China (1221 Var) 1959 40¢ Unwatermarked Stamp, A Great Modern Rarity .

CHINA (1221 var) 1959 40¢ Unwatermarked stamp, a great modern rarity ( no question ).

I am afraid to ask, but what is the rarity?

Peter

Mr Peter rare because variant un watermarked

wmk:323 Elusive type

The watermark can be difficult to find or completely absent if the stamp just happened to be printed in the "gap" between watermark elements or printed near the very edge of the watermark mat. While most stamps are printed on watermarked paper that has no "gaps", there are some watermark layouts where a small definitive can be printed on the empty "gap".

You have to look very carefully along the edges or corners for a small section of the watermark if your stamp was printed on/near the gap. This can be difficult on used stamps, as the cancel or perforation can obscure the watermark fragment.

Collectors of US stamps may be familiar with this difficultly with the unwatermarked vs single-line USPS watermark varieties. In some cases of older European issues, you might find a stamp that has a solid edge line of the watermark mat border, or the lettering of the paper supplier, instead of the normal watermark.

Most catalogs don't bother listing unwatermarked varieties unless it can be shown that a printing exists that was done intentionally/accidentally on completely unwatermarked paper (i.e., need printer's documentation, or evidence of blocks showing absence of watermark and not simply the "gap").