Great Britain - QV (line engraved)
QV 1d. Red-brown Plate 118. Superb unused bottom left-hand corner marginal imperforate imprimatur lettered T-A, showing part inscription and plate number '118'. Gibbons retail card accompanies, priced at £6,000=. The significance of an imprimatur in stamp collecting is the very first sheet of stamps printed from a new, approved printing plate. Derived from the Latin word for 'let it be printed', these sheets serve as official physical records and colour proofs before a stamp is printed for public service. Typically imprimaturs realise between £500 to £1,000. Gibbons SG specialised 1st edition - November 2020 prices imprimaturs from £900 (pp155). By their nature all imprimaturs are unique, however the top-left, and in this instance the bottom left (S.W.) position letters T-A (Page 224 details stamps removed from the imprimatur sheet includes T-A PL118) bear the proving Plate number, and marginal inscription. Naturally, proving plate examples are unique and potentially x 10 to x 20 times rarer. Accordingly Gibbons, not unreasonably priced this rare piece (Ex. Clark collection 1946) at £6,000. What price today. Rare. Unique (Provenance Clark. SG. UPA)
- Country / area
- Great Britain - QV (line engraved)
- Date
- 1841
- SG reference
- 8 Var PL118
- Classification
- MH
- UPA estimate
- £3,000.00