Lot 170 Lagos SG#1 1d Reddish Lilac & Dull Purple, Queen Victoria, 1874-1876 Perf. 12.5 Crown CC Watermarked Issue, 2nd Printing, A Very Fine Mint OG Example, 2022 Scott Classic Cat. $80 USD For Most Common Printing

A very fine mint OG example of the 1d reddish lilac & dull purple 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 19,800 stamps issued across 6 different printings between May 12, 1874 and May 13, 1875. This example is from the scarce second printing from September 14, 1874, of which only 2,400 stamps were printed. Vertical wove paper showing no visible mesh and watermarked crown CC. Full original gum, which is hinged and has a few extraneous marking on it, which do not detract significantly as crown CC issues are seldom found with full original gum.

Stanley Gibbons values a VF-75 mint example of the more common sixth printing at 80 pounds = $160. However, only 12% of all stamps in existence are from the second printing, and consequently in our opinion, they are worth at least double the Gibbons price.

I have written a blog post explaining the differences between the various printings, which you can access by clicking here.

The stamp offered here grades VF-75 OG as follows:

Margins/centering: 50/70

Paper freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 5/10