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For centuries, the most discerning collectors have understood that a rare coin is more than an asset; it is a tangible piece of history. We empower you to build a world-class collection, blending deep historical knowledge with clear, data-driven insights. This ensures you build a collection with the profound legacy of becoming a custodian of history, securing a verifiable and highly portable store of enduring value for generations to come.
Great Britain 1840 2d Master Die Proof of the Accepted Die
1840 2d Master Die Proof of the accepted die. Exceptionally rare with only 6 examples recorded and at least 2 unavailable to individuals
Guide Price POA
Master die proof of the accepted die for the 1840 2d blue.
Only 6 examples have been recorded of which at least two are unavailable to collectors.
A major exhibition rarity of historical significance which has graced some of the most important collections of British stamps ever assembled.
This is an opportunity to own a true philatelic treasure from the earliest days of the use of postage stamp.
Many people have heard of the worlds first stamp - the ‘Penny Black’ but very few are aware of its much rarer cousin - the Two Penny (or Tupenny) Blue. Whilst it is right that the Penny Black is the worlds most famous stamp the Two Penny Blue is much rarer and more valuable. In total 68 Million Penny Blacks were printed versus only 6.5 Million Two Penny Blues.
In the 1830’s there was serious need for postal reform in the United Kingdom. One of the major obstacles to overcome was that postage was paid for by the receiver and not the sender, a system that led to heavy losses as many recipients would simply refuse to pay and all the time and energy had been wasted. The existing system was also complex and unruly - the cost included variables such as distance and number of pages posted (because of the latter envelopes were rarely used as it added to the cost so a letter was simply folded over and sealed). The simplest solution to this was for the post office to implement a robust system of uniform prepaid postage - the idea for the ‘postage stamp’ was born.
The driving force behind this was a man named Rowland Hill who wrote extensively on postal reform in the belief that if the system was cheaper more people would use it and profits would increase. After a national competition in 1839 Rowland Hill rejected all of the designs in favour of his own - a concept he had devised in 1837 for “a bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamp, and covered at the back with a glutinous wash…”.
On the 6th May of 1840 the modern postal system was born. The 1 Pence and 2 Pence stamps themselves were released on the 1st May but were not eligible for use until the 6th (though the Two Penny Blue wasn’t available until the 8th). This ushered in a communications revolution that has been likened to how email has revolutionised communication in the 21st Century.
The earliest stamps such as this were of a simple design using Queen Victorias profile and the stated postage value. As Great Britain was the first country to issue stamps there was not need to put the country name on them - a feature that is still unique in the world of stamps to this day as all other countries put their name on a stamp whereas the United Kingdom just uses the Monarch.
GUIDE PRICE POA
1840 2d Blue Master Die Proof the accepted die. SG DP4
Superb example printed in black on India paper with blank lower corner squares and engraved "Stars" in upper corners. A couple of light wrinkles of no importance and not detracting from this major philatelic world rarity.
Provenance.
Colonel Bates, Hassan Shaida and Pichai Buranasombati. Ex. Mayflower.
1995 BPA Cert.
We use ‘Guide prices’ for all items but are on hand to negotiate between buyer and seller. If this item is of interest then please contact us to start a conversation. We work with complete discretion for our clients and therefore don’t ever publish realised prices.
Rhodesia 1966 2d yellow-orange and deep green. Missing colour error. SG 375/a
A stunning example fo this rare stamp which shows the progression of the printing error in full.
Guide Price £8,000
A unique and spectacular error.
Only 24 or 26 examples of this error are believed to exist. A unique item as it is a positional multiple showing the progression of the missing yellow-orange ink and missing it entirely on the lower 2 stamps.
The result of a printing error these stamps should have been destroyed and never have been issued. During printing the yellow-orange ink must have run out resulting in the bottom 2 stamps having no ink and the 2 above only receiving a portion of the ink they should have.
These stamps were produced at a fascinating time in the history of Southern Rhodesia or as is now known - Zimbabwe.
The history of Rhodesia isn’t pleasant and is certainly a confusing one. Originally named ‘Southern Rhodesia’ it gained it’s name from Cecil Rhodes - most famous for founding De Beers (as well as his unsavoury beliefs in the superiority of Anglo-Saxons).
Southern Rhodesia was in effect a British Colony but sought to gain its independence in the 1960’s. After several unsuccessful attempts it declared its own independence in 1965 and started calling itself Rhodesia. The country wished to still have the Queen as head of state, making her Queen of Rhodesia, but she refused - making it more remarkable that her image continued to be displayed on their stamps.
In retaliation the United Kingdom hit Rhodesia with economic sanctions but these were only partly successful and Rhodesia’s economy held on by defaulting on its debts and by exporting minerals to Europe instead of the UK. In the 1970’s the economy actually grew.
