Lot no. 1532

OFFICIALS: 1840, Unissued "VR" 1 d. black, LL, small but regular margins all around, unused without gum, slightly toned, otherwise in good and fresh quality. According to Mr. Louis, “It is possible that the stamp was used by Rowland Hill for cancellation removal trials carried out in June 1840. The stamps were coated with unknown substances, then cancelled, and finally treated chemically to remove or wash off the obliteration. The chemical process might have caused the toning of the paper. Stamps from the horizontal “L” row are recorded having been used for those trials." Certificate Louis BPP (2025)

Provenance: 2025, re-discovered from a recent find near Frankfurt, Main (Germany) in a printed “All World” stamp album, assembled by a stamp collector around 1900.