Fifteen Cents Large Queen

The most controversial of the Large Queen Re-entries is the so-called Major Re-entry on the 15¢ value. Some have questioned that it is even a re-entry, as it more closely resembles a slip print. However, slip prints are not constant plate varieties, whereas the 15¢ major re-entry is indeed constant. Adding to the mix, though, is the fact that there appear to be examples showing differing strengths of the doulbing.

It has been long-believed that this re-entry (actually a fresh entry) originated in plate position #1 of the plate of 100, and after some time, this position was repaired, effectively removing the major re-entry from existence. This would seem to eliminate the possibility that the major re-entry had enough time to become worn during usage, thus resulting in the less-strong versions mentioned above. However, a very interesting theory has been put forth by several collectors about the possible reason for this. Glenn Archer put it best in an email to me when he said, "I have felt for a while that paper type may have some influence on the strength of the re-entry doubling, i.e. the stouter/harder the paper, the less depth of impression one could expect. If you compare many copies, you will find significant variance in the strength and spread of the doubling. It all happens in the same places though. I find the best "marker" is the doubling of the inner part of the vignette circle, and not the left "15."

After almost 142 years, the controversy still continues.

By the way, of the copies I show below, I believe that #4, Bill Burden's copy, is the finest one I have seen to date!

RE-ENTRIES.COM LARGE QUEEN ISSUE The 15¢ Large Queen Major Re-entry 1868-1876 The most controversial of the Large Queen Re-entries is the so-called Major Re-entry on the 15¢ value. Some have questioned that it is even a re-entry, as it more closely resembles a slip print. However, slip prints are not constant plate varieties, whereas the 15¢ major re-entry is indeed constant. Adding to the mix, though, is the fact that there appear to be examples showing differing strengths of the doulbing. It has been long-believed that this re-entry (actually a fresh entry) originated in plate position #1 of the plate of 100, and after some time, this position was repaired, effectively removing the major re-entry from existence. This would seem to eliminate the possibility that the major re-entry had enough time to become worn during usage, thus resulting in the less-strong versions mentioned above. However, a very interesting theory has been put forth by several collectors about the possible reason for this. Glenn Archer put it best in an email to me when he said, "I have felt for a while that paper type may have some influence on the strength of the re-entry doubling, i.e. the stouter/harder the paper, the less depth of impression one could expect. If you compare many copies, you will find significant variance in the strength and spread of the doubling. It all happens in the same places though. I find the best "marker" is the doubling of the inner part of the vignette circle, and not the left "15." After almost 142 years, the controversy still continues. By the way, of the copies I show below, I believe that #4, Bill Burden's copy, is the finest one I have seen to date!
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		In response to those who still have difficulty 'seeing' the re-entry, below is a scan taken from Duckworth's book, THE LARGE QUEEN STAMPS OF CANADA AND THEIR USE 1868-1872, page 126, showing the re-entry details as drawn by Horace Harrison. Courtesy of H.E. & H.W. Duckworth, THE LARGE QUEEN STAMP OF CANADA AND THEIR USE 1868-1872
*1	Scott #29 15¢ Large Queen The Major Re-entry Position #1	The following six photos show close-ups of Horace Harrison’s finest copy of the Major Re-entry on the 15¢ Large Queen, Scott #29. Mr. Harrison also had a second copy, but the details were not as sharp and prominent as the one you see below. Both of these, I believe, were sold recently by Robert A. Lee, BC, Canada. Following Mr. Harrison’s copy, I present photos of other copies of this re-entry that I am aware of. As mentioned above, this re-entry has a blurred ‘slip print’ type of appearance, and this may be the reason more of them have not surfaced. Perhaps the owners believe them to be simply kiss prints. It is believed that this re-entry was a fresh entry and occurred in Position #1 on the plate of 100. See Mr. Harrison’s explanation of this in Duckworth’s “THE LARGE QUEEN STAMPS OF CANADA AND THEIR USE 1868-1872” page 126. It should be noted here that Fred Fawn has in his collection a unique complete sheet of 100 of the 15¢ from an early printing, and he has confirmed that his sheet does indeed show the major re-entry in position #1. If any other collectors reading this own a copy of this re-entry and would like theirs to be shown here, please email a 1200dpi jpg scan of it to me at <[email protected]> and I would be happy to place it on this page. Courtesy of Horace Harrison
