£1 Die Proofs

Die proofs are printed in black on white glazed card, typically 92 x 60mm, unless otherwise noted. They are listed below ordered by date, with undated proofs following those with the same plate number. The rightmost column gives the number recorded in our database: in private hands + institutionalised.

The list of die proofs with unique dates is probably complete, and it’s unlikely that a proof with a previously unseen date will be found. However, the number of proofs within each date has not been recorded before, and it’s probable that additional proofs exist, especially for the second issue for which many more proofs were taken.

1	Oct 20, 1876	—	—	—	0
2	Oct 23, 1876	—	—	—	0
3	Oct 26, 1876	—	—	—	0 + 1
4	Oct 26, 1876	—	—	Dated “26-10” in pencil	1
5	Oct 27, 1876	—	—	—	3 + 1
6	Oct 28, 1876	—	—	—	4
7	Oct 30, 1876	—	—	—	5 + 1
8	Oct 31, 1876	—	—	“BEFORE HARDENING”	2
9	Nov 2, 1876	—	—	“BEFORE HARDENING”	5 + 1
10	Nov 10, 1876	—	—	“AFTER HARDENING”, “NG”	0 + 1
11	no date	—	—	Basic Die Proof	0 + 1
12	no date	—	—	Cut down to stamp size	1

Institutionalised/Total: 6/27.

The dates on some £1 die proofs are difficult to read. Oct 28 is often misread as Oct 23 as the “8” is weak on the left side. The first two listed below probably do not exist.

No. 1 — Oct 20, 1876 — no image.
Not seen by us.

No. 2 — Oct 23, 1876 — no image.
Not seen by us.

No. 3 — Oct 26, 1876 — reconstruction.
Langmead Collection.