Madagascar (British) 1886 4d rose, "POSTAGE" 24½mm long, with stop after value, printing variety WITHOUT HANDSTAMP, SG43a.
A very fine unused example with fresh colour, complete roulettes and corner gumming intact.
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This variety is among the rarest of all British Consular Mail issues in Madagascar.
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It (without handstamp) was originally considered a printers’ waste or essay by some early philatelists, but is now recognised by Stanley Gibbons as a legitimate, collectable variety.
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Most known examples exhibit toning, foxing, or creases due to the low-quality paper and tropical storage.
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This particular example, as described, is remarkably free of blemishes, with full roulettes, intact margins, fresh colour, and corner gumming still present, which elevates it to elite condition for this rarity.
These stamps were produced under emergency conditions for British residents and missionaries in Madagascar, where regular postage was unavailable. The lack of an overprint (handstamp) makes this a significantly scarcer variety than the already rare overprinted issues.
The usual handstamp was manually applied to validate these provisionals.
Very rare, especially in this choice quality. The first example we have ever seen without typical blemishes, endemic to the issue.
Provenance: Purchased from Stanley Gibbons, October, 2020.
Stanley Gibbons catalogue value: £6,000.
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