UNION ISLAND LEADERS OF THE WORLD 4TH SERIES 1986 LOCOMOTIVES 6-STAGE PROGRESSIVE COLOR PROOF STAMPS

For the majority of earlier Union Island LOW Trains and Cars stamp series the original color proofs that were saved came from press sheets. Very few of them were retained and thus the sets that were created from them are quite rare. For the 5-stage sets that exist they are easily proven to come from the press sheets because the older method of the combined yellow and black proofs is all the evidence you need.
The 6-stage sets are a bit more difficult because of their similarity to 7-stage sets in that they are only missing the all colors stage. The only way to define them then is if they have the larger selvage or, where the 7-stage sets exist, a comparison of the two versions can be made for the differences in color.

You can view on this page the Union Island 4th trains series in the 6-stage variety.

Firstly, I give you an image of both versions of the 15c value from the 4th series to show you the differences in selvage size and colors. All reprints for LOW trains and cars were cut into panes and at this time there is no evidence that any of the press sheets were saved for the reprints. this is more than likely because press sheets are very difficult to move and store without damaging them. From past experiences by the printer, the decision to just cut them all into panes for ease of handling was most likely made.
When the panes are cut from the press sheets, all the excess selvage is removed. For all the LOW cars and trains series, even though the top and bottom selvage of the press sheets are not that large, part of it is still cut off in the creation of the panes. Therefore, they can easily be defined as the following comparison image shows.



As you can see there is quite a difference yes? Notice, even though it is slight on this value, the color differences. The locomotive on the stamp from the press sheet is more brownish in color and on the technical drawing it is darker gray and red. Noting also the blue line on the selvage on the reprint which is not on the original. Obvious differences yes?

As shown on the Union Island specialized color proof main page I found all the values in 6-stage form cut from press sheets. On the LOW main introduction page you can see that all values were reprinted in 1988 as shown by their existence in 7-stage form. The location of the panes for the four high values in 7-stage form is unknown. They were not sold on ebay from the Saint Vincent/Nevis holding. The 7-stage sets of the four high values are offered on the market from other sources. I found them available through France International (Stamps by Themes) at a very steep price. My suspicions being they have the panes but are possibly concealing the fact due to devaluation to the price asked. The possibility that the majority of panes were lost or destroyed is still very real! Then again, they may still be in storage and the attempt to slowly ween them into the market at high prices a reality. The basic retail value is $5.00 a set for each value in 7-stage form. Please use caution when a seller is trying to ask for a much larger sum for them as the standard reprinting was 3,000 sets.

1954 D.R.B. 2-8-4T Class 65.¹⁰, Germany
Scott Catalog Number 17

1954 D.R.B. 2-8-4T CLASS 65.¹⁰ TRAIN STAMP
FINAL STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 15c BLUE-RED STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 15c BLUE STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 15c RED STAGE COLOR PROOF

THE 15c YELLOW STAGE COLOR PROOF	EMBOSSED VIEW

THE 15c BLACK STAGE COLOR PROOF

1976 BR Class 56 Co-Co, U.K.
Scott Catalog Number 25

1976 BR CLASS 56 CO-CO TRAIN STAMP
FINAL STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 30c BLUE-RED STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 30c BLUE STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 30c RED STAGE COLOR PROOF

THE 30c YELLOW STAGE COLOR PROOF	EMBOSSED VIEW

THE 30c BLACK STAGE COLOR PROOF

1888 Sir Theodore 0-4-2 Tram, U.K.
Scott Catalog Number 28

1888 SIR THEODORE 0-4-2 TRAM TRAIN STAMP
FINAL STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 45c BLUE-RED STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 45c BLUE STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 45c RED STAGE COLOR PROOF

THE 45c YELLOW STAGE COLOR PROOF	EMBOSSED VIEW

THE 45c BLACK STAGE COLOR PROOF

1889 Elidir 0-4-0T, U.K.
Scott Catalog Number 36

1889 ELIDIR 0-4-0T TRAIN STAMP
FINAL STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 60c BLUE-RED STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 60c BLUE STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 60c RED STAGE COLOR PROOF

THE 60c YELLOW STAGE COLOR PROOF	EMBOSSED VIEW

THE 60c BLACK STAGE COLOR PROOF

1879 Sir Haydn 0-4-2T, U.K.
Scott Catalog Number 40

1879 SIR HAYDN 0-4-2T TRAIN STAMP
FINAL STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 75c BLUE-RED STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 75c BLUE STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE 75c RED STAGE COLOR PROOF

THE 75c YELLOW STAGE COLOR PROOF	EMBOSSED VIEW

THE 75c BLACK STAGE COLOR PROOF

1952 Class 4 2-6-0, U.K.
Scott Catalog Number 49

1952 CLASS 4 2-6-0 TRAIN STAMP
FINAL STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE $1.50 BLUE-RED STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE $1.50 BLUE STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE $1.50 RED STAGE COLOR PROOF

THE $1.50 YELLOW STAGE COLOR PROOF	EMBOSSED VIEW

THE $1.50 BLACK STAGE COLOR PROOF

1899 Highflyer Class 4-4-2, U.K.
Scott Catalog Number 57

1899 HIGHFLYER CLASS 4-4-2 TRAIN STAMP
FINAL STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE $2.50 BLUE-RED STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE $2.50 BLUE STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE $2.50 RED STAGE COLOR PROOF

THE $2.50 YELLOW STAGE COLOR PROOF	EMBOSSED VIEW

THE $2.50 BLACK STAGE COLOR PROOF

1880 J.N.R. 2-6-0 Class 7100, Japan
Scott Catalog Number 59

1880 J.N.R. 2-6-0 CLASS 7100 TRAIN STAMP
FINAL STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE $3.00 BLUE-RED STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE $3.00 BLUE STAGE COLOR PROOF


THE $3.00 RED STAGE COLOR PROOF

THE $3.00 YELLOW STAGE COLOR PROOF	EMBOSSED VIEW

THE $3.00 BLACK STAGE COLOR PROOF


The quantities that exist for the 6-stage Union Island 1986 Leaders of the World 4th series locomotives is unknown. Due to the low availability on the market and the fact that they were cut from press sheets of which very few were saved, the 6-stage sets can be classified as extremely rare.

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