Great Britain SG#F24 2/6d Dull Green & Black Cover 1952-1955 Wilding Issue, A Complete Booklet With Upright & Inverted Tudor Crown Watermark, Panes of 6 and 3 + 3 Labels, Type B GPO Cypher, December 1954

A fine example of this 2/6d booklet from the 1952-1955 Wilding Issue With the mixed upright and inverted Tudor Crown watermark. The contents have the following characteristics:

Paper type: Vertical cream wove paper, watermarked upright and inverted Tudor Crown watermark.

Printing method: Photogravure

Rate page features: December 1954 in bottom right corner.

Printer: Harrison and Sons December 1954.

Perforation or die cut: 15 x 14 comb (Type I)

Stamp colours: 1/2d orange, 1d ultramarine, 1.5d deep green, 2.5d carmine-red.

Gum Type: smooth cream coloured gum Arabic (dextrine gum) with a satin sheen

The covers display the following characteristics:

Cover fluorescence: Dull fluorescent on front and back

Cover seal type: unsealed

Cover design: Type B GPO cypher

Cover binding type: stitched with black thread

Interleaving inside? No

Cover Colours: dull green with black writing

Counting mark on cover?:No

The Gibbons catalogue value for a F-65 mint example of this booklet is £50. This translates to $100. The booklet offered here grades F-69 as follows:

Cover freshness: 10/10

Centering of the panes: 45/70 (average of all panes)

Condition of cover edges: 5/5

Freshness of the panes: 5/5

Absence of visible cover flaws or stains: 1/5 (tape stuck on front cover over staple holes)

Condition of interleaving and contents: 3/5 (panes have some dimples from back of staple that used to be in front cover)

The white papers of the panes do exhibit variations under long-wave ultraviolet light, starting with the multiple crown watermark. Generally they vary from low fluorescent to hibrite, as well as various flecked papers.

The perforators used also vary, and the differences lie in whether the vertical perforations extend into the selvage:

• Type I - vertical perforations do not extend into the selvage, so that selvage is fully imperforate at the vertical sides.
• Type I(1/2v) - as above, but one corner of the selvage is skimmed off.
• Type AP - Side perfs extend all the way through the selvage, but the middle row of perforations do not.
• Type P - all perforations extend all the way through the selvage.