Canada #740i 1977 Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference Issue, VFNH Upper Right Inscription Block on The Scarcer LF/MF-fl Paper and a Field Stock Block on Thinner DF/LF-fl Paper

VFNH upper right inscription and field stock blocks for the 1977 Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference issue, printed on the scarcer, so-called LF/MF paper and an unlisted thinner paper that is DF/LF-fl. Like the Peace Bridge issue, this is a very tricky issue to identify correctly because Unitrade fails to mention that the DF paper contains LF and MF fibres. Because of this, the DF paper is often mis-identified as being the MF paper. There are also LF-fl papers that Unitrade does not list. and the F/F paper is often mis-identified as being the elusive MF/HB paper. The key is that the MF paper must appear at least LF on the front. The DF paper will not appear this way and even though it contains fluorescent fibres, it will still read DF overall. I have only found this thinner LF-fl paper on a field stock sheet, which underscores the importance and philatelic significance of the separate field stock printings of these issues.

Both of these papers are considerably scarcer than the basic DF-fl paper.

Unitrade cat. for these blocks is $36, counting them both at the MF price. These blocks grade between 80 and 84.

A Note About Paper in the 1972-1977 Period

The stamps during this period are printed primarily by Ashton Potter and BABN, and occasionally CBN. They used seven main types of paper, all of which, with the exception of the transparent HB paper, and uncoated CBN paper are chalk coated. The seven types are:

• A ribbed paper, that tends to be dull or non-fluorescent on the front, and varies widely on the back, from dull fluorescent with very few low fluorescent fibres and brownish woodpulp flecks, to a much higher concentration of low and medium fluorescent fibres and brownish woodpulp flecks. This paper usually reads overall as DF or LF, and occasionally as MF. This paper is used by BABN for the stamps printed by engraving and photogravure.
• A smooth paper that tends to be NF, DF or LF on the front, but on the back can be similar to the above paper on the one hand, or can be completely without any woodpulp fibres or inclusions. Usually the issues from 1973 to 1975 will contain fibres and inclusions that determine the overall brightness of the paper. From 1975 to 1976 the paper tends to have almost no inclusions and varies from NF to DF to LF to MF and finally to HB. This paper is used by BABN for the stamps printed by engraving and photogravure.
• A smooth paper with a thinner and shinier chalk coating that was used by Ashton Potter for the lithographed stamps. This paper varies very widely and Unitrade's descriptions are hard to follow, largely because most of the variations have, until very recently been unlisted. The front fluorescence van vary fron NF all the way up to HB, and the back, also tends to start at LF and progress all the way to HB. Distinguishing these though can be very difficult without comparison copies, for they all look HB when compared to say a stamp from the 1960's. However, when you compare them to other stamps of the same issue they are night and day. As a result, many of the better listed varieties are often misidentified. These papers will also often contain woodpulp fibres that will act to dampen the overall perceived fluorescence level, and occasionally fluorescent fibres will be visible as well. Issues from 1972 to 1975 tend to be HF, HB or MF, while starting in 1975 we see NF, DF and LF more commonly.
• A vertical ribbed, thin, smooth chalk-coated paper similar to the above paper, again used by Ashton Potter. I have only seen this paper so far on the 1975 Water Sports semi postals, but it may exist on other issues as well. It is very HF on both the front and back.
• An uncoated paper used by CBN for the Summer and Winter sports issues of 1974. This paper varies from DF to what Unitrade calls HB, but which is really just MF. Fluorescent fibres and woodpulp flecks are usually visble in this paper under UV.
• A medium, chalk coated paper, supplied by Abitibi-Price, that tends to be DF and tends to contain any number of LF and MF fibres. Unitrade often describes this paper as DF, and it can indeed be DF with no fluorescent fibres visible, but it can also include a lot of LF and MF fibres as well. Generally if the paper still reads overall as DF or NF, then it will be considered a variation of DF. Once it reads as LF, then it moves into that category. However, there may be 2-4 sub-types of each of these types of paper.
• A thin, crisp coated paper that was used by CBN for the 1976 Coastal Vessels issue. This paper can be found either DF on the front and back, NF on the front and DF on the back, or NF on both the front and back.

As you can see great care has to be taken to properly identify papers during this period. It must be appreciated that the terms NF and DF are not interchangeable. DF is a dull bluish or greyish white that lacks brightness, but still emits a very low level of light under UV. NF on the other hand must appear either deep violet, deep grey or deep blue and not be reflecting any, or very little light.