THE SPITFIRE ERROR STAMPS
AND OTHER VARIETIES PRINTED BY THE FORMAT INTERNATIONAL SECURITY PRINTERS LTD.
Information and Reference on The 1986 50th Anniversary of the Spitfire (fighter aircraft) Stamps and What was Found in the Archive
In 1986 the Format International Security Printers Ltd. were commissioned By the Nevis postal authorities to
produce a series of stamps depicting pictures of the famous Spitfire fighter aircraft to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of its creation. A set of four stamps and a souvenir sheet were produced for Nevis. They were:
NEVIS
1986 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE SPITFIRE Scott #460-4, SG #372-5, MS376
According to prior written information and internet research the following findings will be presented and will stand
until solid evidence is presented proving otherwise........
THE SPITFIRE ERRORS
The following was written by the late Mr. Kasimir Bileski who acquired all existing sheets and panes
of the Spitfire color error issues found in the archive.
Of the many Nevis stamps that Format printed to be handed over to
the British Crown Agents and sent on to Nevis in proper salable
form this is what happened in printing the Spitfire set of stamps.
The printers assembled the four stamps in the set using two of the
primary colors, namely, yellow and blue plus black. They printed a
number of sheets and even cut them down to proper units of 25
stamps per pane. The manager examined the result and decided that
the colors were to weak to represent the formidable Spitfire. The
red color was added and the result was satisfactory. The set was
completed in the issued form. Black of course was also added for
the usual lettering and figures. That I am sure is how the set
acquired a missing color.
The same thing happened to the miniature sheet. Only in this case
the red and blue were first tried with the usual black. Missing was
the yellow color this time. The manager deemed the result again too
weak using the two colors. Again he preferred the no nonsense old
grey result when the yellow color was added. During the printing of
the very first lot of four stamps, which produced four different
stamps with the red color missing only two intact uncut sheets were
destined for the archives but these got mangled up and damaged in
the printing machinery. Such were thrown away and only a few
examples remained to be put into the archive. These showed
examples of the margins and gutters.
The error stamps themselves were save in cut panes of 25 except for the full uncut press sheets of which I will
present and discuss more on a little later.
According to Robson Lowe (who took inventory and was in charge of liquidation of the archive after the printing
company went bankrupt), the following was written in the inventory list:
NEVIS 1986 $1, $2.50, $3, $4 (425 copies of each) all with
red omitted; $6 m/s with red omitted (300 copies) also uncut
sheets of 20 panes (4) with the same error
In my analysis of this you can see Mr. Lowe erred in stating RED omitted on the mini sheets as it really was
the YELLOW that was omitted. The quantities listed pretty much comply with the write ups by Mr. Bileski. However,
there is no mention of the uncut press sheets of the error stamps themselves in Robson Lowe's list.
As for the write up that Mr. Bileski wrote above there is conflict there too. The following is an excerpt from another
write up by Mr. Bileski. The first segment is about his purchase in 1991. The second part is the July 14, 1995 final sale.
Robson Lowe wrote up several errors and of course described all the unissued vari-
eties in the "British Philatelist" magazine. One lot was left unidentified and it
puzzled me. There were four uncut sheets of the Spitfire set, #460-#463. All four
values were printed on one sheet. In addition there were some 100 little sheets
of #464, the miniature sheet, plus four uncut sheets of the miniatures, 20 panes to
each sheet. At the top of each sheet was the color guide. Looking at them I could
not figure out what was wrong with them. I did not have a set of stamps with which
to compare them. Scott does not list the colors nowadays, especially if several
are used in printing.
So when this July 14 final Format sale came around I made sure to buy all the Nevis
archive which had the uncut sheets. Found only two uncut sheets of the Spitfire
set #460-463, plus two uncut sheets of the miniature panes. Comparing these with
what I had on hand from the earlier purchase was a lesson, showing what a difference
the absence of one color produces. The yellow color was missing in my original
1991 purchase of uncut sheets of the 20 miniature panes, while the four uncut sheets
of #460-463 lacked the red color. A simple enough error, due to two sheets going
through the press at the same time resulting in the sheet underneath missing one
color
At least the complete set of four color guides on the issued uncut sheet of mini-
atures were there to show what had happened to the sheets that Robson Lowe had
sold me in 1991
As one can see there are two completely different theories as to how the errors were created.
