Last week, I dealt with the printings of the untagged sheet stamps of the 5c stamp from the series which depicts an Atlantic fishing village. This week, I will explore the printings of the tagged sheet stamps, as well as those stamps issued in booklets and miniature panes. This was one of three low values from the set, for which no general Ottawa tagged stamps exist, the other two being the 6c orange and the 7c emerald green. In the case of the 6c and 7c, the reason is because postal rate increases had made both values obsolete by 1972, when general tagging was introduced. However, there was still a need for a 5c stamp, though by 1972, there was no longer a specific rate which required this stamp. So the 5c stamps in 1972 were make-up stamps.
The stamps thus exist only with Winnipeg tagging. Until December 1968, the tagging was the 2 side bar variety, which was used for first class stamps, except the 1c-3c, which also had it. Starting in December 1968, after the first class rate had increased to 6c, the tagging was changed from side bar tagging, to centre bar tagging, which it remained until these stamps were replaced by the 5c Richard B. Bennett stamp of the Caricature Issue.
Rose lists quite a few interesting errors involving the tagging on this stamp, including a spectacular, experimental "5959" overprint that was applied to the stamps with taggant, which is the chemical compound used in the Winnipeg tagging. It is, to the best of my knowledge, the only such overprint found on any stamp of the series, other than the 6c orange, on which it is also found. Its exact origin is unknown, but it is scarce and highly sought after by specialists. Unfortunately because of its scarcity, I do not have an example to illustrate here, but I will be sure to add one when it becomes available.
The remainder of this post will look at the tagged stamps as well as the booklet stamps and miniature pane stamps in greater detail. References throughout to "Rose" are to the book "Canadian Tagged Errors and Tagged Perfins" by Ken Rose, which was published in 1995.
The Stamps With Winnipeg 2- Bar Tagging - Unitrade #458p
These stamps first appeared on sale with the initial release, on February 8, 1967 and were in use until the postal rate increases of October 1968 made them obsolete.
Paper Attributes Other Than Fluorescence
The paper used to print these stamps is always a vertical cream wove, which appears creamy when viewed against a stark white background. The printed surface always has a highly burnished and smooth appearance. Under magnification, a thin surface coating can be seen, and because of this coating, there are no loose fibres visible on the surface of the paper. There are two slightly different papers that can be found though, and they differ as follows:
Paper Fluorescence
Unitrade only lists this stamp as existing with dull fluorescent paper. While I have generally observed this to be true, I have nonetheless found that there are at least three sub-varieties of paper fluorescence on these stamps, as shown below:
The stamp on the right is the dull fluorescent greyish paper, without any fluorescent fibres. This type of paper would seem to be the most common by far. The middle stamp is dull fluorescent bluish white under UV, and contains very few medium fluorescent fibres, and 1-2 high fluorescent fibres. The left stamp is the dull fluorescent greyish white paper, which contains very few medium fluorescent fibres and 1-2 high fluorescent fibres.
Shades
I have found only one shade on this stamp so far. Mind you, I have only had a very limited number of singles and a few blocks from which to work. However all of them were the same shade, which is an exact match to the deep blue shade on the Stanley Gibbons colour key. The shade is shown below:
Gum
I have found two types of dextrose gum on these stamps:
Perforation
These stamps were line perforated using 2 different machines: one gauging 11.85 and the other gauging 11.95. Thus, four line perforations are possible: 11.85, 11.95, 11.85 x 11.95 and 11.95 x 11.85.
Tagging
The tagging was applied to the sheets in bands 8 mm wide, that were situated in the columns between the perforations, so that each side of the stamp would receive a bar approximately 4 mm wide. These bands were spaced 16.5 mm apart on most columns, though occasionally, 17.5 mm spacing can be found. The different spacings can be seen on the picture of the following two stamps:
If you look carefully at this picture, you can see that I have lined up the tagging bars on the right of each stamp with one another. On the top stamp the tagging on the left side ends just past the second perforation tooth from the left. On the bottom stamp, it ends just past the third perforation tooth. So the top stamp has the wider 17.5 mm spacing, while the bottom stamp has the narrower 16.5 mm spacing between the bars.
In addition to variation in the spacing, there are variations of the colour of the tagging under UV light, as well as the visibility of the tagging in normal light. Under UV light, the tagging can appear either a bright yellowish white, or it can appear a dull bluish white. It would seem that these different colours indicate differences in the chemical composition of the taggant compound used.
These differences are quite marked, and are shown in the picture below:
Plate Flaws
As this stamp was printed from plates 1, 2 and 3, the "line in 5" variety that occurs on position 11 from plate 3, can be found on this stamp also. But other than this, there are no other reported noteworthy constant plate flaws on this stamp.
Tagging Errors
Rose lists three major errors that occurred with the 2-bar tagging:
The Stamps With Winnipeg Centre Bar Tagging and Dextrose Gum - Unitrade #458pi and #458pii
These stamps were introduced in December 1968 after the first class domestic letter rates were increased from 5c per ounce, to 6c in October 1968. Initially, they were printed on dull fluorescent paper, but in December 1971, printings on hibrite paper were introduced.
Paper Attributes Other Than Fluorescence
The paper used to print these stamps falls into two major categories. The first is the cream papers, which were in use until the so-called hibrite paper appeared in December 1971.
