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Brixton Chrome

Lot 194 Nigeria SG# 6-6a 4d Grey Black & Carmine and Grey & Carmine on Yellow Paper With White & Lemon Backs King George V, 1914-1921 Multiple Crown CA Imperium Keyplate Issue, Six VFOG Examples, From Different Printings

Lot 194 Nigeria SG# 6-6a 4d Grey Black & Carmine and Grey & Carmine on Yellow Paper With White & Lemon Backs King George V, 1914-1921 Multiple Crown CA Imperium Keyplate Issue, Six VFOG Examples, From Different Printings

Six VFOG examples of the 4d grey black & carmine and grey & carmine on yellow paper with white & lemon backs King George V from the 1914-1921 Multiple Crown CA Imperium Keyplate Issue. from different printings, each a slightly different shade.

Two of the stamps have grey black head plates. Of these two, one has a white back with cream gum. The other has a lemon back with clear smooth gum. Two of the stamps have grey head plate and the same backs as the first two stamps. The last two stamps have pale grey head plates and crackly cream gum. The main difference between these two stamps is one has a slightly deeper duty plate colour.

Gibbons values this stamp at 7.6 pounds, which at today's exchange rate is approximately $12.92. NH material from this period normally sells for at least 100% more than for hinged material, and plate multiples tend to sell for at least the same premium over the price of single stamps. Based on these observations, our estimate of the value is $10. The stamps offered here grade between 80 and 84 as follows:

Centering/Margins: 50/70 and 54/70
Paper Freshness: 5/5
Colour: 5/5
Impression: 5/5
Absence of Visible Paper Flaws: 5/5
Perforations: 10/10

The imperium keyplate issues of Nigeria are a fascinating definitive series whose complexity rivals any definitive series for this period issued by any of the major industrialized counties like Great Britain, Australia, US or Canada. The Gibbons catalogue gives a very broad overview coverage of the printings, with their listings clearly differentiating between the various coloured papers of the stamps of the first issue: that watermarked with multiple crown CA. But for some strange reason, the listings of the second issue, the multiple script CA issues make no distinction between paper types, even though differences do clearly exist, as the lots in this sale show. Gibbons also does not really attempt to differentiate shades, except in a very rudimentary sense, and the descibe many of the stamps that are actually two different colours as being a single colour. Many of the so called monocoloured stamps, upon close examination are actually seen to be a combination of two close but different colours: one for the head plate and the other for the duty plate (the value and country name). The gum also varied on these issues, with yellowish, cream and colourless gum being found, and with the earlier printings having crackly gum, while later printings have smooth gum. The first issues were almost all die 1, with just a few printings of the pound being die 2. Die 2 comes into mainstream use during the script CA period, and on some sheets of the 1/2d and 1d they occurred on the same sheet, with one die in each pane, which is why the gutter pairs of this value are of significant rarity. Eventually die 2 comes to replace die 1 in the mid 1920's, before reappearing on later printings from 1932 onwards. There are many, many printings made of each value and several collectible shades of each stamp, as well as many different combinations of surface and back colours for the coloured papers.

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