Lot 316 Lagos SG#40 (SC#36) 5/- Dull Green & Blue, Queen Victoria, 1887-1902 Bicoloured Crown CA Issue, a VF SON CDS Used Example, January 25, 1905 Lagos Registered CDS, Scott Classic Cat. $175 USD, Click on Listing to See ALL Pictures

A well centered and very fine CDS used example of the 5/- dull green & blue, Queen Victoria De La Rue Keyplate stamp from the 1887-1902 bicoloured Crown CA watermarked issue. According to J.F Ince in his definitive work, there were a total of 28,320 stamps sent to the colony and 18,900 remainders returned to London in 1905 for destruction. Thus, the net quantity issued was 9,420. This was spread out over what I believe to be 18 printings, made between March 1887 and August 1901. Both the head plates and the duty plates show significant shade variations. 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. This stamp comes from an early printing, despite the late use, and is cancelled with a January 25, 1906 Lagos registered cancel.

2022 Scott Classic values a VF-75 used example at $175 USD. Proper postally used examples of these high value stamps with the green duty plates are exceedingly scarce, as the stamps were printed in doubly fugitive inks that run and fade with exposure to water. It is thought that mint examples outnumber used by a factor of more than 10 to 1.

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

The stamp offered here grades VF-78 as follows:

Margins/centering: 40/60

Paper freshness: 3/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10

Cancellation: 10/10