The cream papers that were initially used to print these stamps are always vertical wove. The printing surface of the paper is smooth and very lightly coated. However, despite this the odd loose surface fibre is sometimes visible. Apart from these attributes, there are two kinds of paper, which differ as follows:
The hibrite paper, as will be explained below, actually exists in three different grades of fluorescence. In addition to these variations, there are differences in the general appearance of the paper also. All of the "hibrite" papers are vertical wove and look quite white, even when viewed against a stark white background. However, there are three different types of paper that exist in this group, without giving any regard to the fluorescence level:
Paper Fluorescence
Unitrade, as stated above lists dull fluorescent and hibrite paper. However closer examination reveals that several varieties of each basic type of paper exist.
I have found three variations of the dull fluorescent paper: greyish, greyish white and bluish white under UV. For the most part, all three of these papers contain no fluorescent fibres. You might find 1 or 2 stray low fluorescent fibres in an entire block of four stamps, but to me this is essentially the same as no fluorescent fibres at all.
The pictures below show these three paper varieties:
The stamp on the right is the dull fluorescent greyish paper under UV light, while the stamp on the left is dull fluorescent greyish white under UV.
The above block is the dull fluorescent bluish white paper under UV light.
For the so-called hibrite stamps, there are actually three levels of fluorescence, only one of which is truly hibrite. The three levels are of course, medium fluorescent, high fluorescent and hibrite. These three varieties are shown below:
The block at the top left is the medium fluorescent, while the one at upper right is the high fluorescent paper. The bottom pair is the true hibrite paper.
Shades
Although Unitrade does not list any varieties of the blue ink used to print these stamps, some subtle and obvious shade varieties can be found. The scans below show two of the varieties that can be found on the stamps that are printed on the dull fluorescent papers:
The block on the left is a match to Gibbons's deep blue shade. The block on the right is a brighter version of the deep blue shade. Under UV light these inks still appear as shades of blue, though they are deeper than what is seen in normal light. These inks therefore are also non-transformative.
There would seem to be a slightly wider range of blue shades found on the hibrite paper printings, as shown by the scans below:
The block on the left is printed on the high fluorescent paper, showing no visible ribbing on the gum, while the right block is printed on the medium fluorescent paper that displays very slight porosity. The block on high fluorescent paper is a much brighter shade of blue than the one on medium fluorescent paper. The block on the left is closest in shade to Gibbons's blue shade, but is both deeper and brighter. The block on the left is Gibbons's deep blue shade.
The shade below is similar to the deep blue, but is just a touch lighter:
Gum
There are several types of dextrose gum found on these stamps, although some of these seem to exist only on the stamps which were printed on the so-called hibrite paper:
Perforation
As with the earlier tagged stamps, the stamps printed on the dull fluorescent paper, can be found in four different line perforations: 11.85, 11.95, 11.95 x 11.85, 11.85 x 11.95. The stamps on hibrite paper are all line perf 11.85 only, as the 11.95 machines were fully retired by December 1971 when these stamps were issued.
Tagging
The tagging used on these stamps consisted of 4 mm vertical bands applied down the centre of each column of stamps in the sheet. The bands are spaced 21 mm apart in the horizontal direction. The colour of the bands varies slightly in normal light, but under UV, it is a fairly uniform yellowish white, similar to the yellowish white found on some printings of the 2-bar side tagging. It would now appear that this colour of tagging is the later version that surpassed the duller bluish white tagging that was originally introduced. The tagging bars were not applied continuously to all the panes in the sheet layout. Breaks in the continuity of the tagging bars that are found between the upper and lower panes show that the tagging bars were applied first to the upper panes and then to the lower panes.
The picture below shows a block from one of the lower panes, with the characteristic break between the two sets of tagging bars in the upper selvage:
Another way that the tagging on these stamps vary, is the solidity and uniformity of the tagging. The vast majority of the stamps bearing this tagging are tagged with bands that are solid and uniform throughout the stamp. However, there are some stamps found with tagging bands that are streaky in appearance.
The picture below shows these two differences:
The stamp on the left shows the streaky tagging, and the stamp on the right is the solid tagging.
Tagging Errors
Rose lists the elusive "5959" tagging overprint on this stamp as well as four major errors:
The Stamps With Winnipeg Centre Bar Tagging and PVA Gum - Unitrade #458piii
These stamps were introduced in April 1972, according to Unitrade, just about a year and six months before the 5c Richard B. Bennett definitive was issued in October 1973.
Paper Attributes Other Than Fluorescence
The paper used to print these stamps is a vertical white wove, that does appear very light cream in colour when viewed against a stark white background. However, it is much, much whiter looking than the papers used for the dextrose gum printings. The paper is very smooth on the printed surface, but is seen under magnification to be uncoated. However, there is no evidence of any loose surface fibres when you examine the printed surface under a 10x loupe. There is no visible mesh pattern when the stamps or blocks examined are held up to a strong back-light.
