Niger Coast Protectorate SG#54-54b 2 1/2d Blue Queen Victoria, 1894-1896 2nd Waterlow Unwatermarked Issue, Perf. 14.5-15, and 13.5-14, Three Fine and VF Used Examples Featuring A Benin River 1894 CDS, A Bonny River 1895 CDS And A Sombreiro River 1896 CDS

Three fine and very fine used examples of the 2 1/2d blue Queen Victoria Widow's Weeds stamp from the 1894-1896 Unwatermarked 2nd Waterlow Issue, perf. 14.5-15. Two stamps are printed on horizontal wove paper with visible mesh, while one is on vertical wove wove paper. The first stamp was canceled in Benin River on November 14th 1894, time code C in red ink. The second stamp was canceled in Bonny River on March 28th 1895 time code A. The final stamp was canceled in Sombreiro River on April 27th 1897, time code A.

One of the appeals to this issue is the number of perforation and shade varieties. There are 3 different printings of the 2 1/2d stamp, and many different perforation combinations to be found as well, some scarcer than others. I have written a general blog post about the 2nd Waterlow issue, which can be found here.

Gibbons values mint examples of these stamps at 24 pounds = $48.

The stamps offered here grade VF-80, F-70 and F-68 as follows:

Margins/centering: 40/60, 35/60, 30/60

Paper freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations:10/10, 5/10 and 8/10

Cancelations : 10/10