Auction 333-341 Western Australia & Great Britain - Day 3

1840: 1 d. black, plate 7, lettered AJ, a used example, good to very large margins all round, on 1840 cover from Preston to Union Foundry, Bradford, tied by fine strike of the Maltese Cross in magenta. Reverse with Preston despatch cds (Dec 31) in black. Rare Gi AS46vd = £ 8'500.
Reference: Rockoff/Jackson Encyclopedia of the Maltese Cross, vol. 3 page 445. Certificate RPSL (1985).
Provenance: 4. Merkurphila, Frankfurt, Dec 1983, lot 587; Collection Nigel Howard, Christie's 9. Nov 1994, lot 1189; Collection J.E Saffra, Spink 5. May 2014, lot 1070; Collection 'Great Britain The Line Engraved Issus 1840–1870', The Åke Rietz Collection, Corinphila 7 June 2023.