Paper Fluorescence
Unitrade lists the paper of these stamps as LF-fl, which means low fluorescent, with fluorescent fibres. This is a bit of an over-simplification, as the ambient fluorescence of the paper is actually dull. It's just that the paper contains a very large number of low fluorescent fibres. Generally, these are not noticeable, and they manifest themselves by raising the overall perceived fluorescence of the paper. I have found no fewer than five very closely related varieties of fluorescence on these stamps. The differences are subtle, and fairly easy to see when sorting a large number of blocks and singles. However, they are difficult to capture on camera. However, I have taken some pictures, which I will share here and hopefully, they will show the differences somewhat clearly. The levels of fluorescence I have found are as follows:
On this block, we can actually see a shadow of the tagging bars through the back of the block. The few high fluorescent fibres that are present in this paper are most visible on the lower right stamp that is in the above block.
Shades
There are quite a few shades to be found on these stamps as well. Generally the blues are brighter than what is seen on the early Winnipeg tagged issues.
Here are the first two:
The blue of the block on the left is clearly brighter than the one on the right. The block on the left is a lighter and brighter version of Gibbons' deep blue, whereas the block on the right is a perfect match to Gibbons' deep blue.
There is also a shade that is similar to the deep blue above, but which is duller, containing more indigo:
The difference between this and the deep blue becomes easier to see if you focus on the shading of the Queen's hair and the area of the design that includes the wharf and the lobster trap.
Finally there is a deeper, brighter blue that is slightly brighter than the blue shown on the first block above:
Gum
The gum is generally a smooth, white PVA gum that has a satin sheen. I have not found any true example of the matte PVA gum that I have encountered on some of the other values, which may suggest that it is because no printings of the 5c were made in 1973, which may be when that other variety of gum originated.
Perforation
These stamps are only line perforated 11.85, as the 11.95 machines had been fully retired from use when these stamps were issued in April 1972.
Tagging
The tagging on these stamps was the same in most respects to that found on the previous stamps with dextrose gum. The width of the bands is the same, as is the spacing between them. However, with this tagging the bands are always solidly applied, and there are clear differences both in terms of how dark the tagging appears in normal light, as the colour of the tagging under UV light.
The picture below shows the clear difference that can be found in the colour of the tagging, when viewed under UV light:
The block on the left is tagged with bands that appear much yellower under UV light that the bands found on the block on the right. The bands on the right block are a greenish-bluish white, while the bands on the left block are a very pale yellow.
The scan below shows the difference between the dark tagging and light tagging in normal light, on two different corner blocks:
Plate Flaws
These stamps are all printed from plate 5, and there are no known major plate flaws on these stamps.
Tagging Errors
Rose does not list any known tagging errors on these stamps.
Bringing it All Together - All Tagged Stamps
For the Winnipeg 2-bar tagged stamps, I have identified:
CBN Booklet Stamps From 25c Stapled Booklets - Unitrade #458as, ais, aiis and aiiis
The 25c stapled booklets containing a single pane of 5 stamps plus label were first issued in March 1967, almost a month after the rest of the set was released.
Paper Attributes Other Than Fluorescence
These stamps, unlike the sheet stamps are printed on horizontal, rather than vertical wove cream paper. Like the sheet stamps, these stamps tend to have a highly burnished and smooth, non-porous printing surface, that shows no stray fibres. There is generally no visible ribbing on the gum side, though the vertical mesh is very clearly visible when the stamp is held up to a strong back light.
Paper Fluorescence
Unitrade and McCann both list four levels of fluorescence for these stamps:
Shades
In my examination of singles and booklets, I have only come across one shade, as shown above, and that is a perfect match to Gibbons's deep blue, as shown by the two stamps above.
Gum
The gum on all the booklet stamps I examined is always a yellowish cream, smooth dextrose gum that has a semi-gloss sheen.
Perforation
These booklet panes were line perforated, using the same machines as the sheet stamps. Therefore, they should exist with the four line perforations that were in use: 11.85, 11.95, 11.95 x 11.85 and 11.85 x 11.95.
Plate Flaws
There are no known, reported constant plate varieties affecting these booklet stamps.
BABN Booklet Stamps From $1 Integral Booklets - Unitrade #458d and #458di
The $1 integral booklets containing a pane of 20 5c stamps was issued in August 1968.
Paper Attributes Other Than Fluorescence
The paper used to print these booklets is always a horizontal wove paper, which is quite white in colour, even when viewed against a stark white background. The printing surface of the paper is burnished smooth and lightly coated on the surface, so that no loose paper fibres appear on the surface. There are two very similar paper types that differ slightly in other respects:
Paper Fluorescence
Unitrade does not list any varieties of fluorescence, but McCann lists non-fluorescent, dull and dull with fluorescent fibres. I have found four different varieties as shown in the following picture:
At the upper left we have the dull fluorescent greyish paper. On the top right is the dull fluorescent greyish paper containing very few medium fluorescent, high fluorescent and hibrite fibres. On the bottom left is the dull fluorescent greyish white paper, and finally on the bottom right we have the non-fluorescent grey containing 1 or 2 high fluorescent fibres.
Shades
There is a high degree of uniformity in the colour of these stamps. Nevertheless, I have found two shades of these stamps, as shown below:
The stamp on the right is lighter and duller than the stamp on the left, which is the shade most commonly seen on this. The left stamp is a bright indigo blue on the Gibbons key. The stamp on the right is a very close match to Gibbons' deep blue shade.
Gum
I have found four very similar types of dextrose gum on these booklets and the stamps in them:
Perforation
According to McCann, these booklets were comb perforated 9.9, although Unitrade lists this as 10.0.
