The Commemorative Stamps of 1967

Today's post marks the first in a new series - one that will explore the intricacies of the commemorative stamps that were issued between 1967 and 1972, just before the next definitive issue, the Caricature issue appeared. I have elected to keep each post restricted to the stamps of just one year, so I anticipate that this series will consist of six posts. 

The commemorative issues are often overlooked by specialists who think that since they were only issued for a brief period of time, and because they are aimed at collectors, that there is nothing interesting to study about them. I wholeheartedly disagree. For one thing they serve as important time markers for the various changes that the post office adopted in terms of paper, perforation, gum, ink and tagging. By carefully studying these changes in the commemorative stamps and being familiar with the dates, you form a basis against which to study the same changes that you encounter in the definitive stamps of the same period. Thus, the commemorative stamps are a very important tool to the study of the definitive sets. Perhaps they may even be the most important tool of all. 

This period was one of the most innovative in Canadian philately:

1. Cello-paqs were abandoned in favour of larger integral booklets. This did not happen until the end of 1967, so that the Christmas issue of this year still appears in the form of cello-paqs, but in 1968 & 1969, the Christmas issues came in booklet form. 
2. Line perforating continued to be used until 1972, when comb perforation replaced it. Two major gauge measurements continue to be used for the line machines throughout this period, with the measurements being 11.85, 11.95 and compounds thereof. However by 1972, the 11.95 measurement largely disappears, with any line perforated stamp generally measuring 11.85 only. In addition, we do see comb perforating being introduced earlier by the British American Bank Note Company (BABN). In fact, they use it as early as 1968, and their gauge measurements are coarser, generally being 11 or 10. Later, in 1969 we see the introduction of the 12.5 x 12 comb gauge. Finally, Ashton Potter enters the game in 1971 with the Maple Leaf in Four Seasons issue, and these are comb perf. 10.8 x 11. 
3. Winnipeg tagging is used on a few issues only, with the Christmas issues being the only ones that are consistently tagged. Starting in 1972, we see the introduction of the migratory OP-4 general Ottawa Tagging, which is applied to all issues. Then, later in the year, this gives way to the more stable OP-2 tagging.
4. The design sizes are changed from imperial measurements to metric measurements starting in late 1967, with the Vanier issue. 
5. Coated stamp papers, with a chalk surfacing are introduced during this period, starting with the 1968 Meteorology stamp, and becoming the norm by 1972. 
6. Recycled paper becomes more and more prevalent as evidenced by the increasing fluorescence of the paper during this period. In 1967, most of the stamps are still printed on non-recycled, non-fluorescent paper, but some printings are made on paper containing some recycled content. However, by 1969 there are very few stamps that are found on non-fluorescent paper, with most stamps being found on fluorescent or hibrite paper. 
7. Multi-colour printing becomes the norm during this period. 1967's stamps are all monocoloured or bi-coloured, but this does not continue past 1967. Also, new forms of printing are introduced, with the main ones being photogravure and lithography. The BABN pioneers the use of engraving in tandem with photogravure in 1968, while the CBN employs engraving and lithography in the same year. 
8. PVA gum replaces dextrine gum in 1971, and there is some experimentation in the makeup of this gum, as seen by the use of what collectors know as the "spotty white gum" on some of the 1971 stamps.
9. Se-tenant designs are re-introduced with the 1970 Expo issue, 1970 Christmas and the 1972 Plains Indians issue. These eventually become the norm by the 1980's.  

I can't think of any period off the top of my head that ushered in more changes than this. So, to me, it is a very interesting period in which to collect, especially if you focus on the postal history and the rate changes that happened in 1968, 1971 and 1972. The rest of this post will focus exclusively on the stamps of 1967. All of the 1967 issues were printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company. 

The Stamp Designs,  Quantities, And Designers

 

5c Deep ultramarine & deep red.

Centennial of Canada.

Issued: January 11, 1967.

Quantity Issued: 105,100,000.

