India Used Abroad Aden 1880 (2 Nov.) envelope to Guernsey, marked "Via Brindisi", bearing ½a. and 4a. cancelled by "B" in bars and Aden circular date stamp and showing arrival datestamp (17.11) on reverse.

The historic port of Aden was the former capital of the People’s Republic of South Yemen. The Aden Settlement used postage stamps of British India from 1854 until Aden became a Crown colony in 1937. Aden was one of the main junctions of shipping lines. Letters posted directly aboard vessels were cancelled in Aden to correct the omission of the cancellation at their points of origin.

A nice piece of postal history with a neat franking. Particularly rare with the unusual postal destination of Guernsey, Channel Islands.

Great Britain 1881 Overseas mail to Aden, SG169.

Very fine and clean double rate cover to a Royal Navy Chaplain aboard HMS "Eclipse", addressed "Care of the Postmaster/Aden/Arabia". Prepaid with a 5d Indigo neatly cancelled by a Sidmouth squared circle for SP.15.1881 with a Sidbury circular date stamp on reverse for the same day.

A lovely quality cover and to an unusual destination.

Aden 1949 Royal Silver Wedding 1½a and 10r, marginal blocks of 4, SG30/1.

Pristine condition, unmounted mint with full original gum.

The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £160+.

Anguilla 1967 (4 Sep) 6c "Crater Mount Misery, St. Kitts", type 1 overprint on St Kitts-Nevis, SG7.

A very fine unmounted mint example with full original gum.

Rare in this condition. Only 2,575 were printed, most of which were used for postage. Because of the limited stocks available from St Kitts-Nevis for overprinting, distribution was controlled by the Postmaster and no orders were accepted to the trade.

Following the grant of Associated Statehood to St. Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla on 27 February 1967, the Island Council of Anguilla declared the island independent. These stamps from St Kitts-Nevis overprinted with "Independent Anguilla" were the first issued after gaining independence and were accepted for international mail.

Antigua 1949 Royal Silver Wedding 5s grey-olive, lower right corner block of 4 with '1a' plate number, SG113.

A very fine unmounted mint positional block with full original gum.

An attractive positional multiple of this popular commemorative stamp.

Antigua 1921-29 £1 purple and black/red, SG61.

A very fine quality example with original gum. Unusually well-centred for this stamp, which is rarely seen so fine.

Antigua 1863-67 6d green, watermark small star (sideways), rough perforations 14 to 16, SG8.

A fine mint example with large part original gum. Other than a couple of small marks on the reverse of the stamp it is in quite remarkable condition and very fine for this issue with lovely fresh colour.

A very scarce stamp, rarely seen in unused condition.

The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £700.

British stamps were used in Antigua between 1858-60. The first stamps for the Antigua Crown Colony were issued in 1862. An engraved portrait of Queen Victoria was used based on a drawing by Edward Corbould and were initially printed by the London printers Perkins, Bacon.

Antigua 1890 1d rose (1884-87 issue).

A fine used example with light large part "A12" of St Christopher cancellation.

Provisional usage of Antigua 1d (mostly in the normal carmine-red shade) occurred between January and March 1890, during a stamp shortage.

A scarce item not reflected in its current catalogue value.

The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £130+.

Antigua 1949 Royal Silver Wedding 5s grey-olive, SG113.

A lower marginal (folded) imprint block of 4, unmounted mint with full original gum.

An attractive positional multiple of this popular commemorative stamp.

Antigua 1932 Tercentenary set of 10 to 5s, perforations 'SPECIMEN' (type W8), SG81s/90s.

A fine quality mint set with large part original gum. Some short perforations as nearly always, but so much fresher than usually found. These "SPECIMEN" examples were used solely by postal administrations for reference purposes to help spot any attempted forgeries.

Truly miniature pieces of art, a most attractive set of stamps.

The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £250.

Antigua 1882 4d blue, Watermark CA, SG23a, variety 'Top left triangle detached' from Plate '2', right pane R3/3.

A fine used example with large part circular date stamp, which leaves variety clear.

A rarity, which we have never previously handled, with plate '2' used only for the final printing of this stamp. There are no known mint examples of this variety.

The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £750.

Antigua 1882 21/2d red-brown, SG22var, watermark CA, showing the striking variety 'misplaced perforations and duty tablets'.

Fine fresh appearance with large part original gum.

A very rare variety as only one sheet existed.

Ascension 1912-22 Great Britain 3d violet, tied to piece by complete strike of code 'B' 23mm 'ASCENSION' circular date stamp, dated 'OC 27 22'.

A very fine used example with this scarce postal cancellation.

The use of British stamps in Ascension Island ceased in December 1922.

Stanley Gibbons catalogue value: £180.

Ascension 1946 Victory 2d and 4d, perforations 'SPECIMEN' (type D21), SG48s/9s.

Very fine and fresh mint examples with original gum. The 4d stamp has a small trace of a gum tone speck, mentioned purely for accuracy and not detracting from overall quality.