Plate Flaws
Unitrade lists a minor ink-drag flaw affecting many stamps of this booklet. It consists of an extension of the wharf line near the top of the lobster trap into the left margin of the stamp. It occurs on most stamps of the affected panes. Unfortunately, I do not have an example at the moment that I can include here, but I will be sure to add one, when I find one.
However, McCann also lists another flaw, which occurs on the second stamps of the 3rd and 9th rows in the booklet: the broken necklace. An example of the flaw is shown below:
If you look at the stamp on the left, you can see that the Queen's necklace consists of closely spaced oval beads. If you look at the stamp on the right, there appears to be a gap in the necklace. The gap is actually always there, but it is usually concealed by the shading on the neck, that is weak in the area of the apparent break, which makes the necklace appear broken on the right stamp.
Minitature Panes and Stamps From Miniature Panes - Unitrade #458bs, bis and bps
The miniature panes were released at the same time as the general set, on February 8, 1967, and consist of a single pane of 20 of the 5c sealed in a cellophane package that usually showed the centennial emblem in red, along with opening instructions.
Paper Attributes Other Than Fluorescence
Unlike the booklet stamps, which were printed on horizontal wove paper, the cello-paq stamps were printed on vertical wove cream paper. This paper shows no ribbing on the gummed side, and has a very smooth, burnished printing surface that is very lightly coated. When held up to a strong back light, there is no clear mesh pattern: the mesh appears to go in both horizontal and vertical directions.
Paper Fluorescence
Unitrade lists both dull fluorescent and non-fluorescent papers for these panes, but only for the untagged panes. I do not believe this to be correct, as I have also seen the two paper varieties on the tagged panes also.
I have found the following levels of fluorescence in the stamps and panes:
Shades
I have found three shades on these stamps, as shown in the scan below:
The stamp on the left is a deep blue with a touch of indigo, while the middle stamp is a very bright deep blue and the stamp on the right is closest to Gibbons's deep blue, but just a touch brighter.
Gum
The gum on these stamps is always a smooth, yellowish cream dextrose gum, with a semi-gloss sheen.
Perforation
These stamps were line perforated, using the 11.95 and 11.85 machines. Consequently, all four possible perforations should exist.
Tagging
The tagging applied to these panes was 8 mm bands down the vertical perforations in the panes, so that each stamp would have a 4 mm band at each side. The spacing between the bands was uniformly 16. 5 mm, and the colour of the tagging was generally the yellowish white colour. There are no known errors in the tagging of these stamps.
Plate Flaws
There are no known constant plate flaws that affected these panes, nor the stamps inside them.
This concludes my examination of the remaining 5c sheet stamps, as well as the booklet and miniature pane stamps. Next week, I will look at the coil stamps as well as the untagged sheet stamps of the 6c orange transportation stamp.
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The stamps thus exist only with Winnipeg tagging. Until December 1968, the tagging was the 2 side bar variety, which was used for first class stamps, except the 1c-3c, which also had it. Starting in December 1968, after the first class rate had increased to 6c, the tagging was changed from side bar tagging, to centre bar tagging, which it remained until these stamps were replaced by the 5c Richard B. Bennett stamp of the Caricature Issue.
Rose lists quite a few interesting errors involving the tagging on this stamp, including a spectacular, experimental "5959" overprint that was applied to the stamps with taggant, which is the chemical compound used in the Winnipeg tagging. It is, to the best of my knowledge, the only such overprint found on any stamp of the series, other than the 6c orange, on which it is also found. Its exact origin is unknown, but it is scarce and highly sought after by specialists. Unfortunately because of its scarcity, I do not have an example to illustrate here, but I will be sure to add one when it becomes available.
The remainder of this post will look at the tagged stamps as well as the booklet stamps and miniature pane stamps in greater detail. References throughout to "Rose" are to the book "Canadian Tagged Errors and Tagged Perfins" by Ken Rose, which was published in 1995.
The Stamps With Winnipeg 2- Bar Tagging - Unitrade #458p
These stamps first appeared on sale with the initial release, on February 8, 1967 and were in use until the postal rate increases of October 1968 made them obsolete.
Paper Attributes Other Than Fluorescence
The paper used to print these stamps is always a vertical cream wove, which appears creamy when viewed against a stark white background. The printed surface always has a highly burnished and smooth appearance. Under magnification, a thin surface coating can be seen, and because of this coating, there are no loose fibres visible on the surface of the paper. There are two slightly different papers that can be found though, and they differ as follows:
- One type of paper shows no ribbing on the gummed side, and when held up to very strong back lighting, does not show a clear mesh pattern.
- The second type of paper shows no clear ribbing on the gummed side either, but when held up to a strong back light, a very clear pattern of horizontal mesh is visible.
Paper Fluorescence
Unitrade only lists this stamp as existing with dull fluorescent paper. While I have generally observed this to be true, I have nonetheless found that there are at least three sub-varieties of paper fluorescence on these stamps, as shown below:
Shades
I have found only one shade on this stamp so far. Mind you, I have only had a very limited number of singles and a few blocks from which to work. However all of them were the same shade, which is an exact match to the deep blue shade on the Stanley Gibbons colour key. The shade is shown below:
Under UV light, this merely appears a deeper version of itself. Therefore this ink is non-transformative in nature.
Gum
I have found two types of dextrose gum on these stamps:
- Streaky yellowish cream gum with a semi-gloss sheen.