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*2	Scott #29 15¢ Large Queen The Major Re-entry Position #1 Here are two photos of a find by Jim Hennok. At the time, this was the clearest, sharpest copy of the 15¢ Major Re-entry I had ever seen. This stamp was later sold in Jim’s Auction. My thanks to Kimmo Salonen for providing these photos.	Anonymous
*3	Scott #29 15¢ Large Queen The Major Re-entry Position #1 Here is a scan of a 15¢ Major that sold in John Talman’s Auction on Feb. 26, 2002. Note the large horizontal tear on the lower left side near the top of the numeral box. It sold for $600CDN. Thanks, John, for sending me the photo.	Courtesy of John Talman
*4	Scott #29 15¢ Large Queen The Major Re-entry Position #1 Bill Burden sent me these photos of a copy of the 15¢ Large Queen Major he found. THIS is clearly the finest copy I have seen! Courtesy of W.G. Burden	Courtesy of W.G. Burden
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*5	Scott #29 15¢ Large Queen The Major Re-entry Position #1 Glenn Archer, emailed me awhile ago to tell me about his latest discovery... "Thought you might like to see the attached stamp, which I picked up by "accident" in a small lot of Large Queens. I am certain it is the major re-entry. What is further interesting (actually amazing to me) is that the stamp is on Bothwell paper (no watermark of course, makes sense for Position 1), in what I would describe as similar to the muddy brownish purple shade, and perfed 11 1/2 X 12. I'll let the pictures speak for themself, I am still pinching myself. Let me know if you need clearer pictures. Best regards, Glenn Archer." Courtesy of Glenn Archer	Courtesy of Glenn Archer
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		Below I will be showing copies of the 'major' that do not appear to have the same strength (or width of doubled details) of those above. As I mentioned above, however, a very interesting theory has been put forth by several collectors about the possible reason for this. Glenn Archer put it best in an email to me when he said, "I have felt for a while that paper type may have some influence on the strength of the re-entry doubling, i.e. the stouter/harder the paper, the less depth of impression one could expect. If you compare many copies, you will find significant variance in the strength and spread of the doubling. It all happens in the same places though. I find the best "marker" is the doubling of the inner part of the vignette circle, and not the left "15."
*9	Scott #29 15¢ Large Queen The Major Re-entry Position #1 ? To the right you will find a series of scans taken with my ProScope computer microscope at 50X of a 15¢ Large Queen re-entry discovered by Glenn Archer of Toronto. While it does indeed appear to have all of the details of the Major Re-entry in all the right places, the span, or width, of the separation between the main stamp design and the re-entry appears to be only about half of that of the ‘strong’ versions of the Major Re-entry we have seen. (See Bill Burden’s and Glenn Archer’s ‘strong’ copies. The question is, is this a later, worn state of the Major Re-entry, OR is it another re-entry completely, from a different plate position on the sheet? See Glenn Archer's theory about this above.	^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
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*10	Scott #29 15¢ Large Queen Re-entry??? Position Unknown This stamp shows possible signs of doubling in 'ANA' and the lower left '5.' Whether this has any relation to the Major Re-entry on the 15¢ remains to be seen. It is thought that the Major Re-entry was corrected early in the life of the plate, and if so, there would not really have been time for 'worn' copies of the Major to develop. Any reports/scans of duplicate copies of this stamp would be appreciated.	^ From the RETrimble Collection ^

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Return to Index Return to Listings Page Ralph E. Trimble Specialist in BNA Re-entries [email protected]