Lot 294 Lagos SG#34s (SC#25) 5d Dull Purple & Deep Green, Queen Victoria, 1887-1902 Bicoloured Crown CA Watermarked Issue, Fine Mint OG Example With Specimen Overprint, Est. Based on Gibbons $30, Click on Listing to See ALL Pictures

A fine example of the 5d dull purple & deep green Queen Victoria De La Rue Keyplate stamp from the 1887-1902 bicoloured Crown CA watermarked issue, with specimen overprint. According to J.F Ince in his definitive work, there were a total of 92,160 stamps sent to the colony and 57,140 remainders returned to London in 1905 for destruction. Thus, the net quantity issued was 35,020. This was spread out over what I believe to be 18 printings, made between December 1893 and August 1901. Although there is some variation in the head plate colour, most of the variation is in the green ink used for the duty plate. Like most values of this set, the progression of the printings can be identified by the degree of plate wear which first shows up in the detail of the Queen's hair and the diadem, as I explain in my blog posts.

2022 Scott Classic does not list specimen overprints, but Gibbons lists them as sets, and the equivalent value, taking all the overprints equally across the set is $30. This makes sense as all specimens are of equal scarcity.

I have written one blog post which outlines the differences between the printings. You can access it here.

The stamp offered here grades F-70 as follows:

Margins/centering: 40/70

Paper freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10