Canada #723Aiii 50c Multicoloured Prairie Street Scene, 1977-1982 Floral & Environment Issue, a VFNH UL Plate 3 Block of the DF/DF Paper, Showing the "Dented Bumper" Variety on Positions 6 and 7, With Hollow Dot on Position 7, Red Brown Building at Right

A very fine NH upper left plate 3 block of the 50c multicoloured Prairie Street Scene stamp from the 1977-1982 Floral & Environmental issue, printed using lithography and engraving, showing the "dented bumper variety on positions 6 and 7, and a brown building at right. Printed on DF/DF paper.

The variety consists of a small black dot that appears on the left side of the bumper, right underneath the trunk lid. This is not to be confused with a small square of colour further down and to the left of the bumper, that defines it's inside edge. This later square of colour is NOT the variety, and appears in one form or another on every stamp in the sheet. This example also shows the dent as a hollow dot on position 7. This is an odd variation, as most blocks show solid dots in both positions.

The paper is NF/NF.

The shades on this vary mostly in terms of the colour of the building on the right. The colour varies from a red brown to a deep brown. The variation arises from the fact that the brown colour is obtained by mixing the red-brown with blue. So, on stamps where the blue screen is faint, the building appears more red-brown, and on those where the blue screen is heavier, the building appears more of a deep walnut brown.

Unitrade values this block at $15 for the regular DF/LF-fl paper in VFNH, however it does not price the block on the scarcer NF/NF paper with the variety. Our estimate of the value would be $24.50, which is obtained as $20 for the 723Av block, which is the basic NF/NF paper, and then an additional $2.25 for each stamp showing the variety. The block offered here grades 75 as follows:

Margins/centering: 45/70

Paper freshness: 5/5

Color: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10