Canada #493 var 6c Dark Olive Green Globe And Tools, 1969 I.L.O Issue, A VFNH Single On HB Paper, Vertical Ribbed, Weak Entry At Left And Right

A VFNH single of the 6c dark olive green Globe And Tools from the 1969 I.L.O Issue on HB paper, vertical ribbed, weak entry at left and right. Weak entries are uncommon on this stamp which is usually very strongly engraved

Our estimated value is $5. The stamp offered here grades 80 as follows:

Centering/Margins: 50/70

Paper Freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of Visible Paper Flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10

This issue marks the introduction of a paper by the CBN that is the extremes, in that it can either appear either as dead under UV or as HB11, HB12 or HB10. The paper also exists in smooth surfaced form and also showing clear horizontal ribbing, or in the case of the Louis Riel stamp, vertical ribbing. Which paper , smooth versus ribbed, is the scarcer, seems to vary from issue to issue. The horizontal ribbed paper dominates on the ILO, Charlottetown Bicentennial and Biological Programme issues, but it appears to be the scarcer paper on the Louis Riel, Henry Kelsey and Oliver Mowat issues. I have done my best to capture these differences by taking pictures with my camera under UV light, but the differences can be harder to see than in real life. That should be borne in mind if you are looking at the scans and cannot tell the difference between them.