STOP-PRESS – ERROR Ex Plate 77 – NOW Listed and Priced £22,000= SG (Part I) 1840-1970 Commonwealth & British Empire Stamps Catalogue (2025 Edition)
Great Britain - QV (line engraved) - Imperforate 1d Red Plated, 1847, SG8-12a BS66a
Plate 77 isn't just host to the UK's most valuable stamp - the perforate 1d. Red plate 77 which even recently realises £400,000 to £500,000, but unbeknown to many collectors the IMPERFORATE Plate 77 1d. Red is also host to the World's FIRST MAJOR STAMP ERROR - the SG listed 'B' BLANK 'A' mentioned in the SG GB Concise below SG12, and catalogued in the revised SG Line-Engraved Specialised Catalogued at £22,000. In 50 years full-time trading we have only handled this stamp three times - the 1st being in 1980 when we sold an example for GBP£2,250= (a lot of money in those days), the 2nd time being some 4 or 5 years ago, we sold a more heavily cancelled four margin example, with a less clear lower half for nearer £15,000. This is hardly surprising when only 28 examples have been recorded. Literally years go by and sometimes decades before we see another. Naturally King Charles holds an example in the Royal Collection, and doubtless institutional collections such as the British Library will hold others. These days part of the passion in philately is the almost universal interest in STAMP ERRORS, and we stand to be corrected but we believe the 'B' BLANK 'A' to be the world's FIRST MAJOR PHILATELIC ERROR, aided and abetted by the fact that most stamp issuing countries had not even issued a stamp until, for example, France two years later in 1849! Imperforate 1d. Reds were 1st issued printed from 1d. Black plates in 1841, and it was not until 1847 when the 1st 1d. Red Plate 77 was produced from which this rare example comes. It is recorded that the error no letter A in right corner was due to the omission to insert this letter on stamp B A of Plate 77. The error was discovered some months after the plate was registered and was then corrected. Interestingly SG Specialised Catalogue adds that Plate 77 was registered on 19th April 1847 but probably was not put to press until early December 1847. The plate had a short life: SG Specialised continues the plate was probably taken from press mid-August 1848 and was destroyed 2nd December 1848. Importantly on 5 January 1848, Edwin Hill wrote to the printers Perkins, Bacon Ltd noting that the letter A of BA had been omitted and asked for this to be inserted and a fresh Imprimatur sheet to be printed. The letter A was inserted and the plate re-registered on 12 January 1848 which may account for relatively few B BLANKS issued in the first place and so few survivors extant today. A fine used example for this from Die 1, touched at left, crucially with good clear margins where it counts, with the clearest VOID A corner that a collector could desire. Reverse hinge trace, no faults, plus clear AFTER CONSULTATION 2022 Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) photo certificate of authenticity signed stating genuine with no observations. Once in most philatelic lifetimes. Fine colour, clearest VOID A B BLANK we have rarely(!) offered. As you may have determined one of my favourite stamps, only 28 examples recorded since 1847: how few may exist today (1v. RPSL Certificate 2022) (UPA CERTIFICATE)
Cat value £22000
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