Designer: Leendert Verhoeven.

Engraved by: Allan Carswell, Yves Baril and Donald Mitchell.

 

 

5c deep ultramarine and deep red

Expo '67

Issued: April 28, 1967.

Quantity Issued: 42,360,000.

Designed by: Harvey Thomas Prosser.

Engraved by: Allan Carswell and Donald Mitchell.

 

5c grey black and rose-lilac.

50th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage in Canada.

Issued: May 24, 1967.

Quantity Issued: 25,780,000.

Designed by: Helen Roberta Fitzgerald

 

5c brown orange and purple

Royal Visit of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh

Issued: June 30, 1967.

Quantity Issued: 28,530,000.

Designed by: Harvey Thomas Prosser.

Engraved by: Yves Baril

 

5c deep red.

1967 Pan American Games.

Issued: July 19, 1967.

Quantity Issued: 28,060,000.

Designed by: Paul Aleksander Pedersen.

Engraved by: Allan Carswell and Gordon Mash.

 

5c violet blue.

50th Anniversary of the Canadian Press.

Issued: August 31, 1967.

Quantity Issued: 27,460,000.

Designed by: William McLauchlan.

Engraved by: Allan Carswell.

 

5c black and buff.

Georges Vanier Memorial Issue.

Issued: September 15, 1967.

Quantity Issued: 25,460,000.

Designed by: Harvey Thomas Prosser.

Engraved by: Yves Baril and Donald Mitchell.

 

5c slate green and salmon pink.

Centenary of Toronto.

Issued: September 28, 1967.

Quantity Issued: 27,690,000.

Designed by: Harvey Thomas Prosser.

Engraved by: Yves Baril and Donald Mitchell.

 

3c deep bright red.

1967 Christmas.

Issued: October 11, 1967.

Quantity Issued: 183,820,000 untagged and 8,500,000 tagged.

Designed by: George Sarras Fanais.

Engraved by: Yves Baril.

 

5c bright green.

1967 Christmas.

Issued: October 11, 1967.

Quantity Issued: 89,720,000 untagged and 3,800,000 tagged. 

Designed by: George Sarras Fanais.

Engraved by: Yves Baril.

As you can see, a variety of designers were involved in the production of these stamps, though Harvey Thomas Prosser remains quite heavily involved, having designed four of the stamps himself. The engraving was done by four men, being Allan Carsell, who tended to focus on the portraits, Yves Baril who also did portraits and some lettering, Gordon Mash, who tended to focus on lettering, and Donald Mitchell, who also was primarily responsible for lettering. In terms of quantities, the Centennial issue and Christmas stamps are by far the most common, but that being said, all of the issues are quite plentiful in mint condition, even now. The tagged stamps are, however, much scarcer than most collectors recognize, especially in very fine postally used condition. Generally, they make up between 2-5% only of the total issue quantity.

Finally, the change from imperial to metric measurements only occurs at the end of 1967, as the only stamp that appears thus is the Vanier stamp. I suspect that this issue was unplanned, as Vanier died in office, and the stamp was issued shortly after his death. So, I believe that the switch to metric had been fully made by September 1967 when the stamp was issued, but the Toronto Issue and Christmas Issues had been printed before this date, well before they were released. This would account for why they are still imperial dimensions and were issued after the Vanier stamp. 

Now, let's look at the attributes of the stamps themselves.

Paper Characteristics Other Than Fluorescence

As I said in the introduction, most of the papers found on these stamps are dull fluorescent, or contain a small amount of fluorescent material. However, there are important differences found in other attributes of the papers used as well, besides fluorescence. 

