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MAURITIUS Types of the 1859 issues

Return To Catalogue - Mauritius 1847-1859

Currency: 12 pence = 1 Shilling; 20 Shillings = 1 Pound
1878: 100 Cents = 1 Rupie

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1859 Queen Victoria, head of queen changed, 'Sherwin issue'

This stamp is also called 'fillet head', it was a re-engraved by Sherwin from the plates of the 1848 stamps. There are again 12 types of this stamp.


Positions 1 and 9 on the plate.

Plate reconstruction:

  Position 3
Positions 4 and 5 Position 6
  Positions 8 and 9
 

 


Reprint made in 1923 with the original plate. I've also seen it printed in red color instead of blue.

Distinguishing characteristics of the 12 positions:
Position 1: 'O' of 'TWO' open on top, scratch through the top of 'T' of 'MAURITIUS', small top of 'P' of 'PENCE'
Position 6: 'T' and 'C' of 'PENCE' very peculiar shape. Last 'E' of this word far from the right border. Dot behind 'PAID'.
Position 8: Scratch through lower buste of the Queen. 'CE' of 'PENCE' smaller.
Position 11: 'C' of 'PENCE' broken on top, vertical line outside the design above 'S' of 'POSTAGE'.
Position 12: 'S' of 'MAURITIUS' very slanting backwards. Faint dot behind 'PAID' at some distance from the upper left corner.

 

1859 Queen Victoria, head of queen changed, so called Lapirot issue

Specialists distinguish first issues and later issues from worn plates. There are again 12 types of this stamp, but contrarily to the previous issues they are arranged in 3 rows of 4 stamps (instead of 4 rows of 3 stamps).

These stamps were printed with very large spaces between the stamps (horizontally and vertically), examples:

Types 7 and 11? Types 9 and 12 Types 5 and 6?
Vertical and horizontal pairs with very large spacing


Position 8, with inverted 'N' of 'PENCE'.

Position 1
Position 1 and 11 of the plate

Plate reconstruction (note especially the corner ornaments for each type):

Type 2? Type 3?  
Probably type 5 Position 8, with inverted 'N'
Position 9 in an early state, note the broken left bottom cross Position 10? Position 12?

Distinghuishing characteristics:
Position 2: 'E' of 'PENCE' almost touches the right frame.
Position 5: Buste of Queen almost touches lower frame.
Position 7: Left lower flower pattern has upper left leaf extending into the center of the flower.
Position 8: Inverted 'N' of 'PENCE'. Extra frameline in the lower right corner.
Position 9: Cross in the lower left corner has a circle in its center.

Position 7 Position 12?
Positions 7, 8 and 12, worn plate

 

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer