Lot 394 Canada #781i 1c Multicoloured Bottle Gentian, 1977-1982 Floral & Environment Issue, A VF Used Single BABN Printing With Rare Hook Tag Flaw - Only Comes From Late 1981-Early 1982 Printings, Hook At Bottom

A VF used single of the 1c multicoloured Bottle Gentian from the 1977-1982 Floral & Environment Issue BABN printing with rare hook tag flaw - only comes from late 1981-early 1982 printings, hook at bottom. The hook tag flaw is found only on a few printings from late 1981 and early 1982. It first appeared on some of the 50c vending machine booklets with the maple leaf design, from the Artifacts issue. So, the low values were in the process of being replaced by the artifact designs when this flaw appeared. It is clear, from the fact that it appears on the low value sheet stamps and from the booklet stamps, that BABN used the same tagging plates on several of the values. Because these appeared so late in the life of the issue, they are incredibly rare - much more so than the modest catalogue values would suggest: I have literally hundreds of stamps that catalogue $20. But I went through easily 2,000 used stamps - 20 bundles of 100 in order to find this example, and the one in the next lot (lot 395). The hook in the flaw moves up and down the sheet, so that on this example, the hook appears toward the bottom of the stamp, whereas on lot 395, it appears towards the middle of the design.

Unitrade values this at $20. The stamp offered here grades 82 as follows:

Centering/Margins: 44/60

Paper Freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of Visible Paper Flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10

Cancellation: 8/10