Canada #595 (SG#703) 15c Mountain Sheep 1972-1978 Caricature Issue Type 1, OP-4 Tag, Paper Type 8 Plate 1 UR Pair VF-80 NH

A well centered and very fine mint NH plate 1 upper right pair, of the 15c multicoloured mountain sheep definitive from the 1972-1977 Caricature and Landscapes Issue. Type 1, with General Ottawa 3 mm OP-4 tagging. Comb perf. 12.5 x 12, with a single extension hole in the top margin. Horizontal wove paper with visible vertical ribbing on the chalk surfacing. Smooth creamy PVA gum with a satin sheen. Under ultraviolet light, the paper gives the following readings:

Unitrade lists this stamp as being on NF paper, but this is a gross over-simplification, as the above description shows. There are actually at least eight different paper types of the type 1, on dull or low fluorescent vertical ribbed paper with OP-4 tagging. Most of these seem to be of almost equal scarcity, though this one is quite a bit scarcer, as I only had one block. Unitrade values a VF-75 NH pair of the basic NF paper at $1.50. My price reflects the scarcity of this DF/LF paper. The pair offered here grades VF-80 NH as follows: Margins/centering: 50/70 Paper freshness: 5/5 Colour: 5/5 Impression: 5/5 Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5 Perforations: 10/10 Note any vertical or horizontal line shown in the scan is the edge of the acetate strip that the stamp was resting inside on the stockcard. Note: the above scan is a stock photo as are all my scans for material after 1952. The item(s) you will receive has (have) been carefully checked to adhere to the above grading standards, so while it (they) may not be exactly the same, it (they) will be of the same quality. Also, I do not provide back scans of NH stamps or blocks after 1952 unless they are required to illustrate some attribute of the paper or gum.