Lot 193 Lagos SG#3 (SC#3) 3d Chestnut & Orange Brown, Queen Victoria, 1874-1876 Perf. 12.5 Watermarked Crown CC Issue, 4th Printing, A Very Fine Used, May 18, 1875 Lagos CDS, 2022 Scott Classic Cat. $45 USD, Click on Listing to See ALL Pictures

A well centered and very fine CDS used example of the 3d chestnut and orange brown 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 15,780 stamps issued across 4 different printings between November 18, 1874 and May 13, 1875. This example is from the third printing from February 3, 1875, of which 3,000 stamps were printed. Vertical wove paper showing fine vertical mesh and watermarked crown CC. Cancelled with a clear strike of Proud type D6 CDS with timecode B, dated May 18, 1875.

2022 Scott Classic values a VF-75 used example of the more common fourth printing example at $45. The other three printings are each twice as scarce as the fourth printing, so this example should be worth at least a small premium.

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

The stamp offered here grades VF-75 as follows:

Margins/centering: 40/60

Paper freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 5/10

Cancellation: 10/10