Lot 306 Canada #O44 5c Ultramarine Queen Elizabeth II, 1954 Wilding Issue, A VFNH LL Plate 7 Block Of 4 On Unlisted LF Horizontal Ribbed Paper

A VFNH lower left plate 7 block of 4 of the 5c ultramarine Queen Elizabeth II from the 1954 Wilding Issue with official "G" overprint, on an unlisted LF bluish white horizontal ribbed paper, and showing one plate dot at lower right.

Unitrade values this at $6 for the basic block, however our estimate of the value on this paper is $15. 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

The 1954-1962 Wilding Issue is to the QE2 period what the Admiral issue is to the King George V period. It is a much more complex issue than collectors would be led to believe, based on the presentation in Unitrade. First, there are the papers used. Unitrade does distinguish between horizontal ribbed and vertical ribbed, and on the vertical ribbed stamps they do list speckled fluorescent, fluorescent, HF and HB papers. But the papers are more complicated than this. With respect to the horizontal ribbed paper, the printings from plates 1-3 are found almost exclusively on this paper. However the strength of the ribbing varies from weak to very strong, and different colours of DF paper under UV can be found, such as light violet, greyish white, bluish white and so forth. Starting with plate 4 and carrying through to plate 10, the paper is found smooth on the surface, with ribbing only visible on the gummed side, and then smooth on both sides. Plates 4-6 can be found on both smooth and ribbed papers, while plates 7-10 are genrally all smooth. The gum on this printings will generally follow the same pattern seen on the commemorative issues. The vertical ribbed papers are more or less as listed in Unitrade, but the same comments regarding different colours under UV of the DF and NF papers generally applies here too. Secondly, several shades can be found on most values, with the range being very similar to what is found on the Admirals. The Winnipeg tagged issues can be found with tagging that varies from very dark yellow, giving a greenish yellow glow under UV, to a barely visible tagging that appears bluish white under UV. Finally the perforations vary, with measurements between 11.85 and 12.15 being found on either side, with any compound being possible. Where we have not described the perforation measurements or the paper colour under UV, you can expect the lot to include a variety of different measurements and colours, but each item could be any one of the possibilities mentioned.