Lot 26B Australia - Tasmania SG#Unlisted 9d Light Blue , 1880-1893 Third Sideface Issue, A Very Fine Used Single, TAS Wmk Without Borderlines, Perf 12, SON Feb 1 1900 Lawnceston CDS Cancel.

A very fine used single of the 9d light blue from the 1880-1893 Third Sideface Issue, tas wmk without borderlines, perf 12, SON Feb 1 1900 Lawnceston CDS cancel.

This stamp is thought to have resulted from an emergency print run in the late 1890s to supply higher values which the pictorial issue lacked, as it only went up to the 6d. Gibbons doesn’t list it because at the time of transition to the TAS watermarked paper, the post office had so much left over stock they used it to produce the 2.5d surcharge in 1891. In 1903 they reissued the stamp of the V over Crown paper. But in between 1891 and 1903 an emergency printing on the new paper was made, probably in early 1900 or late 1899. The cancel, watermark and perf are not in doubt. Beautifully centered. A fabulous rarity for the most advanced Australian States collector.

Gibbons doesn't list this variety, so we estimate it at $1200. The stamp offered here grades 75 as follows:

Centering/Margins: 35/60

Paper Freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of Visible Paper Flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10

Cancellation: 10/10