Lot 231 Lagos SG#11 (SC#8var) 2d Deep Bright Greenish Blue, Queen Victoria, 1876-1880 Line Perf. 14 Crown CC Watermarked Issue, 4th Printing, A VF Used Example Showing Broken Frame at Upper Left, 2022 Scott Classic Cat. $15 USD Without Break

A well centered and very fine used example of the 2d deep bright greenish blue Queen Victoria De La Rue Keyplate stamp from the 1876-1880 Line Perf. 14 Crown CC issue, showing a frame break at upper left, just above the "L" of Lagos. 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 fourth printing from July 23, 1879, of which 6,300 stamps were printed. Vertical wove paper showing fine vertical mesh and watermarked crown CC. Cancelled with a well placed and relatively moderate strike of Proud type K1 Lagos grid killer cancel.

Stanley Gibbons values a VF-75 used example at 13 pounds = $26 for a normal example without the break. Strangely Gibbons does not list this frame break, but other, similar breaks that they do list for other colonies in this period are priced in the $200-$600 range. So, this example should be worth $250-$300.

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

The stamp offered here grades VF-76 as follows:

Margins/centering: 40/60

Paper freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 8/10

Cancellation: 8/10