Lot 232 Lagos SG#11 (SC#8) 2d Deep Blue & Deep Greenish Blue, Queen Victoria, 1876-1880 Comb Perf. 14 Crown CC Watermarked Issue, 6th Printing, A VF Mint OG Example, 2022 Scott Classic Cat. $80 USD For The Most Common Printing

A well centered and very fine mint OG example of the 2d deep blue and greenish blue Queen Victoria De La Rue Keyplate stamp from the 1876-1880 comb Perf. 14 Crown CC issue. According to J.F Ince in his definitive work, there were a total of 49,140 stamps issued across 6 different printings between May 9, 1876 and November 18, 1880. This example is from the sixth printing from November 18, 1880, of which 12,180 stamps were printed. Vertical wove paper showing no visible mesh and watermarked crown CC. The gum is thicker and crackly on this printing, as opposed to the thin, colourless gum of the earlier printings. It is much closer, in appearance to the gum of the crown CA period.

Stanley Gibbons values a VF-75 mint OG example at 80 pounds = $160.

I have written a blog post which explains the differences between the printings, which you can access here.

The stamp offered here grades VF-80 as follows:

Margins/centering: 50/70

Paper freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10