- Smooth cream gum with a semi-gloss sheen.
Perforation
These stamps were line perforated using 2 different machines: one gauging 11.85 and the other gauging 11.95. Thus, four line perforations are possible: 11.85, 11.95, 11.85 x 11.95 and 11.95 x 11.85.
Tagging
The tagging was applied to the sheets in bands 8 mm wide, that were situated in the columns between the perforations, so that each side of the stamp would receive a bar approximately 4 mm wide. These bands were spaced 16.5 mm apart on most columns, though occasionally, 17.5 mm spacing can be found. The different spacings can be seen on the picture of the following two stamps:
If you look carefully at this picture, you can see that I have lined up the tagging bars on the right of each stamp with one another. On the top stamp the tagging on the left side ends just past the second perforation tooth from the left. On the bottom stamp, it ends just past the third perforation tooth. So the top stamp has the wider 17.5 mm spacing, while the bottom stamp has the narrower 16.5 mm spacing between the bars.
In addition to variation in the spacing, there are variations of the colour of the tagging under UV light, as well as the visibility of the tagging in normal light. Under UV light, the tagging can appear either a bright yellowish white, or it can appear a dull bluish white. It would seem that these different colours indicate differences in the chemical composition of the taggant compound used.
These differences are quite marked, and are shown in the picture below:
The top stamp shows the brighter yellowish white tagging, which, because of the blue colour of the stamp appears somewhat greenish. The bottom stamp shows the dull bluish white tagging, which is much harder to see, but can be seen clearly if you look at the bottom right corner of the stamp: you can see a clear vertical line in the margin where the right hand tagging bar ends.
In normal light, the tagging can either be quite faint, being difficult to see, or it can be a deep yellow and obvious to the naked eye. The scan below shows these differences:
As you can hopefully see, the tagging on the right stamp is darker, and more obvious to the naked eye than the stamp on the left.
Plate Flaws
As this stamp was printed from plates 1, 2 and 3, the "line in 5" variety that occurs on position 11 from plate 3, can be found on this stamp also. But other than this, there are no other reported noteworthy constant plate flaws on this stamp.
Tagging Errors
Rose lists three major errors that occurred with the 2-bar tagging:
- A doubling of the tagging in which both 9 mm and 4 mm bars can be seen overlapping.
- A single wide 9 mm bar at the right of centre on the stamp.
- A single wide 9 mm bar at the left of centre on the stamp.
The left band tagging error is scarcer than the right band error, but has only been reported blank corner block. The first error would seem to be a printing of the normal 2-bar tagging to which the centre bar tagging was also applied by mistake.
The Stamps With Winnipeg Centre Bar Tagging and Dextrose Gum - Unitrade #458pi and #458pii
These stamps were introduced in December 1968 after the first class domestic letter rates were increased from 5c per ounce, to 6c in October 1968. Initially, they were printed on dull fluorescent paper, but in December 1971, printings on hibrite paper were introduced.
Paper Attributes Other Than Fluorescence
The paper used to print these stamps falls into two major categories. The first is the cream papers, which were in use until the so-called hibrite paper appeared in December 1971.
The cream papers that were initially used to print these stamps are always vertical wove. The printing surface of the paper is smooth and very lightly coated. However, despite this the odd loose surface fibre is sometimes visible. Apart from these attributes, there are two kinds of paper, which differ as follows:
- One paper shows very light horizontal horizontal ribbing on the gum side, and when held up to a strong back-light, a clear horizontal mesh pattern is visible in the paper.
- Another paper shows no ribbing at all on the gum side, and no clear mesh pattern, even when held up to strong back light.
The hibrite paper, as will be explained below, actually exists in three different grades of fluorescence. In addition to these variations, there are differences in the general appearance of the paper also. All of the "hibrite" papers are vertical wove and look quite white, even when viewed against a stark white background. However, there are three different types of paper that exist in this group, without giving any regard to the fluorescence level:
- A smooth, but uncoated paper that shows no surface porosity, per se, but shows the pattern of fibres in the paper very clearly, with the occasional fibre being visible on the surface. There is no visible ribbing on the gum side, and when you hold the stamps up to a strong back light, a faint pattern of horizontal mesh is visible.
- Similar to the above, except that very light horizontal ribbing is visible on the gum, and when held up to strong back-light, a very strong horizontal mesh pattern is visible.
- A somewhat porous and smooth paper that shows very small dark spots on the printed surface from where the paper is thinner than surrounding parts. The printing surface is smooth, once again, but uncoated. The horizontal mesh is very visible from the gummed side of the stamp, and is even stronger when the stamp is held up and viewed against a strong back-light.
Paper Fluorescence
Unitrade, as stated above lists dull fluorescent and hibrite paper. However closer examination reveals that several varieties of each basic type of paper exist.
I have found three variations of the dull fluorescent paper: greyish, greyish white and bluish white under UV. For the most part, all three of these papers contain no fluorescent fibres. You might find 1 or 2 stray low fluorescent fibres in an entire block of four stamps, but to me this is essentially the same as no fluorescent fibres at all.
The pictures below show these three paper varieties:
The stamp on the right is the dull fluorescent greyish paper under UV light, while the stamp on the left is dull fluorescent greyish white under UV.
