FLOAT
The 1910 2d 'Tyrian Plum' (SG 266a), prepared for use but never issued - an example of the ~12 known.

Great Britain 1910 2d 'Tyrian Plum'

Maker
Great Britain (Royal Mail), King Edward VII
Year
1910
Rank
82 of 100

Great Britain 1910 2d 'Tyrian Plum'

Great Britain 1910 2d 'Tyrian Plum' by Great Britain (Royal Mail), King Edward VII (1910) is ranked 82 in the FLOAT 100 for Stamps. It sold for $159,500 on 6 December 2011. ~24 million printed yet nearly all destroyed when Edward VII died days before issue — only ~12 survive, making it Britain's most romantic 'never-issued' rarity.

What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?

~24 million printed yet nearly all destroyed when Edward VII died days before issue — only ~12 survive, making it Britain's most romantic 'never-issued' rarity.

SG 266a, 2d Tyrian Plum, prepared for use but not issued; ~12 examples known; mint

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$159,500
Kind
Realized at auction
Date
6 December 2011

Spink, Chartwell Collection, 6 Dec 2011: GBP 102,000 (~$159,500) for the prepared-for-use mint example.

This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it. Source.

How this is made

The figure
One reference price, taken from a named public source and shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
Realized or not
A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
Why no grade ladder
Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
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2026-08-08