Niger Coast Protectorate SG#45 1/2d Vermilion Queen Victoria, 1893 Obliterated "Oil Rivers" Issue, Very Fine Used Examples of the 2nd and 3rd Printings

Very fine used examples of the 1/2d vermilion Queen Victoria Widow's Weeds stamps from the 1893 Obliterated Oil Rivers Issue, with different perforations, from the second and third printings. Both printed on vertical wove paper with visible mesh. One is perforated 14 x 14.25 and the other is perf. 15.1. Both have SON strikes of the Old Calabar River CDS Cancel with timecode A, dated July 5, 1894 and December 7, 1895.

The appeal of this issue is the number of perforation and shade varieties, as well as the fact that there were three printings made between June 1893 and March 1894. A number of nice re-entries are to be found on these stamps as well. I have written a series of blog posts outlining the points of interest to be found on these issues. You can access the relevant ones here and here. No fewer than six perforating machines were used to perforate the stamps, so a very large number of perforation combinations can be found, and some of them are very scarce.

The quantities printed and sent were also relatively modest, at 37,000 of the 1/2d, 39,400 of the 1d, 16,000 of the 2d, 46,000 of the 2.5d, 25,000 of the 5d and 16,000 of the 1/-.

Gibbons values two used examples at 23 pounds = $46.

The stamps offered here grade VF-75 and VF-76 as follows:

Margins/centering: 35/60 and 40/60

Paper freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5 and 3/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10 and 6/10

Cancellation: 10/10