Pence Issue
Re-entries
Seven and a Half Pence
Long thought to have only a single re-entry in pp7, a study of a full Proof Sheet of 120 designs (12 X 10) has made the discovery of several other significant varieties possible.
My sincerest thanks to Saskatoon Stamp Centre for their continued support in enabling me to bring you close-up scans of existing re-entries and to discover new ones to share with you.
Scott #9
Seven and a Half Pence
The Major Re-entry
Plate Position #7
This is a very scarce re-entry on an already valuable stamp. Note the subtle doubling in much of the lettering, the corner numerals, and the portrait itself. The lower right '7' cuts through the inner frameline, similar to numerous re-entries on the Decimal Issue.
I have added a large scan of a plate proof of this major re-entry, showing the clarity of the many details. Note the additional marks in the right margin. These do not appear on the issued stamp, as seen below, and were removed before the plate was put to press.
Courtesy of Saskatoon Stamp Centre
^ Courtesy of Saskatoon Stamp Centre ^
^ Courtesy of David Roberts ^
For many years there has been a variety on the Seven and a Half Pence known as the 'Flaw in 1d in the Upper Right Triangle.' A 'flaw' is usually the result of some sort of accidental damage to the plate, such as a dropped tool gouging the plate. This gouge would then pick up ink and print as some sort of blob or splotch on whichever stamp design was damaged.
I recently gained access to a 1200dpi scan of a full Proof sheet of this stamp of 120 subjects (12 X 10), Courtesy of Saskatoon Stamp Centre, and some startling new information has now come to light!
Not only was I able to find the position of the above 'flaw' stamp (already known as pp83), but I found another, almost identical, 'flaw' in pp47. This one, however, contained much clearer details than pp83, and I can confidently state that this is not a 'flaw' at all, but rather a beautiful misplaced entry which was likely the result of a dropped transfer roller, rather than just some tool.
Because of the similarity of the two, I am also confident that the original 'flaw' in pp83 was most likely caused the very same way, and so it too is a misplaced entry! I will start with the 'new' one...
Scott #9
Seven and a Half Pence
Misplaced Entry / Dropped Transfer Roll
Plate Position #47
This newly discovered 'flaw' in the 1d of the UR corner value is actually a beautiful misplaced entry. Note the extensive detail in both the UL and UR corner value areas, as well as the clear marks in the upper margin above both of those areas. There is also a tiny 'tick' in the LLcorner of the stamp above this one. Numerous marks can also be found in some of the lettering below, but these may or may not be part of this misplaced entry.
Close-ups of the two upper corners follow and you will see that these are unmistakenly engraved lines from a transfer roll and not just a dropped tool, as long has been assumed.
^ Courtesy of Saskatoon Stamp Centre ^
The 'original' 'flaw' stamp from pp83 follows and you will see the extreme similarity between the two.
^ Courtesy of Saskatoon Stamp Centre ^
Scott #9
Seven and a Half Pence
Misplaced Entry / Dropped Transfer Roll
Plate Position #83
This is the position that has been listed in catalogues for quite some time now as the 'flaw' in the upper right triangle.
However, if you examine the following close-ups carefully, you will find many similarities between this stamp and the pp47 above. The latter is clearly a misplaced entry, likely caused by a transfer roll that was inadvertently dropped on to the steel plate, impressing some of its details on to the plate.
Here, we see not only the 'damage' to the '1d' of the UR fraction, but 'damage' in the upper left corner as well. There are also similar markings in the top margin, as seen in pp47.
While the marks in both corners are less distinct than those of pp47, if you examine the close-ups carefully, you will see some signs that certainly appear to be engraved, rather than just 'random gouges': along with the blotchy details in the UL value, the are several parallel lines going between the 's' & 't' of STERLING that appear to us as being on a 45* angle; there is also a somewhat horizontal line through the 'g'; there are numerous marks in some of the lettering, as well as marks on and around the Queen's head, with a particularly nasty mark through her left eye.
All of these details, along with the evidence found on pp 47, lead me to believe that both of these plate positions resulted from dropped transfer rollers, and not just a simple dropping of a tool on to the plate. These details originated from an engraved transfer roll, thus giving us two marvelous misplaced entries!
Courtesy of Saskatoon Stamp Centre
Note: I would like to acknowledge my friend and correspondent, Michael D. Smith, of Tennessee, for putting the original idea of this 'flaw' being a misplaced entry into my head. Michael purchased a copy of The Greene Foundation publication, "Canada's Pence Era: The Pence Stamps and the Canadian Mail 1851-1859" 1997, by George B. Arfken, Arthur W. Leggett. Charles G. Firby & Allan L. Steinhart from me through my GreeneBooks listings on eBay not long ago. Shortly after receiving the book, Mike emailed me and asked if I had examined the photograph of the 'flaw' on Scott #9 found on p.82, and the block of 4 of Scott #9 on p.78, which also appeared to have the flaw. From his many years of collecting re-entries, he wondered if the lines found in both upper margins were an indication of a misplaced entry?
Not really being interested in 'flaws' I had not paid any attention to these photos, but on examining them closer, I began to wonder if Mike was right!
Well, the 1200dpi scans of a full proof sheet of 120 kindly provided to me by Saskatoon Stamp Centre allowed me to check out Mike's theory at very close range, and I was thrilled with what I found! Way to go, Mike! And my sincere thanks to Saskatoon Stamp Centre for their continued wonderful support.
^ Courtesy of Saskatoon Stamp Centre ^
While there was only one major re-entry recorded on the 7 1/2d (though now several more - see above), there are actually more goodies to be found on this plate. However, they do not occur on the stamps, but on the Imprints! The bottom right imprint was originally badly misplaced by the siderographer, then a weak attempt was made to erase it and a new one entered in the proper place. The result was the lovely doubled imprint you see below. The left half of the imprint is found under plate position #117, and the right half under #118. Below you will find scans of both halves. Further down the page you will find the re-entered imprint that occurred in the lower left margin opposite position #85. While not as extreme as the previous one, it is still an example of a nicely doubled imprint.
Scott #9
7 1/2d Queen Victoria
Major Misplaced Imprint
Plate Position #117 on the sheet of 120.
Second stamp Courtesy of Domenic DiMartella
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
Single stamp Courtesy of Domenic DiMartella
Scott #9
7 1/2d Queen Victoria
Major Misplaced Imprint
Plate Position #118 on the sheet of 120.
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
^ Courtesy of R. A. Siegel Auctions - Proof Sheet of 120 ^
Scott #9
7 1/2d Queen Victoria
Re-entered Imprint
Plate Position #25
Upper left side of sheet.
^ Courtesy of R. A. Siegel Auctions - Proof Sheet of 120 ^
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Ralph E. Trimble
Specialist
in BNA Re-entries
[email protected]