The Pre-Arch Issue American Bank Note Company Papers - 1897-1930
This table looks at the papers used to print the American Bank Note Company Issues for the period from 1897 to 1911, which for Canada covers the Jubilee through to the Quebec Tercentenary Issue, and for Newfoundland covers the John Cabot Issue through to the 1908 Map stamp.
| Type Code | Characteristics | Seen On |
| ABN-A | Stout, opaque vertical wove with fine vertical mesh, which appears coarser when held up to back light. Both wire and felt sides are semi-porous. Gum is deep cream with a semi-gloss sheen. | Numeral Issue, Edward VII issue, Admiral Issue - wet printings |
| ABN-B | Stout, opaque vertical wove with clear, coarse vertical mesh, which appears the same when held up to back light. Both wire and felt sides are semi-porous. The gum is yellowish cream semi-gloss. | Numeral Issue, Edward VII issue, Quebec Tercentenary Issue, Early Admiral Wet Printings |
| ABN-C | Stout, thicker vertical wove with clear, coarse vertical mesh, which appears the same when held up to back light. The felt side is non-porous and the gum is yellowish cream semi-gloss. | Admiral Issue - wet printings |
| ABN-D | Stout, thick, opaque vertical wove paper with no visible mesh, even when held up to back light. Gum is cream with a satin sheen and slightly mottled appearance. The felt side is porous. | Admiral Issue - wet printings |
| ABN-E | Stout, vertical wove, that is opaque, with no visible mesh, but fine vertical mesh visible to backlighting. Gum is light yellowish cream with a semi-gloss sheen. The felt side is porous. | Admiral Issue - wet printings |
| ABN-F | Stout, vertical wove that is nearly opaque, showing no visible vertical mesh unless held up to backlight, when fine vertical mesh is visible. Gum is cream coloured with a satin sheen. | Admiral Issue - dry printings |
| ABN-G | Stout vertical wove that is nearly opaque, showing no visible, vertical mesh, even when held up to backlight. The felt side is non-porous, with paper fibres visible, but burnished into a finished surface. The gum is a streaky cream gum with a satin sheen. | Admiral Issue - dry printings |
| ABN-H | Stout, vertical wove, that is opaque, with no visible mesh, but fine vertical mesh visible to backlighting. Gum is light yellowish cream with a slightly mottled, semi-gloss sheen. The felt side is porous. | Admiral Issue - wet printings |
| ABN-I | Thinner, crisp translucent vertical wove with no visible mesh, until held up to backlight, when coarse mesh is visible. Gum is a steaky yellowish cream semi-gloss gum. | Admiral Issue - dry printings |
| ABN-J | Thick, stout opaque, vertical wove paper, with no visible vertical mesh until held up to backlighting, when fine mesh is highly visible. The felt side is smooth and non-porous. The gum is streaky cream gum with a satin sheen. | Admiral Issue - dry printings |
| ABN-K | Stout, opaque vertical wove paper with fine mesh, which appears coarser when viewed against backlight. The felt side is smooth and non-porous. Gum is cream with a satin sheen. | Admiral Issue - wet printings |
| ABN-L | Crisp, stout opaque horizontal wove paper, with no clear mesh unless held up to backlight, when coarse horizontal mesh is visible. The felt side is non-porous. The gum is deep cream semi-gloss. | First Postage Due Issue - dry printings |
| ABN-M | Crisp, stout opaque vertical wove paper, with no clear mesh unless held up to backlight, when fine vertical mesh is barely visible. The felt side is non-porous. The gum streaky cream semi-gloss | Admiral Issue - dry printings, Confederation Issue |
| ABN-N | As ABN-G, but fine vertical mesh is visible in this paper when held up to backlight | Admiral Issue - dry printings |
| ABN-O | Crisp, stout opaque wove paper with no visible mesh unless held up to backlight when coarse vertical mesh is highly visible. The felt side is non-porous and the gum is smooth cream, semi-gloss gum. | Admiral Issue - dry printings |
| ABN-P | As ABN-E but horizontal wove paper. | Second Special Delivery Issue |
| ABN-Q | As ABN-I but horizontal wove paper. | Confederation Special Delivery Issue |
| ABN-R | As ABN-Q, but gum is smooth, cream semi-gloss. | Confederation Special Delivery Issue |
| ABN-S | Thick, opaque vertical wove paper, with fine mesh that is only visible with backlighting. Semi-porous felt side. Mottled brownish yellow gum with a satin sheen. | First Postage Due Issue |
| ABN-T | Medium translucent vertical wove paper with no visible mesh, even when held up to backlighting. Streaky, semi-gloss gum. | Admiral Issue - dry printings on "thin" paper. This paper is distinctly different from the thin experimental paper of 1924 that was used on the 2c, 5c and some of the first postage due stamps. |
