=$A1,325) - WAY over double the “too high” first sale price of $US566.

The ebay lot number for those interested is 371059938948, and is a classic example of the age-old adage: “he who hesitates is lost”!

New Zealand Post is really hammering mail users over there.

First, the 3 day a week delivery, and now your heavily cut back mail service will cost you 60% more than it did just 4 years back.

On July 1 the cost of a domestic stamp increased to 80¢. On July 1 2010, a NZ domestic letter was a bargain priced 50¢. That is a 60% hike in 4 years.

Parcel rates also increased at the same time, as did overseas mail rates - parcels overseas increased by average 4%, and the cheap International Economy parcel service was withdrawn. 

tinyurl.com/mcexva9 is the NZPost official spin site on it all, assuring us how delighted we will all be with these exciting new rates!

Stamp collectors are very heavily connected with banknote collecting - which are, when you think on it, very similar things .... superb products of the Engraver’s Art.

When I owned and Edited the “Coin And Banknote” magazine (CAB) some years back, and a large stamp magazine at the same time, we found that the subscriber base overlap for both magazine was very high - about 25% as I recall.

So events in the world of banknotes fascinate many readers I am sure, and the sale this year of the highest priced banknote ever, will hopefully be of some interest.

Earlier this year it became the single most valuable piece of currency in the world when it was sold for $US3.29 million (then about $A3.6 million), including buyer’s premium, by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions.

Far exceeding its estimate of $US2 million, it sold as part of the Florida United Numismatics (FUN) Convention’s rare currency auction. The last time this note was offered at auction was in 1970, when it brought $US11,000.

Who said there was no money in buying top end collectibles?!  $11,000 to $US3,290,000 corresponds to a 13.8% per annum increase I understand. 

The rarest and arguably the most famous of all US currency notes, the 1890 $1,000 Treasury Note, is popularly referred to as “The Grand Watermelon” - due to the design of the large zeroes on the reverse, that resemble watermelons!

More recently this same banknote achieved $US2.2 million in a private sale by Heritage in 2006.

It was produced to allow the bearer to withdraw funds in silver or gold bullion - a move that proved disastrous, as the US Treasury experienced a run on gold that led to a major crash in 1893.

“This note is an icon of American financial history - and is the only known example in private hands,” said Dustin Johnston, director of rare currency at Heritage Auctions.

“Collectors knew this was not a chance that was going to come around again anytime soon, and they bid accordingly. The result being that this beautiful little piece of paper is now the most valuable of its kind in the world, and has a new chapter to add to its legend.”