King Edward VIII 1½d Red-Brown, Control A/36, Cylinder 2: The Case of the Curious Coif
Introduction
This analysis of the control/cylinder blocks of the No Stop pane of Cylinder 2 is based on careful, computer-aided examination of a large series of blocks and pieces. There are no less than seven distinct states of the stamps and each is clearly diagnosable. There are also some innocent false states caused by too close a trim of the left side margin. The celebrated listed Hair Flaw, also known as the Coif Flaw actually only appears on the last three of the seven states and weakens with each clean and rechrome.It has not been possible to find a complete pane from the no stop side of the cylinder This then is a simple, first study of the cylinder. The amount of material from both panes has been sufficient to conclude that there were seven states of the printing but the number of rechromes IS uncertain. There is no evidence of retouching at all, the changes in the flaws are due to other actions.