The 4c Seaway Lock Stamp of the 1967-1973 Centennial Issue Part Two

As we shall see, the Unitrade descriptions are confusing, once again, because the LF and MF papers obtain their fluorescence from both the ambient fluorescence of the paper, but also from the inclusion of fluorescent fibres that glow brighter under UV light than the overall paper. Yet, Unitrade does not refer to them as LF-fl, or MF-fl, which would be more correct. 

The remainder of this post will now look at these four basic varieties in detail.

The paper used to print these stamps is a vertical wove paper that is always a cream, off-white colour, which appears even more cream when viewed against a stark white background. The printing surface has a smooth, burnished appearance, and under magnification, you can see a very light surface coating that prevents any loose fibres and any surface porosity. There are two sub-types of this paper though, which seem to be correspond with each major class of paper fluorescence described below:

1. The first type, found on the non-fluorescent and low fluorescent stamps shows a clear horizontal mesh pattern when held up to a strong back-light, and faint horizontal mesh on the gum side.
2. The second type, found on the dull papers has no ribbing on the gummed side, and when held up to strong back-lighting has a mesh pattern that seems to run in both horizontal and vertical directions, and almost resembles no pattern at all. 

In addition to the DF and NF papers that Unitrade lists, there are LF-fl papers in addition to different colours of paper under UV light, just as there was with the untagged stamps. 

The first picture below shows three different types of the non-fluorescent paper. The picture makes them appear brighter than they actually appear unfortunately, but hopefully with careful and patient comparison to the other pictures of the DF paper, you will be able to begin to see the difference. I will say that in the differences in reality should be quite easy to see:

The block at the upper left is a light violet-grey colour under the UV lamp, but it is just dark enough to be considered NF, rather than a variation of DF. The block at upper right is a light violet colour, and is very clearly NF. Finally the third stamp below appears similar in the picture, but is actually a grey colour with a brownish tinge under UV. 

The picture also shows how the colours themselves can appear different under UV, but interestingly the pictures do not always show what your eyes will actually see. I am not sure why this is, but it is something that you should bear in mind as you read and look at the pictures. The two blocks at the top appear more or less the same under UV light as in normal light, and appear a bright carmine-red under UV. The bottom stamp actually carmine-red under UV, but in the picture, it appears a much brighter carmine red than it actually appears in reality.

The next picture shows two varieties of the DF paper:

The block on the left appears greyish white here in the picture, but it is actually an ivory colour under the lamp. The block on the right is a grey colour under the lamp, just as it appears here. The block on the left appears to be a much brighter shade of carmine-red under UV, and this is actually the case, both in normal light, and under the UV lamp. 

The next picture shows two more variations of the DF Paper:

Both blocks appear greyish white under the lamp, although the block on the right appears to be a slightly deeper grey in the picture. If you look carefully at the top of the upper right stamp in the left block, and in the selvage, you will be able to see a few fluorescent fibres poking through the paper. This block has very few such fibres, and they are of all three major brightness levels: low, medium and high fluorescent. There are not really enough of them in the paper to significantly alter the perceived overall fluorescence from DF to LF though.  

The last picture below shows three varieties of paper that can be considered as LF paper, due to how much brighter they appear under UV than the DF and NF papers:

The corner block is a greyish white colour under UV and is basically DF. But it contains an overall very sparse concentration of fluorescent fibres throughout the paper. These fibres are also quite bright, being medium and high fluorescent. So their presence, raises the overall perceived level of fluorescence, from DF to LF. Because of the fibres, the paper is correctly classified as LF-fl paper. 

The upper left stamp is greyish under UV, while the lower stamp is violet, but in both cases, the colours are much brighter versions of what you would see on DF paper. They also contain very few low fluorescent fibres, that while not readily apparent, become more visible when the stamps are viewed at 10x magnification. 

I have found different ranges of shades on these stamps, as shown in the pictures below:

Here we have three distinct shades. The third shade is a single stamp that I placed in the lower left corner of the block on the left to highlight the differences. The block on the left is carmine-red, while the stamp at lower left is scarlet on the Gibbons colour key. The block on the right is rosine on the Gibbons colour key. 

Under UV light, these shades are either shades of carmine or carmine-red, and are not fundamentally different from the colours in normal light. Therefore, the inks used to print these stamps are non-transformative. 

The first tagged stamps of this value that were released in Winnipeg post offices were tagged with 8 mm wide bars that were applied down the perforations between columns of stamps, so that there was no tagging on the left side of the stamps in the first column, nor was there any tagging down the right side of the stamps in the tenth column of panes. The arrangement of the tagging means that singles will have what basically amounts to a 4 mm bar on either the left or right side. Due to shifts of the tagging, this bar can vary in width slightly. According to Rose, tagging errors can exist where, due to shifts in application of the taggant, these bars can be shifted over to the outer perforations, leaving the centre columns untagged, or a single 8 mm bar can appear in the centre of the stamp. These are quite scarce and valuable, and I have never actually seen either myself. The only way to collect the first type of error of course, would be as a block, where there is no tagging down the middle, or a single with selvage attached, showing tagging down the left or right side, where there should be no tagging.