| ABN-U | Medium, nearly opaque horizontal wove paper with coarse horizontal mesh. Semi-porous felt side and porous wire side. Gum is deep yellowish cream with a satin sheen, or a semi-gloss sheen. Occasionally the gum can have horizontal or vertical streaks that run in a regular pattern. | Diamond Jubilee Issue |
| ABN-V | Similar to ABN-U, except that the mesh is not nearly as obvious. The mesh on ABN-U is very coarse and readily visible without backlight. | Diamond Jubilee Issue |
| ABN-W | As ABN-U, but mesh is vertical. | Diamond Jubilee Issue |
| ABN-X | Stout, hard vertical wove that is nearly opaque, with coarse vertical mesh that is visible both with and without backlight. Both felt and wire sides are semi-porous. The gum is yellowish with a semi-gloss sheen. | Maple Leaf Issue & Numeral Issue |
| ABN-Y | Hard, semi-translucent vertical wove that has coarse, closely spaced vertical mesh that is often visible through the gum as vertical ribbing. The felt side and wire sides are semi-porous. Gum is yellowish with a semi-gloss sheen. Ribbing is often visible on the felt side. | Maple Leaf Issue & Numeral Issue |
| ABN-Z | As ABN-Y, but translucent and yellowish | Maple Leaf Issue |
| ABN-AA | Stout, translucent vertical wove paper with mesh that is indistinct until the stamp is held up to backlight, when coarse mesh can clearly be seen. The felt side is semi-porous, but the wire side is porous. | Maple Leaf Issue, Numeral Issue |
| ABN-BB | As ABN-Z, but white. The gum is yellowish cream with a semi-gloss sheen. | Maple Leaf Issue, Numeral Issue |
| ABN-CC | Thinner, translucent horizontal wove paper, with clear, coarse horizontal mesh. The felt side is semi-porous and the wire side is porous. | Maple Leaf Issue |
| ABN-DD | Very thin, translucent vertical wove paper, with indistinct mesh, which becomes clearer when held up to backlight, when coarse mesh can be seen. Both wire and felt sides are porous. | Maple Leaf Issue |
| ABN-EE | Greyish toned soft vertical wove paper with clear, coarse mesh. Felt and wire sides are porous. Gum is semi-gloss cream. | Numeral Issue |
| ABN-FF | Very pale blue greyish horizontal semi-translucent horizontal wove paper, with clear, coarse mesh that is visible with and without backlighting. The felt side is rough, but relatively non-porous, and the wire side is semi-porous. The gum is cream with a satin or semi-gloss sheen. | Maple Leaf Issue, Numeral Issue |
| ABN-GG | Similar to ABN-CC, but the mesh is much finer. The gum is cream with a satin sheen. | Maple Leaf Issue |
| ABN-HH | Soft, opaque greyish horizontal wove paper, with coarse mesh is readily visible. Both wire and felt sides are semi-porous. | Maple Leaf Issue |
| ABN-II | As ABN-AA, but the felt side is fully porous. Gum is mottled yellowish cream with a semi-gloss sheen. | Maple Leaf Issue, Numeral Issue |
| ABN-JJ | As ABN-II, but the felt side is vertically ribbed. The ribbing is often not noticeable unless the stamp is held at an angle to a light source. | Maple Leaf Issue, Numeral Issue |
| ABN-KK | As ABN-A, but greyish toned. Gum is brownish cream with a satin sheen. | Numeral Issue |
| ABN-LL | As ABN-BB, but non-porous felt side. | Numeral Issue |
| ABN-MM | Medium, opaque brownish vertical wove paper, with no visible mesh unless held up to backlight, when coarse mesh can barely be seen. The felt side is smooth and semi-porous. The gum is deep cream with an eggshell sheen, showing a random crazing pattern. | Numeral Issue |
| ABN-NN | Medium opaque horizontal greyish toned wove paper, with mesh that is not distinct unless held up to backlight, when some coarse horizontal mesh is barely visible. | Numeral Issue |
| ABN-OO | Thinner greyish vertical wove with clear cross-hatched mesh, which appears mostly vertical when held up to backlight. | Numeral Issue |
| ABN-PP | Medium opaque brownish toned vertical wove paper, with clear coarse mesh that becomes clearer with backlight. Smooth, semi-porous felt side and porous wire side. Gum is deep cream with a satin sheen. | Numeral Issue |
| ABN-QQ | As ABN-X, but mottled yellow brownish cream gum with a semi-gloss sheen. | Numeral Issue |
| ABN-RR | Medium opaque horizontal wove paper with coarse horizontal mesh that is visible both with and without backlighting. Both wire and felt sides are semi-porous. The gum is mottled yellowish cream with a semi-gloss sheen. | Numeral Issue |
| ABN-SS | Similar to ABN-FF, but bluish. Gum is cream with a semi-gloss sheen. | Numeral Issue |
This table is an work in progress that will expand as I examine more stamps of these issues.