Sale No: 262
Lot No: 385
Symbol: F
Cat No: DO279
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BLACK OVERPRINT: 'I.E.' on De La Rue Crown/SA Wmk Perf 10 2d red-orange SG DO279, GPO cds of 'MR30/71', Cat £3000. Rated RRRR: unrecorded unused. Ex Don Pearce: sold for a curiously low $4550 (Sale 247 Lot 411). By contrast, the defective and unattractive 'Sir Humphrey' example sold to Rodney Attwood for $3725 (Sale 118 Lot 394), & in his sale for $4890 (Sale 168 Lot 397). The fine Vestey example sold for £3360. The very fine 'Tamiami' example sold for a relatively modest $5030 (Sale 236 Lot 621). Absent from 'Besancon'. [Date range 30.3.1871 to 8.4.1874]
The only denomination recorded with 'I.E' Overprint, making it one of the keys to completing all the users. Something of an enigma. Despite 'I.E.' being generally accepted as having been allocated to (The Curator of) Intestate Estates, there is no official record of an allocation to this user. Notably, 'I.E.' is not included in the official audit listing of the stock-on-hand of the Departmentals made in October 1871. And, in 1892, MP Castle wrote to Charles Todd seeking clarification of some of the lettering combinations and Todd was unable to explain 'I.E.'. For these reasons, Don Pearce believes that 'I.E.' is an Error of Lettering for 'E.' of Engineer. It could also be an error for 'I.S.', but not for 'I.A' (for which only Red Overprints were provided).
We do ask how such an obvious error could go uncorrected for at least the three years across which usage is recorded. Also, it would stand to reason that it should exist on the other five 'E.' denominations, but no examples on any of those values have been recorded. (Image1)
Estimate AU$5,000
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Opening AU$ 3,800.00
Sold...AU$ 4,200.00
Closed..Dec-01-2025, 17:30:00 EST
Sold For 4200
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