Lot 269 Lagos SG#24 (SC#23) 4d Pale Slate Violet & Slate Violet, Queen Victoria, 1884-1886 Second Crown CA Watermarked Issue, 5th Printing, A Very Good Mint OG Example, 2022 Scott Classic Cat. $160 USD, Net. Est. $50

A very good mint OG example of the 4d pale slate violet & slate violet Queen Victoria De La Rue Keyplate stamp from the 1884-1886 second Crown CA watermarked issue, printed in the new colours. According to J.F Ince in his definitive work, there were a total of 41,760 stamps issued across 11 printings between July 1884 and December 1886. This example is from the 5th printing. Vertical wove paper showing no visible mesh and watermarked crown CA. The gum on this printing is smooth and deep cream in colour. There is a arc shaped natural gum crease that reduces the grade from F-65 to VG-55.

Stanley Gibbons values a VF-75 mint example at 160 pounds = $320. A VG example should be worth about a quarter of this amount, or $80.

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

The stamp offered here grades VG-55 as follows:

Margins/centering: 35/70

Paper freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10

Adjustment for natural gum crease: -10 points