In studying these stamps, I have come across the following different types of paper:

1. A cream coloured vertical wove paper that has a rough, uncoated printing surface. Under magnification, loose fibres are visible on the surface of the paper. There is often very light horizontal ribbing visible on the surface of the paper, and this is often best seen by holding the stamp at a downward angle to your light source, pointing the top of the stamp toward you, rather than away from you. This paper is used only on the Centennial Issue stamp. 
2. A light cream coloured, coated, horizontal wove paper. Under magnification, a light surface coating is visible, that traps any fibres and prevents any loose fibres on the surface. There is a clear vertical mesh pattern in the paper, which can often be seen from the back, and sometimes appears as light ribbing. When held up to back lighting, the mesh pattern is actually both horizontal and vertical. This paper is found on most of the issues except for the Centennial, Women's Suffrage and Christmas issues. 
3. A stiffer, whiter, vertical wove paper. The colour is the lightest cream when viewed against a stark white background, but when compared to the other cream papers, it is very clearly white. Under magnification you can see a very clear and thick surface coating. There is no visible ribbing or clear mesh pattern, but when held up to strong back lighting, you can see clear horizontal and vertical mesh. This paper is found on two issues: the Pan American Games Issue and the Free Press Issue. 
4. A rough, cream coloured vertical wove paper that is not as thick as (1) above and lacks the ribbing. Under magnification, it is clear that the paper is not only uncoated, but you can see pores and uneven areas on the paper. There is no clear mesh pattern, but when held up to back light, both horizontal and vertical mesh is visible. This paper is used on the Women's Suffrage Issue only. 
5. A smooth, coated vertical wove paper that is similar to (2) above, but there is no clear mesh pattern and no ribbing. When held up to strong back light, the horizontal and vertical mesh pattern is visible. This paper is found on the Vanier Memorial Issue, Free Press Issue, Toronto Centennial and Christmas Issue. 
6. A smooth, coated vertical wove that is similar to (5) above, but a very light horizontal ribbing appears on the gummed side. When held up to back light, the horizontal and vertical mesh is visible, but the horizontal mesh predominates. So far I have only found this paper in the 3c Christmas stamps. 
7. A thinner cream vertical wove paper that shows no clear mesh pattern. When held up to a strong back light, horizontal mesh is visible, but at first it appears as if there is no mesh pattern. I have only found this paper on some printings of the Centennial issue. 
8. A similar paper to (7) above, except that clear horizontal ribbing is visible on the printing surface, and the paper is a horizontal, rather than vertical wove. Again, I have only found this paper type on the Centennial Issue stamp. 
9. A similar paper to (1) above, but here the horizontal ribbing is very strong, being very clearly visible, even without having to hold the stamp at an angle. Again, I have only found this type of paper on the Centennial Issue stamps. This paper is also more of a cream colour compared to (1) which appears whiter in normal light. 
10. A paper that is identical to (4) above, except that it shows clear horizontal ribbing on the gum side. This paper again, is only found on the Women's Suffrage Issue. 
11. A paper that is identical to (3) above, except that it is horizontal wove, and shows light vertical ribbing on the gum side, and clear vertical mesh when held up to a strong back light. This paper is found on the Pan American Games Issue and the Canadian Press Issue. 

Paper Fluorescence

In dealing with the fluorescence, I think the best approach is to take one stamp at a time and show you the varieties that exist. 

The Centennial Issue Stamp

As this stamp was continuously printed and issued throughout the year, it stands to reason that quite a few varieties of paper will exist for it. In fact, there are at least three varieties of dull fluorescent paper and one variety of non-fluorescent paper:

The plate block on the right is printed on dull fluorescent paper with a greyish tone under UV light. The plate block on the left is a whiter colour - a greyish white, with a very few low fluorescent fibres in the paper. 

The picture below shows the bluish white coloured dull fluorescent paper, which appears brighter by comparison:

This paper appears much brighter than the other two, but is not bright enough to be considered low fluorescent. 

The next picture shows the dull fluorescent ivory coloured paper:

The ivory coloured paper is the single stamp which is on top of the bottom two blocks, but to the right of the bluish white paper of the top plate block at left. 

