Scott #657 - Dirt On Plate Spot.

studystamps...I send one more email to the link below that you gave me...We will wait and see if they even respond..thanks for the link.

unitrade@adminware.ca

wert, thanks for the comment on my avatar. I really like the way the postal clerk cancelled this stamp (3 spaced out split ring cancels). He (she) must have had some extra time on his (her) hands.

Just got feedback from Unitrade...They were very polite and informative in their response...The out come is thanks, but no thanks..

Here is the full text of the e-mail that I replied to 'wert' earlier today (about 25 minutes after he sent his e-mail directly to me; I contacted the Unitrade Associates office in Toronto and they said they could not recall receiving a recent e-mail with a 'constant/in-constant' query) ...

First, wert's question:




Any my reply...

Thanks for the e-mail <name>.

I follow a couple of different stamp newsgroups, including the Stamp Community Forum. They seem to have some good feedback for Canadian-related topics. I particularly look forward to the discussions on new varieties that are being found and reported. It is great to have this forum available to all collectors.

As others have pointed out on the newsgroup, donut-type varieties are *not* a constant printing variety. Donuts/hickeys are caused by specks of lint or dust adhering to the printing plate *during* the time of printing. A constant variety is caused by a flaw to the printing plate *before* the plate is put to press.

Since I took over as editor of the Unitrade catalogue in 2004, I have made it a policy that the Unitrade catalogue will only list constant plate varieties, not non-constant varieties. Unfortunately, that means that donut-type varieties are not included.

I suspect that there are *thousands* of different donut varieties out there. It would be impossible for any printed catalogue to include these, both in terms of listing them and in terms of illustrating them - it would never be complete! One of my on-going pet projects is to build a database listing as many of these non-constant varieties as possible with the hope of one day sharing it via my website.

Donuts (and all non-constant varieties) are important to the study of (stamp) printing. The collecting of donuts/hickeys/non-constant varieties, etc., etc. is very, very, very, very popular (as it should be). Just because they are not given 'catalogue status' does not mean they are not collectable. I would think there are hundreds of collectors (or more?) that enjoy the 'hunt' of such varieties, and many collectors that include them in specialized collections and/or exhibits.

By the way, I would *encourage* you to continue posting your finds on the SCF. If you wish, you can also forward your finds directly to me. I have a substantial 'hoard' of used Canadian stamps (in the millions) that I search everytime I hear of a new variety. For me, that is the most fascinating part of stamp collecting.

Robin Harris
Editor, Unitrade Specialized Catalogue of Canadian Stamps