1870 King William III issue lot of seven SPECIMEN stamps, namely the 2½, 10, 15, 20c and 2½ g (highest value) perf., mint with various amounts of original gum, as well as an imperf. 25c purple with huge margins (most probably a die proof) (Image)

1870 King William III issue of three proofs, the first pulled by E.Schilling of the State Printing Works in Berlin and the last two pulled by Oscar Berger-Levrault of Strasbourg, thus clearly illustrating why the contract for the engraving of the plates was finally awarded to E.Schilling in Berlin (much finer quality), good overall condition. Van Dieten Specialised Catalogue No. 10, 11. (Image)