Post Your Canada Air Mail Varieties Here

Below is a copy of Canada C1i (swollen Breast variety) I note there is also a mark in the scroll, just left of the "cent". Has anyone seen similar one> is this constant on all the c1i stamps?

Nice finds Gilles le timbre...I will have to check mine out and post if I find anything.

I also looked at my C1 counterpart...C3 had no mark on the scroll.

Robert

Wert,
just went to check flyspecker site and noticed the C3i shown also has the same distinctive feature. Probably a case of describing this popular variety as the "swollen breast" (quite visible) and ignoring the less prominent mark in the scroll. I checked my C3 swollen breast, and guess what, ...it also shows the mark in the scroll.
I thought I knew my canadian varieties well...

Maybe mine is the variety then..haha

Robert

Here is a C3 in my book missing part of the "6".

This one shows the inverted surcharge

Nice scans showing the varieties Gilles. I never knew about the scroll either.

Thanks to Gilles for also providing a scan of his lovely stamp for use on my FlySpecker.com site. The site previously only showed the overprinted (Scott #C3i) version of the variety.

The site already noted the additional mark in the scroll in front of "CENTS". I can confirm that this is also a constant mark that appears at the same plate position as the Swollen Breast variety. I have seen many copies of the variety and they all include this additional mark.

You can see some more of Canada's Airmail varieties at:
http://www.flyspecker.com/airmail.html

Not to seem stupid, but what does the "i" mean after the Scott number. I have seen this quite a few times and always avoided the stamp. Canada is not my specialty, just my current obsession which can vary at any time.

Hello jaxom100. Your question is not stupid at all.

Many non-specialist collectors of Canadian stamps may not know of these suffixes that are added to indicate varieties such as shades, rare perfs or constant plate varieties. In the Scott catalogue, these are generally indicated with a suffix using a lowercase letter. Collectors using the Scott catalogue may be familiar with the overprinted (surcharged) Canadian airmail stamp numbered C3a where the "a" refers to an inverted surcharge variety.

Some specialized catalogues use additional suffixes to indicate further varieties not listed in the Scott catalogue. The specialist catalogue generally favoured by Canadian collectors is the Unitrade Specialized Catalogue of Canadian Stamps where additional varieties are listed with a lowercase roman numeral such as "i", "iii" or "iv".

So when a catalogue number such as C1i or C3i is mentioned it usually refers to a variety listed in the Unitrade catalogue even if the poster describes it as a Scott number. In this case the "i" refers to a constant plate variety known as the "Swollen Breast" as shown in the image of the original post by Gilles le timbre.

Here is a different variety. the yellow brown (C5i) (upper block) . The lower block, (red brown, shows (Upper right stamp) a unidentified flying object..I wonder if anyone has seen this type of flaw....

This one is not listed in the reference library that I have. It show a weak diagonal line in A of Air.

And finally, the moulting wing (bottom stamp), in pair with normal one

Gilles, does that mean that Unitrade catalogue uses Scott numbering system?

Jaxom, I am not really specialist of "copyright laws" but I am sure Robin Harris (editor of Unitrade) would be able to answer your question. I think the base numbers are the same, but varieties are expamded in Unitrade, and may differ....

Nice stamps Gilles le timbre...Now check your C5 stamps for another oddity...Look at the date.."1935"...I have only one with a short "5"...The rest are normal.

Robert