Australia‘s first postage stamps, in 1913, were the legendary kangaroo stamps (a.k.a. roos). The simple and striking design, a kangaroo over a map of Australia, proved popular enough that the stamps were issued and used until 1951. A main idea behind Australia roo stamps was that some officials of the new Commonwealth of Australia wanted a stamp that didn’t include a reference to the British royals.
The sheer variety of Australia’s kangaroo postage stamps over the years has long inspired collectors to explore the intricacies of roo postage, including the many cancels, inverted errors, watermarks, and other kangaroo stamp subcategories, not to mention the usual standbys of roo stamp blocks, full sheets, et cetera. Of the first 1913 series, the denominations ranged from a 1/2 penny to two pounds; in general, the higher the denomination, the higher the value.
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Roos are arguably the single area of focus by collectors of Australian stamps in the buyers’ marketplace these days. Generally, the selection of kangaroo stamps for sale includes stamps with frame breaks and other imperfections and errors.
