Description: This classic British postage stamp features the left-facing Chalon portrait of a young Queen Victoria printed in deep blue ink. The design displays the word "POSTAGE" across the top banner and "TWO PENCE" along the bottom, separated by thin, parallel white lines. This specific specimen highlights the mechanical challenges of early production, featuring a severe vertical perforation shift that cuts deeply into the right-hand margin and swallows the top-right corner box entirely. The top-left corner box clearly displays the letter "L", indicating it was printed from Row 11 of the sheet layout, while the matching row letter "L" is visible in the lower-right corner. A heavy, dark black numeral killer cancel covers the lower-left portion of the frame, naturally obscuring the remaining corner detail and the right-hand vertical lace pillar where the specific plate number is micro-engraved.
Circa: 1858–1870
Condition: Used, with heavy cancellation and uneven but intact perforations.
Notes:
This four-corner check-letter configuration; encompassing Plates 7, 8, 9, and 12, was officially put to press starting in 1858 and actively issued through 1870.