Sometimes the bars can appear to be slightly wider than 8 mm as the application of the taggant compound was often not smooth. But if you measure the bands from their narrowest points, they are always 8 mm. So I do not believe that there were any versions of these that are consistently wider, like 9 mm or 10 mm, the way that there was with the 4c Cameo issue. The spacing between the bars is difficult to measure for the reasons I have stated above, but generally it is about 16 mm in the horizontal direction. 

However, apart from the width of the tagging, there were differences in the chemical composition of the taggant compound used, as well as differences in the length of the tagging. The pictures below show some of these differences:

The first picture here shows the differences in the appearance of the tagging. If you look carefully, you can see that the tagging bar on the block on the right appears a bluish white colour under the lamp, while the block on the left appears yellowish white. In reality, the difference is quite a bit more stark than it appears to be in the picture. In fact the tagging of the block on the left appears distinctly yellowish. In my study of the 1c stamps, I noted that the colour of the centre bar tagging, which appears later is always yellowish, while there are very few examples of the bluish white tagging. My conclusion is thus that the bluish white tagging is an early printing of the stamps using a different taggant that was deemed unsuitable, due to the fact that the tagging did not appear bright enough for the Sefcan machines to function properly. So it was altered to make the tagging appear the brighter yellowish white colour that we see on most examples of this stamp that one comes across. However, in my opinion, it is quite distinct, and is definitely a collectible variety. 

The next picture shows some of the variations in length of the tagging:

With all the Winnipeg tagged stamps that I have examined so far, it was generally the case that the tagging was applied in two printings across the upper panes in the sheet layout, and then across the lower panes. We could usually see this because the selvage tabs of many blocks would show the end of one tag bar and the beginning of another. However, on this stamp we do not see this. It appears that the tagging may have been applied to all six panes at once. However, it did not always extend past the top of the stamps in question into the selvage, as the two blocks above show. The block on the left, has tagging that stops right at the edge of the upper margin of the top stamps, not extending into the selvage at all, whereas the right block shows the typical tagging that extends about half way into the selvage tab and then terminates. In both cases, the appearance of the tagging denotes that these blocks must have come from the upper panes, and from the width of the selvage at right, they must have come from the upper right pane. 

In cases where the blocks are from the lower positions in the upper panes, or the upper positions in the lower panes, the tagging will cover the full length of the lower and upper selvage tabs respectively. 

The gum on these stamps is generally always either the smooth dextrose gum with a semi-gloss sheen, or the streaky gum with semi-gloss sheen. I have not yet seen examples with true satin gum or with excessively glossy gum, or the blotchy gum of the 1970 printings. This is consistent with the fact that these stamps had been completely replaced by the Winnipeg centre bar tags by March 1969, and provides some evidence to suggest that these other gum types are only found on printings made after March 1969. 

The picture below shows the different appearance of the smooth and streaky gums under UV light, which shows the streaks up quite clearly on examples with the streaky gum:

As you can see, the block on the right is the streaky gum, while the smooth gum is shown on the left. 

As with nearly all of the stamps issued prior to 1971, these stamps exist with four line perforations: 11.85, 11.95, 11.85 x 11.95 and 11.95 x 11.85. 

I have identified 10 different paper types, 3 shades, 2 types of tagging, 2 gum types and four perforations. This results in 10 x 3 x 2 x 2 x 4 = 480 different possible collectible pairs, or 960 different singles, with 480 having left bar tags and 480 having right bar tags. The corner blocks are blank, as are all Winnipeg tagged stamps, which means that there are 12 different collectible positions. This increases to 18 when we factor in the short tagging that stops at the end of the stamp's top margin in the upper blocks. Thus there are 18 x 480 = 8,640 possible corner blocks that can be collected!

The paper used to print all of the stamps that I examined is a vertical wove paper, that is a crealy colour, especially when viewed against a stark white background. It has a smooth, burnished appearance on the printing surface. Under magnification, it is clear that there is a light surface coating, which prevents any stray fibres and any surface porosity. When held up to a strong back light, there is no clear mesh pattern visible, or a very weak horizontal one. There is no ribbing visible on the paper, either on the front, or the gum side. 

The stamp on the left is an ivory colour under the lamp, even though it appears greyish here in the picture. The stamp on the right is a violet grey colour under the lamp.



The stamp on the left appears bluish white under the lamp, and has very few fluorescent fibres that are low to medium fluorescent. Again, there are not enough of them present to raise the perceived level of fluorescence above DF. The stamp on the right is greyish under the lamp, and it too has very few fluorescent fibres of the same brightness level as the left stamp.