Expo 67

I have found no fewer than 6 different variations of the dull fluorescent paper, as shown in the picture below, as well as three versions of low fluorescent paper:

At first, all of the stamps shown above may appear to be the same, but on closer examination, you can begin to see the differences. Take, for instance, the bottom middle stamp and compare this to the top left stamp, or the lower right stamp. Also, if you look at the centre stamp at the right, you can see bright fluorescent fibres in the paper, that are absent on the other stamps. 

The bottom 6 stamps are all variations of dull fluorescent paper, while the top three are variations of low fluorescent paper. These are from left to right on each row:

• Dull fluorescent bluish white with a sparse concentration of low fluorescent fibres. 
• Dull fluorescent ivory, with a sparse concentration of low fluorescent fibres. 
• Low fluorescent ivory, with 1-2 low fluorescent fibres. 
• Dull fluorescent greyish. 
• Dull fluorescent ivory, with very few low fluorescent fibres.
• Dull fluorescent light violet, with a very sparse concentration of low and medium fluorescent fibres.
• Dull fluorescent bluish white, with very few low fluorescent fibres. 
• Dull fluorescent greyish, with a very sparse concentration of low fluorescent fibres.
• Dull fluorescent greyish white, with very few low fluorescent fibres. 

Women's Suffrage Issue

On this issue I have really only found two varieties of fluorescence. One is very close to non-fluorescent, being a dull fluorescent violet, while the other is a dull fluorescent greyish white. The picture below shows the difference between these two:

The dull fluorescent violet paper is shown on the first two stamps in the picture, while the stamp on the right is a dull fluorescent greyish white colour. 

Royal Visit Issue

On this issue I have found six varieties of the dull fluorescent paper, and one variety of low fluorescent paper, that is markedly different from the dull fluorescent papers:

From left to right on each row, we have:

• Dull fluorescent violet.
• Dull fluorescent violet white.
• Dull fluorescent bluish white.
• Dull fluorescent light violet.
• Low fluorescent greyish.
• Dull fluorescent greyish white.
• Dull fluorescent violet, same as first stamp. 

 Pan American Games Issue

On this issue the standard paper is a dull fluorescent greyish paper that is the paper with the light surface coating. However, the white, heavily coated paper gives a non-fluorescent violet reaction under UV. The difference between the two is shown in the following picture, though it must be borne in mind that the difference in reality is a little more pronounced than what the picture shows:

The stamp on the left is the non-fluorescent white paper, while the stamp on the right is the dull fluorescent cream paper. As you can see the left stamp does appear more violet in colour, than the right stamp, which is greyish by comparison. 

Canadian Press Issue

This is one of the few issues to have listed paper varieties in Unitrade, which lists a dull fluorescent, a fluorescent paper and then a non-fluorescent paper. For the dull fluorescent paper, I have found two sub-varieties, the dull fluorescent grey blue, with 1-2 fluorescent fibres, and the dull fluorescent greyish white. For the fluorescent paper I have found two varieties, one being low fluorescent ivory and the other being low fluorescent greyish white, with differing amounts of fluorescent fibres, and then for the non-fluorescent papers I have also found two varieties. 

The pictures show these below:

This first picture shows the two dull fluorescent papers. The stamp on the left is dull fluorescent greyish blue, with just 1 or 2 low fluorescent fibres in the paper. The stamp on the right is dull fluorescent greyish white. 

 Here, on the top row we have the two so called fluorescent papers and the dull fluorescent paper on the bottom. As you can see, the fluorescent stamps are not much brighter in the picture, but they are brighter in reality. However, I am not sure I would classify them as fluorescent overall, but more of a low fluorescent. This is why Unitrade's listings can be so confusing at times, because they call this fluorescent paper, and it is much less bright than other stamps that they also categorize as fluorescent. If you look closely at the picture you can see that the stamps appear mottled. This is because of the medium and high fluorescent fibres contained in the paper, which would otherwise be low fluorescent. The stamp on the top left is low fluorescent greyish white, with a very sparse concentration of both medium and high fluorescent fibres. The stamp on the right is low fluorescent ivory with a very sparse concentration of low and medium fluorescent fibres, so it is not quite as bright. 

