Lot 205 Nigeria - Biafra SG#1-3, 17-21 2d-10/- Multicoloured Various Designs, 1967-1968 Independence and 1st Anniversary of Independence Issue, A VF Used Group of Singles With Both CTO and Genuine Postal Cancels

A VF used group of singles of the 2d-10/- multicoloured various designs from the 1967-1968 Independence and 1st Anniversary of Independence Issue, with both CTO and genuine postal cancels The 2/6 through 10/- of the second set are CTO, and have the standard Umuahia CTO CDS, as do most of the stamps on the market. The other stamps are mostly on piece and are all cancelled with genuine postal cancels.

Gibbons values the basic stamps at 20.8 pounds This is approximately $36.19. However, this is generally for the CTO Umuahia cancels. The Genuine postal cancels should be worth between 5 and 6 times as much. The stamps offered here grade between 75 and 84 as follows:

Centering/Margins: 44/60, 40/60 and 35/60

Paper Freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of Visible Paper Flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10

Cancellation: 10/10

The issues of Biafra were generally printed in either Portugal or Italy, and there are several that Gibbons does not list because they have not been able to find evidence that such issues were available in Biafra. However, this does not necessarily mean that those stamps were never issued there. Anyone familiar with the nature of the Biafran civil war and with the habits of Nigerian society would come away with the understanding that most paperwork is not retained. This is why local covers bearing low value stamps are very scarce - because most are thrown away. Most covers from Nigeria will be letters sent abroad. However, the extreme hardships suffered in Bifara during the war would have meant that very few stamps would have been used for anything other than local mail. Because of this and the attitudes towards preservation, or lack thereof, even if the questionable issues were issued in Biafra, there would be very little surviving evidence of this. Our estimates of value are based on the scarcity of these issues and what we have seen them sell for on sites like e-Bay, several years ago. The souvenir sheets all have 5 digit control numbers on the back, so in theory, there could have been as many as 99,999 issued. However, in practice we think the quantity actually issued was lower as most of the sheets we have seen have had control numbers that begin with a 0. For used stamps, Gibbons prices them with the Umuahia CTO CDS postmarks, with a note that genuine postal cancels are worth much more. In our estimation this premium should be in the 400-500% range.