Top 5 Items of the Month
May was a quiet month for the Jubilees on eBay so I only have four items for you…sorry. First up is this attractive British Levant commercial cover sent from Beirut. The 40pa on 2 1/2d is tied by a crisp hooded circle ds on Beirut which is much less common than the cds of Constantinople and Smyrna. What made it that extra bit special, was that the reverse had transit marks of both the British Post Offices at Smyrna and Constantinople! So it sold for an impressive £51.00.
Inverted watermarks on the Jubilee issue don’t pop up often on eBay (except for the 1/2d values). This used example of the 5d purple and blue is catalogued at £1’000 in the latest SG Queen Victoria catalogue. Although described as very fine, a small wrinkle at the lower left obviously put people off and it sold for £104. That’s 10% of the catalogue price…
To compare, the 1/2d vermilion is catalogued at £50 used, and sold for £42.00 this month. That is 84% of catalogue. As the Americans say, go figure…
I’ve chosen this Board of Education official overprint on the 5d purple and blue as another reminder to readers about the danger of forged overprints. Catalogued at £4’500, the fact that the seller was happy to let this mounted mint example go for only £303.55 should be a clear indication. ALWAYS buy these stamps with a certificate. Dealers know this. So if you’re offered one without a certificate of authenticity from a respected expertising committee such as the BPA or RPS, just walk away.
And finally there were several control strips of three just like this one which appeared this month. Prices showing that there is still a strong demand for these items even for the more common O, P and Q controls. This one is slightly more unusual in that it is doubly perforated in the margin. It sold for £31.70 despite some tone spots.
The 1887 Jubilee Issue 