Finally we have the non-fluorescent papers on the top row and the dull fluorescent paper on the bottom row. As you can see, the non-fluorescent paper is quite a bit duller than the dull fluorescent. The stamp on the top left is non fluorescent greyish, while the top right stamp is an example of true dead paper in a violet colour. 

Georges Vanier Memorial Issue

This is another issue for which Unitrade lists dull fluorescent and fluorescent papers, though the fluorescent paper is generally really only a dull fluorescent paper containing fluorescent fibres. I have found two types of the dull fluorescent paper, being dull fluorescent ivory and dull fluorescent greyish. I have also found three variations of the so called fluorescent paper, which I will illustrate below. 

But first, the two dull fluorescent papers:

The stamp on the left is the dull fluorescent ivory paper, while the stamp on the right is dull fluorescent greyish. Neither paper contains any fluorescent fibres. 

Next, we turn to the so called fluorescent papers:

All three of these papers are dull fluorescent papers that contain different amounts of fluorescent fibres of different brightness levels. The stamp on the bottom is the brightest in this regard and contains a large amount of fluorescent fibres for a stamp of this period. The stamp at the top left is dull fluorescent bluish white, with just 1-2 hibrite fibres in the paper. The stamp at the top right is dull fluorescent bluish white with very few medium and high fluorescent fibres, and the stamp on the bottom is dull fluorescent greyish white, with very few low fluorescent, medium fluorescent, high fluorescent and hibrite fibres. These papers are quite scarce, judging from how seldom I have seen them in my years of working with these stamps. 

The Toronto Centenary Issue

This issue is also listed by Unitrade as being either fluorescent or dull, but this time the fluorescent paper is much, much brighter than for the previous 2 issues and contains much more fluorescent fibre content. 

For the dull fluorescent paper, I have found two varieties of it. The fluorescent paper seems to come in at least 7 varieties. 

The dull fluorescent papers are shown below:

 

These are very similar papers, but there are very slight differences. The left stamp is dull fluorescent greyish white and contains very few low fluorescent fibres. The right stamp is dull fluorescent greyish and contains 1-2 low fluorescent fibres. 

The fluorescent papers are shown below:

From left to right, on each row we have: 

• Low fluorescent bluish, with a sparse concentration of low and medium fluorescent fibres. 
• Low fluorescent bluish white with a very sparse concentration of low and medium fluorescent fibres.
• Dull fluorescent greyish, with a sparse concentration of low and medium fluorescent fibres.
• Low fluorescent greyish white with a sparse concentration of low fluorescent fibres. 
• Dull fluorescent greyish white, with very few low fluorescent fibres. 
• Low fluorescent ivory, with a sparse concentration of low fluorescent fibres.
• Dull fluorescent light violet, with a very, very sparse concentration of low and medium fluorescent fibres. 

 These pictures so not show the differences particularly clearly, but it may help you gain some appreciation for the differences if you can see a DF stamp placed next to one of the brighter fluorescent stamps:

Here we have the first of the above fluorescent papers on the left and the first of the dull fluorescent papers on the right. In this picture the bluish colour of the low fluorescent paper is much more obvious and it is clearly brighter than the dull fluorescent paper. 

The Christmas Issue

On this issue Unitrade lists dull fluorescent, fluorescent and high fluorescent varieties of the 3c, untagged sheet stamps and cello-paq panes. On the other hand, the tagged sheet stamps and cello-paq panes are listed as being only on dull fluorescent paper. As we shall see, this is not correct, as I have seen example of tagged panes on paper with at least a low level of speckled fluorescence. The 5c stamps are only listed as being either on dull fluorescent or fluorescent paper, while the tagged stamps are all listed as dull fluorescent. 

