Die I On Back Of 1 And 3cent Stamp

I noticed today on the back of two Canadian stamps (1 cent green and 3 cent red) the writing "Die I". I wonder if somebody might have an explanation for this. Thanks, Pete

Two different versions of the stamp. In the little pearl beside the last A in Canada there is a line of shading. Die I the line is a faint cresent. Also the P in Postage has a tiny dot of colour (the loop of the P).
Die II, the cresent in the pearl is stronger and the dot of colour in the P is larger.

Thanks for the quick reply. Based on your explanation, I assume that the writing was just someone's way to ID these two stamps. Thanks again, Pete

Keep in mind one of the fundamental rules of IDing stamps: whatever is written on the back of the stamp could be wrong.

And not just because somebody might have misIDed the stamp. On occasion (although rare), Die/Type definitions differ among the different catalogs. And (very rarely) the definitions can change/evolve over the years -- just like catalog numbers get renumbered.

It's always encouraging to see our personal ID effort match what is written on the back, but don't be surprised if every once in awhile it doesn't.

k

One of my collecting rules: 'anybody who writes on the back of a stamp is too dumb to identify it correctly'.