Lot 178 Canada #429var 5c Olive, Yellow & Green Northwest Territories, 1964 Floral Emblems & Coat Of Arms, A VFNH LL Block Of 10 On NF Paper, Perf 11.95 x 11.9, Bee Flaws On Several Positions (Pos. 46, 47, 41 & 27) & Darkened Flower Petal At Pos 37

A VFNH LL block of 10 of the 5c olive, yellow & green Northwest Territories from the 1964 Floral Emblems & Coat Of Arms. Bee flaws on several positions (Pos. 46, 47, 41 & 27) & darkened flower petal at pos 37

Our estimate of value is $25. The block offered here grades 80 as follows:

Centering/Margins: 50/70

Paper Freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of Visible Paper Flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10

There are a few important things to note in regard to the issues between 1963 and 1967. Firstly most of the issues exist on at least one type of fluorescent paper, whether or not these varieties are listed in Unitrade. The issues for which fluorescent varieties are listed are the more common ones, though that being said my work on these issues indicates to me that the fluorescent papers generally do not exceed 5% of the total printing, and in some cases, such as the 1964 Quebec Conference issue, it is much closet to 1-2%. Within the fluorescent category there are often more than one type of fluorescent paper, ranging from low fluorescent that contains no fluorescent fibres to dull papers that appear fluorescent due to the high degree of bright fluorescent fibres contained in them. Second, shades do vary on most issues, with the differences mostly being subtle, but occasionally being very striking. Third the perforations vary considerably from 11.75 to 11.95 on both sides, with 11.9 on both sides being the most common measurement. On the floral and emblems issue, shade differences can be found on both the frame and the lithographed vignette, and there are many, potentially constant varieties that are not listed in Unitrade. Most of these are likely constant, but because each value was printed in six panes of 50, many mint sheets of each value would need to be studied before the status of these varieties can be determined with certainty.

We cannot overemphasize the difficulty in obtaining stamps grading above VF-84. These issues make it appear that finding this should be easy, but such is not the case. On several issues, including the Provincial Flowers and Emblems issue the margins are very wide, so that a stamp has to be really poorly centered before it becomes as noticeable as the earlier issues. The stamps of this period are still line perforated, and when you examine sheets carefully you will see that the lines are often not straight, but often at a slight angle. The result is that we generally do not find more than 1-2 GEM-100 stamps in a sheet or 3-5 examples grading XF-94 or higher. Most of the time a complete sheet will not yield any premium examples at all. This is our rationale for offering these innocuously inexpensive stamps individually: because you may have to break up many plate blocks or sheets to find another comparable stamp.

Finally all potentially constant varieties are much, much scarcer than the very modest Unitrade prices would suggest. Even varieties listed as existing on every pane still only occur on 1 single position usually, making the potential total just 1 in 50 stamps. Many varieties though are NOT present on every pane, but might only occur once every six panes, or even fewer than this, since a semi-constant variety may only occur on say every second or every third upper left pane, for instance. Thus the most common varieties never comprise more than 2% of the total printing, and then if you are trying to find them on fluorescent paper also, it will only be 5% of that 2%, which translates into 0.1% of the toal printing. So, for an issue with say 30 million stamps, that represents about 30,000 stamps originally printed, many of which have been used. So, this puts things in perspective with regard to scarcity and value.