{"product_id":"great-britain-1935-2-d-prussian-blue-error-unmounted-mint-sg456a","title":"Great Britain 1935 2½d Prussian blue error unmounted mint, SG456a","description":"\u003cp\u003eGreat Britain 1935 2½d Prussian blue error, SG456a.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA fine unmounted mint, with full original gum, example of this famous \"error of colour\" that was accidently issued through a few North London Post Offices. Some light toning, although remains a fine example.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAccompanied with a British Philatelic Association (BPA) Certificate of Authenticity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSG catalogue value: £12,000.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Story\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKing George V (known as the “Stamp King”) was a passionate stamp collector. So, on June 6th 1934, when he was asked for his permission for a commemorative stamp issue to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of his Accession to the Throne, he was delighted to say “yes”.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe designers put forward 12 different design ideas but the King was not impressed by any of them. So, On October 2nd 1934 the designers were sent back to the drawing board…\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn October 25th 1934, a further 22 designs were submitted. Finally, the design of Mr Barnett Freeman was accepted.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn January 7th 1935, the King approved the final design. Just one question remained… what colour did he want the stamp to be?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGiven the choice of “Prussian blue” or “blue”, the King opted for the latter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut, all didn’t go to plan…\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhy this stamp is so rare\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe printers, Harrison \u0026amp; Son, printed some sheets in the “Prussian blue” colour in error.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThey realised their mistake and quickly destroyed the erroneous sheets, ecept for si sheets sent to the Post Office Stores for inspection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Superintendent Warehouseman was asked to destroy the si sheets apart from a block of four to be retained for reference purposes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, a further mistake was made and only two of the sheets were destroyed. The other four were accidentally placed with the correct colour sheets by a busy worker.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThree of these sheets were sent to the Edmonton Post Office in North London. The other sheet was issued to an unknown Post Office.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs a result, we know that only 480 of these stamps were ever issued.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the maimum possible number in eistence. The actual number of surviving eamples is much lower.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA Profitable Trip to the Post Office\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn June 2nd 1935, a collector, Mr A J Stavridi, sent his secretary to buy the new Silver Jubilee stamps from the Post Office in Upper Edmonton.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn inspecting the stamps, Mr Stavridi noticed that some of the stamps were different from the others.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSome were blue… others were “Prussian blue”.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMr Stavridi quickly returned to the Post Office and purchased the remainder of the “Prussian blue” stamps.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOf the 360 stamps at Edmonton Post Office, 41 had already been sold. Mr Stavridi bought the remaining 319 stamps.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe mailed some of the stamps to his friends as souvenirs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOf the 41 sold copies, ten were used on magazines sent to Australia, of which one survived; two were sent to a collector in Tonbridge. One other was used on a letter sent to Holland and was discovered in 1937.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTo this day, the 2½d Prussian blue remains one of the rarest and most famous stamps from Great Britain. Quite simply, it should not have been printed.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Paul Fraser Collectibles","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49065109127393,"sku":"P09009500","price":4500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1645\/0221\/files\/MAY26_172III.jpg?v=1788949942","url":"https:\/\/www.paulfrasercollectibles.com\/products\/great-britain-1935-2-d-prussian-blue-error-unmounted-mint-sg456a","provider":"Paul Fraser Collectibles","version":"1.0","type":"link"}