Early use of 1s green, plate 6 (SG 117)?

The output of De La Rue from 1853 to 1901.
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matthewhealey
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Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2014 7:59 pm

Early use of 1s green, plate 6 (SG 117)?

Post by matthewhealey »

Passage East.JPG
The SG Specialized gives a put-to-press date for the 1 Shilling green, plate 6, of March 20, 1872, but notes that the plate was registered three years earlier and that genuine covers exist dated March and April, 1869 - presumably franked with examples from the "five extra sheets" run off at time of registration, then perforated and sold -- analogous to the source of the "abnormals" in other cases.
I have here an example of the 1 Shilling green, plate 6 with a very clear postmark of Sept. 30, 1870, exactly halfway between the registration date and the put-to-press date. It is from Passage East, a small fishing village in County Waterford, Ireland.
It could either be from one of the "five extra sheets," or just an error of date in the postmark. I haven't put the stamp under a high-powered scope, but at first glance the impression doesn't seem particularly proof-like... On the other hand, it is an odd sort of error: most of the ones I've seen involve a transposition (such as 56 for 65) or a missing digit.
Thoughts, anyone?
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mozzerb
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Re: Early use of 1s green, plate 6 (SG 117)?

Post by mozzerb »

It looks convincing to me, and if so would be an excellent find. Well worth submitting for a certificate?

I'm not sure the impression would necessarily need to be prooflike -- for comparison I attach a picture of the March 1869 example, which was shown at a GBPS meeting a few years back (the April 1869 item was in the same collection, but I don't have an image of that). Unfortunately this is only a scan of a colour photocopy taken at the time, but it may help?
1s-plate6-1869.jpg
Regards
Maurice Buxton
matthewhealey
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Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2014 7:59 pm

Re: Early use of 1s green, plate 6 (SG 117)?

Post by matthewhealey »

My apologies for never replying to your answer - most helpful, thank you! And thanks so much for the 1869 EKU scan, which I had not seen before.
I think I ought to get around to obtaining a certificate someday.
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