British Bechuanaland 2p Surcharge - Need Help

What exactly is going on with this surcharge?

Please advise catalog number, is it SG 23 and how would you describe the 2? Thanks



*Edit: back of stamp added

In Scotts we have Scott 25, which is described as 2p on 2p lilac, red surcharge. Scott 25a says '2" with curved tail. I don't know if you have that or not. Value for 25 is $65.00 mint. Value for 25a is $350 mint.

Gibbons has a variety 'curved foot to 2' and is illustrated in the catalogue but the image above isn't it.

The 2 looks like it's comprised of a question mark and a dash.

Lowe lists a bunch of varieties for these surcharges that are not in Gibbons. Now, given that Lowe's Africa volume was published in 1949, I'd be very surprised if much study has not been done on these issues from what is a relatively popular country.

The cynic in me suggests it's a fake but I'd be contacting the Bechuanaland and Botswana Philatelic Website and see if there's someone who can help:

http://bechuanalandphilately.com/

below: Curved foot of 2. (yours is not)

Gum soak on some of the perf tips adds to my suspicion. Can we see the back of the stamp?
Don

All,
Thanks for your advice, I added an image of the back to my post above.

I am sharing images of two more stamps in question, both with Protectorate overprints.

One is a 4p with an incomplete "P" in Protectorate, but the "4" also seems incomplete. Thoughts?

The other is a Protectorate 2d, that I don't believe has a curved tail, but perhaps you can confirm.

The second stamp doesn't have the curved foot.

The 4d (which is SG 51) should also be referred to the website I mentioned above. Someone may have done a study on the settings for the overprints. Broken type might be common, but one benefit is it could identify the position of the stamp in the overprint setting.

Your going to have this stamp certified because it isn't worth $10.00 without a good cert. ,too many are given bad certificates and the cert. is thrown away with the hopes a new buyer would overlook it .

These two stamps, unfortunately not mine, clearly illustrate the between the two overprints. The curved tail is on the right-hand stamp.



Clive