Lot 199 Lagos SG#5 (SC#4) 4d Carmine & Brown Rose, Queen Victoria, 1874-1876 Perf. 12.5 Crown CC Watermarked Issue, 2nd Printing, Fine Unused Example, 2022 Scott Classic Cat. $150 USD For The Most Common Printing

A well centered but lightly soiled unused example of the 4d carmine and brown rose Queen Victoria De La Rue Keyplate stamp from the 1874-1876 Perf. 12.5 Crown CC issue. According to J.F Ince in his definitive work, there were a total of 22,320 stamps issued across 7 different printings between May 12, 1874 and May 13, 1875. This example is from the second printing from August 13, 1874, of which 2,160 stamps were printed. Vertical wove paper showing no clear mesh and watermarked crown CC.

Stanley Gibbons values a VF-75 mint OG example of the more common seventh printing example at 150 pounds = $300. The first and second printings are more than three times as scarce, as the seventh printing, and should be worth a premium over this amount, with gum. Unused should be worth half Gibbons and fine half that again, so a fair value for this is $75.

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

The stamp offered here grades F-72 as follows:

Margins/centering: 50/70

Paper freshness: 2/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 5/10