Small Queen Scott 35ix?

Is this a 35ix yellow orange?

I'd say it's hard to tell from your image because it has a decidedly overall yellow tone to it (even the paper is yellow). Judging by the Christmas Eve 1897 postmark it's likely a later Ottawa printing, if that makes a difference.

Nice centering and perfs. Nice to see readable dates from a postmark.

I agree the paper or scan looks yellowish also. hard to tell.


What lighting are you using to photograph the stamp with? If incandescent then that would add a yellow tinge to paper. A scanner eliminates colour tints.

Without the tinting it looks light a light yellow possibly.

To tell colours on he Small Queens look behind and above the Queen's head at the solid colour patches there.

The stamp has a perforation jump at the bottom. Is this common?

Yes it is Major1044

That gap in the perforation holes is due to a broken or missing perforation pin, not a 'jump'. A 'line' perforator cannot cause a jump.

First pic is LED lighting, here is another pic in sunlight.

Much better to view, thank you.

Now the stamp seems to have a lemon-ish cast on the right side of the vignette or inside of the center lozenge but looking above the Queen's head and behind also, I would hazard it to be a Yellow.

What are the perf measurements please? That makes a difference also.


This picture, out of focus and all, shows some of the variations of colours the Small Queens can have, and the shades of colour do sometimes vary outside of those mentioned in many different catalogues also.

Sorry Puzzler I do not know the perf measurements. I have not gotten the tools for that yet.

A perf gauge will be a worthwhile investment of a few to ten dollars, but in the meantime, you have two easy workarounds.

Take a ruler and measure the number of perfs in 2cm. A ruler is all you need, though a magnifying glass can help add some comfort in your centering of the ruler when making the measurement. Some people prefer to measure from the middle of the tooth/mountain but I prefer to measure from the middle of the hole/valley.

Alternatively, someone who has been following your various threads and knows what you have available can suggest another stamp (with a known perf measurement) that you can hold up to this stamp to compare perfs.

Ok there are six tips within 2 cm.

The 1897 date and poor quality paper suggest a second Ottawa printing, and the regular yellowish sahding.