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Brixton Chrome

Lot #143 Canada #454pii 1c Chocolate Brown, Northern Lights and Dogsled Team, 1967-1973 Centennial Issue, A VFNH Vertical Strip of 20 on HB Paper, Winnipeg Centre Bar Tag, Showing the Constant Sinusoidal Plate Crack

Lot #143 Canada #454pii 1c Chocolate Brown, Northern Lights and Dogsled Team, 1967-1973 Centennial Issue, A VFNH Vertical Strip of 20 on HB Paper, Winnipeg Centre Bar Tag, Showing the Constant Sinusoidal Plate Crack

A vertical strip of 20 of the 1c chocolate brown Northern Lights and Dogsled team stamp from the 1967-1973 Centennial issue, printed on HB paper, that has a brightness level of 12 on the Freeman/Irwin scale and which has the elusive Winnipeg centre bar tag. This strip shows the constant "sinusoidal plate crack that occurred on every third sheet in certain affected pads of sheets that were distributed of this very limited printing. The crack starts at the left side of the upper right stamp and then travels through the strip, going from one side to the other, just like a sine wave, as shown in the scans. Perf. 11.85. The gum is streaky dextrine.

    Although Unitrade and Harris list HB paper as one level of brightness, the Freeman-Irwin scale makes clear that there are actually at least two and possibly three brightness levels on their 12 point scale, which correspond to the hibrite designation. This is the brightest of those three.

    The 1c sheet stamps printed by CBN were printed in a number of different shades, depending on when the printings were made:

    • Plate 1 and 2 printings made between 1967 and 1968 tend to be in shades of violet brown or brown.
    • Plate 1 and 2 printings made between 1968 and 1970 tend to be printed in shades of chocolate and reddish chocolate.
    • Plate 3 and 4 printings made between 1970 and 1971 tend to be printed in shades of deep brown, chocolate or reddish chocolate.
    • Plate 5 printings made between 1971 and 1973 tend to be printed in shades of reddish brown, though chocolate shades are also found.

    The collage shows the differences between some of these shades, though they are easier to see in the flesh for some reason.

    The gum used on all printings to 1971 is dextrine, but within this category, there are a number of different types, which differ by the way the gum appears, when viewed in light:

    • Early printings have yellowish gum that appears either completely smooth, mildly streaky, or very streaky, and has a semi-gloss sheen.
    • Later printings made toward 1970 have gum that has a distinct satin sheen, and can occasionally appear grainy.
    • Plate 3 and 4 printings made between 1970 and 1971 often have a gum that appears mottled and "sponged on". This is a very distinct look that is not seen on the earlier plate 1 and 2 printings. However, the normal smooth and streaky versions of the dextrine gum is also found on these printings as well.

    The PVA gum used on the plate 5 printings, shows very little variation, but a subtle difference can be found in the sheen and thickness of the gum, with the earlier printings having a thicker gum with a satin sheen, compared to a slightly thinner gum that has an eggshell sheen.

    Neither Unitrade nor Harris list this plate crack, but it should be worth a considerable premium over the value of the normal singles, which is $160. Our estimate of the value for this strip is $250. The strip offered here grades 75

    Unitrade lists all stamps printed by the CBN that are not coils as being perf. 12. This is an over-simplification. In actual fact, the machines used by the CBN to perforate the sheets gauged 12, 11.95, 11.9 and 11.85, so that combiations of these four measurements on both sides are possible. They are not all equally common, but by and large 11.9 and 11.95 are more common on the early printings, whereas 11.85 is more common on the later PVA gum printings.

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