Canada / Sweden 2010 Marine Life Booklet Varieties

Hello Everyone,

This is a very interesting thread, it's nice to see a new Canadian stamp generating this much interest.
It's kind of ironic though that it's about a stamp printed in Sweden not by one of Canada's own security printers.
I only bought two booklets at my local Post Office when they came out, one I used up for postage.
Both had Plate 1, no control numbers.
The question I have is about the paper, which is wavy, not flat. It appears like when you soak a stamp and then don't press it properly.
I have never seen Canadian paper like that, nor on the Swedish mint stamps I have from the sixties,seventies and eighties.
Are they all like that?

Hello lithograving, welcome.

I believe that the booklets need to be kept in a relatively moisture-constant environment. That is, in a micro-environment that does not change quickly.

My booklets panes all got kind of bent out of shape (stamp paper wrinkled a bit) after a number of months just sitting in an open glassine from the Post Office.

I hadn't thought anything like that would happen.

But then I saw my friends. He had kept his in a larger glassine from Canada Post (see pic below), but folded the envelope so that the booklets were totally enclosed and then put a loose rubber band around the package. This method kept them mostly in an unchanging moisture content I believe. I keep mine in a folded up large glassine now.





I am not sure why this happens. Perhaps it is a combination of gum, inks, and processes used and moisture or humidity in the air.

Also, kept in a Vario page under plastic, they seem to keep their shape relatively well.

edit: typos

Thanks Puzzler but from the hundreds of booklets, panes, sheets etc that I have stored (some for thirty or forty years) this one is different. Concerning humid environment, my place is actually on the dry side.
Besides it's how I purchased it at the Post Office. Maybe it was in a high humidity environment during shipment or at the PO.

I'm a little wary about long term storage in glassine since I read a while ago that when glassine ages and discolours it could damage the stamps.

All three of my "1" booklets have the 2 dots - though varying in intensity, they must be constant.

Thanks Bee See. Will update list soon.

lithograving, maybe it it the formulation of the gum on this issue? I do not have any newer Sweden, or even the Swedish marine life booklet joint issue so cannot compare. Usually I am a used collector. I mean, I collect used stamps. This booklet has caught my interest though.

Sell another booklet:

The unknown buyer also is looking for a booklet with a Full dark counting tab or mark on the cover plus a Blue 1 plus a serial number to complete his collection. Unknown pricing. Discuss that with him.

Contact me and I will provide contact with him.

I have booklet Blue number 1 serial number 011543 with the two dots in row 1, column 2 (position 2) - The Sea Otter stamp. I also have a single dot (the lower one) in booklet Blue 1 without a serial number, also in position 2.

There are no dots in my other 4 booklets - (1) no number and no serial number, (2) no number but with serial number 035983, (3) blue number 2 without a serial number or (4) blue 2 with serial number 0923378.

Thank you BlackJag.
=Are the serial numbers are on the lower selvedges? (if that follows what has gone before)?
=Is the last number 0923378 two booklets or a typo of some sort?

I will get to work and add to list. I also have another one I got from ebay. Will send along a database Bee See.

I am going to make up a picture showing the booklet (blank perhaps) with rows and columns numbered and positions numbered and put that at post 1 of this thread and move the list to post 2. Soon.

List on page 1 updated, 230 numbers.

All missing selvedge measurements have been added, those that I had.

Those that I don't have data on, or the missing data on the 2 dots in the spiral in position 2, I left blank, awaiting updating from various people who supplied me and others with the info.

If no right selvedge measurement is given I have no data but you can see that most are similar or close in their ranges, as Timbres suggested many posts ago. I am slow at doing this sometimes. I apologize.


Now I want to, after the rest of any available data comes in to fill the holes, try to look at the booklets I have and record (in a separate database or list) the shifts on all positions of stamps of the animals and the colours maybe.

And perhaps do some looking at dots and compare them with the shifts.

Puzzler: I gave a brief presentation to the BNAPS St Lawrence regional group on the weekend and they were very interested in our whole data collection and analysis of the varities.

I really think BNAPS members would be very interested in a report on this for TOPICS.

If you'll do the content development I'll edit for you. What do you say?

Puzzler, you wrote: "as Timbres suggested many posts ago. I am slow at doing this sometimes. I apologize." if I wrote that, I am very sorry, I probably try to tell that it was me the "slow guy" you do a great job, an everybody will tell the same thing, isn't it...??? (My poor English is probably the reason)

I am working on a provincial stamp show for the next weekend (Ophilex 2010) after that, I will look at all my booklets to see if I have others things to put on your listing...

Sounds like a great idea, go for it Puzzler and Moonbird

Moonbird,

I think I am like the academic who wants to research and fiddle about more and doesn't want to publish until everything is perfect.

I am up for it, as an idea, as I would like to have the knowledge out there for more people to share in.

There are a couple areas that need further study and understanding be me. The odds of certain booklet features (I do like that word) happening are something I need to research better ( Canada Post email versus what we have actually come across), and my maths in calculating odds for combinations especially, would like to be more certain about those.

Some things I do not understand too well, like the chance of forgeries of different types and the odds of that. Not my bailiwick at all, but always a consideration for popular material.

I suppose a lot of this is relatively new (and thus exciting). I like the idea of the 'constant' (my word) colour varieties, if such a thing exists at all or not (not, as StudyStamps posted earlier). That would make the hunt all that more exciting and fulfilling, even if these varieties were not altogether constant. See how many different ones you can collect type of thing.

I am open to suggestions on how this might be perceived and how to best approach the topic (generally?) at this time. Perhaps details need to be forgotten and generalities mentioned at first go? Or perhaps it is the details and the hunt for and examination of varieties that they would appreciate more? As you said.

I have been in contact with one long-time collector who is reminded of old issues in the 1930's which had lots of variety to watch out for. Hey, perhaps Canada Post should get all our stamps printed this way? That would drive people bonkers!

Timbres, your help is appreciated, if I don't understand or you don't understand then we just ask until we do understand. No worries.

Thanks Bee See for the encouragement.

Puzzler - it was a typo. Should have been 092378. All serial numbers are in the lower selvage. Here are the selvages of my 6 previously mentioned booklets.