GB QUEEN VICTORIA, 1854, 2d BLUE, SG 23, Plate 4, B-I, USED

Country of Origin: Great Britain

Monarch: Queen Victoria (Chalon portrait head in profile)

Denomination: Two Pence

Stanley Gibbons SG 23, Plate 4(Specifically categorized under "Blue" or "Deep Blue" shades from 1840, without white lines)

Plate Position: B-I

Line-engraved, printed on handmade small-crown watermarked paper, and issued imperforate(requiring the sheet to be cut by hand with scissors).

This is early GB Queen Victoria stamp can be conclusively narrowed down to Plate 4 based on the following indicators:

• The "BI" Corner Letter Guide Alignment: In this early "Star" series, only Plates 4, 5, and 6 were produced with official perforations. When analysing the letter position B-I(Row 2, Column 9), the physical alignment and characteristics of the hand-punched "B" and "I" letters match the registered characteristics unique to Plate 4.
• The Frame Construction: Plates 5 and 6 possess subtle structural shifts in the corner star ornaments and frame thickness compared to the earlier Plate 4 design.

Because Plate 4 was in production during transition periods for both paper watermarks and perforation machinery, it spans a few specific catalogue numbers. To find the exact SG designation, it requires checking the physical stamp details under a watermark tray:

• SG 23: Printed from Plate 4 on Small Crown Watermark paper with a Perf 14 gauge. This is the most common combination for this plate.
• SG 27: Printed from Plate 4 on Small Crown Watermark paper with a tighter Perf 16 gauge.
• SG 34: Printed from Plate 4 on Large Crown Watermark paper with a Perf 14 gauge.