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Auction: 15USA - The William H. Gross Collection
Lot: 75

S.G. #18, 1886 ""One Penny"" surcharge on 6p Green, an incredibly rare mint example, of which only two are known to exist, this being the better of the two (the other is the ex-Hind copy which has a slight crease and is not quite as well centered), the example offered here, which has not been on the market in over a dozen years, is attractively centered and has large part o.g., there is a trivial surface abrasion and some slight toning, which is mostly confined to the reverse and is of little importance considering it´s virtually unique status, very fine.[cr][lf][cr][lf]The existence of this stamp is the result of an error as the ""One Penny"" surcharge was meant for the 1/- value to alleviate a shortage of 1p stamps. A single sheet of 6p stamps was surcharged in error, and was brought to the attention of a Mr. Porter, Treasurer of Dominica, who, it is said, saved twelve stamps for himself, ten of which he used on an envelope to a stamp dealer friend, and retained only two mint singles. He then had the remaining stamps destroyed. As a result, these two mint stamps are ranked among the greatest rarities of British Commonwealth philately.[cr][lf][cr][lf]A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the serious British Commonwealth collector or the exhibitor of Dominica. signed H. Bloch and accompanied by his 1978 Friedl certificate, as well as a 1995 BPA certificate; ex-Gibralter (Scott #14; $24, Estimate US$ 19,200-24,000

Sold for
$48,575