Lot 229 Lagos SG#11 (SC#8) 2d Dull Greenish Blue, Queen Victoria, 1876-1880 Line Perf. 14 Crown CC Watermarked Issue, 2nd 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 dull greenish blue Queen Victoria De La Rue Keyplate stamp from the 1876-1880 Line 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 second printing from June 12, 1877, of which 6,300 stamps were printed. Vertical wove paper showing no visible mesh and watermarked crown CC.

Stanley Gibbons values a VF-75 mint OG example at 80 pounds = $160. This printing is twice as scarce as the third and sixth printings, which are the most common. So, it should be worth a slight premium, like $175 or so.

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