The following will be presented in two sections.
SECTION 1 will pertain to the stamp set.
SECTION 2 will pertain to the souvenir sheets. Here we go.
________________SECTION 1_______________
Considering that Robson Lowe's quantity is correct for the singles of the set this would mean that there were
17 panes of 25 of each value saved in the archive.
This means that at most 17 sets of CORNER BLOCKS can exist for each value.
Here is an example of the one dollar corner block set.
I have one set of these panes intact which drops the total to 16 sets of corner blocks that can exist.
I believe these are the last and only intact panes of 25 left in existence.
Mr. Bileski valued the corner blocks at $750.00 a set. The FULL set of ALL FOUR CORNERS including ALL values were valued at $3,000.00.
Mr. Bileski valued a set of the single errors at $400.00 on the basis that he had around 100 sets.
These calculations do not match up as to the rarity factors.
Basically the corner blocks should be valued at $4,000.00 for the all 4 corners with all values set and $1,000.00 for the single
corner with all values set.
The singles error sets should be valued at $200.00 a set.
Taking into account that a set of corner blocks takes 16 out of the 25 from each pane thus 272 are deducted
from the 425 leaving 153, of which pairs and selvage sets were saved the calculation of 100 sets is within range to be correct.
Please take into account that assuming all the panes were broken in this way, NO blocks of 4 can be made.
More on blocks of 4 later.
On to the uncut press sheets which are of the most extreme rarity factors.
Below I present an image using what I believe to be the only existing set of panes left in the world together with the main
parts from the uncut press sheets to show the difference of the two.
As one can see the selvage on the lower, upper and left edges is much larger than on the panes. The right edge is the same size.
The selvage is cut off when the press sheet is cut into panes.
Now....this is Mr. Bileski's statement on the uncut press sheets he had.
First of all, I had only two uncut sheets all stamps normal as issued. Of the error lot
I had four uncut sheets, plus one more damaged.
My question is.....because of this statement why are the numbers so low of the pieces from the uncut press sheets
that exist??? It is possible that Mr. Bileski may have saved ONE of the sheets intact. The answer is unknown at this time.
Judging from the following pricing guide and what I have acquired from the estate logic tells me four of the sheets
were broken. In earlier statements and the quantities shown to exist I am lead to believe that probably three of the sheets
were heavily damaged mainly around the selvage edges.
The following is excerpts taken from his pricing from the same write up as the above statement was made along with images
of the items if available.
1 normal set of 4 singles - not priced
1 error set of 4 singles - value...............$400.00
These should be priced at $200.00 a set.
You can buy them in my store HERE
1 centre unit cross gutter, 2 exist, nominal value............$100.00
UPDATE: Recently found the two existing cross gutters!!
1 centre unit cross gutter error set, 4 exist - value.........$700.00
I believe pricing is WAY off for these. Should be $2,000-$3,000.00
His pricing on normal cross gutters is also way off since only two exist. They should be valued
in the same range.
One of these is shown. Mr. Bileski originally broke these into double pairs. He added an 's' after gutter to emphasize that they
are double pairs from both sides of the sheet. As one can see from the image of the rebuilt sheet
only one double pair of these can be taken from each side as the cross gutters and the side gutter sets
take up the rest thus making the above valued set. Some stamp dealers/sellers are breaking these
into single gutter pairs and using the same pricing or making exaggerated statements as to value.
It is possible that the write ups Mr. Bileski made were mixed in with the wrong items as auction
dealers and sellers are breaking the estate into smaller and smaller fragments and getting things mixed up.
It is also possible that Mr. Bileski "updated" a writeup which I do not have. If this is so....scan it and
send it for verification and modification to this page can be made.
The value for single gutter pairs show to be at $250.00.
Again because of the rarity factor this value is too low. It should be around $1,500-2,000.00 a set.
Thus single pair sets should be valued at $750-1,000.00 a set.
Again, as stated on the above horizontal gutters pair errors, the same holds true with these as well, with the exception that single pairs
were also made of which also only 4 sets can exist which should make their value around $250-300.00.
We must now refactor rarity thus these should be valued at $1,500-$2,000.00 for intact double gutters pairs sets.
