Beneficial Insects (2007-)
Updated Feb 7/13
 Background
Checklist
Gum
Hidden features
Varieties
Vertical or Horizontal?
Press sheets
Background
For the second time, Canada Post released low-value definitives that had the
design pass through the perforations. Since the stamps are not tagged, this
allowed the design to cover the entire stamp.
Another first for Canadian low-value definitives: a souvenir sheet containing
the five values.
And another first: panes of 50 stamps instead of 100.
The 11 different values were released at three different times:
- initially, the 1c, 3c, 5c, 10c, and 25c values were released 2007 in
singles, souvenir sheet of 5 and a press sheet
- a 2c value was released in 2009
- in 2010, another group of 5 values were released: 4c, 6c, 7c, 8c, and 9c,
again as singles, souvenir sheet of 5 and a press sheet
Checklist
| |
Sheet |
Souvenir Sheet |
| |
CBN |
| |
13.0x13.4 |
| |
Coated Papers |
| Value |
Blue-green gum |
Transparent
(white) gum |
Blue-green gum |
Transparent
(white) gum |
| 1c Convergent lady beetle |
Oct 12/07 |
|
|
Oct 12/07 |
|
|
| 2c Monarch caterpillar |
|
Apr 22/09 |
|
|
|
|
| 3c Golden-eyed Lacewing |
Oct 12/07 |
|
|
Oct 12/07 |
|
Oct 16/12* |
| 4c Paper wasp |
|
|
Oct 19/10 |
|
Oct 19/10 |
Oct 16/12* |
| 5c Northern bumblebee |
Oct 12/07 |
|
|
Oct 12/07 |
|
|
| 6c Assassin bug |
|
|
Oct 19/10 |
|
Oct 19/10 |
|
| 7c Large milkweed bug |
|
|
Oct 19/10 |
|
Oct 19/10 |
|
| 8c Margined leatherwing |
|
|
Oct 19/10 |
|
Oct 19/10 |
Oct 16/12* |
| 9c Dogbane beetle |
|
|
Oct 19/10 |
|
Oct 19/10 |
|
| 10c Canada darner
(dragonfly) |
Oct 12/07 |
|
|
Oct 12/07 |
|
|
| 25c Cecropia moth |
Oct 12/07 |
|
Dec /12 |
Oct 12/07 |
|
|
* Stamps contain hidden features.
Gum
Two types of gum have been used on these stamps.
The values introduced in 2010 had the panes of 50 printed on paper with
transparent gum; the result is the back of the stamps looks very white. The 25c
value appeared with white gum in early December 2012.
The original values of 2007, the 2c value of 2008, and both souvenir sheets
(including the 2010 release) were printed on paper with a blue-green tinge to
the gum. The result is that the five values of 2010 have two different,
collectable varieties.
It is quite possible that future reprints of any of the first six values
released in 2007 and 2008 will appear on paper with the transparent gum,
resulting in new varieties.
Hidden features
A 'special' souvenir sheet was released October 16, 2012 containing three of the low-value insect stamps. Each stamp includes
'hidden' features identified on the side of the souvenir sheet.
Varieties
Design Error
The most prominent variety to be found on these stamps is actually an error of design. On the
initial printing of the 3c value, four of the stamps from
the pane of 50 have an inscription placement error. The normal stamp has a
space between after Canada; the error stamps have no space after Canada.
This error was corrected with a reprint of the 3c value and appeared in December
2009.
The four error stamps are found in the second row:
Inscription
Error
The 6c value, issued in 2010, has an inscription error found in all four
corners of every pane. A future reprint, if needed, will likely correct
this mistake. Canada Post announced this "credit error" on their
Facebook page before the stamps were issued.
All of these stamps were printed by Canadian Bank Note. For some reason,
the 6c value indicates "Lowe Martin".
Lowe-Martin (notice the hyphen) is the other printer of Canadian stamps.
Why would CBN show a "Lowe Martin" inscription? Fascinating error!
Vertical vs. Horizontal
Should these stamps be oriented in a vertical format (as illustrated above) or in a horizontal format (as illustrated below)?
These stamps were purposely designed to be oriented either way. The souvenir
sheet, uncut press sheet and Canada Post illustrations place the stamps
vertically, with the denomination on the right side reading up (as illustrated
above).
Press sheet
The press sheet of the original 5 values contains panes of all values issued at
that time with multiples of the 1c and 10c.
The press sheet of the third group of 5 values contains panes of all values
issued at that time with multiples of the 8c and 9c.
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