With its minority white rule and its independence not being recognised internationally Rhodesia was unpopular in the international community. During the 1970’s the country became increasingly isolated, its neighbours hostile and South Africa (its only supporter for minority white rule) increasingly believing the only way forward was for free elections and ultimately a change to majority black rule. The 1970’s saw bitter fighting in a civil war and the slow but steady erosion of the governments power.
Finally in 1979 free elections were held and the country was renamed Zimbabwe Rhodesia. However the country was still not internationally recognised so was reinstated as a British colony of Southern Rhodesia paving the way for further free elections and to become modern day Zimbabwe.
Sadly there was not a happy ending for Zimbabwe as in the 1980’s election Robert Mugabe was named Prime Minister and for the next 37 years caused lasting damage to the people and economy of the country.
GUIDE PRICE. £8,000.00
SG 375/a
1966 2d yellow-orange and deep green, lower marginal block of 8 Qx\ with part imprint, bottom pair ERROR YELLOW-ORANGE OMITTED, adjoining pair showing partial omission, unmounted o.g. Spectacular and UNIQUE in this positional form.
Ex Lamont-Smith
(Stephan Welz,1416189, lot 310 (part) ). Only 24-26
We use ‘Guide prices’ for all items but are on hand to negotiate between buyer and seller. If this item is of interest then please contact us to start a conversation. We work with complete discretion for our clients and therefore don’t ever publish realised prices.
Great Britain 1840 2d blue
The only complete strip of the Two Penny blues from Plate 1 in private hands. An item of serious philatelic importance.
Guide Price £200,000.00
The only surviving complete row from plate 1 in private hands
Considered to be one of the finest multiples of the 1840 issue having graced some of the finest collections ever assembled.
This is an opportunity to own a true philatelic treasure from the earliest days of the use of postage stamp.
Many people have heard of the worlds first stamp - the ‘Penny Black’ but very few are aware of its much rarer cousin - the Two Penny (or Tupenny) Blue. Whilst it is right that the Penny Black is the worlds most famous stamp the Two Penny Blue is much rarer and more valuable. In total 68 Million Penny Blacks were printed versus only 6.5 Million Two Penny Blues.
In the 1830’s there was serious need for postal reform in the United Kingdom. One of the major obstacles to overcome was that postage was paid for by the receiver and not the sender, a system that led to heavy losses as many recipients would simply refuse to pay and all the time and energy had been wasted. The existing system was also complex and unruly - the cost included variables such as distance and number of pages posted (because of the latter envelopes were rarely used as it added to the cost so a letter was simply folded over and sealed). The simplest solution to this was for the post office to implement a robust system of uniform prepaid postage - the idea for the ‘postage stamp’ was born.
The driving force behind this was a man named Rowland Hill who wrote extensively on postal reform in the belief that if the system was cheaper more people would use it and profits would increase. After a national competition in 1839 Rowland Hill rejected all of the designs in favour of his own - a concept he had devised in 1837 for “a bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamp, and covered at the back with a glutinous wash…”.
On the 6th May of 1840 the modern postal system was born. The 1 Pence and 2 Pence stamps themselves were released on the 1st May but were not eligible for use until the 6th (though the Two Penny Blue wasn’t available until the 8th). This ushered in a communications revolution that has been likened to how email has revolutionised communication in the 21st Century.
The earliest stamps such as this were of a simple design using Queen Victorias profile and the stated postage value. As Great Britain was the first country to issue stamps there was not need to put the country name on them - a feature that is still unique in the world of stamps to this day as all other countries put their name on a stamp whereas the United Kingdom just uses the Monarch.
GUIDE PRICE £200,000.00
1840 2d Blue Plate 1. SG5
Unused with part original gum. Four margins of a complete row of twelve with sheet margin at both ends lettered KA-KL.
There is a light horizontal crease which just cracks the surface in places but not detracting from the beautiful vibrant colour Exhibition quality piece of philatelic history
Provenance.
Dublin Post Office Find, Lord Crawford, R.B. Sparrow, "Daisy" and Baillie. Ex. Mayflower.
1996 BPA Cert.
We use ‘Guide prices’ for all items but are on hand to negotiate between buyer and seller. If this item is of interest then please contact us to start a conversation. We work with complete discretion for our clients and therefore don’t ever publish realised prices.
KUT 1922-27 £100 red and black
A superb example of one of the great rarities of the British Empire.
Guide Price £195,000
One of the greatest stamps of the British Empire. A stunning example of this magnificent high value stamp in the finest possible condition.
The precise number of example in private hands is unclear but it is believed to be between only 4 and 10.