Of course, I have found variations of both the dull and fluorescent papers, which I will detail here. I have not found any variations of the high fluorescent paper though, but this is because I have seen so few examples, and have not been in a position to compare them with one another. 

So, in illustrating the variations of the 3c, I will start with the so called high fluorescent paper:

This paper appears more like a low fluorescent bluish colour overall. However, because it is so much brighter than the other fluorescent papers, Unitrade lists it as being high fluorescent. But it isn't really. The paper contains a very large amount of fluorescent fibres, which you can clearly see in the selvage tabs at the top of the block above. Without these fibres the paper is really a dull fluorescent greyish colour. There is a low density concentration of low fluorescent fibres, a sparse concentration of medium fluorescent fibres and a very sparse concentration of high fluorescent fibres present in this paper. 

Next, I will turn to the dull fluorescent paper. There are at least 3 variations, only one of which is really dull fluorescent.  The other two are really non-fluorescent. The picture below shows three variations, with a number of stamps on fluorescent paper placed on top so that you can see the difference between the dull and low fluorescent papers:

This picture shows two cello-paq panes placed one underneath the other, two blocks to their right and three fluorescent paper singles on top of one pane at the left. 

The pane on the left appears completely non-fluorescent, and a brownish grey colour under the UV lamp. The tagged pane to its right appears much brighter than it is because of the tagging bars. However the block to the upper right approximately matches the untagged portions of the pane. This block appears dull fluorescent greyish, with a very sparse concentration of medium and high fluorescent fibres. However, these fibres are not present in enough quantity to raise the overall fluorescence level from dull. The plate block appear non-fluorescent greyish, and contains a very sparse concentration of medium fluorescent fibres and very few high fluorescent and hibrite fibres. Again, these are not enough to raise the overall fluorescence level beyond dull fluorescent. So, I would say that the untagged pane is actually non-fluorescent, while the other two papers are variations of the dull fluorescent paper. 

Now, let's look at the fluorescent papers. I have found three variations, one of which is definitely brighter than fluorescent, but which is not as bright as the high fluorescent paper. The three variations are shown in the picture below:

 On the left we have a block that is dull fluorescent bluish white, but contains a lot of fluorescent fibres that raises the overall fluorescence to fluorescent. There is a low density concentration of low fluorescent fibres and a sparse concentration of medium fluorescent fibres. The middle three stamps are dull fluorescent greyish with a sparse concentration of medium fluorescent fibres and very few high fluorescent fibres. Finally, the block at the right is dull fluorescent bluish white with sparse concentrations of medium and high fluorescent fibres, which raises the overall fluorescence level to medium. 

I am not going to repeat the above for the 5c, as the papers exhibit more or less the same ranges of fluorescence as the 3c, except that the maximum overall level of fluorescence is generally fluorescent, with most being either dull or low fluorescent. There are also several instances of paper that is very close to being non-fluorescent, as was the case with the 3c value. 

Plates and Sheet Layouts

These issues were all printed in sheets of either 600, 400 or 300 subjects arranged into either 4 or 6 panes as follows:

• Centennial: 300 subjects in 6 panes of 50. 2 plates. 
• Expo 67: 300 subjects in 6 panes of 50. 2 plates. 
• Women's Suffrage: 400 subjects in 4 panes of 100. 1 plate.
• Royal Visit: 400 subjects in 4 panes of 100. 2 plates.
• Pan American Games: 300 subjects in 6 panes of 50. 2 plates.
• Canadian Free Press: 300 subjects in 6 panes of 50. 2 plates.
• Vanier: 300 subjects in 6 panes of 50. 1 plate. 
• Toronto Centenary: 300 subjects in 6 panes of 50. 2 plates. 
• Christmas: 600 subjects in 6 panes of 100. 2 plates. 

