some recent acquisitions

I do apologise if this blog seems to be devoted to postmarks and postal history only. Here are some "ordinary stuff" that I acquired recently.
This is the 1894 $5 used with a nice clear Kudat D3 (here we go again!) postmark. Catalogued at over £300, one should be able to acquire it for half that or less. This is bright purple but also available in dull purple.
Used examples, even with normal postmarks like this, are mostly fiscal or cancelled by favour. It is possible that it might have been used in parcel post but I doubt that many stamps would survive intact in its original condition.

This is the dull purple shade with a large but undecipherable fiscal cancellation.

 A 25c indigo used from the 1888-92 set. It is very similar to the 1886 value but has taller capitals for the top inscription. The latter is quite rare especially in mint. Probably it is also available fiscally cancelled with normal postmarks or cancelled by favour. CTO examples would obviously cost a lot less.

The 50c stamp has the company cancel "O TABAK M" which probably in full would have read as "Noord-Borneo Tabak Maatschappij". This is Dutch which would translate in English to "North Borneo Tobacco Company". A lot of the tobacco companies in those days were owned or ran by Dutchman.
Recently, a cover with this company inscription with a combination of NB and Straits stamps used with Sandakan and Singapore postmarks was sold for a hundred times estimated price in an auction in Hong Kong! The feeling is that this cover was well and truly underestimated as combination covers are very rare and desirable.