Lot 30572 – 1919, 2c carmine rose, position 5, numerals “1” with serifs, on cover

1919, 2c carmine rose, position 5, numerals “1” with serifs, used on First Experimental flight by William Knox Martin cover addressed to Aníbal Lombardi in Puerto Colombia, tied by 18 June departure (repeated adjacent) and arrival cds’s in black and violet. One short perforation at top. One of just twelve covers recorded with this variety in the first airmail of Colombia. Cert. A. Diena (1965).

Note: The position 5 represents the most valuable of the ten identified positions, as it is unique displaying the numeral “1” with serifs. The number of overprinted examples of the first stamp of Colombian airmail, regardless of this important variety, ranges between only 260 and 300. The example presented here is the #5 in the Valenzuela Acosta census of covers franked with the position 5 (six of the twelve recorded were addressed to Mr. Lombardi).