The Victory stamps were issued in 1946 to celebrate the return to peace at the end of World War II. The designs feature a view of the Thames River in London, with a view of the Parliament buildings in the distance.

These "SPECIMEN" examples were used solely by postal administrations for reference purposes to help spot any attempted forgeries.

The Ascension specimens are generally considered to be the most difficult to find of all the colonial Victory specimens.

The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £450.

Ascension 1924-33 Badge 1d grey-black and bright blue-green, the scarce later printing (1933), lower right corner block of 4 with plate '1', SG11d.

A fine unmounted mint positional block with full original gum. The upper left stamp with an unusual pre-printing paper crease resulting in interrupted printing on face. Tiny inclusion on one stamp, and one stamp with minor gum bend, but still fine appearance.

A most interesting and very scarce positional multiple of this beautiful King George V stamp.

Ascension 1938-53 1½d black and vermilion, perforations 13, complete folded sheet of 60 (6x10), with imprint and plate numbers, showing 'Davit flaw' on R5/1, SG40b/ba.

A very fine unmounted mint complete sheet with full original gum. Two black bars in margin by R5/1 and R5/6.

A rarity in this intact form of this handsome King George VI stamp issue featuring the Pier at Georgetown.

Stanley Gibbons catalogue value: £343++.

Ascension 1935 Silver Jubilee 1½d deep blue and scarlet, lower right corner marginal example (R10/6) from vignette plate "2B" showing variety 'Kite and horizontal log', SG31l.

Brilliant quality unmounted mint with full original gum, (hinged in margin). Insignificant gum bend mentioned for accuracy. A superb example and very scarce in such fine quality.

From 2/7/35 second printing, only 289 sheets were printed (probably from four vignette plates).

Ascension 1938-53 'Green mountain' 1d black and green block of four with imprint "THOMAS DE LA RUE & COMPANY. LIMITED. LONDON", SG39.

Fresh mint examples with original gum, (the lower pair are unmounted).

A highly attractive stamp and very scarce in this positional form with imprint.

The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £180+.

Ascension 1924-33 3s grey-black and black/blue, SG20c, lower left corner example showing variety "Cleft rock" (R5/1).

A very fine quality mint example with large part original gum. Very scarce in this positional form.

Ascension 1900 (DE 9) piece with 1887-92 GB 2d green and carmine and 1900 GB ½d blue-green, horizontal pairs, tied by individual strikes of type Z2 circular date stamps (22m, code 'A'), SGZ1019.

The 2d pair with double strikes of the circular date stamps. Fine and very scarce.

Provenance: Ex John Leonard.

The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £1,020+.

Australia British Commonwealth Occupation Force 1946-48 1s grey-green, upper right corner block of 4, upper right stamp (= right pane, R1/8) showing variety 'Narrow N', SGJ5/c.

A very fine unmounted mint positional block with full original gum, (hinged in margin only).

These stamps were used by the Australian forces occupying Japan after the Second World War. Initially their post offices supplied unoverprinted Australian stamps, but it was decided to introduce the overprinted issue to prevent currency speculation.

Very scarce positional block with printing variety.

Stanley Gibbons catalogue value: £410+.

Australia New South Wales 1860-72 1d dull red 'diadem Queen Victoria', watermark double-lined '1', perforations 13, vertical pair, SG155.

A fine mint pair with large part original gum. Typical brownish gum as usually seen for this issue, with some wrinkling and re-inforcement. Nevertheless, remarkably fine quality for this stamp.

Stanley Gibbons catalogue value: £340+.

These stamps represented the first use of perforation in New South Wales in 1860. Unfortunately for collectors, the stamps were very closely spaced, the perforating process not well controlled, and it is unusual to find stamps from before 1899 where the perforation does not touch or cut into the design on one or more sides.

Australia New South Wales 1907 1s purple-brown 'Eastern Grey Kangaroo', watermark w11 (inverted), perforations 12x11½ (comb), SG362.

A fine mint horizontal pair with large part original gum, showing 'stepped' perforations, with the left stamp noticeably wider as a result of misplacement of the comb.

A nice fresh and unusual rarity, very difficult to find in this format.

Stanley Gibbons catalogue value: £150+.

Australia New South Wales 1899 ½d blue-green, chalk-surfaced paper, watermark 40, IMPERFORATE horizontal pair, SG298a.

A fine unmounted mint example with full original gum. Minor gum wrinkle mentioned purely for accuracy as very rare unmounted.

A lovely Queen Victorian rarity.

Stanley Gibbons catalogue value: £250.

Australia 1937-49 6d purple-brown 'Kookaburra', perforations 13½ x 14, lower marginal inter pane-block of 8 (4x2) WITHOUT IMPRINT, SG172.

A fine mint block of this beautiful stamp with large part original gum (six of the stamps are unmounted). Usual light central fold seen in blocks such as this.

A rare positional multiple.

Australia Specialised Catalogue No: BW 202ze.