Rare Stamps: 1933-35 Ireland 2d pearl-green, perf. 15 x imperf. coil stamp

Ireland:

1933-35 2d pearl-green, perf. 15 x imperf. coil – the rarest and most valuable of all Irish stamps

1933-35 2d pearl-green, perf. 15 x imperf. coil stamp

Mint with full gum, very lightly hinged

• Extremely fresh, very fine and a superb example
• The rarest and most valuable of all Irish stamps

The Rare 2d Coil was an experimental vertical coil stamp, denominated 2d, issued by the Irish Post Office in 1935. It was first recognised in 1937 but not acknowledged by the philatelic catalogues until the Scott stamp catalogue listed it in 1952.

Over the years 20 examples have been identified in mint condition, but the quantity used is not known however, even though several have been recorded, they are scarce.

• Only 4 examples are known on cover
  • Of these, 3 are on postcards
• Dulin suggests that all Irish coil stamps are scarce on cover
• An detailed survey of the then twenty known unused examples was carried out by Gerard Brady and published in the Irish Stamp News in 1981

There are also 2 examples of a 1935 2d coil variety, i.e. 2d with a broken “d” (D4cii a)

• Certificate Hamilton-Bowen BPP (2019)

Some debate as to the genuineness of this stamp took place in the Irish philatelic literature during the mid-1990s with a suggestion the stamp had been fabricated from a normal fully perforated stamp with a press.

• This hypothesis was debunked by Joe Foley and Ian Whyte, who both claimed such a process would damage the stamp and be scientifically impossible
• Archived documents now confirm that the stamp was ordered and issued by the Irish postal administration in 1935

References:

• McDW D4cii
• Hib. D4cii
• D.F. D4cii
• S.G. 74a
• Scott. 68b
• Michel. 43C

Expertise:

• APS Certificate (signed David Feldman)

Market Value:

• Sold in Dublin in May 2016 for €10,000 by Whyte’s (plus buyer’s premium)
• Sold in on April 2011 in a Kelleher auction for $12,500 (plus 15% buyer fee)

 

 

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Other Stamps / Envelopes / Postcards in this series:

• Stamps of the World – a list of stamp issuing countries (past & present)
• Irish Diaspora Letters – an A-Z list of incoming mail to Ireland from abroad
• Rare Stamps – a list of the rarest stamps in the world (old & new)

 

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