SMALL QUEEN ISSUE
1870-1897
Three Cents
Scott #37/41
The examples shown below are only a very few of the many fine re-entries to be found on the 3¢ Small Queen. I have many more examples to add,
as well as showing full stamp scans of as many of those that show only partial details as I can locate.
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Scott #41vii
Three Cents
The Major Re-entry
At present, this is the only copy known of this striking re-entry on the 3¢. It is owned by Bill Burden <wgburden.com>. As you can see, the condition isn’t the greatest. The entire design is doubled, though most noticeable in the lower half. All of the lines on the face and neck are doubled, as well as the bottom of the portrait oval, both 3's, and CENTS, Note that the 'mangled' appearance of CENTS is extremely similar to that of the three major re-entries on the 6¢ red brown Small Queen.
Reports of a second copy would be greatly anticipated.
Scan Courtesy of W.G. Burden
Scott #41
Three Cents
A Major Dropped and Bounced Transfer Roll
When I first saw this stamp for sale, I was extremely intrigued. Unsure of what to make of it, I reached for my copy of Ken Kershaw’s book, THE RE-ENTRIES AND VARIETIES IN THE 3-CENT SMALL QUEEN, BNAPS, 2013. Much to my delightful surprise I found Kershaw showed not only one, but TWO copies of this very same variety (Page 188, RE-ENTRY #96, and Page 205, FACE AND NECK VARIETIES, #8b), proving it to be constant, and not just kiss prints or wiping errors!
If you look closely, you will see somewhat diagonal markings on the lower neck, as well as a curved arc crossing the portrait oval’s horizontal background lines, through the white portrait oval, crossing the floral ornament above the lower right numeral 3, and out into the right margin. (There is also evidence of a re-entry at the top in CANADA POSTAGE and in the bottom part of the design, including the word CENTS.)
I have included a black & white copy of my scan below the coloured one to help show the contrast between the normal lines of the design and these misplaced ones. Close-ups below are also shown in black & white.
Finally, I have included a scan of Kershaw’s Page 188, his RE-ENTRY #98.
This is important because in his example, the curved arc going out into the right margin is much longer than my example. If you look closely at this line on his copy, you will notice that the right end of it begins to curve upwards.
This got me to thinking about how this variety came about! The extra lines on the neck certainly appear to be misplaced lines of the lower part of the neck design, signalling to me the possibility of a dropped transfer roll, turned at an angle to the normal design. However, the arc through the margin above the 3, seems out of place compared to the lines on the neck...UNTIL you notice that this arced line ALSO appears to be the same shape as the lower misplaced line on the neck!!!
The only explanation I can think of, is that when the transfer roll was accidentally dropped onto the plate heavily enough to impart the extra curved neck lines, it must have BOUNCED on the steel plate, imparting this extra line on the design! If you mentally rotate the extra neck lines counterclockwise to line up properly with the original lines on the neck, the arced line does not fit into any portion of the rest of the design, so it must have happened at a different time, even if it was only enough time for the roll to bounce!
NOTE that while I own Kershaw’s book on the 3¢ re-entries and varieties, I do not necessarily agree with all of his descriptions! This is markedly apparent to me in the large number of slip prints that he describes as re-entries! I won’t take time to identify them all here, but they are pretty obvious to me.
^ From the RETrimble Collection ^
^ Courtesy of Ken Kershaw: THE RE-ENTRIES AND VARIETIES IN THE 3-CENT SMALL QUEEN, BNAPS 2013 ^
Three Cents
A Major Twisted Re-entry
Here is a marvelous twisted re-entry! Originally identified as being R&S Fig. 4-4 (pg. 46), this stamp is much more than just a run-of-the-mill re-entry. It screams strongly twisted re-entry! I don't think that "small scratch" to the right of the UL ornament ball that R&S mention is a scratch at all - rather, I believe it is the right edge of the ornament ball itself! If you look at the very bottom left curl near the guide dot, you see it is doubled outward to the left, but if you look at the faint lines below the design on the bottom right, you see they are doubled downward. This, to me, is clearly a clockwise twist of the original design that was almost completely erased and replaced by the strong, final stamp design that is now the stamp itself.
There are marks in the 'T' and 'E' of POSTAGE, as well as in the design directly following the 'E' that reflect the twist. There is also some doubling of the inner portrait oval out into the white oval at the bottom from about 4:00 to 8:00. And the 'piece de resistance' so to speak, is the doubling found in the centre of the normally empty white space to the south-west of the upper right corner ornament ball!
I have repeated the first scan below the first with the major elements boxed in black to allow you to see the items I mention above, with and without distracting boxes.
This stamp and scan were provided courtesy of Bob Turkowski.
Courtesy of Bob Turkowski
Three Cents
A Major Re-entry
Here is another major re-entry found by Bob Turkowski, showing over-all doubling of the entire design.
Courtesy of Bob Turkowski
Three Cents
A Major Re-entry
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Three Cents
A Major Re-entry
Sharp, clear doubling of the lower left corner, including the 3 and ‘CENTS,’ the bottom of the portrait oval, and the bottom of the design.
R&S #4-39
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Three Cents
A Major Re-entry
Wide doubling is found in all of ‘CANADA POSTAGE.’
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Three Cents
A Strong Re-entry
Doubling in ‘CANADA’ and the lower left corner, with a distinctive mark in the back of the ‘C’ of ‘CENTS.’
R&S 4-41?
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Three Cents
A Strong Re-entry
Sharp doubling is found in the top and bottom parts of the design, particularly in the top of ‘CANADA’ and the oval below it, as well as the top of ‘CENTS’ and the frame below it.
R&S 4-38
The mark in the E of POSTAGE was pointed out to me by Steven Perch.
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Three Cents
A Sharp Re-entry
This time the doubling is found in the lower right corner in the 3 and distinctive marks in the ‘S’ of ‘CENTS.’
R&S 4-37
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Three Cents
A Major Re-entry
Here is another terrific major re-entry showing doubling over the entire design. This was submitted by Michael D. Smith.
Courtesy of Michael D. Smith
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Ralph E. Trimble
Specialist
in BNA Re-entries
[email protected]