Shade Varieties and Aniline Inks

There is a fairly disappointing regularity of colour on these stamps. However, there are a few shade varieties, and some instances where the inks are aniline:

• The rose lilac on the Women's Suffrage Issue can be found in light and dark variations. 
• The brown orange colour on the Royal Visit Issue can be found in 2 shades. 
• The Canadian free press issue can be found in 2 shades and with an aniline ink. 
• The red flag on the Centennial Issue can be found in dark and regular shades of red.

The following scans show some of the shade varieties that I have found on these stamps:

The flag of the stamp on the left is a deeper red, which contains more carmine than the flag of the stamp on the right, which is more scarlet. 

The grey black on both stamps is slightly different, with the right stamp being slightly lighter. But the more marked difference is in the lilac, which is much paler on the right stamp, as compared to the left. 

On the Royal Visit issue, the main shade difference lies in the brown orange of the frame. The differences lie in the relative amounts of brown and orange are contained in the colour mix. The following picture shows the difference between the two main shades quite clearly:

 The place to look in making the comparison is the "5" and the laurel above the Queen's head. If you look at the left stamp, you can see that the "5" and laurel are much deeper and contain more orange, while the stamp on the right looks more golden brown by comparison.

On the Canadian press issue, there are three main shades: an aniline deep ultramarine, a violet blue and a duller violet blue. The aniline shade and duller violet blue shades show the most contrast, and so it is these two that I will illustrate first:

The aniline deep ultramarine is shown in the block on the left, while the block on the right is the dull violet blue. The two colours are nothing alike, and it is hard to believe that these aren't listed separately in Unitrade. 

The easiest way to recognize an aniline ink is by the suffusion of colour on the face, and the fact that the ink bleeds through the back of the paper, as seen by comparing the back of these two blocks:

Note how on the left block, you cannot see the design at all, whereas on the right block, you can see most of the design. The right block is the aniline ink. 

The more subtle difference with this issue is the difference between the violet blue and dull violet blue, as shown in the picture below:

The stamp on the left is the violet blue, while the one on the right is the dull violet blue. In terms of tone there isn't much difference, but if you look at the stamps the one on the right seems generally duller and less intense. 

Gum Types

There are two basic types of gum found on these issues. The first, which is only found on the Centennial issue is Davac - an almost completely invisible gum, that has a completely matte sheen, and dextrine. The dextrine gum found does display some interesting variations, and those will be discussed here. First, I want to talk a bit about the ill-fated davac gum and show you what it looks like. Here is the back of a Centennial Issue stamp:

As you can see, it looks like the stamp has no gum at all. In actual fact, the gum is present, but just has a matte appearance. It is actually a very light yellowish cream colour. You can see that clearly if you look at this plate block, which I have placed on a stark white background:

Here you can clearly see the creamy yellowish tone of the gum. The paper without the gum does not appear this yellowish normally. 

The davac gum was used for this stamp and the 1966 Highway Safety stamp, and then it was abandoned. Why? My guess is that it was unpopular because people thought the stamps were not gummed. In terms of adhesion it is not bad at all, but it is not as fast to bond as dextrine. It is actually ideal for tropical climates, but it really wasn't necessary for a Canadian issue, as we are a fairly dry and temperate country. 

The different types of dextrine gum found on these issues is as follows:

1. Smooth, cream coloured gum that has a satin sheen. This gum is found on the Expo 67 Issue, Royal Visit Issue, Canadian Press Issue, Toronto Centennial Issue and some printings of the Christmas Issue. 
2. A streaky cream coloured gum with a satin sheen. Like its smooth counterpart, this gum is found on the Expo 67 Issue, Royal Visit Issue, Canadian Press Issue and Toronto Centennial Issue. 
3. A streaky cream coloured gum with an eggshell sheen. This is very similar to the satin sheen gum, but it has a more matte appearance. I have found this on the Royal Visit Issue and the Canadian Press Issue only. 
4. A smooth cream gum with a high gloss sheen. I have only found this gum on the Women's Suffrage Issue. 
5. A streaky cream gum with a high gloss sheen. Again, I have only found this gum on the Women's Suffrage Issue. 
6. A smooth cream gum with a semi-gloss sheen. This gum is found on the Pan American Games Issue, the Canadian Press Issue, the Vanier Issue and the Christmas Issues. 
7. A streaky cream gum with a semi gloss sheen. As with the previous gum, this is also found on the Pan American Games Issue, the Canadian Press Issue, the Vanier Issue and the Christmas Issues. 

