Description: This historic definitive postage stamp features the left-facing profile of King George V, who reigned from 1910 to 1936. Struck in a distinctive deep agate-brown shade, the visual layout positions the monarch inside a central oval frame bounded by a finely engraved laurel wreath. The upper left and right corners prominently display the numeral "9," while the text "POSTAGE" and "REVENUE" border the left and right sides respectively to signal its multi-use capabilities. The base is anchored by a solid horizontal tablet spelling out the face value "NINE PENCE." Rather than a traditional ink strike, the postmark cancel consists of a perfin (perforated initials) patterned punch, which has cleanly pierced a specific sequence of structural alignment holes straight through the paper fiber matrix.
Circa: 1912-1924
Condition: Used
Notes:
The dotted pattern you noticed is a perfin (short for perforated initials or perforated insignia). This was not a postal cancel applied by the post office, but a secure private punch applied by corporate businesses, banks, or government offices to prevent employee theft. Because stamps functioned almost like currency in the early twentieth century, companies perforated their initials into their stamp sheets so employees could not steal them and use them for personal mail or cash them back in at local post offices.