Great Britain Seahorse with Major Re-Entry

Why so rarely seen?

Although the excellent Specialised catalogue by Stanley Gibbons illustrates a good range of re-entries on the 2s6d Seahorse design, only two such re-entries are deemed ‘strong’ enough to warrant a listing in the GB Concise & Part 1 catalogues, those found on Plate 3, Row 2/1 of the Waterlow & De La Rue printings; and on Plates 3 & 5L, Row 1/2 of the Bradbury printing – and they are all elusive. In fact any collector attempting to hunt down an example will discover that it is much easier to locate a £1 green!

As a collector I loved Seahorses, but the 2s6d and 5s values seemed nearly impossible to find in really nice used condition, almost every example I came across had a heavy parcel cancellation. I don’t know what the odds are at finding a pretty cds used 2s6d or 5s but I am sure that less than 1% of those available would qualify. To spot a re-entry you need a light, partial or very fine cancellation, so re-entries would be easier to find on a 10s or £1 value as they (more often) come with lighter, circular postmarks.

The most prominent of the two re-entries is on the Bradbury printing, it’s listed as a “Major re-entry” so we are delighted to offer an example in our next sale, particularly as it’s in fabulous condition. We can’t remember the last time we saw such a great looking SG 415ab and the extensive doubling of large parts of the design are obvious – when you look for them!