Phil pages July-Aug-Final - The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada

The Algonkian Indian eight-cent variety showing skip.
perforates stamps in the form of a T or
upside down T compared to an H-comb
which perforates half of the stamp in the
row below and half of the stamp in the
row above (or half in the initial column
and half in the next column).
As in the above case, this variety is
also informative. First, as mentioned it
tells us that a T-comb perforator was
used. Second, the stamps were perforated
not from top to bottom or bottom to top
but sidewards, in other words from left to
right. Third, since the elongated stamps
contain part of the design of the next
stamp, the skip occurred in the middle of
the sheet and not at the end.
Unlike the Parliament Tower 14-cent
stamp variety, there is no correction of
the skip in the next stamp. Had there been
a correction, the fourth column of stamps
would have been narrower and there
would have been overlapping perforations
in the corners of the stamp in the
last column on the left. These overlapping
perforations would have been visible
on the white strip between the fourth
and fifth columns unless it was a 2-row
T-comb perforator. In this case, the overlapping
perforations would have been
visible on the white strip between a fifth
column and selvage.
Conclusion
The above few examples provide philatelists
with how stamp collecting can be
educational and more than just a hobby.
There are numerous other examples such
as misaligned perforations, little, large,
double and elongated perforations, blind
perforations, freak strikes of the perforator
which provide other types of educational
information. Some of these examples are
not only educational but in the longrun
will enable philatelists to form a better
understanding about stamps and help
them avoid costly errors. A good example
of the latter is the case of double perforations
on coil stamps which were fakes.
Bibliography
1. Monteiro, Joseph, Printing and
Perforating Errors of Postage Stamps
in Canada (1953-1997) – An Analysis,
1998.
2. John H. Talman Auctions, Sales Nos.
208-209, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000,
Lot 523, 2000.
3. Saskatoon Stamp Centre, Catalogue
#192, p. 43.
4. Saskatoon Stamp Centre, Catalogue
#203, p. 27.
5. Beaudet, Leopold, “Canadian Stamp
Varieties – 5,” The Canadian
Philatelist, Volume 32, Number 4,
July-August 1981, p. 247.
6. Jamieson, John and Beaudet, Leopold,
Fake Double Perf Coils Uncovered,
Corgi Times, Volume V, Number 6,
May-June 1997, pp.109-118.
A Number of New Major Errors
Have Appeared in
Auction Catalogues
During the last few months, a number
of major errors were reported in several
auction catalogues. It was the first time
that I had seen these errors and for the
benefit of fellow philatelists I shall indicate
these discoveries with appropriate
illustrations where possible.
E. Pauline Johnson
five-cent stamp errors
Two major errors were reported on
the 5-cent E. Pauline Johnson stamp
issued on March 10, 1961. This stamp
was printed in light green and red and
perforated with a 12x12 perforation
gauge. The gum used on this stamp was
the yellow Arabic gum. This stamp was
issued to celebrate the 100th
Anniversary of the birth of Pauline
Johnson. If l recall correctly, she was an
immigrant from England who attempted
to teach the Native Indians English and
later married a Indian Mohawk chief.
Type-1
Missing Colour
and Imperforate
Type 2
Imperforate
Two major errors were reported on this
stamp.
The first appeared in Ian Kimmerly’s
Auction catalogue in August 1999. This
error is interesting in that it contains two
types of errors. First, the red engraving is
missing. Second, the pair of stamps
offered for sale were fully imperforate.
The above mentioned catalogue notes
that the pair of stamps is unique. This can
be seen in the illustration of the stamps
(Type 1) shown above.
The second major error was reported
in R. Maresch & Son’s auction catalogue
of January 18, 2000. This error unlike the
above error contains only one type of
error. It is a fully imperforate error. An
illustration of it is also shown above
(Type 2).
Charter of Rights
36-cent stamp error
A major error on the Charter of Rights
36-cent stamp was recently offered for
sale. This stamp honours the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It was
issued to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of
Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms on April 15, 1987. The
Canadian Charter of Rights is now part of
a famous piece of legislation and is one
of the major achievements of the former
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. It was the
most important feature of the new
Constitution which became Canada’s
supreme law in April 1982. The stamp
issued to commemorate this aspect of
Canadian history was perforated with a
perforation gauge of 14 by 13.5 and the
gum used on these stamps was PVA, a
gum used on present day stamps.
This error was reported in the Eastern
Auctions Ltd. catalogue of January 2000.
Le philatéliste canadien / The Canadian Philatelist Juillet - Août 2000 / 155