The £5 Orange
Introduction
The display covers the life of the Great Britain Five Pound Orange. It includes die proofs, colour trials, specimens, issued stamps, the IR Officials, its interaction with Unification and the varieties that developed as the plate suffered progressive deterioration. These varieties have received little attention in the past. Those shown result from extensive personal research conducted over several years.The £5 Orange was introduced in 1877 as a Telegraphs stamp for payment of bulk telegrams and those of individual high cost. In October 1881, all Telegraphs stamps were withdrawn and postage stamps used instead. The Telegraphs plate was adapted for the £5 Postage in 1882. Basically, the word TELEGRAPHS was replaced by POSTAGE.
Although nominally a postage stamp, there was no postal necessity for it. It was created to avoid the anomaly of leaving the £5 as the only remaining Telegraphs value. As a postage stamp, it was not limited to telegraphic use and available for other purposes such as internal accounting for payments received for bulk mail. Genuine postal use is scarce.
Apart from a change from blued to white paper, there were no major developments until preparations for the King Edward VII equivalent in 1902. Being an iconic stamp, it has been the target of many forgers. Examples of their efforts are shown.
Outline:
Pages | |
The £5 Telegraphs – introduction and die proofs | 1-10 |
– plate considerations and colour trials | 11-24 |
– specimens and issued stamps | 25-32 |
The £5 Postage stamp and its specimen overprints | 33-41 |
– shades and cancellations | 42-47 |
– fraudulent and genuine usage | 48-52 |
– the plate varieties | 53-62 |
The £5 IR Officials | 63-64 |
Unification | 65-71 |
Forgeries | 72-78 |
The £5 King Edward VII | 79-80 |
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Frame 1THE £5 TELEGRAPHS Die Proofs Plate Considerations and Colour Trials |
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Frame 2THE £5 TELEGRAPHS (cont)Plate Considerations and Colour Trials (cont) Specimens and Issued Stamps |
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Frame 3THE £5 POSTAGE STAMP Specimen Overprints Shades and Cancellations Fraudulent and Genuine Usage |
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Frame 4THE £5 POSTAGE STAMP (cont)Fraudulent and Genuine Usage (cont) The Plate Varieties The £5 IR Officials |
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Frame 5Unification Forgeries The £5 King Edward VII |