Sale 1159 — 2017 Rarities of the World
Sale Date — Tuesday, 27 June, 2017
Category — Worldwide Stamps and Covers, Bermuda thru Germany
BRITISH GUIANA, 1850, 4c Black on Yellow, "Cotton Reel" (2a; SG 3). Cut to shape, initialed "E. D. W." (Edmond Dalzell Wight, clerk to the Colonial Post Office), full frame line all around, Demerara double-ring circular datestamp, a few tiny margin tears and small stain above first "A" of "Guiana"FINE APPEARANCE. A DESIRABLE USED EXAMPLE OF THE 1850 4-CENT BLACK ON YELLOW COTTON REEL -- ONE OF THE INCONIC ISSUES OF THE WORLD.
The first stamps of British Guiana were issued in July 1850, in denominations of 2c, 4c, 8c and 12c. They were printed at the offices of the Royal Gazette of British Guiana newspaper. Quickly produced from printer’s type and a printer’s rule bent into a crude circle, the stamps earned the nickname “Cotton Reel” from collectors because they look similar to labels on the wooden ends of a reel of cotton thread. Each stamp was initialed as a control to prevent either theft or counterfeiting. The “E.D.W.” initials of Edmond D. Wight also appear on the famous One-Cent Magenta British Guiana stamp. Except for the very rare 2c value, the 4c on Yellow is the rarest of the Cotton Reels. The famed du Pont collection had just one off-cover example.
From our 1973 Rarities of the World sale. Ex Chapin. With 1973 P.F. certificate. SG £24,000
