Lot 526 Bahamas #97-98 1/2d & 1.5d Myrtle Green & Deep Yellow Brown King George VI & Queen Elizabeth, 1937 Coronation Issue, 7 Fine OG, VFNH, VFOG & VF Used Singles All Showing Unlisted & Possibly Constant Plate Varieties

7 fine OG, VFNH, VFOG & VF used singles of the 1/2d & 1.5d Myrtle green & deep yellow brown King George VI & Queen Elizabeth from the 1937 Coronation Issue all showing unlisted & possibly constant plate varieties. This group includes plate varieties and inking varieties, which may or may not be constant. The first group are the varieties that occur, due to inking anomalies, and includes: 1/2d with small burr over the king's left shoulder; 1/2d with extended serif on the left "d" of "1/2d"; 1.5d with smudge projecting upward from the "H" of "Bahamas"; 1.5d with burrs above the Queen's left shoulder. The second group consists of varieties resulting from actual scratches or damage to the plates and includes: 1/2d with a burr, diagonal scratch and a dot in the left margin, at the Queen's eye level; 1/2d used with a short diagonal line projecting up from the left "1" and the 1.5d with a very fine diagonal hairline scratch through the right value tablet into the bottom margin. All mint stamps except the 1.5d with the smudge on H are hinged. More study will be required to determine whether or not any of these are constant or not.

2022 Scott Classic values this at $2.05 for VFNH singles printed in the most common shades without varieties. Our estimate of the value with these varieties $23. The stamps offered here grade 70-75 as follows:

Centering/Margins: 35/60, 40/70, 45/70

Paper Freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of Visible Paper Flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10

Cancellation: 10/10

The 1937 Coronation Issue common designs were printed by De La Rue and Bradbury Wilkinson. The Perf. 11 stamps are Bradbury Wilkinson and the perf 14 issues are De La Rue. Both printers used several versions of the same ink, so that shades can be found on most of the colours used. The most common colours used by both printers are: dark green, honey brown, carmine red, and ultramarine. These four account for well over half of all the stamps in the set. As a general rule, there is more colour consistency in the stamps printed by Bradbury Wilkinson then there is in the De La Rue stamps, with the De La Rue issues existing usually with 2-3 shades each, which correspond to the three printings made of each set. Gibbons lists only a few of the variations on a couple of the De La Rue sets, being the brown-lake/carmine difference on the Malta issue and the Myrtle green/deep green distinction on the Turks & Caicos set.

 However, my research into this issue appears to suggest that these differences exist on many of the other colonies as well. There are also a number of plate flaws to be found on this issue, at least some of which are constant. Again, most of these are not listed in Gibbons, but further study should prove to be quite rewarding, as the number of these varieties appears to be quite manageable. In terms of colour, De La Rue's carmine really is more of a red or a scarlet red, with those shades tending towards true carmine being quite scarce. There are many, many shades of the carmine ink. Bradbury's carmine is fairly consistent, but some variations can be found in the amount of red contained in the mix. De La Rue's green varies in the amount of blue contained in it, with the bluish ones being Myrtle and those lacking blue being a true deep green. Bradbury's green varies mostly in intensity and is generally a Myrtle green. The honey brown shade for both printers varies in the balance between brown and yellow in the shade. Both printer's ultramarine show a high degree of consistency, with De La Rue's generally being brighter and Bradbury's being closer to pure blue and generally duller. Variations of both can be found where there is more blue than ultramarine.

The other colours, such as dark browns, violets, purples, oranges, olive yellows, slates, greys and blacks all show variation, and although some appear quite similar, it becomes clear after studying them, that they were intended specifically for the colony on which they were used. So, it is possible that there may exist errors of colour, in which the ink used is the wrong one, but it appears close enough at first glance to go unnoticed. Both the shade variations and the plate varieties are generally quite scarce, and you may have to buy many sets before you find any. This is one of the main reasons, I believe, why little to no specialist research has been done on this issue. As a result, my estimates will often differ quite significantly from the basic Scott values, which are, of course for the common shades, without any plate variety. Generally, shades resulting from different intensities of ink are less scarce, but those that are an entirely different tone or shade are much scarcer and worth much more than the basic stamps.