Canada #389 5c Golden Brown and Deep Ultramarine 1960 50th Anniversary of Girl Guides Issue, A Group of 8 VFNH Field Stock and Plate Blocks, All Different With Respect to Paper, Shade, Position or Perf.

A group of 8 VFNH plate and field stock blocks of the 1960 50th Anniversary of the Girl Guides Issue. All of the blocks are different in some way from all the others, either by position, selvedge width, shades or perforation measurements.

Although not listed separately in Unitrade, this issue exists with several different gauges of perforation that range between 11.9 and 12.1 on each side. I haven't checked the perforations on these blocks, but you can expect to find a number of different combinations.

In terms of papers, this issue is generally found on a ribbed vertical wove paper, that is generally dull fluorescent. This is the first issue and the last issue since the 1957 Recreational Sports Issue that appears on visibly ribbed paper from this period. The colour of the reaction under UV light varies from grey, to light violet and greyish white. I have included a picture taken under UV light on the St. Lawrence Seaway and Country Women Issues to illustrate the differences between these papers. The differences found on this issue are similar.

The gum on this issue is generally streaky and usually has a satin sheen. Some stamps are a little glossier, being a semi-gloss sheen, but the gum is very distinct, with vertical striations running through it.

Shades show some significant variations in the shades of both the golden brown and the ultramarine colour. The ultramarine can be found in an aniline version, though it is not included here, as well as deep and bright versions. The blocks included in this lot are fairly uniform, but there are some subtle variations in the ultramarine.

The grades vary from 75 to 84. Unitrade does not list or price the paper varieties, but just values the basic blocks at $17.40. One field stock block is lightly hinged in the selvedge, but the stamps are NH.