Kenya & Uganda 3/-

Greetings
Whilst sifting thru an old collection I found this guy & he caught my eye.
Of coarse I no nothing about stamps outside Australia, so over to SC members for help
Regards Jezza

I like that design. Yours is Sc#32 in Scott and SG#90 in Gibbons. Gibbons has the three-shilling as brownish gray, with a sub-variety that is jet black. Yours isn't currently jet black, but these are printed on chalk-surfaced paper, so I suppose some fading could have occurred when this was soaked. More than likely, yours is the brownish gray.

The violet cancel and the punch pretty much confirm that this was not used postally. That is very common on the higher values of this set. Someone who doesn't mind revenue cancels can build a very nice short set of these without breaking the bank. A full set runs all the way up to a 100-pound face value, and a full set, even with revenue cancels, is a really big deal. (There are 11 values from 1 pound up to 100 pounds.)

The high values are bicolors and very striking. The lower values are one color, in theory, but were printed in two passes, so if you think that you see some variation in the shade of the vignette on one of these, know that it is possible.

I should have added that these were issued starting in 1922, and yours should have a sideways watermark. When looking at it from the back, the crown should be to the left of the CA.

Classic key plate

Cjd: that is one good explanation and overview. I'm partial to British East Africa due to making 8 trips to Tanzania for climbing and safari since 1989. Included Kenya on 5 of those trips, but have yet to visit Uganda. Bought a nice collection of British East Africa at auction last year. Haven't had time yet to work it up, but there are lots of cancels and shade varieties for this set. The collection goes through only the 5/-, but I already have the next round of higher values through the 1 pound. Couple months ago, bought the 3 pound from a dealer, with a nice revenue cancel and no punch. Sorry I don't have good scan capabilities to share it.