Lot 5 Northern Nigeria SC#51 10/- Green & red on Green, 1912 King George V Imperium Keyplate Issue, Single Usage on Registered Cover to Halberstadt, Germany, Estimated Value $270

A very fine registered cover, sent from Zungeru on April 28, 1913 to Halberstadt, Germany. Franked with singles of the 1/2d dull green and 2d lilac and ultramarine, paying the 2.5d letter rate to the UK. Meyerscough was a prominent London stamp dealer that advertised all around the world to buy stamps. Fine appearance, but some repaired tears reduce the grade to VG. This is a much later use of the 8-bar killer than is noted in Proud, as Proud gives December 1, 1885 as the time when this mark was phased out, but as we can see this is a much later use of it. Proud Type D4 Zungeru cancel dated April 28, 1913 (20 GBP on cover in Proud), and black May 19, 1913 arched registered London transit backstamp. Gibbons prescribes a multiplier of 6x for Queen Victoria issues used on cover, and 5x for Edward VIIand King George V issues. This is the starting point in valuing these covers. Then, the value of any postal markings is added and both the rate and route travelled are considered, as well as condition. The basic catalogue value, based on the multiplier applied to 2022 Scott Classic catalogue values is $250. Based on all the factors considered, we estimate the value of the cover to be $270.