The pictures below show examples of each of these gum types:

This picture shows the light cream gum that has a satin sheen. Note how the coverage of the gum is even, and is without any blemishes or uneven spots. 

This picture shows the streaky cream gum with a satin sheen. Note the regular pattern of blemishes in the gum. 

 This picture shows the eggshell streaky cream gum with the regular satin sheen gum. The eggshell gum is shown on the top stamp, where you can see the clear pattern of blemishes in the gum. A regular satin sheen gum stamp is shown underneath it, so that you can see the difference. The two are very similar in sheen, but the eggshell is every so slightly more matte. 

 Here is a good shot of the high gloss dextrine gum that is smooth and cream coloured. Now here is the same basic gum, only streaky in appearance:

I am not going to illustrate the semi-gloss gums here, as I have already done so in multiple posts, but the gum is very similar to the above 2 gums, except for the fact that it is a little less shiny than these two types. 

Perforations

All of these stamps are line perforated. Unitrade gives the measurement as 12, but in reality, there are four different gauges found on all issues that come from the use of two machines: 11.85, 11.85 x 11.95, 11.95 and 11.95 x 11.85. As far as I can tell from the stamps I have studied so far, all four measurements can be found on all 10 stamps, and any variety thereof. In my experience, the compound measurements are scarcer than the simple measurements, and 11.85 is scarcer than 11.95. 

Tagging

The Centennial Issue stamp and the Christmas stamps were issued in tagged form. The tagging was Winnipeg tagging, applied in 8.5 mm bands down the vertical margins between the stamps The spacing between the tagging bars is the same on all columns of the sheet, which is different from the Centennial definitives, there the spacing between the bars is narrower on the outer columns of the sheet as compared to the inner columns of the sheet. 

The picture below shows the tagging on the Centennial Issue stamp:

The tagging bars appear a light creamy yellow under the UV light. As the picture shows, the taggant is not evenly distributed, but is unevenly concentrated. 

On the 3c Christmas and 5c Christmas stamps, the tagging is generally quite a lot darker, especially on the 3c stamps. In normal light the tagged stamps often show dark yellow bands running down them. Under UV light, the bands appear fluorescent yellow, as shown on the partial cello-paq pane of the 3c Christmas stamp below:

Plate Flaws

Unitrade does not list any constant varieties at all on any of the stamps issued in this year. However, I have found a few printing flaws, most notably on the Centennial Issue stamp. Here, one can often find stray blobs of ink on the design. For example, the "5" can be found with lots of small blobs on it, as shown below:

On this scan you can clearly see the horizontal ribbing in the paper. 

Conclusion - Using The Stamps to Help Study Definitives

From this post we can see that some types of paper and gum are associated with most, or all stamps from this year, while others are confined to only a few stamps or one stamp. So, for example, the coated non-fluorescent paper appears on the Pan American Games Issue and the Canadian Press Issue, both of which appear in July and August 1967, and not for the other issues. This suggests that this paper type did not appear until July 1967. So, when you are studying the Centennial issue stamps, and you come across coated non-fluorescent paper, it most likely is from the later half of 1967, rather than being one of the earliest printings. Likewise, the satin gum, which predominates the printings before July 1967 on the Centennial definitives would suggest a printing prior to July. The semi-gloss gum generally appears after July, so it would tend to be associated with printings of the definitives made in the later half of 1967 or later. This is an example of how what we have learned here can be used to help assign specific definitives from the 1967-1973 Centennial issue to specific months in 1967. 

This concludes my examination of the 1967 commemorative issues. Next week I will deal with 1968.