£1100.00

Barbados 1938-47 1½d orange, perforations 13½x13, right marginal block of 15 (5x3) from R7-9/6-10 showing guide-mark at upper right, R7/7 variety 'A' of 'CA' missing from watermark, SG250/a.

A brilliant quality unmounted mint positional block with full original gum. Quite spectacular and a glorious philatelic showpiece.

The watermark error is rare and is especially desirable within this positional form.

A lovely stamp with the badge of the colony, which was designed in 1880. The design shows the ruler in a seahorse drawn car. The badge remained in use until 1966, when a new flag was adopted for independence.

The Barbados seal on the stamp reads “et penitvs toto regnantes orbe Britannos”. This can be translated as, “and the British ruling throughout the whole world”.

It is interesting that the original seal of Barbados granted in 1663 told a different story. It was based on a line in Virgil’s first Eclogue in which the Italian herdsman expresses his fear of being banished to Britain.

The original seal read as “et penitus toto divisos orbe Britannos”, meaning “and the British, far removed from the rest of the world”.

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