Mozambique 1886 50 Reis Sg 38 Doubly Embossed?

Here is a rather scrappy mint Mozambique 50 Reis 1886 possibly SG 38 (according to SG Europe 1969) which has a striking flaw. It looks as if it has been doubly embossed so that there are two King Luis I !


The print looks weak at the top right but this could be down to wear. The stamp has some browning and a fold flaw at the bottom left plus nibbled perfs on the right. The back has brown gum and a heavy hinge. There is weakness in the print or a massive retouch on the lower right value pane.

Is this type of error worth anything?

Quite interesting but this is not double embossing. The head should show doubling along the back and other parts as well if it was that way. Further, if it was printed in one go as I suspect, all other parts of the design would show doubling, too.

The white parts are inking flaws, perhaps with ink peeling off during printing. This stamp would fall into the EFO category.

In addition, don't try to remove hinges from these Portuguese Colony embossed issues. The paper tends to split around the heads.

Thank you hy-brasil. Your comments make a lot of sense.

Actually, this stamp could be a double impression. The 2015 Mundiphil catalog; with Afinsa numbers; lists this stamp as having a double impression variety. The catalog for the basic stamp depends on the paper; porcelana is E4.80 with perf 12 1/2. Papel pontinhado catalog is E17.00 with perf 12 1/2. Catalog for the variety is E150.00.

The double impression is not illustrated or further described. However, I have the 10 Reis of this set, from Timor, with a doubled impression. The Reis at the bottom, and a little of the surrounding design, are doubled in the middle of the head. Sorry that I don't have knowledge of scanning, otherwise, I would show the stamp. The point is that the doubling perhaps does not have to show all the way around the head.

Only way to know for sure is to have the stamp reviewed by an expert (I'll post this and search for the link). Up to you if you want to do this, considering the condition of the stamp.

Hy-Brasil is correct about trying to remove old hinges from these colonial embossed issues. I've done removal a few times, but very slowly and carefully.

Try this link for the Portuguese Philatelic Society (of the UK):

http://pps.uk.net

Thank you Climber Steve. I'm not sure it is doubly embossed sadly. At E150 catalogue it would not be worth expertising, given the state of the stamp, which is relatively scrappy. I have just put it on ebay to see if anyone would offer GBP 25 and see where we go from that.