Canada #C4var 6c On 5c Olive Brown Mercury & Globe, 1932 Ottawa Economic Conference Issue, 2 Fine OG Singles Extra Island Off Greenland, Semi-Gloss Cream Gum, Surchage Shifted Both Left & Right, Semi-Gloss Cream Gum

2 fine OG singles of the 6c on 5c olive brown Mercury & Globe from the 1932 Ottawa Economic Conference Issue extra island off Greenland, semi-gloss cream gum, surchage shifted both left & right, semi-gloss cream gum. In both these examples, the surcharge is displaced a full milimetre to the left and right of the numeral box, which it ideally should be covering, and which it does on the vast majority of the stamps. This extra island variety reappears on very many stamps as well as the variation without the extra island. The extra island, when it does appear , is always in more or less the same place. This strip shows that both varieties occur on the same sheet, and suggest that they are two different types of the same design. This shows that the variety does not always alternate with the non-variety stamp, but can occur on subesequent stamps.

Unitrade values this at $50. The stamps offered here grade 65-70 as follows:

Centering/Margins: 35/70, 40/70

Paper Freshness: 5/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of Visible Paper Flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 10/10

This stamp, from the Arch issue, always seems to have semi-gloss or satin cream gum, which tends towards white. I have never seen any other type. Given that only 400,000 C2's were issued and 500,000 C4's, it would appear that there was only one printing of C2, or quite possibly two, one in each of the two shades, olive brown and deep olive brown, for a total of 900,000 stamps, a majority of which were overprinted. There appears to be two design types: one with no small, extra island off the coast of Greenland, and another showing an extra island. Lots 535 and 536 prove that these types both occur reqularly in the same sheet.