Canada #F2a 5c Bluish Green 1875-88 Registered Issue, A Fine Used Example of the Second Ottawa Printing, Perf. 12 on Soft Vertical Wove Paper

A fine used example of the Second Ottawa printing of the 5c dark green registered stamp. Printed on soft vertical wove paper, and perf. 12

The registered letter stamps were printed and issued at the same time that the Small Queen Issue was in use. However, the perforations found and the papers used do not always match those found on the equivalent Small Queen stamps. Many of the Montreal printings have perforations measuring 12.1, 12.1 or 12.25 on at least one side, while the scarce Montreal printing listed as perf. 12 x 11.5 is most often 12 x 11.75 in actuality.

It should be realized that the scarcity of the stamps follows the rates that were in effect for registration. So, for domestic registration the rate was 2c until May 1889 when it increased to 5 cents. So, Montreal printings of the 2c registered stamps are much more common than second Ottawa printings, and for the 5c stamp the exact opposite is true. The Montreal printings of the 5c stamps and the 8c stamps were only used for certain foreign and US-bound destinations, and consequently are much scarcer.

Unitrade values a F-65 example at $3. The stamp offered here grades F-68 as follows:

Centering/margins: 30/60

Paper freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 8/10

Cancellation: 10/10