Southern Rhodesia - Q.Q.Mines Cheque with Embossed 1d Revenue - Die B

Description: [zipedit] Southern Rhodesia Revenue Stamp Cheque issued by Q.Q. Mines, Ltd., of Que Que, Southern Rhodesia, drawn on Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas). The cheque has an embossed Revenue stamp from the 1930-47 series, 1d, Die B, which is listed in William Barber's "The Impressed Duty Stamps of The British Colonial Empire" as # 104. The cheque also has a 1d postal/fiscal stamp (Scott # 57 - Fort Salisbury) paying the receipt tax, tied by endorsement signature and/or handstamp. The cheque was issued during 1940. Q.Q. Mines, Ltd. was one of several mining companies operating in Southern Rhodesi (now Zimbabwe) from the late 19th into the 20th century. According to an article at a blog at oncecalledhome.com: Most of Rhodesia’s pioneers came to look for gold, hoping to find another Witwatersrand. But 10% perished in the two rebellions in the 1890’s. Many left in poor health and out of pocket. The Globe and Phoenix Mine was reportedly the richest mine in the world, with one ounce of gold recovered for every ton of ore extracted, but it was entirely owned by shareholders in England. More than half of the revenue was profit. Only the modest wages of the white miners and pittances of the black laborers flowed into the Que Que economy–for half a century only the mine manager and the doctor had an indoor lavatory (toilet). The Gaika Mine, thought to be the tail end of the Phoenix reef, closed in 1929 and reverted back to the parent company, the Chicago-Gaika. Solly Sloman, the Vowels brothers and J.H. Couper started a local company, Que Que Mines, and took it over in the depth of the Depression. Could they make the Gaika rise again like a phoenix? The new company was able to restart the mine on a shoe string using the existing plant and no doubt many of the same workers, at a time when work was hard to find. Their capital, less than £5000, was thirty times less than the capital of the old Gaika Mine Company of nearly £140,000. They carefully removed the rich pillars in old stopes, mined blocks between levels and retreated old slimes dumps. In the glory years, 1931-35, they were able to issue a total of almost £100,000 in dividends: an average of more than 400% return on investment per annum for the local shareholders. As a result of the depression, the price of gold, fixed for a century, at about $21.00/oz., fell briefly in 1931 to $17.00, to be fixed at nearly $34.00 in 1934, an increase of about 70%. In addition, the pound was devalued against the dollar so that by 1940, an ounce of gold had risen from £4.4 in 1932 to £8.5 in 1940, almost double. Que Que Mines therefore was able to continue mining after the rich ore left behind had been retrieved. They were able to generate an average annual revenue of £70,000, about a quarter more than the old company did in the years before 1914 (£55,000). From 1934 to 1944, it produced about 70% as much gold per year as the old Gaika Mine had in the eight years before 1914 with probably about the same tonnage milled. It continued to produce to 1978. (Que Que, Southern Rhodesia, is now known as Kwekwe, Zimbabwe. It is located in the midlands of Zimbabwe, and it is the country's 6th largest city.) The cheque is F/VF, with folds. Approximate Cheque Size: 8¼ x 6 inches. * STOCK IMAGE DUE TO RECENT NON-DELIVERY CLAIMS - EXTRA FEES FOR SHIPPING MAY BE REQUIRED FOR SOME ADDRESSES. Please inquire if you have any questions. Shipping to US addresses will be via USPS First Class Mail. Shipping to non-US addresses will be via USPS First Class Mail International. No tracking will be provided for shipments unless requested by buyer. If extra mailing services, including tracking, are desired, there is an extra charge. Buyer MUST request before making payment to ensure additional coverage. If no additional coverage is purchased shipments are made at buyer's risk and will NOT be eligible for refund for non-delivery. Any lot with tracking WILL include details of contents and value for customs purposes. After 35+ years I decided to retire from being an active Cinderella Stamp dealer. Most of my working inventory plus backup stock was sold at public auction. However, I have retained some material that I will be offering for sale. In addition, I have some "new" material that was mixed into lots I have bought for my own collections. I will be listing some of the material in my eBay store at fixed prices. I will also be offering some material at auction, either as single items or mixed lots. There will be many bargains available. There will be large and small lots, some containing similar material, some containing a random mixture, and some containing only one or a few items. The condition will be mixed, but none of the lots will be just accumulations of damaged or faulty stamps (unless specifically listed as such). Items in stockpage or larger lots may be removed and repackaged into glassines to save on shipping costs. A Note about Poster Stamps and Gum: Because many poster stamp collectors are primarily interested in the image on the stamp, the absence or presence of gum on the back is of little concern. If no mention of gum is made, then there may or may not be gum present. If you are only interested in poster stamps with original gum, please inquire before bidding. Actual condition issues (that are not apparent from the scan) WILL be described. * A Note about "Stock Images": Occasionally I will have more than one example of an item in inventory. Rather than scan each one individually, I may use the same image for multiple examples of the item. If that is the case, the item supplied will be in substantially the same, or better, condition than the image. Any such items will have the words: "STOCK IMAGE" at the end of the description. Keywords: cinderella poster stamps vignettes viñeta reklamemarke samlermærke advertising exhibition exposition seal label erinnofilo mærkat chiudilettera revenue fiscal duty charity templette

Price: 15 USD

Location: West Hartford, Connecticut

End Time: 2024-02-11T19:21:17.000Z

Shipping Cost: 1.25 USD