Nigerian Hologram Definitives of 2010

In 2010, a new definitive set was released, and as is standard with all Nigerian definitive series things are never straightforward.

The initial range, as included on the official First Day Cover, issued 9^th October 2010, featured stamps printed by 2 different printers.

All stamps include a new security feature, a hologram.

The stamps with circular holograms were produced by Kalamazoo Security Print, and those with square holograms were produced by Superflux International (SIL).

In addition, the Kalamazoo printings used fluorescent ink for “NIGERIA” inscription,

and the SIL stamps had a phosphor overprint.

However, around this time there was another version of the Landers Brothers Anchorage (included in the Kalamazoo issue) in circulation. This did not have any of the security features, and was produced by NSPM Ltd. This was relatively short lived.

Subsequent to the official release, there were 3 more stamps issued by SIL. These duplicated the subjects covered by the Kalamazoo stamps, including a 3^rd version of the Landers Brothers Anchorage.

If 3 versions of the Landers Brothers Anchorage were not enough, a fourth version appeared in 2017.

Although it had no printer markings it appears to be another version by Kalamazoo, as it has a circular hologram, is printed on their slightly thicker paper and has 12 x 12.5 perforations.

However the ink for yellow in ‘NIGERIA’ is not fluorescent ink and the value is black, unlike the other Kalamazoo issues.  The font for the value does however match the Kalamazoo issues.

Then in 2020, 2 more definitives appeared, again duplicate designs of previous issues. These too had a circular hologram, and would also appear to be issued by Kalamazoo, but once again did not feature the fluorescent ink.

With all the complicated printing process involved, it is surprising that there do not appear to be any varieties or errors. The only example I have is the SIL N50, where the process of adding the hologram failed, and there is just the smallest or remnants attached to the stamp.