Lot 17
CEYLON 1890 Revenue Foreign Bill: '40/ FORTY CENTS' surcharged error of colour

Revenue & Telegraph Stamps of the World | S25005
Auction: 29 July 2025 at 14:00 BST
Description
Foreign Bill: 1890 '40/ FORTY CENTS' on 1r 20 violet and mauve, Second of Exchange, the locally surcharged ERROR OF COLOUR, cancelled with company chop in violet, and dated 25/3/91 in manuscript. The rarest stamp of the entire issue, emanating from a small batch of 1r20 value supplied to the colony with the value printed in mauve rather than the intended green, of which Crofton and Jones state only 'a small portion' of which were then surcharged, describing it as 'of considerable rarity'. Rounded corner at upper right, still very fine and far above average for this fascinating and elusive stamp, missing from the vast majority of collections of the issue.

