The Resources Definitive Issue of Newfoundland 1932-1949 Part 2

As you can see from the scan above, it is really nothing more than plate damage, that shows up as two distinct smudges inside the "A" of "Newfoundland". It is quite scarce and highly sought after by specialists. 

Sheets of Newfoundland stamps are very scarce in general, so it is very difficult, if not impossible to plate many varieties that might be found on their stamps. Plating is generally required to prove conclusively that a particular variety is constant, and not a freak. Unitrade's editorial policy, along with that of most other stamp catalogues is to generally refrain from listing varieties that are not constant. So just because no other plate varieties listed in Unitrade does not mean that there are none. I think that there must be at least some on the values up to and including the 7c, which all saw very heavy usage. They just need to be found, studied and documented. 

Ralph Trimble, the prominent authority on re-entries lists only two re-entries on this issue. Both are major re-entries and both are on the 5c caribou. The first is on the Perkins Bacon printing, and involves doubling within the letters of "Newfoundland", along the left frame, and in the letters of "Cents" and the "5"'s. You can view his high resolution scans by clicking this link:

The second re-entry occurs on the Waterlow printing of the 5c caribou. The doubling on this one is almost exclusively in the letters of all inscriptions. You can view the scans of it here:

I have seen several other examples of stamps that show doubling in the designs, although many of these may be slip-prints rather than re-entries. The stamps that I have seen these on include the 1c grey-black codfish, and the 4c Princess Elizabeth from the 1938 printing. Given the number of plates used on the values up to the 5c, and the number of stamps printed, it is my expectation that there should be at least some re-entries on values other than the 5c. 

There are a very large number of imperforate varieties on this issue - perhaps more than on any other Canadian stamp issue. To begin with, imperforate pairs exist for every value of the Perkins Bacon printings, except for the 4c blackish lilac, including the 1938 revised low value designs. In addition, all of the Waterlow printings, exist as fully imperforate pairs with various sized security punches. The 1c, 5c and 14c exist in fully imperforate pairs with no punch as well. This is not what makes this set unusual, as most sets from this period exist with imperforate pairs. What makes it unusual is that the Perkins Bacon printings can be found in both horizointal pairs that are imperforate between the two stamps, as well as vertical pairs that are imperforate between the two stamps. In addition, singles and booklet panes that are imperforate at just the top, or the bottom can also be found. The existing varieties can be summarized as follows:

Horizontal Pairs That Are Imperforate Between

• 1c green, perf. 13.3.
• 2c green die 1, perf. 14.25 x 14.25.
• 4c carmine red.
• 5c deep rose lilac, die 1.
• 5c deep rose lilac, die 2, line perf. 14.4
• 7c red brown.
• 14c black.
• 25c slate.
• 5c lilac, Waterlow printing, gutter strip of 4.

Vertical Pairs That Are Imperforate Between

• 1c green, perf. 13.3.
• 2c green, horizontal strip of 20 with two rows imperforate.
• 3c orange-brown, perf. 13.3.
• 4c carmine-red.
• 14c black.
• 25c slate, perf. 14.4.
• 30c ultramarine.
• 14c black Waterlow printing.

The BNA proofs website list over 220 proof items, ranging from essays, to progressive proofs, to trial colour proofs, to die proofs and finally to plate proofs. On the Waterlow printings, the plate proofs that they list with the punch holes are most likely the same material as the imperforate pairs mentioned above. This material is every bit as scarce as other Canadian proof material, but much less expensive. The material listed on the three sections of their website, can be summarized as follows:

All of the values of this issue can be collected quite readily on cover. The low values are very common, and of little premium value, and most of the other mid to high values, while more expensive on cover, than off, are not, by any means expensive. One idea is to try to collect a single usage of each stamp, or a series of exotic destinations. Most covers will either be going to the US, Canada, or the UK, so looking for covers addressed to other countries is a fun pursuit. 

In addition to covers, many of the low values were often used on cheques, in place of revenue stamps. The scan above shows a cheque from the Bank of Montreal on which the required excise tax was paid using a 3c stamp, instead of the normal revenue stamps. 

Finally, the collection of small village cancels is a very appealing challenge on these stamps, as the vast majority of used examples will be cancelled in St. John's. Newfoundland had a very limited number of smaller towns and villages. Most of these utilized split-ring hammers, and finding these on any of the stamps of this issue is a challenge. Forming a large collection that covers all values and all villages or towns is a lifetime project. 

Single first day covers exist for all values of the original set, as well as the revised designs, in addition to some combination first day covers. Unitrade prices most of these at between five and fifteen dollars per cover, for the most common cachet. It would be nice to see a complete listing of all the know cachets from the well known cachet makers of the period.