Canada #621i (SG#760a) 15c Multicoloured Queen Elizabeth II 1973 Royal Visit Issue "F" Paper Type 1 LR Bronze Shade VF-80 NH

A well centered and very fine mint NH lower right plate 1 block of 4 of the 15c multicoloured Queen Elizabeth stamp from the 1973 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Issue, also known as the 1973 Royal Visit Issue, printed on the "F" paper, and printed in the distinctive, darker bronze shade. The comparison scan shows the difference between the two shades of gold clearly, with the darker bronze shade being quite a bit scarcer than the regular gold colour. Comb perf. 12.5 x 12. Vertical wove paper with smooth chalk surfacing. Smooth creamy PVA gum with a satin sheen. Full and undamaged 4 mm OP-2 tagging that is clearly screened and which glows bright green under UV light. Under ultraviolet light, the paper gives the following readings:

Unitrade lists this stamp as being on F paper, but this is a gross over-simplification, as the above description shows. There are at least six different paper types that are bright enough to fit Unitrade's classification of fluorescent. Unitrade lists a VF-75 NH plate block on the dull paper at $10, and on the F paper at $10. However, they do not value a block that is both fluorescent and in the bronze shade. A reasonable value would be $15. The block 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