Lot 237 Lagos SG#14 (SC#10) 4d Deep Carmine Rose, Queen Victoria, 1876-1880 Line Perf. 14 Crown CC Watermarked Issue, 1st Printing, A Very Fine Used Example on Small Piece With Complete Strike of Lagos Grid Killer
Lot 237 Lagos SG#14 (SC#10) 4d Deep Carmine Rose, Queen Victoria, 1876-1880 Line Perf. 14 Crown CC Watermarked Issue, 1st Printing, A Very Fine Used Example on Small Piece With Complete Strike of Lagos Grid Killer
A very well centered and very fine used example of the 4d deep carmine rose 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 57,540 stamps issued across 6 different printings between May 9, 1876 and November 18, 1880. This example is from the first printing from May 9, 1876, of which 6,240 stamps were printed. Cancelled with a crisp strike of a Proud K1 Lagos grid killer cancel. This cancel and the perf., confirm that this must be a crown CC issue and not the later crown CA issue.
Stanley Gibbons values a VF-75 used example at 12 pounds = $24. The stamps of the first printing are twice as scarce as those of the second, third and sixth printings so this should be worth a small premium, perhaps $30.
I have written a blog post which explains the differences between the printings, which you can access here.
The stamp offered here grades VF-78 as follows:
Margins/centering: 44/60
Paper freshness: 5/5
Colour: 5/5
Impression: 5/5
Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5
Perforations: 8/10
Cancellation: 6/10