For the so-called hibrite stamps, there are actually three levels of fluorescence, only one of which is truly hibrite. The three levels are of course, medium fluorescent, high fluorescent and hibrite. These three varieties are shown below:
Shades
Although Unitrade does not list any varieties of the blue ink used to print these stamps, some subtle and obvious shade varieties can be found. The scans below show two of the varieties that can be found on the stamps that are printed on the dull fluorescent papers:
There would seem to be a slightly wider range of blue shades found on the hibrite paper printings, as shown by the scans below:
The shade below is similar to the deep blue, but is just a touch lighter:
The inks on these stamps under UV light are transformative in the sense that they appear to be black, instead of dark blue.
Gum
There are several types of dextrose gum found on these stamps, although some of these seem to exist only on the stamps which were printed on the so-called hibrite paper:
- Streaky yellowish cream gum with a satin sheen. This is only found on the so called hibrite paper.
- Streaky yellowish cream gum with a semi-gloss sheen.
- Smooth yellowish cream gum with a semi-gloss sheen.
Perforation
As with the earlier tagged stamps, the stamps printed on the dull fluorescent paper, can be found in four different line perforations: 11.85, 11.95, 11.95 x 11.85, 11.85 x 11.95. The stamps on hibrite paper are all line perf 11.85 only, as the 11.95 machines were fully retired by December 1971 when these stamps were issued.
Tagging
The tagging used on these stamps consisted of 4 mm vertical bands applied down the centre of each column of stamps in the sheet. The bands are spaced 21 mm apart in the horizontal direction. The colour of the bands varies slightly in normal light, but under UV, it is a fairly uniform yellowish white, similar to the yellowish white found on some printings of the 2-bar side tagging. It would now appear that this colour of tagging is the later version that surpassed the duller bluish white tagging that was originally introduced. The tagging bars were not applied continuously to all the panes in the sheet layout. Breaks in the continuity of the tagging bars that are found between the upper and lower panes show that the tagging bars were applied first to the upper panes and then to the lower panes.
The picture below shows a block from one of the lower panes, with the characteristic break between the two sets of tagging bars in the upper selvage:
Another way that the tagging on these stamps vary, is the solidity and uniformity of the tagging. The vast majority of the stamps bearing this tagging are tagged with bands that are solid and uniform throughout the stamp. However, there are some stamps found with tagging bands that are streaky in appearance.
The picture below shows these two differences:
Tagging Errors
Rose lists the elusive "5959" tagging overprint on this stamp as well as four major errors:
- Very thin 2-bar side tagging, which has resulted from a shifting of the 4 mm bands to the sides, so that they are split over two stamps, being approximately 2 mm wide in each side.
- Same as above, but with wide single centre bands also.
- Normal tagging, but with one stamp untagged in a pair.
- A single band located down the right side of the stamp. This error has thus far only been reported on the so-called hibrite paper.
The Stamps With Winnipeg Centre Bar Tagging and PVA Gum - Unitrade #458piii
These stamps were introduced in April 1972, according to Unitrade, just about a year and six months before the 5c Richard B. Bennett definitive was issued in October 1973.
Paper Attributes Other Than Fluorescence
The paper used to print these stamps is a vertical white wove, that does appear very light cream in colour when viewed against a stark white background. However, it is much, much whiter looking than the papers used for the dextrose gum printings. The paper is very smooth on the printed surface, but is seen under magnification to be uncoated. However, there is no evidence of any loose surface fibres when you examine the printed surface under a 10x loupe. There is no visible mesh pattern when the stamps or blocks examined are held up to a strong back-light.
Paper Fluorescence
Unitrade lists the paper of these stamps as LF-fl, which means low fluorescent, with fluorescent fibres. This is a bit of an over-simplification, as the ambient fluorescence of the paper is actually dull. It's just that the paper contains a very large number of low fluorescent fibres. Generally, these are not noticeable, and they manifest themselves by raising the overall perceived fluorescence of the paper. I have found no fewer than five very closely related varieties of fluorescence on these stamps. The differences are subtle, and fairly easy to see when sorting a large number of blocks and singles. However, they are difficult to capture on camera. However, I have taken some pictures, which I will share here and hopefully, they will show the differences somewhat clearly. The levels of fluorescence I have found are as follows:
- Dull fluorescent blue grey, with a low density of low fluorescent fibres, a very sparse concentration of medium fluorescent fibres and very few brownish woodpulp fibres.
- Dull fluorescent blue grey, with a low density of low fluorescent fibres, a very sparse concentration of medium fluorescent fibres, very few high fluorescent fibres, and a very sparse concentration of brownish woodpulp fibres.
- Dull fluorescent greyish white, with a low density concentration of low fluorescent fibres, a very sparse concentration of medium fluorescent fibres, very few high fluorescent fibres and very few brownish woodpulp fibres.
- Dull fluorescent greyish white, with a low density concentration of low fluorescent fibres and a sparse concentration of medium fluorescent fibres.
- Dull fluorescent greyish, with a sparse concentration of low fluorescent fibres, a sparse concentration of medium fluorescent fibres and very few high fluorescent fibres.
Let's take a look at the two blue grey papers, as seen on two corner blocks from the back"
The main difference between these two is the presence of the high fluorescent fibres on the bottom block, which you can clearly see in the picture. They are not present, and not visible in the top block. The remaining low and medium fluorescent fibres are not easily visible unless you look at the paper with a 10x loupe, because they are the same overall brightness as the paper.
