NUMERAL ISSUE
Re-entries
Five Cents
Half Cent / One Cent / Two Cents / Three Cents
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I recently received a letter and scan from a collector about the stamp seen below as Re-entry #5. It reads as follows: "I am very puzzled by this 5¢ Numeral. It appears to match up with Reiche/Sendbuehler #5.4(1) but I cannot see how this can be a simple re-entry. The pattern in "NA" matches nothing! Or am I going blind?!"
Actually, the same could be said about the odd looking markings in some of the first 7 or 8 stamps seen below, as well as numerous other stamps in my collection. This is something that puzzled me for some time as well, until I came up with the following reasoning. I would appreciate input from anyone else who may have suggestions about how these lines came to be.
This is what I personally have come up with to explain this type of re-entry markings ... It could well be disputed by an engraver, but it makes sense to me.
In the process of engraving a die, there are areas of design that need to be 'scooped out' fairly deeply (relatively speaking) so that those areas will fill completely with ink and print as solid patches of colour. On the 5c Numeral, these areas would be the background to the words CANADA, POSTAGE, FIVE and CENTS. Depending on the type of tool used, I can see the metal being gouged out in strips with ridges between them. (Think of a melon being scooped out by a melon-baller.) Since these ridges are below the surface level of the plate, the engraver may or may not have taken the time to remove the ridges, since the area would fill with ink anyway and the ink in them would print as a solid area of colour. Now we come to the actual process of laying down the designs or re-entering the plate. If a design is partly rocked into the steel plate in the wrong position and stopped before it is entered to its full depth, these ridges may be impressed into the steel. BUT, since the design was not fully entered to the bottoms of these 'valleys' only the tops of the ridges would be pressed into the steel. When printed, the lines made by these ridges could print as the areas that have us puzzled, for example, the 'ray-like' areas or lines in the middle 'A' of CANADA on the stamp in question. If you look at some of the other 5c Numerals, for example, #1, you will see a similar ray-pattern, but in the upper margin. However, if you look at the marks for awhile, you can imagine them as being part of the oval band of lettering that was misplaced significantly upwards. This is true of the various other 5c re-entries seen here as well.
This is my explanation of what these lines are from; I welcome your input.
A wonderful new resource has become available for collectors of this issue with the publication of Peter Spencer's "BLUE OPALINE: The Exceptional Plate One of the Canada Five Cent Numeral Issue" published by BNAPS, April 2007. The 226 page full-colour opus is absolutely loaded with extreme close-up scans taken by a Proscope Computer Microscope. Almost every position on the plate of 200 (two panes of 100 each) has been plated and can be identified with the use of this book.
Peter Spencer followed up on his above work in 2012 with the release of “VICTORIA’S SECRET SLIPS: Plates 2 and 3 of the Canada Five Cent 1898 Numeral Issue” also published By BNAPS. This volume is 126 pages in length and also is in full, glorious colour. It is a perfect companion to his first volume on Plate 1.
NOTE:
**A magnificent Foreign Entry on the 5¢ Numeral has come to light. Click HERE to go to a separate page on this incredible variety.
FIVE CENTS BLUE
*1
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Major Misplaced Entry
Plate 1, Right Pane
Position #13 (1R13)
This is the ‘star’ of the 5¢ Numeral Misplaced Entries, except for the Foreign Entry (see above link).
The markings you see in the upper margins are remnants of the oval lettering band, giving the impression of a rayed pattern in a fan-like shape. There are a number of 5¢ Numerals displaying this type of pattern, some much more obvious than others.
See above for explanation of the following re-entries.
^ Courtesy of Peter Spencer >
^ Courtesy of Hugh Laurence >
*2
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Re-entry
Plate 1, Right Pane
Position #20 (1R20)
This stamp shows evidence of a nice shift to the left, with elements of the horizontal background lines of the portrait oval extending into the ‘C’ and markings also in the first ‘A’ of CANADA.
Being from the right hand column of the sheet, there are also a number of plate layout dots found in the right margin.
^ Courtesy of Hugh Laurence >
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
*3
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Re-entry
Plate Position
This stamp shows similar markings in the ‘C’ as the stamp above, but is missing the details in the ‘A’.
^ Courtesy of Hugh Laurence >
*4
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Re-entry
Plate Position # 1R44
This stamp shows markings below the ‘C’ in the inner white oval of the portrait, as well as marks in the ‘AN’ and in the white oval below the ‘C’ of the rayed pattern described in 1R13 above.
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
*5
Scott #79
5¢ Blue Plate Proof
Re-entry
Plate 1, Right Pane
Position #46 (1R46)
This stamp shows sharp markings in ‘CANAD‘, with the middle ‘A’ exhibiting a very clear rayed pattern, as described earlier.
^ Plate proof showing misplaced entry from 1R46 (RETrimble Collection)
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
The right stamp of the pair
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
*6
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Re-entry
Plate 1, Right Pane
Position #94 (1R94)
This stamp shows markings of the rayed pattern in the middle ‘A’ of CANADA, but from a different plate position than those above.
^ Courtesy of Hugh Laurence >
*7
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Re-entry
Plate 1, Right Pane
Position #1R42
This stamp is yet another showing the now familiar rayed pattern in the middle ‘A’, but also marks in many of the letters of CANADA POSTAGE itself. There are also markings in the inner white oval below the ‘C’, and the left vertical line of the lower left numeral box exhibits two distinctive ‘bubbles’ near its bottom left, as well as its bottom line towards the right.
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
*8
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Re-entry
Position #
*9
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Re-entry
This stamp shows markings in the bottom of the ‘C’ and white oval below it, similar to that of stamp #2, but is different from it.
^ Courtesy of Hugh Laurence >
*10
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Re-entry?
This stamp shows several tiny diagonal markings in the left white inner frame to the left of the maple leaf, and another in the white outer oval of the portrait just above the ‘C’. Some of the leftmost veins of the maple leaf also appear to be doubled.
^ Courtesy of Hugh Laurence >
*11
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Re-entry ?
This stamp shows markings on the top of the lettering band above the ‘A’ and ‘D’
^ Courtesy of Hugh Laurence >
*12
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Re-entry ?
This stamp shows tiny markings in the back of the ‘C’ and in the inner white portrait oval.
^ Courtesy of Hugh Laurence >
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Strong Re-entry
Position # 1R14
This is a nice re-entry found by David Noss. Notice the mark in the first 'A' of CANADA and the arc and marks in the white oval below 'ANA.'
Courtesy of Dave Noss
Courtesy of Dave Noss
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Re-entry
Position # 2R1
There are two interesting vertical parallel lines in the upper left maple leaf. See the close-up below.
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Re-entry
Position # 1R9 (Possibly)
There is a vertical line in the left side of the ‘C’ of CANADA and slight marks in the second ‘A’. The vertical line in the ‘C’ appears to continue up into the spandrel above the ‘AN’.
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Re-entry
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Re-entry
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
^ From the RErimble Collection ^
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Arc
There is an arc to the left of the portrait that appears to have a guide dot at its centre. This is likely part of the plate preparation layout.
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
Scott #79
5¢ Blue
Four Dots in RNB
There are four large dots in the right numeral box.
Both Peter and I are unsure if this stamp is constant? If anyone else has an identical copy, please email me a 1200dpi scan of the full stamp.
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
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Ralph E. Trimble
Specialist
in BNA Re-entries
[email protected]