A fresh and fine example of this 3/- booklet from the 1956-1959 Wilding Issue With the inverted St. Edward's Crown watermark on cream paper. The contents have the following characteristics:
Paper type: Vertical cream wove paper, watermarked inverted St. Edward's Crown.
Printing method: Photogravure
Rate page features: August 1958 date printed in lower right corner.
Printer: Harrison and Sons
Perforation or die cut: 15 x 14 comb (Type I)
Stamp colours: 1/2d orange, 1d ultramarine, 1.5d deep green, 3d purple.
Gum Type: smooth cream coloured gum Arabic (dextrine gum) with a satin sheen
The covers display the following characteristics:
Cover fluorescence: Dull fluorescent on front and back
Cover seal type: unsealed
Cover design: Type C GPO cypher
Cover binding type: stitched with black thread
Interleaving inside? Yes, 5 double sided text pages, with adverts, giving a medium fluorescent reaction under UV light.
Cover Colours: dark red with black writing
Counting mark on cover?:No
The Gibbons catalogue value for a F-65 mint example of this booklet is £32. This translates to $54.40. The booklet offered here grades F-74 as follows:
Cover freshness: 10/10
Centering of the panes: 45/70 (average of all panes)
Condition of cover edges: 5/5
Freshness of the panes: 5/5
Absence of visible cover flaws or stains: 5/5
Condition of interleaving and contents: 4/5 (perfs full on all panes, except the 1/2d pane which is slightly trimmed at the bottom)
The white papers of the panes do exhibit variations under long-wave ultraviolet light, starting with the multiple crown watermark. Generally they vary from low fluorescent to hibrite, as well as various flecked papers.
The perforators used also vary, and the differences lie in whether the vertical perforations extend into the selvage:
- Type I - vertical perforations do not extend into the selvage, so that selvage is fully imperforate at the vertical sides.
- Type I(1/2v) - as above, but one corner of the selvage is skimmed off.
- Type AP - Side perfs extend all the way through the selvage, but the middle row of perforations do not.
- Type P - all perforations extend all the way through the selvage.