Now, let's take a look at the two greyish white papers:
The difference between these two blocks is a little more difficult to see, but will become more apparent as you look at the lower left stamp of the right block. If you look carefully, you can just make out the few high fluorescent fibres that are present, and you can see that they are not present on the left block.
Finally, let's take a look at the grey paper:
On this block, we can actually see a shadow of the tagging bars through the back of the block. The few high fluorescent fibres that are present in this paper are most visible on the lower right stamp that is in the above block.
Shades
There are quite a few shades to be found on these stamps as well. Generally the blues are brighter than what is seen on the early Winnipeg tagged issues.
Here are the first two:
There is also a shade that is similar to the deep blue above, but which is duller, containing more indigo:
Finally there is a deeper, brighter blue that is slightly brighter than the blue shown on the first block above:
Gum
The gum is generally a smooth, white PVA gum that has a satin sheen. I have not found any true example of the matte PVA gum that I have encountered on some of the other values, which may suggest that it is because no printings of the 5c were made in 1973, which may be when that other variety of gum originated.
Perforation
These stamps are only line perforated 11.85, as the 11.95 machines had been fully retired from use when these stamps were issued in April 1972.
Tagging
The tagging on these stamps was the same in most respects to that found on the previous stamps with dextrose gum. The width of the bands is the same, as is the spacing between them. However, with this tagging the bands are always solidly applied, and there are clear differences both in terms of how dark the tagging appears in normal light, as the colour of the tagging under UV light.
The picture below shows the clear difference that can be found in the colour of the tagging, when viewed under UV light:
The scan below shows the difference between the dark tagging and light tagging in normal light, on two different corner blocks:
As you can see the tagging bars on the left block appear darker and more yellowish than the ones on the right block.
Plate Flaws
These stamps are all printed from plate 5, and there are no known major plate flaws on these stamps.
Tagging Errors
Rose does not list any known tagging errors on these stamps.
Bringing it All Together - All Tagged Stamps
For the Winnipeg 2-bar tagged stamps, I have identified:
- 2 paper types.
- 3 levels of fluorescence.
- 2 shades.
- 4 perforations.
- 2 gum types of tagging.
If all the varieties can exist in any combination, then there are up to 192 collectible varieties, not counting the tagging errors.
For the Winnipeg centre bar tagged stamps on dull fluorescent paper and hibrite paper, I have identified:
- 2 paper types.
- 3 levels of fluorescence each.
- 2 shades on the DF papers and three shades on the so-called HB paper.
- 2 types of gum on the DF papers and three of the HB.
- 4 perforations on the DF paper and one on the HB paper.
- 2 different types of tagging on the DF papers.
This gives up to 192 collectible varieties of the dextrose gum stamps and 27 of the hibrite stamps.
Finally, for the PVA gum stamps, I have identified:
- 5 levels of paper fluorescence.
- 4 shades.
- 1 paper type.
- 1 type of gum.
- 1 perforation.
- 2 types of tagging.
This gives up to 40 collectible varieties of this stamp.
As with all tagged stamps, there were no plate blocks, and only blank corner blocks. There are up to 12 different collectible positions, so that there could be:
- 2,304 collectible corner blocks of the Winnipeg 2-bar tagged stamps and the Winnipeg centre bar stamps with dextrose gum.
- 324 collectible corner blocks of the Winnipeg centre bar stamps on hibrite paper.
- 480 collectible corner blocks of the Winnipeg centre bar stamps with PVA gum.
CBN Booklet Stamps From 25c Stapled Booklets - Unitrade #458as, ais, aiis and aiiis
The 25c stapled booklets containing a single pane of 5 stamps plus label were first issued in March 1967, almost a month after the rest of the set was released.
Paper Attributes Other Than Fluorescence
These stamps, unlike the sheet stamps are printed on horizontal, rather than vertical wove cream paper. Like the sheet stamps, these stamps tend to have a highly burnished and smooth, non-porous printing surface, that shows no stray fibres. There is generally no visible ribbing on the gum side, though the vertical mesh is very clearly visible when the stamp is held up to a strong back light.
Paper Fluorescence
Unitrade and McCann both list four levels of fluorescence for these stamps:
- Non-fluorescent (dead).
- Low fluorescent with fluorescent fibres (LF-fl).
- Dull fluorescent (DF)
- Medium fluorescent (MF)
Unfortunately I do not have examples of the different levels of fluorescence that I can show beyond non-fluorescent. But I will attempt to describe them so that you can identify them when you encounter them.
Here is a picture showing one variation of the non-fluorescent paper:
The listed dull fluorescent paper is usually greyish in colour under the UV lamp, but will contain very few (i.e. less than 10) low fluorescent fibres. Certainly, they won't be present in sufficient quantity to make the paper appear low fluorescent.
The low fluorescent flecked paper has been found in the following variations:
- Dull fluorescent white with a sparse concentration of low fluorescent fibres.
- Dull fluorescent greyish with a sparse concentration of low fluorescent fibres and a very sparse concentration of medium fluorescent fibres.
- Dull fluorescent greyish, with a sparse concentration of low fluorescent fibres, a very sparse concentration of medium fluorescent fibres, and very few high fluorescent fibres.
