Auction 333-341 Western Australia & Great Britain - Day 3

1880: 2½ d. blue, plate 23, in combination with 1884 2 d. lilac and 1884 ½ d. slate-blue, used on cover from London to Turin, Italy, dated 5 May 1884, tied by London squared circle handstamp in black. To the reverse a faint arrival in black (7 May 1884). There is a central horizontal filing crease well clear of the adhesives. A rare example. Only recorded example of this 5d rate combination franking. Cert. Chivarello (1986).
Reference: Great Britain Victorian Mixed Franking Covers, by Ray Simpson & Karl Louis, illustrated on pg. 208 (fig. 317).