Day 3 - Great Britain, British Colonies, Pre-Union South Africa - the Besançon Collection (Part Ii)

1884: 5 d. dull green line perf. 12, wmk. Imperial Crown, lettered FD, an unused but regummed example, horizontally overprinted 'SPECIMEN' in black. Fine and scarce. The perf. 12 examples have been never issued and it's said that they were used to set the colour standards for the 1887 issue, see also W.A. Wiseman 'the De La Rue Years 1878-1910' vol. 2 on pages 48 and 64, Cert. Louis (2009).
Catalogue 244: Europe & Overseas