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Lot 361 Niger Coast Protectorate SG#1 1/2d Vermilion Queen Victoria, A Very Fine Used Example of the Type 3 Oil Rivers Overprint, Black Old Calabar CDS Cancel, 2022 Scott Classic Cat. $13 USD

Lot 361 Niger Coast Protectorate SG#1 1/2d Vermilion Queen Victoria, A Very Fine Used Example of the Type 3 Oil Rivers Overprint, Black Old Calabar CDS Cancel, 2022 Scott Classic Cat. $13 USD

A very fine used example of the 1/2d vermilion Queen Victoria Jubilee Issue of Great Britain, overprinted with the type 3 Oil Rivers overprint. Black Old Calabar, or Old Calabar River CDS cancel with time code A.

This issue appeals both to collectors who specialize in the Unified designs of the GB 1887-1902 Jubilee issue, as well as Nigeria specialists. The main appeal of this issue lies in the large number of plateable constant varieties in the overprint, as well as the types. The overprinting was carried out using two electrotype plates of 60, so the values other than the 1/2d and 1d could be done with one pass through the press, while the larger sheets of 240 for the 1/2d and 1d required 2 such passes. The overprints varied slightly from column to column, and the 6 types can be identified by a combination of the widths of certain words, as well as whether the "B" and "H" of the word "British" is level, low or raised, relative to the other letters. The types can be identified as follows:

Type Length of "British" Length of "Protectorate" Length of Oil Rivers Position of B, R and H
1 8 mm 16.25 mm 16.5 mm B, H raised
2 7.75 mm just under 16.5 mm 16.5 mm B, H raised
3 7.75 mm 16.5 mm 16.5 mm B low, H raised
4 7.75 mm 16.5 mm just over 16.5 mm R slants, H raised
5 7.75 mm 16.5 mm 16.75 mm B, H raised
6 7.75 mm 16.5 mm just under 16.5 mm B level, H raised


I have written a blog post outlining the different constant varieties that can be found in the overprint itself. These varieties are fully constant and can be found on all 6 values of the set. You can read about them here.

The quantities printed and sent were also relatively modest, at 50,000 each of the 1/2d and 1d; 42,000 of the 2d, 72,500 of the 2.5d, 36,000 of the 5d and just 10,000 of the 1/-. So, what all this means is that the number of stamps with the constant varieties is quite limited for each of the varieties.

Gibbons values a used (usually CTO) example at 13 pounds = $26.

The stamp offered here grades VF-75 as follows:

Margins/centering: 35/60

Paper freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10

Cancellation: 10/10




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