Great Britain 1854 1s Green (Die W.W.2), SG55 plate 2.
Very fine and fresh four margin unused original gum vertical pair lightly mounted on top stamp only. Tiny insignificant split along silk thread at very top not detracting from this magnificent and very rare multiple.
Embossed postage stamps from Great Britain were issued during the reign of Queen Victoria and were only in issue for a short period between 1847 and 1854. The 1-shilling rate was for postage to the USA.
The printing process for embossed stamps was laborious. Stamps were printed one at a time on silk thread paper. The design was raised and recessed to create a rough surface. The working die had to be used to apply each impression individually to the printed sheet by hand.
As a result, the impressions were usually poorly spaced, either being too close together or too far apart. It was quite common for stamps to overlap. Postal workers would then often cut around the octagonal design before they were sold.
Few quality examples were produced from the printing process in the first place. Most were used for postage. Because of this, good quality mint examples are very desirable to collectors, but very difficult to find.
Mint, clean square-cut examples with four clear margins are rare. Finding this quality in a pair is quite exceptional.
GB Specialised Catalogue No: H1(2).
