GB 1880, QV ½d rose-red Pl.14 (TX) w. VARIETY: imperforated at right side (EXTREMELY RARE ON COVER) together with two 1d Venetian-red (LB, LK) – scarce mixed franking – on very fine cvr with barred Duplex-cancel "LONDON-E.C. / E.C / 63" (East Central District, Dubus Type 28A Parmenter 63AD28) to Hamburg, GREAT GEM and EXHIBITION-ITEM, R!
The Story behind this cover.
The Line-Engraved ½d red of 1870 was issued in sheets of 480 (20 horizontal rows of 24). The lettering (of the lower corners) ran from AA to AX in the top row and so on to the bottom row, TA to TX. The top corners of the stamps merely repeated the lettering of the lower corners, in reverse.
Because of their size, the sheets were perforated from side to side, not top to bottom, with the A column normally inserted first. Stamps imperforate on the right or left side from the A or X vertical rows occured because the final strike of the perforating comb was not made, probably because the overall lenght of the sheet prevented it. Partially imperforate A row stamps result from the sheets being inserted into the machines in the inverted position and are therefore scarcer than the equivalent stamps from the X row. Stamps from A and X rows are also known perforated all round and this became increasingly common due to the use of the continuous feed apparatus.
A total number of 1,600,276,320 (1,6 billion stamps from 15 different plates ex. no. 1/20 were printed). The rarest plate is plate no. 9, a reserve plate, with only 2,500,000 stamps printed.
According to the philatelic literature of Rikki Hyde: „Rikki Hyde‘s Great Britain Number issued 1840-1910“, issued 1975 – 364,583 sheets of plate no. 14 were issued, According „Life Span of the Printing Plates for All the Postage stamps of Queen Victoria“ by Allan Oliver (dated 31.07.2021) only 270,579 sheets were issued.
So maximum 1,082,316 (4 partly imperforate stamps each sheet) could exist.
According to the philatelic literature of Rikki Hyde: „Rikki Hyde‘s Great Britain Number issued 1840-1910“, issued 1975 - the survival rate of GB stamps issued from 1840-1910 is 2%. This means a survival rate for plate no. 14 partly imperforate of 21,646 stamps within 2% of them are unused so there would be 21,213 used stamps including stamps on cover.
Later research shows that this percentage is only a guideline.
In the book „Scarce Victorian Postage Stamps of Great Britain on Cover“ (2003) from Theo Brauers, Research Community for Great Britain (FgGB, Germany) he shows on various studies of Victorian stamps that this survival rate varies. This is based on a very intensive research with help of the unique card index of Karl-Albert Louis FRPSL, a famous German Philatelist and Expertizer for Victorian Great Britain Stamps.
For the 1d black plate 11 they calculated a survival rate of 0,26% for the stamp on cover.
For the 1½d plate 1 with the Variety/Error-Lettering (OP-PC) issued 1870 they came on a survival rate of 0,45% for loose stamps (ca. 5% from them were unused) and only 0,012% for the same stamp on cover.
For the 2½d plate 2 with the Variety/Error-Lettering (LH-FL) issued 1875 they came on a survival rate of 0,45% for loose stamps (ca. 5% from them were unused) and only 0,045% for the same stamp on cover.
This supports the theory that in the case of stamps issued before 1870, there is a higher likelihood of them being preserved on cover, while after 1870 the survival rate of covers is lower due to the introduction of envelopes.
On base of this research the survival rate of the ½d red plate 14 partly imperforate is 0,45% of 1,082,316 = 4,870 stamps, 5% or 244 stamps of them are mint and 4,626 stamps are used.
On base of this research the survival rate of the ½d red plate 14 partly imperforate on cover is between 0,012% and 0,045% of 1,082,316 = between 130 and 487 covers. Provided that all sheets were partly imperforated - in fact, part of the sheets were perforated normally. Probably 75 till 150 ½d red plate 14 partly imperforate on cover still exist.
EXTREMELY RARE EXHIBITION ITEM
AND
ABSOLUTELY GEM FOR YOUR COLLECTION
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