Again refer to the rebuilt sheet to see how this is possible.
Logical deduction shows however that more can exist of the single pairs. Five sets per sheet
are possible making 25 sets possible BUT one must deduct the cross center blocks of which I found three,
the upper and lower center pairs of which Mr. Bileski states 2 upper and 1 lower exist, and the vertical gutters pairs of which 4 existed.
This would deduct 13 pairs leaving only 12 possible single pair sets. Out of that number how many can truly exist with the damage factor
of the one sheet involved?
UPDATE: recently purchased 3 vertical pairs with creasing and wrinkling and they match each other proving they came from
the same sheet. They are probably from the heavily damaged sheet.
One seller I have seen stating the single pair set was valued by Mr. Bileski at $6,000.00. Obviously a mixed up seller taking
into account a description of one piece of the Spitfire material descriptions by Mr. Bileski and placing it with the wrong item.
This is easily done as I have bought and seen numerous lots of Bileski materials with wrong descriptive write ups by Mr. Bileski
placed with the wrong items. Until extensive research is done one should NOT make claims from a single piece of paper found in
said lots. Obviously if 20 to 25 of a said item exists, Mr. Bileski's pricing would be in range of what I describe and NOT in
the thousands. Only unique items are placed in that category as shown.
Getting back to the valuation if all the vertical gutters pairs are separated into single gutter pairs then a total of
20 sets of these are possible. Thus split the vertical gutters pairs value in half at $750-1,000.00 and then because of
the number possible of the singles gutter pair sets in this way split THAT amount and you come up with a valuation
of $375-500.00! A fair value for these extremely rare gutter pairs!
Now here are a few of the EXTREME RARITIES from the sheet.
The following is from the little write up for the corner pairs from the sheet that was in the envelope containing the set.
I have both sets.
NEVIS
#460-463
4 corner pairs of the great rarity -
missing red color. The 2 sets of the
error. One has the imprint of the
printer: Format. Another pair shows
only a blank where the red color
should be. Only two sets exist.
..........................$8,000.00
Note the damage. This explains why only two sets exist as the other sheets probably were VERY extensively damaged in
these areas. Remember the only way to tell these from cut pane corners is by the LARGE selvage. Anyone trying to sell
Spitfire error corners stating they are from the above mentioned value are wrong and should be avoided. I have both sets.
NEW EDITION! Another $1 bottom right corner has been found!
The following is from the write up for the image below.
Dr. Purcell
From this source I am giving you the following:
Upper center pair with two showing the wide margin at the top with
two of the errors on each side of the narrow gutter.
Only two units exist like this. My price for it is $1,000.00.
I also include the similar narrow margin between stamps but this
time there is two of each of the remainder two errors and the bottom
margin shows the name of the company plus color guide, which
shows the black, the yellow and the blue form indicating the color.
Missing is the red. Only one unit as enclosed exists. I value it at
$2,000.00.
I might as well show you a normal strip of ten stamps, which shows
the complete color guide and again the name of the company.
________________________________Kasimir________
I found only the bottom margin gutter shown and the strip of ten normal issued in the envelope. The top was missing.
Again I note that probably the other sheets were damaged extensively in these areas.
Mr. Bileski never priced these of which I found 3 sets in my estate holding.
They are the right and left guide line gutter pairs. Again the possibility that 4 sets exist
is a logical one. Going by Mr. Bileski's pricing I would presume that the value for one of these sets should be in
the range of $2,500-3,000.00 a set.
Mr. Bileski did not price any blocks of 4 either as I explained earlier none could be taken from the panes unless
one were to take away the corner block factor. In my estate holding I found one envelope with some of the error stamps
in blocks of 4. Several have heavy creasing. This lead me to believe that all the blocks of 4 of the error stamps that
exist are in that envelope. If I am wrong....send proof. Looking again at the rebuilt press sheet you can see that in the way the sheet is broken
only two of each value can possibly be broken into blocks of 4. This would then make it possible for a total of 10 sets
in blocks of 4 to be made. Because of the damage factor to the sheets, I believe that this was not possible.
Here is the count:
6 Blocks of 4 of the $1 value in excellent condition
3 Blocks of 4 of the $2.50 value in excellent condition
4 Blocks of 4 of the $3 value in excellent condition
4 Blocks of 4 of the $4 value 2 in excellent condition and 2 heavily creased
Based on these facts the blocks of 4 are placed in the extreme rarity category.
