£750.00

Samoa 1877-80 "EXPRESS" 9d orange-brown, 4th state, perforations 12, complete sheet of 10 (5x2), SG20.

A fine mint complete sheet with fresh colour and large part original gum. Usual minor marks from gum, but really fine condition.

Scarce as a complete sheet in such fine condition.

The Stanley Gibbons catalogue value is £800+.

The first postal service in Samoa was organised by C.L. Griffiths, who had published the Fiji Times Express and needed a postal service for Samoa to distribute his new newspaper "Samoa Times".

The lithographic Express stamps were printed in Sydney, Australia by S.T. Leigh & Co., and the stamps were issued October 1, 1877 in time for the October 6th first printing and edition of the newspaper.

The Samoa Express service was discontinued late in 1881.

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