£6175

An enigmatic issue! A set of four high value stamps -

 

Does anyone know a UK stamp with a value higher than

They first appeared as postal decoration with a somewhat muddy print, perhaps an inkjet straining to reproduce the colours, with edges cut by deckle scissors. Each value used a different deckle design, but these do seem be consistent for each value; perhaps as little as one or two sheets of each.

More examples appeared which were laser printed at a minimum and were properly perforated. Whilst each value retained the elements from the original imperforate stamps, this was revised for the later printing.
And to complicate matters further, when more were found in the Little Bags of Sticky Bits, there seems to have been a further revised print run. The original stamps carried the background cream colour right to the edge, but these had a smaller image to accommodate a white border added to a stamp of the same size.
There are also some limited shade variations.

As for the meaning behind these stamps, there has been no broadcast information yet. It is not the first time that 6175 has appeared on a stamp. This exact figure also appears resembling an order number in the margins of the Penny Jack stamp sheets. And the same number has been seen perfinned into another stamp. Someone must recognise this number!

What to look for in this issue?

  • Everything! You are so unlikely to have an exact duplicate.