Top 5 Items of the Month
This month could have easily seen a “Top 20” thanks to the amount of interesting and rare 1887 Jubilee items on offer on Ebay. I’ll start you off with my surprise of the month. Following on from last month, this time a single 4d green & brown “socked on the nose” with a crisp Continental Night Mail cds sold for a very impressive £50.89. Clearly showing the desirability of these TPO cancels.
Destination of the month was definitely this cover going to Vietnam. The stamps both have the often-seen “HUTH” perfin, but not only is the 10d reasonably scarce on cover, it is also uprated with a 2d paying a late fee. This is only the second Jubilee cover I have recorded going to Vietnam, and sold for £188.82.
This stamp is my variety of the month. Cleverly not even described by the vendor, this 4 1/2d carmine and green has the “dot between 4 and 1/2” variety in the lower right corner value. Catalogued by Stanley Gibbons at £ , this unmounted mint corner marginal sold for an impressive £82.60.
This cover is my used abroad item of the month. Although completely philatelic, I have seen very few covers sent from Ascension. If the colour wasn’t washed from this 1s green, it would have certainly sold for more than £143.82.
And finally, I end on my bargain of the month (and my biggest regret of the year). This block of 72 Zululand overprint on the 1/2d vermilion, although in slightly poor condition, is very rare with the control letter. Unfortunately I was on holiday when the sale closed, otherwise I would have definitely bid between £300 and £400. It sold for a miserable £88.00.
The 1887 Jubilee Issue 