Lot 60000 – 1850-51 2 cents black on pale rose, Townsend Type

1850-51 2 cents black on pale rose, Townsend Type A, with initials of postal official Smith « JBS », cut round, usual defects, central Demerara datestamp OC 7 1851, one of the only two single examples remaining in private hands (two pairs, each on cover, are also known outside institutions) (SG £250’000) A tremendous world classic rarity, and the rarest value of the « Cotton-Reel » primitives. This 2 cents value was issued in 1851 to pay a local town letter rate (the Georgetown Penny Post), a service which was unpopular and little used. No town post usages are known to have survived. First discovered by N. R. McKinnon in 1877 Provenance: Ferrary, Avery, King Fuad, Hunt & Berlingin (Sold by David Feldman in 1978 for CHF66’000) Expertise: Cert. BPA (2014)