Shades are a very hotly debated subject not just with the Jubilee issue, but with most of pre-Elizabeth II issues. With a slight difference in change making a massive difference in price.
In terms of the 1/2d vermilion, the brown-orange shade is by far the scarcest. From used examples that I have seen, it is obvious that this shade comes from the very early printings of the 1/2d vermilion. Stamp dealers ask around £200 to £300 for a mint example. The other shades are easily obtainable and shouldn’t command any premium on the standard colour.
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Brown-Orange | Deep Vermilion | Vermilion | Pale Vermilion |
Stanley Gibbons’ Listing
Ref. No. | Shade | Unmounted Mint | Mounted Mint | Used |
K27(1) | Deep Vermilion | |||
K27(2) | Vermilion | |||
K27(3) | Orange-Vermilion | |||
K27(4) | Pale-Vermilion |
Hendons’ Listing
Ref. No. | Shade | Unmounted Mint | Mounted Mint | Used |
Brown-Orange | ||||
Deep Vermilion | ||||
Vermilion | ||||
Orange-Vermilion | ||||
Pale-Vermilion |
Why doesn’t SG recognize brown orange.
ALSO — any recommended specialized studies that endeavor to list all of the shades, for all of the Jubilees/ Thanks
Dear Richard, my apologies for the delay. I’m not sure why SG don’t recognise brown orange. I’m not sure it’s deserving of a large premium over the normal, but it’s definitely distinct. There is a more specialised listing of the shades done by Trevor Harris of the Hendon Stamp Company. But for the life of me I can’t find one with Google and his website isn’t functional.