SOUTHERN NIGERIA STAMPS

The first Southern Nigeria Stamps were put on sale around March 1900. The unique design including the Heinrich von Angeli head of Queen Victoria, was considerably delayed in printing, partially due to a change of printers from Waterlow to De La Rue. Happily this has given stamp collectors more proofs, essays and artwork than is normally be the case. The same frame design was used for all the King Edward VII sets, albeit with a new portrait and the De L Rue Universal Key Plate design only being used in 1912 for Southern Nigerias last set. There's no significant rarities in Southern Nigeria’s basic stamps, however the complete stamp booklets, especially the 1914 2s 1d are all very rare. The postal history and postmarks are highly sought after, including the early use of the Niger Coast Protectorate until the first stamps eventually arrived, and the using-up of excess Lagos stamps.