In some countries, such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika (KUT), stamps that were intended for fiscal use (to pay for things) didn’t always stipulate this fact on them. With £100 face value the only intention for this stamp was payment, likely a property/land transaction, as you could have posted the whole country for £100! As testament to this there are no recorded examples of this stamp not being fiscally used. This is also why this particular, unused stamp, is so rare - few people in the world would have had £100 spare to buy a stamp and not use it.
The item is clearly rare but alongside this it is also much sought after because it is considered such an attractive stamp by collectors and part of a key set from KUT.
Understandably these stamps trade infrequently but in 2013 an example publicly sold in Holland for £178,000.
1922-27 £100 red and black. Upper left corner marginal example showing plate number ‘1’. SG 105
Unmounted with original gum and brilliant colours. Insignificant gum bend mentioned for accuracy.
Ex ‘Kilimanjaro’ and Melat.
RPS Cert 1975 included.
GUIDE PRICE. £195,000.00
We use ‘Guide prices’ for all items but are on hand to negotiate between buyer and seller. If this item is of interest then please contact us to start a conversation. We work with complete discretion for our clients and therefore don’t ever publish realised prices.
Bahrain 1956-57 SG 101a
A major Persian Gulf Rarity and one of the rarest stamps of Bahrain
Guide Price £6,500.00
A Major Persian Gulf rarity
A very rare stamp with the overprint of ‘Bahrain’ and ‘1 Rupee’ having been struck twice. Very few examples having been recorded.
A key stamp for any Bahrain or Persian Gulf collection and the second rarest stamp of Bahrain.
British Persian Gulf States were administered by British India and usually used Indian stamps with the relevant counties name overprinted over the top. India gained independence from Britain in 1947 and the responsibility was passed to the British Colonial Office - this is an example of such a stamp.
1956-57 1r on 1/6, type 3 surcharge, wmk St Edward’s Crown.
Error with the surcharge double.
Very fine used with part cds (Circular Date Stamp cancellation).
BPA certificate (1980)
GUIDE PRICE £6,500.00
We use ‘Guide prices’ for all items but are on hand to negotiate between buyer and seller. If this item is of interest then please contact us to start a conversation. We work with complete discretion for our clients and therefore don’t ever publish realised prices.
C.G.H. – MAFEKING 1900 (April) 3d Pale blue/blue SG 19a Used
Arguably the finest example of this spectacular error.
Guide Price £60,000.00
One of the great Boer War rarities. These stamps are widely considered to be one of the greatest and most extraordinary error stamps of the British Empire.
The only British Empire stamp not to feature the Monarch.
This stamp was produced during the 7 month ‘Seige of Mafeking’ in 1899 to 1900, during the ‘Second Boer Wars’, and features an image of Robert Baden-Powell - the town's garrison commander and future founder of the scouting movement.
The siege itself received disproportionate news coverage in Britain as there were several important people in the town at the time - including Edward Cecil, son of the Prime Minister, and Sarah Wilson, the daughter of the Duke of Marlborough (Winston Churchill’s aunt).
One unexpected result of the siege was that the Post Office ran out of stamps. The Postmaster suggested to Baden-Powell that he commission the local printer to print stamps for use within the town. The printer didn’t want to encroach on the Royal Mail’s issuing of stamps so decided to use a picture of Baden-Powell instead of Queen Victoria. This was the first occasion where a non-royal's picture was used on a British postage stamp - an exclusive and famous feature of British stamps (the United Kingdom to this day remains the only country to not put their name on issued stamps but rather uses the Monarch’s profile).
On this stamp the image of Baden-Powell is reversed. This ‘reversed design’ error could only occur as a result of a unique production method that employed a photographic process using a glass negative plate. In this instance the plate was printed from the wrong side meaning the whole design is a slightly out of focus mirror image. The head is facing to the right and all the inscriptions are reversed.
This item is in exceptional condition and shows the earliest known date of use. This example is considered to be the finest of the seven used examples recorded (there are also three unused). Two of the used examples are in the Royal Philatelic Collection (along with one unused) leaving only 5 examples in private hands.
GUIDE PRICE £60,000.00
1900 (April). 3d pale blue/blue ‘Baden-Powell’. 18 ½ mm wide. SG19a
The upper right corner example from the one sheet of 12 printed. Centrally cancelled by ‘AP 27 1900’ cds on fragment of original piece.
Ex ‘Salisbury’ (CRL 20/09/95, lot 110)
Ex ‘Goodyear’ (CRL 08/06/93, lot 155)
We use ‘Guide prices’ for all items but are on hand to negotiate between buyer and seller. If this item is of interest then please contact us to start a conversation. We work with complete discretion for our clients and therefore don’t ever publish realised prices.