The picture below shows an example of the third variation described above:
The medium fluorescent paper is really a low fluorescent bluish white paper under UV, that contains a large number of low and medium fluorescent fibres, that make it appear as if it were medium fluorescent.
Shades
Gum
The gum on all the booklet stamps I examined is always a yellowish cream, smooth dextrose gum that has a semi-gloss sheen.
Perforation
These booklet panes were line perforated, using the same machines as the sheet stamps. Therefore, they should exist with the four line perforations that were in use: 11.85, 11.95, 11.95 x 11.85 and 11.85 x 11.95.
Plate Flaws
There are no known, reported constant plate varieties affecting these booklet stamps.
BABN Booklet Stamps From $1 Integral Booklets - Unitrade #458d and #458di
The $1 integral booklets containing a pane of 20 5c stamps was issued in August 1968.
Paper Attributes Other Than Fluorescence
The paper used to print these booklets is always a horizontal wove paper, which is quite white in colour, even when viewed against a stark white background. The printing surface of the paper is burnished smooth and lightly coated on the surface, so that no loose paper fibres appear on the surface. There are two very similar paper types that differ slightly in other respects:
- There is generally no visible ribbing on the back, and when held up to strong back lighting you can just see the vertical mesh pattern, though not very clearly.
- There is very light ribbing visible on the gum side, and a clear vertical mesh pattern visible, when held up to the light.
Paper Fluorescence
Unitrade does not list any varieties of fluorescence, but McCann lists non-fluorescent, dull and dull with fluorescent fibres. I have found four different varieties as shown in the following picture:
Shades
There is a high degree of uniformity in the colour of these stamps. Nevertheless, I have found two shades of these stamps, as shown below:
Gum
I have found four very similar types of dextrose gum on these booklets and the stamps in them:
- Cream gum with a semi-gloss sheen that shows fine horizontal ridges, resembling brushstrokes.
- Cream gum with a very fine crackly pattern and a glossy sheen.
- Cream gum with a semi-gloss sheen.
- White gum with a glossy sheen.
Perforation
According to McCann, these booklets were comb perforated 9.9, although Unitrade lists this as 10.0.
Plate Flaws
Unitrade lists a minor ink-drag flaw affecting many stamps of this booklet. It consists of an extension of the wharf line near the top of the lobster trap into the left margin of the stamp. It occurs on most stamps of the affected panes. Unfortunately, I do not have an example at the moment that I can include here, but I will be sure to add one, when I find one.
However, McCann also lists another flaw, which occurs on the second stamps of the 3rd and 9th rows in the booklet: the broken necklace. An example of the flaw is shown below:
If you look at the stamp on the left, you can see that the Queen's necklace consists of closely spaced oval beads. If you look at the stamp on the right, there appears to be a gap in the necklace. The gap is actually always there, but it is usually concealed by the shading on the neck, that is weak in the area of the apparent break, which makes the necklace appear broken on the right stamp.
Minitature Panes and Stamps From Miniature Panes - Unitrade #458bs, bis and bps
The miniature panes were released at the same time as the general set, on February 8, 1967, and consist of a single pane of 20 of the 5c sealed in a cellophane package that usually showed the centennial emblem in red, along with opening instructions.
Paper Attributes Other Than Fluorescence
Unlike the booklet stamps, which were printed on horizontal wove paper, the cello-paq stamps were printed on vertical wove cream paper. This paper shows no ribbing on the gummed side, and has a very smooth, burnished printing surface that is very lightly coated. When held up to a strong back light, there is no clear mesh pattern: the mesh appears to go in both horizontal and vertical directions.
Paper Fluorescence
Unitrade lists both dull fluorescent and non-fluorescent papers for these panes, but only for the untagged panes. I do not believe this to be correct, as I have also seen the two paper varieties on the tagged panes also.
I have found the following levels of fluorescence in the stamps and panes:
- Low fluorescent greyish white.
- Non-fluorescent greyish.
- Dull fluorescent greyish white.
- Dull fluorescent greyish.
- Dull fluorescent deep grey.
All of these varieties do not contain any fluorescent fibres, and all are shown in the picture below:
The low fluorescent greyish white paper is shown at the top left, while the non-fluorescent grey is shown in the middle stamp in the top row. The upper right and lower middle stamp are the dull fluorescent greyish white paper. The lower left stamp is dull fluorescent greyish, and the lower right stamp is dull fluorescent deep grey.
Shades
I have found three shades on these stamps, as shown in the scan below:
Gum
The gum on these stamps is always a smooth, yellowish cream dextrose gum, with a semi-gloss sheen.
Perforation
These stamps were line perforated, using the 11.95 and 11.85 machines. Consequently, all four possible perforations should exist.
Tagging
The tagging applied to these panes was 8 mm bands down the vertical perforations in the panes, so that each stamp would have a 4 mm band at each side. The spacing between the bands was uniformly 16. 5 mm, and the colour of the tagging was generally the yellowish white colour. There are no known errors in the tagging of these stamps.
Plate Flaws
There are no known constant plate flaws that affected these panes, nor the stamps inside them.
This concludes my examination of the remaining 5c sheet stamps, as well as the booklet and miniature pane stamps. Next week, I will look at the coil stamps as well as the untagged sheet stamps of the 6c orange transportation stamp.
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