Reader's Digest Coil Arrangement

The early Reader's Digest multi-value coils have three stamps of one denomination and the fourth stamp with a different denomination. There's an example on my earlier post about these coils.

When these are seen on the cards used by Reader's Digest, or on the covers that have made their way into the collecting community, the odd value is on the left. However, I have a cover, shown above, with the 2 1/2p value in the second position from the left.

Does anyone know how common those are, either on cover or on the original card?

Incidentally, covers sent back to Reader's Digest are only available with the first multi-value coil, as above, and a few with the second (three 4p and one 1/2p). Writing in the January, 2011 issue of The GBCC Chronicle, the late Jerone Hart notes that a Reader's Digest employee smuggled out some 'NO' covers with the first multi-value coil from the processing center. The quantity is unknown.

When Reader's Digest found out about this, they tightened their controls. Apparently a few covers with the second coil got out, but no others.

You can, of course, find the coils that were purchased from Royal Mail by collectors and used on a cover, but Jerone notes these are rare.

--Larry

PS I've had several posts in process. Tomorrow I leave on a business trip, so I will post them today.