Niger Coast Protectorate SG#46, 46b 1d Blue & 1d Dull Blue Queen Victoria, 1893 Obliterated "Oil Rivers" Issue, Fine and VF Used Examples of the 2nd and 3rd Printings

Fine and very fine used examples of the 1d blue and 1d dull blue Queen Victoria Widow's Weeds stamps from the 1893 Obliterated Oil Rivers Issue, with different perforations, from the second and third printings. Both printed on vertical wove paper with visible mesh. The blue is perf. 15.1 and the dull blue is perf. 15. Both are cancelled with SON Old Calabar River CDS Cancels with timecode A, dated March 16, 1894.

The appeal of this issue is the number of perforation and shade varieties, as well as the fact that there were three printings made between June 1893 and March 1894. A number of nice re-entries are to be found on these stamps as well. I have written a series of blog posts outlining the points of interest to be found on these issues. You can access the relevant ones here and here. No fewer than six perforating machines were used to perforate the stamps, so a very large number of perforation combinations can be found, and some of them are very scarce.

The quantities printed and sent were also relatively modest, at 37,000 of the 1/2d, 39,400 of the 1d, 16,000 of the 2d, 46,000 of the 2.5d, 25,000 of the 5d and 16,000 of the 1/-.

Gibbons values two mint examples at 9 pounds = $18. The blue stamp has a vertical crease which is not obvious, but which does reduce the grade from VF-80 to F-70.

The stamps offered here grade F-70 and VF-75 as follows:

Margins/centering: 40/60 and 35/60

Paper freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10

Cancellation: 10/10

Adjustment for vertical crease on 1d blue: -10 points