Lot 272 Lagos SG#25 (SC#26) 6d Greenish Olive, Queen Victoria, 1884-1886 Second Crown CA Watermarked Issue, Early Printing, A Very Fine Mint OG Example, 2022 Scott Classic Cat. $9 USD, Click on Listing to See ALL Pictures

A very well centered and very fine mint OG example of the 6d greenish olive Queen Victoria De La Rue Keyplate stamp from the 1884-1886 second Crown CA watermarked issue, printed in the new colours. According to J.F Ince in his definitive work, there were a total of 22.500 stamps issued across 6 printings between July 1884 and October 1886. This example is from an earlier printing where the colour contains more green than yellow or brown. Vertical wove paper showing no visible mesh and watermarked crown CA. The gum on this stamp is crackly, which is characteristic of the early printings.

2022 Scott Classic values a VF-75 mint example at $9 USD for the more common later printings. An early printing like this should be worth more than this.

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

The stamp offered here grades VF-80 as follows:

Margins/centering: 50/70

Paper freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10