Description and research notes
High-value British consular certificate issued at Her Britannic Majesty’s Consulate in Alexandria on 9 September 1875, bearing the scarce 5 Shillings Queen Victoria Consular Service revenue stamp. The document certifies a civil status event and is fully executed with the embossed consular arms, manuscript completion, and the distinctive oval BRITISH CONSULATE ALEXANDRIA datestamp tying the fiscal adhesive to the paper.
The large-format 5/– Consular Service adhesive was reserved for substantial legal acts such as notarial certifications, registrations, and formal attestations. Its presence marks the underlying action as both costly and formally binding across jurisdictions. The adhesive shows full portrait and intact engine-turned design.
Surviving examples of Victorian consular revenues genuinely used in Egypt are extremely scarce, especially in this denomination and on complete, uncut documents. Most were discarded or reduced to piece. This intact certificate—combining full text, complete seal, and a tied 5 Shillings revenue—ranks at the top of British–Egyptian consular fiscal material and is an anchor piece for early legal history in Alexandria.