British Central Africa 1892

British Central Africa 1892

The first Registration envelopes of BCA were issued in 1892 in the amount of 2 pence. When the registration rate was increased from 2 to 4 pence, remaining stocks of the 1st issue envelopes were manuscript surcharged either Four Pence or 4d. To cover the new postal needs, a new set of envelopes was ordered. However, since it would take too long to cut a new die for the stamp portion, it was agreed that another 2 pence issue would be made by the printer as a second provisional which would also to be hand surcharged locally. On this issue, some of the fonts on the address side of the envelope were changed. The most obvious change was the registration “R” in an oval, which now came WITHOUT serifs (in the 1st issue it was printed with serifs). The surcharges were again in manuscript and were applied by various local administrators with different signatures. Overall, the 4d is known with at least 3 different signatures in black and 1 in red, while the Four Pence in black is by yet another official. This issue was followed in 1894 by a new set of provisional surcharges which were also applied to the 2nd issue envelopes where the registration R was without serifs. These surcharges were printed locally in black and were either: FOUR or FOUR PENCE with the old value crossed out by a black BLOCK or a THICK LINE.THE GREAT ERROR: Perhaps because the provisional envelopes were a rushed proposition, a few Rhodesian envelope blanks (done by the same printer) got mixed into the group being printed with the British Central Africa stamp. These Rhodesian blanks were printed with the same font and in the same size, except for the inscription BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY instead of BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA and so, would have been easy to miss. These errors were then surcharged FOUR PENCE, along with the correct envelopes, and thus, was a spectacular error created. Although reported by the Ascher Catalogue in 1928, there are, to date, ONLY TWO KNOWN EXAMPLES of this envelope. One is mint and one is used.HERE WE OFFER THE MORE IMPORTANT OF THE TWO, THE USED EXAMPLE WHICH PROVES THAT THE ENVELOPE ACTUALLY WAS RECEIVED AND PUT INTO USE IN BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA AND WAS NOT A FREAK REMOVED IN ENGLAND AND UNISSUED.The envelope was sent to Berlin in Germany, and it bears the following cancellations: «1895 Oct 27 Tshiromo, BCA», «1895 Oct 28 Tshinde, BCA», «1895 Nov 2 Zanzibar Reg.», «1895 Dec 2 Aden Reg.», and «1895 Dec 17 (Germany) Bestellt von Postamte».In 1928, the Ascher catalogue listed this item at 400 marks, whereas it listed the USA’s Full-Face McKinley at only 30. While Great Britain’s Royal Collection contains a Mauritius Ball cover, it lacks this item: “Liebhaberpreis”. (M)

Dealer - Gärtner Christoph Auktionshaus
Auction Minimum Bid: 7000.00 EUR

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