Lot 23
CEYLON 1893 Revenue 'FIFTY RUPEES" on 100r lilac Local Provisional
Revenue & Telegraph Stamps of the World | S25005
Auction: 29 July 2025 at 14:00 BST
£240
Description
Stamp Duty: 1893 50r on 100r lilac, cancelled with manuscript 'MILLER & CO/ 15 APR 93' oval ds in lilac and circular punch. An extraordinary local provisional, which in a unique occurrence was produced by surcharging local presentation sets, the red 'FIFTY RUPEES' hand stamp applied directly on top of the distinctive local 'SPECIMEN' hand stamp, the conversion completed by deletion of the old 100r face value at foot with a black pen-stroke. Crofton and Jones' 1912 book 'The Fiscal and Telegraph Stamps of Ceylon',states 'something less than a full sheet was made' and 'so far only a single copy is known of this stamp', although 2 more have emerged in the 110 years since! A highly unusual and important stamp which ranks amongst the rarest revenues of the British Empire.
