By Jesse Robitaille
Three newly discovered Canadian errors have made their way out to Saskatoon.
Acquired by John Jamieson, philatelic expert and owner of Saskatoon Stamp Centre, the three varieties will likely be sold some time before the end of the year.
“They came out of B.C.,” said Jamieson about the errors, “and they’re very interesting.”
2000 PETRO CANADA IMPERF BOOKLET
First up is an inverted die error discovered on a booklet pane of 12 stamps (Scott #1867a) issued in September 2000 to mark Petro Canada’s 25th anniversary. Each of the pane’s 46-cent stamps is without the die cutting, which instead appears on the souvenir page below the stamps.
“They’re all imperf on the top sheet,” said Jamieson. “The die cutting is upside down, so what happened is after they printed it – instead of going through properly to get the die cutting – it went in reverse, so the bottom-half of the sheet has the die cutting that should be on the stamps.”
Jamieson said he has never seen anything quite like this before.
“It’s the only (one) we know of,” he said. “That’s six imperf pairs nobody has ever seen before. I’ve never heard of it.”
Printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company on JAC double-side self-adhesive paper, the stamps – designed by Denis L’Allier from an illustration by Raymond Gendron – depict an oilrig alongside images from the Olympic torch run.
2001 NHL ALL-STARS
MISSING COLOURS
Next up is a missing colour error discovered on a strip of three NHL All-Stars stamps – now collectively catalogued as SC #1885g – released in January 2001 as part of Canada Post’s second NHL All-Stars issue. The 47-cent stamps, featuring Jean Beliveau (SC #1885a), Eddie Shore (SC #1885c) and Bobby Hull (SC #1885e), are each missing the blue circle surrounding the featured player’s image as well as the blue inscription reading “NHL ALL-STARS – ETOILES DE LA LNH.”
“These stamps are the only examples of this error in mint condition, but there’s one used strip known to exist,” said Jamieson. “The bottom stamp, with Hull on it, has a minor tear at the bottom where it separated from the pane of six.”
The stamps were printed by Ashton-Potter Canada on Tullis Russell Coatings coated paper. Designed by Stéphane Huot, of Montreal, the stamps’ designs were inspired by the graphic language of hockey uniforms.
2014 YEAR OF THE HORSE MISSING HORSE
This last error is a dramatic one, and it’s the only example Jamieson is aware of – a booklet of six Year of the Horse international-rate stamps (SC #2701), each of which is missing the gold horse design.
“This is a dramatic error – very interesting – and should sell quickly,” said Jamieson. “It’s the only example we know of.”
Printed by the Lowe-Martin Group on Tullis Russell Coatings coated paper, the Year of the Horse stamps were issued in January 2014 in both international and domestic rates. The design for the international-rate stamp is supposed to depict the horse in movement, with its mane and tail connecting between each stamp. Without the horse, however, the error stamps only show the issuing country and denomination along the top, with the words “HORSE / CHEVAL” inscribed vertically down the left-hand side and two Chinese characters inscribed down the opposite side.
INTERESTING ERRORS
Jamieson said he expects those still collecting modern errors to have their interest piqued with these offerings.
“They should be gone by Christmas,” he said, despite the fact the market for modern errors “isn’t what it used to be.”
“The market is softer and there aren’t as many people, but those who are still collecting are every bit as interested in them.”