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  | Lot #8483 FRENCH COLONIES Reunion 1852 15c black on blue, Type III, unused without gum as issued, large margins all around, beautiful color, fresh and v.f. example of this premier world rarity, signed Brun, with his 2019 certificate. There are only a tiny number of unused examples known today. Reunion was supplied with their first adhesive stamps in 1852. They were General French Colonies issues that were given to all the Colonies of France. However there were no 15c or 30c stamps to fulfill the corresponding 30c and 45c rates. Because it would take a long time for any new stamps to reach Reunion, it was decided to print new stamps locally (a similar phenomenon occurred on other isolated islands throughout the world, such as Hawaii, Mauritius and Fiji, where the local printers produced the first stamps of the country, using much more primitive methods than more prosperous countries that had been producing stamps for several years.) These typographed stamps of Reunion were printed on very thin pelure paper that often had irregularities such as wood pulp inclusions and pinholes. They were unpopular with the local population, primarily due to the fact that they were issued without gum. A small number were used and the remainders were eventually destroyed, leaving scant few unused available today. Due to the crude printing methods, nearly every surviving example has a fault to some degree, with many possessing poor margins, several faults and/or repairs. A completely sound four-margin example offered here is quite remarkable (YT 1, €45,000) (*) Catalog #1 Catalog Value $39,000 | $19,000.00 Bidding Closed |
 | Lot #8484 FRENCH COLONIES Reunion 1885 5c on 40c orange yellow, two distinct shades, h.r., fresh and v.f., * Catalog #3 Catalog Value $900 | $230.00 Bidding Closed |
