Finland Specialized Question

As Bob says, Facit gives descriptions for each lion type and their illustrations tend to match the description. If you look at my examples of the 1M type 1 and the 5M type 3 you see the actual stamps pretty much match the descriptions as well. What I don't understand is why I'm not finding any examples that match the description of Type 2. I've probably got a hundred or so examples of the 1M unwatermarked at this point and none meet what I expect the type 2 to look like. It's either much rarer than production numbers suggest or I'm just very unlucky. There were fewer of the type 2 printed than type 1, significantly so since the type 1 was used with each of the three frame types and type 2 only with the third frame. But the numbers on each are still pretty large, 37 million of F1:L1, 42 million of F2:L1, 69 million of F3:L1 and 21 million of F3:L2. That means out of a total of 169 million stamps printed, one in eight should be the type 2. My hypothesis is that the difference between a type 1 and a type 2 is more subtle than the description implies and that I actually have several type 2 examples already, just not identified as such. Hence my request for someone to show me an example that I could compare with mine. I really don't want to have to buy a bunch more bulk lots of these in the hopes of finding one ... but I really do want that hole filled, since it's such a common variety.

Hi Billsey,

I would tend to agree although I still haven't looked at many examples.

The second link given by perf12 gives reasonable scans if you mouse over the first and second images rather than clicking on them.

To my eyes the examples given in the scans in that link for L1 and L2 look much the same to me although some are darker or perhaps more heavily inked than others.

I don't see the L2 "white areas" that seem clear in the Facit illustration

Now what about the frame types.Can you post the cat. illustrations of these ?

Frame types, Facit describes them as:
Type I: Letters and digits narrow with unsharp lines, small edged 'eye' in A, wavy lines broken. Here's mine:
Frame Type I

Type II: Letters and digits wide with thin lines, small, rounded 'eye' in A, wavy lines broken. Here's mine:
Frame Type II

Type III: Letters narrower than on frame type II with sharp, wide lines, large, etched 'eye' in A, shading of wavy lines distinct. Here's mine:

Note that I'm not completely certain I have those all correct. :)