 Shades

I have found two very closely related shades on this stamp as shown in the scan below:

I have identified five paper types, two shades, two types of dextrose gum and four perforations. Thus, there should be up to 5 x 2 x 2 x 4 = 80 different collectible single stamps. The corner blocks are all trimmed, making for a possible 12 collectible positions of each variety, or up to 960 collectible corner blocks. 

I have found two, very similar types of vertical wove paper. Both types have a very smooth printed surface, which is lightly coated, which prevents loose fibres and surface porosity. Both types also show very fine vertical mesh in the paper when viewed against strong back lighting. However, one paper appears light off white against a stark white background, while the other appears slightly whiter. The scan below hopefully shows the subtle difference:

If you compare the selvage tabs of the two blocks in the middle, you can see that the paper of the right block, is ever so slightly whiter than the paper of the block on the left. The difference is very small though, so it could very easily be overlooked. It seems to be limited to one level of paper fluorescence (the bluish white type as described below), so I do not believe that these characteristics result in additional paper types over and above the different types of fluorescence. In other words, the number of collectible paper types is dictated by the number of different fluorescence levels. However, it is important to be aware of these characteristics of the papers as well. 

The blocks shown above appear very similar in the picture. However the one on the left is a bluish white colour under UV. There is a sparse concentration of brownish woodpulp fibres in the paper, that have the effect of dampening the fluorescent effect. There is also a low density concentration of low fluorescent fibres, and a very sparse concentration of medium fluorescent fibres present in the paper. These fibres raise the overall level of fluorescence from DF to LF. The block on the right is similar, except that in this case, the colour under UV is ivory, rather than bluish white.



Again, these two blocks are very similar in appearance in this picture. The block on the left appears greyish under the lamp, and has a very sparse concentration of low and medium fluorescent fibres in the paper, as well as a very sparse concentration of brownish woodpulp fibres. Together, the fluorescent fibres raise the overall fluorescence level from DF to LF, as with the other papers above. The block on the right is violet-grey under the lamp, and has a sparse concentration of low and medium fluorescent fibres, very few high fluorescent fibres, and a very sparse concentration of brownish woodpulp fibres. Again, these fibres together, raise the overall fluorescence level from DF to LF.




This stamp is greyish white under the lamp. It has very few if any brownish woodpulp fibres in the paper, and there is only a sparse concentration of low fluorescent fibres and very few medium fluorescent fibres in the paper. Unlike the other papers, this one is LF in its own right, even without the fibres.

The next two pictures below show two varieties of the MF-fl paper:


The stamp on the left appears quite bluish under UV. If you look at it under 10x magnification, it become apparent that the actual paper fluorescence is DF bluish white, but there is a low density concentration of both low and medium fluorescent fibres for an overall medium density coverage of fluorescent fibres. This gives the paper the appearance of being MF-fl. The stamp on the right is similar, except that the inherent paper fluorescence is DF greyish and there is a low density concentration of low fluorescent fibres and a sparse concentration of medium fluorescent fibres. These fibres raise the paper fluorescence level from LF to MF.

Here is the difference as seen from the back:

I have identified 7 paper types, 2 shades and 2 different types of tagging on these stamps. That makes for a possible 7 x 2 x 2 = 28 potentially different collectible varieties. Again, as with all tagged stamps, the blocks are trimmed, so that there are 12 collectible positions of each variety, for a possible 12 x 28 = 336 collectible corner blocks. Of these, 96 would be on the MF-fl paper and the remaining 240 would be on the less expensive LF-fl paper. 

The paper used for these stamps is always a vertical, white wove that appears a very light off-white against a very stark white background. If held up to the light, you can almost always see a very fine vertical grain running through the paper. Under magnification, the printing surface is very smooth, and there is a very light surface coating that prevents any loose paper fibres on the surface and precludes any surface porosity. 

The blocks on the right and left appear quite bluish under UV. If you look at it under 10x magnification, it become apparent that the actual paper fluorescence is DF bluish white, but there is a low density concentration of both low and medium fluorescent fibres for an overall medium density coverage of fluorescent fibres. This gives the paper the appearance of being MF-fl. The stamp that lies on top of both blocks right is similar, except that the inherent paper fluorescence is DF greyish and there is a low density concentration of low fluorescent fibres and a sparse concentration of medium fluorescent fibres. These fibres raise the paper fluorescence level from LF to MF.

The paper with the lower brightness level would appear to be far scarcer than the other one, with the differential being likely as great as the difference between the LF-fl paper and the MF-fl paper on the Winnipeg tagged stamps.

On this stamp, I have found 2 types of paper, 2 shades, 2 tagging intensities and 2 types of gum. Therefore, it is possible, though not certain, that there could be as many as 16 different collectible single stamps. All of the corner blocks of these stamps were trimmed, so that there are 12 different collectible positions of each variety. This means that there are potentially 12 x 16 = 192 possible corner blocks that can be collected for these stamps. 

This brings me to the end of my discussion of the tagged 4c stamps of this series.