Odd Stamp And First Post So Bare With Me ) (New Pics)

Just got my USB microscope up and running and thought I would put some much better pics of my cracked tusk on here. This microscope thing is cool and i'll be posting more, I hope soon just went through 20,000 stamps and now sorting for varieties.

Well the stamp in question is Unitrade # 1697 the walrus souvenir sheet. The top is normal as are the 2 on the other sheet I have. The Lower one though has what looks like an engravers slip on the right tusk. So I call it my cracked tusk variety. Under the mag it looks like ink and I've tried everything shy of scrubbing the stamp (I have rubbed it but it stay on there) My question is do I have something, has anyone else seen this or am I just nuts (don't answer that) Also from what I've heard you need at least 5 of the same varieties to make the book not sure though.
Well thanks to all for any info

I would discourage this practice. Perhaps your best bet is to get the opinion of an expertizer.

Northener0

I don't have an answer to your question, but ....

I wish I could be there when wert sees your post The two of you will hit it off wonderfully -- he's posted several flyspecking threads dealing with modern Canada stamps. Read some of them while you're waiting for insight to your cracked tusk.

Kirk

Perhaps the walrus has a little tartar build-up?

Welcome here Northerner. There are many of us interested in Canadian varieties.

If yours is constant, it is a new report and a very good one. I will have to check my sheets when I get home.

Welcome Northerner

I wouldn't rub the stamp at all either - just leave it as it is.

From the scan you posted, I would be inclined to say that it is a 'possible' plate variety. Failing that, it might just be a 'fly speck' variety caused by dirt or some other foreign object on the plate while being printed. At any rate, it is well worth keeping.

On another note, if it was a piece of foreign object on the printing plate, the question would then be, how many runs were made at the printing presses before this 'object' was noticed and removed? This could put the variety into a 'constant' variety but I am more inclined to think that these 'constant' varieties are those retouches by the engravers / printers to the plate itself.

Chimo

Bujutsu

Hi Northerner,

I checked my 2 souvenir sheets. No match.

KirkS.....Some one else in my flyspecking territory....???

Northener0

Well thanks for all the responses this is great and I've been looking for a site like this for sometime now.
Thanks again.

I checked my small sampling of 82 used copies of the $1 Walrus ... but, no luck; no "cracked tusk" variety.

I would guess that nearly all of these 82 copies were used in the first couple of years after the stamp was issued.

I checked mine as well and no match.

I don't have any either, but here's another that may be a "one-off".

I call it "Bloodied shoulder".

The smudge over his muzzle is caused by the stamp mount.