Only 2 complete sets in excellent condition can be made from them. Value $2,000.00. Considering the fact that certain shady characters
would take this as they could break the selvage off the pane corners to make more money the value must stand at the
same value as the single corner blocks of all 4 values at $1,000.00.
The individual block of 4 value will stand at $250.00 each.
We also have the singles with bottom or top selvage. Please refer to the full sheet image.
I note that now a group of them has been found. Left and right selvage singles cannot be discerned
from left and right cut pane singles as the selvage is basically the same width. Bottom and top selvage
singles CAN be determined as the selvage is much wider than from the cut panes. A maximum of 5 of any
blank selvage singles are possible.
Here is the count:
3 Bottom Singles of the $1 value with BLANK selvage (only 5 can exist)
3 Bottom Singles of the $1 value with BULLSEYE COLOR GUIDE selvage (only 4 can exist)
No $2.50 singles with large selvage found so far.
5 Top Singles of the $3 value with BLANK selvage (only 5 can exist)
2 Bottom Singles of the $4 value with BLANK selvage (only 5 can exist)
3 Bottom Singles of the $4 value with COMPANY LOGO selvage (only 4 can exist)
Basing on the rarity of these the value should be in range of $100-150.00 each.
________________End Section 1________________
__________________SECTION 2__________________
The missing yellow color miniature sheets for the Spitfire issue are much easier to define.
According to Mr. Bileski four uncut press sheets were found in the archive of the missing yellow color error
for the Scott #464 Spitfire miniature sheet. Two more uncut press sheets were found without the error. Robson Lowe
recorded that 300 of the cut miniature sheets with the error were found in the archive. Here is the rundown.
The machine cut Spitfire miniature sheets are valued at $100.00
This is an image of a rebuilt press sheet of the miniature sheet errors.
This is what Mr. Bileski wrote on them.
As usual I'm dividing the uncut miniature sheets into pairs. The doubles become
instant rarities. In this manner the issued doubles are twice as scarce as the
errors as all I could find in the last purchase was two uncut sheets compared to
four of the missing colors.
Here's what exists now. (The uncut sheets no longer exist).
The Miniatures
1. In pairs, yellow color missing, 20 each with color guide at the top
As to valuations for the doubles, here are my retail figures
based on my belief that as of now not a single uncut sheet
exists elsewhere as errors. Nor are there any uncut sheets
of the stamps as issued. All that can be assembled are
extreme rarities.
Basically once again pricing is off for these extreme rarities. Pricing should be as follows.
1. $750.00
2. $500.00
3. $1,000.00
4. $750.00
This takes into account the rarity factor, error versus normal, and present day values for varieties.
That is about it on the Nevis 1986 Spitfire Errors. If any new evidence and/or proof is found, modifications
will be made accordingly.
THE IMPERFS
Imperforates seem quite common on the market and price wise are pretty reasonable. Valued at $3-6.00 a pair.
The imperforate souvenir sheets are valued at $7-10.00. Quantities are unknown.
Available at AVION STAMPS
THE SPECIMEN OVERPRINTS
Specimen overprinted stamp sets seem quite common on the market and price wise are pretty reasonable also. Valued at $3-6.00 a set.
Quantities are unknown.
THE PROMOTIONAL IMPERFORATE PROOF CARDS
These are a rarity as only around 150-250 of each value were produced promotional reasons.
The base value for each card is around $30-40.00.
Available at AVION STAMPS
THE IMPERFORATE PAIR FIRST DAY COVER SET
Another rarity. Not perforated but IMPERFORATE pairs on First Day Covers. Very few exist.
Valued at around $15-20.00 each.
Available at AVION STAMPS
Basically the last word on the Nevis Spitfire Scott #460-464 color errors and varieties.
Any new information on this set will be taken into consideration and modifications made if needed.
References taken from:
Stanley Gibbons Leeward Islands
Scott Catalog
Inventory list for the Format Archive by Robson Lowe
Kasimir Bileski notes ----View the notes here----
Mr. Roger West, owner of Avion Stamps and major buyer of the archive.
Online internet research
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