Lot 249 Rhodesia and Nyasaland SG#18-28 1/2d Green & Black - 2/6d Greenish Blue and Yellow Brown, 1959-1963 Waterlow, De La Rue and Bradbury Wilkinson Pictorial Issue, A Primarily VF and All NH Short Set

A mostly VF and all NH partial set of the 1959-1963 Waterlow, De La Rue and Bradbury Wilkinson pictorial issue, from the 1/2d to 2/6d. The stamps are all mostly all on DF paper, but the 1d coil stamp is on NF paper, the 3d is LF and the other 1d is MF. Waterlow lost its printing contract to De La Rue in late 1961, so where an issue spans the period from 1953 to 1963, most, if not all values can and will exist printed by both printers. Generally speaking, Waterlow printings will have a thicker than normal perforation tooth at the top right, but the bigger difference is that the impression will have tiny whiskers of colour and ink spatter, making the print appear somewhat fuzzy. De La Rue printings will be printed with much cleaner lines, which causes the entire design to appear lighter and softer. The difference is most apparent in the shading of the Queen's portrait. The fluorescence of the papers is another way to distinguish the printings. Waterlow and some De La Rue Printings are on DF paper, whereas stamps on LF and MF papers are almost always De La Rue and come from printings made in the 1960's. On this set Waterlow initially printed the 1/2d, 1d, 2d and 1/- values. The examples included here are all Waterlow printings except for the 1d on MF paper, the 1/2d coil and the 1/- which are De La Rue. The 1/2d coil shows a prominent vertical line running throught the design, which is not listed in Gibbons, but should be.

Gibbons values this partial set at 47.55 GBP = approximately $80. The stamps offered here grade between 70 and 80, with most stamps being at least 75.