1883 Provisionals: 8 Cents Surcharge
SG 2: Vertical 8 cents surcharge
 SG2 with 15 bars red obliterator |  SG2 with Sandakan D2 (Genuine?) |
The 2 cents stamp with a vertical 8 cents surcharge is among the scarce stamp issue of North Borneo. It is not even listed in Scotts catalogue and at some point in history was thought to be a total fake altogether. It is no doubt however that the issue is genuine and that authentic examples do exist, although a postally used example on cover has never been seen.
The perforation should be 12 and that the overprint should be followed by a full stop.The length of the overprint from "8" to "s" of cents should be 10.5 mm (or to the stop, 11.75mm). The height of the "8" and "C" should be 2.5mm, while the "e", "n" and "s" should be 1.5mm. The letter "t" is 2mm high.
Copies do show some slight variation in alignment and are not usually perfectly vertical. Only stamps of Transfer A were surcharged with this vertical overprint, and that by default all other surcharges appearing in any other transfers must be forgeries. Furthermore, most forgeries of this issue appear on a wrong perforation of 14, and has no stop after the surcharge. The one on the left shown above is listed in ebay with an opening price of GBP 80.00. The one on the right bears a blue undated Sandakan postmark (D2) - Genuine?
SG3: Horizontal 8 cents surcharge
The 8 cents horizontal surcharge is another rare issue of North Borneo stamp, although perhaps not as scarce as the vertical one. The stamp above on the left appeared in ebay recently and still active. The one on the most right was underpriced at GBP50 and was won by our fellow collector. Three of the stamps bear the blue ink oval "AC" postmark, and three of the stamps bear the Singapore P.O mark as well.
Because the 8 cents definitive stamps were sent in the same case as the second consignment of the 2 cents stamp (transfer B), the provisionals would only be required for about a month, and as such only a small amount of stamps were surcharged. The perforation should be 12. The surcharge is arranged in two lines and consisted of the words "EIGHT CENTS" with the "EIGHT" being 10.5mm in length and "CENTS" being about 10mm, followed by a fullstop. Because of the type setting, there are ten variations of the surcharge in each row across the sheet.
Forgeries exist in a large number, usually on 1886 stamps with perf 14, and mostly on Transfer D. The example below show an interesting forgery :-
Copies do show some slight variation in alignment and are not usually perfectly vertical. Only stamps of Transfer A were surcharged with this vertical overprint, and that by default all other surcharges appearing in any other transfers must be forgeries. Furthermore, most forgeries of this issue appear on a wrong perforation of 14, and has no stop after the surcharge. The one on the left shown above is listed in ebay with an opening price of GBP 80.00. The one on the right bears a blue undated Sandakan postmark (D2) - Genuine?
SG3: Horizontal 8 cents surcharge
 SG3 with AC mark |  SG3 with AC mark |  SG3 with AC and Singapore P.O. marks |  SG3 with Sandakan D2 and Singapore P.O. marks |
The 8 cents horizontal surcharge is another rare issue of North Borneo stamp, although perhaps not as scarce as the vertical one. The stamp above on the left appeared in ebay recently and still active. The one on the most right was underpriced at GBP50 and was won by our fellow collector. Three of the stamps bear the blue ink oval "AC" postmark, and three of the stamps bear the Singapore P.O mark as well.
Because the 8 cents definitive stamps were sent in the same case as the second consignment of the 2 cents stamp (transfer B), the provisionals would only be required for about a month, and as such only a small amount of stamps were surcharged. The perforation should be 12. The surcharge is arranged in two lines and consisted of the words "EIGHT CENTS" with the "EIGHT" being 10.5mm in length and "CENTS" being about 10mm, followed by a fullstop. Because of the type setting, there are ten variations of the surcharge in each row across the sheet.
Forgeries exist in a large number, usually on 1886 stamps with perf 14, and mostly on Transfer D. The example below show an interesting forgery :-
