QEII 1961 ROYAL VISIT & AIRMAILS w/ERRORS SUPER GROUP NH

Description

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Q E I I    R O Y A L    V I S I T
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S I E R R A    L E O N E
1961 SET
P L U S
A I R M A I L    S U R C H A R G E S   &   O V E R P R I N T S   W / E R R O R S
1 9 6 3 - 1 9 6 4
PRISTINE & UNIQUE NEVER HINGED (UNMOUNTED) MINT CONDITION
- VERY DIFFICULT ASSEMBLY -
Original
Set of 4: Sc.#221-224; S.G. 236-239; Mi.#202-205; Yv.#207-210
Surcharges with Airmail Overprints: Sc.# C8-9, C11-12; S.G. 279-280, 282-283;
Mi.#245-246, 248-249; Yv.# PA7-8, PA10-11.
EXCEPTIONAL ENGRAVING AND RECESS PRINTING OF THE EARLY STAMPS OF QEII
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Brilliant RECESS-PRINTED stamp set of 4 issued for the Royal Visit of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh to Sierra Leone, West Africa. Each stamp features the detailed and stunning PIETRO ANNIGONI portrait of the Queen in vermillion, violet, orange, and blue, respectively.
THE OVERPRINTED SURCHARGES AIRMAIL STAMPS
:
The stamps were overprinted in 5 lines: "1853-1859-1963 / Oldest Postage Stamp / Newest G.P.O. / in West Africa / AIRMAIL" .
The printer used a different color ink for each overprint value: brown ink on the 7d/3d, cerise ink on the 1s3d value, violet ink for the 3s/3d stamp, and ultramarine ink on the 6s/6d value. Four different constant printing errors were found on the sheets of these overprinted Royal Visit Airmail stamps.
The hyphens between the dates were a major source of printing errors. There were stops instead of hyphens on the
7d on 3d
and on the
3s on 3d
values on two positions in each sheet: row 2/3 and 4/10 (S.G. variety V9). There were asterisks instead of hyphens on the
1s3d Royal Yacht
and on the
6s on 6d
orange-yellow on two positions of the sheets on R3/2 and R10/4 (S.G. variety V7).
Quantities Overprinted
: 7d on 3d and 1s3d values - 1,000 sheets each; 3s on 3d and 6s on 6d values - 400 sheets each.
Historic Context
: The Queen and Prince Philip visited three newly-independent West African territories of the Commonwealth from 9 November to 5 December 1961. They were Ghana (ex-Crown Colony of Gold Coast), Sierra Leone, and Gambia, all of whom issued commemorative stamps to mark this historic event.
In 1963, the Sierra Leone Government saw that printing postage stamps was expensive, with processes needed for each stage, including designs, inks, paper, perforation, approval, and machine production. A decision was made that
sheets of previously-unsold stamp issues
would be surcharged and overprinted by the Government Printer in Freetown, to suit the needs of the Postal Service.
From 1964 to 1971, Sierra Leone also issued multiple
Free-form self-adhesive
stamps, which were far less expensive to produce that perforated stamps.
THIS GROUP IS A "MUST BUY" FOR COLLECTORS OF EARLY QEII RECESS PRINTED STAMPS / BR. COMMONWEALTH / SIERRA LEONE / ROYALTY / TOPICAL STAMPS
U. S.  S A L E S   T A X
:
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GALASALES REFUNDS BUYERS FOR WRONG OR DAMAGED ITEMS, BUT EBAY MAY NOT REFUND THE SALES TAX.
KINDLY
NOTE
WE SELL SHIP POSTCARDS, LETTERCARDS, COVERS, AND STAMPS OF THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH, AND WORLDWIDE TOPICAL/THEMATIC ISSUES.
PITCAIRN ISLANDS
WE OFFER PITCAIRN ISLAND'S POSTAL, PHILATELIC, AND SOCIAL HISTORY, INCLUDING WORLDWIDE PITCAIRN-RELATED ITEMS.
SHIPPING/HANDLING
WE COMBINE SHIPPING ON MULTIPLE PURCHASES
U.S.A.
-
USPS FIRST CLASS MAIL
.70
U.S.A.
- INSURED/CERTIFIED FIRST CLASS MAIL
.95 with tracking
U.S.A.
- PRIORITY MAIL
.95 with tracking & insurance
WORLDWIDE
- AIRMAIL
.95
::: REGISTERED AIRMAIL
.95
with tracking
Items are
always
well packaged, to prevent any damage in the mail
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YOUR FIRST CHOICE FOR COMMONWEALTH,TOPICALS, AND PITCAIRN ITEMS
.
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