Lot 194 Lagos SG#5 (SC#4) 4d Bright Carmine & Deep Brownish Carmine, Queen Victoria, 1874-1876 Perf. 12.5 Crown CC Issue, 1st Printing, a Fine CDS Used, Undated Lagos CDS, 2022 Scott Classic Cat. $50 USD, Click on Listing to See ALL Pictures

A fine centered CDS used example of the 4d bright carmine and deep brownish carmine 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 22,320 stamps issued across 7 different printings between May 12, 1874 and May 13, 1875. This example is from the first printing from May 12, 1874, of which 1,920 stamps were printed. Vertical wove paper showing very fine mesh mesh and watermarked crown CC. Cancelled with a bold strike of a Proud type D6 Lagos CDS with timecode B, and no date.

2022 Scott Classic values a VF-75 used example of the more common seventh printing example at $50 USD. The first and second printings are more than three times as scarce, as the seventh printing, and should be worth a premium over this amount, though the condition would offset this, so that this example should be worth approximately the catalogue price.

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

The stamp offered here grades F-65 as follows:

Margins/centering: 30/60

Paper freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 5/10

Cancellation: 10/10