1900 Queensland

The companion to Queensland's 1-penny Patriotic Fund stamp, this 2-penny violet is the rarer of the two Boer War semi-postal values issued by the colony in 1900. Only 4,020 examples were printed — fewer than the already scarce 1-penny value — making this one of the lowest-quantity stamps in the entire Australian States catalog. Like its companion, it was sold at a substantial premium over face value, priced at one shilling rather than two pence, with the surcharge going directly to support Queensland volunteers serving in the Boer War and the families of those who did not return.

The design is notably different from the 1-penny stamp and considerably more elaborate. Queen Victoria's portrait appears in a central oval medallion, flanked on the left by a warship in harbor — representing the naval power of the British Empire — and on the right by a mounted soldier, a direct reference to the mounted infantry units for which the Australian colonies became famous during the Boer War. The Queensland volunteers who served in South Africa distinguished themselves particularly as mounted riflemen, and the horseman on this stamp reflects the pride the colony took in that contribution. The engraving quality throughout is exceptional, with fine detail in both the portrait and the flanking vignettes.

Together, the B1 and B2 form a matched pair of historically significant rarities from the final years of Queensland as a British colony. Queensland joined the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, just one year after these stamps were issued.