Anyone Seen This Error/Variety?

It may be a bit tough to see on the picture of the inscription block of Scott #1520a, but the top of each digit "3" has a small loop missing out of the gold ink, allowing the background colour to show through. Anyone come across this before? Neil.

Normal, as it is part of the underlining effect on each letter and number on each stamp. It is neither an error nor a variety.

***Poster requested removal - Mod***

Not sure I understand what you mean. None of the others I have seen have that effect.

the gold color is definitely missing on the top of each 3 of your four stamps, it should look more like the attached image.

Exactly. Many of this series have passed through my hands. This is the first. In each case it is a perfect little arc of missing gold. One stamp I could understand, but all 4 of an inscription block? Some kind of odd plate flaw?

It could just be that that this particular color ink was low on the press. I have seen this on other stamps as well


Peter

It could just be that that this particular color ink was low on the press. I have seen this on other stamps as well
If it was a plate flaw more of them would have been found


Peter

Would low ink show precisely the same shape, etc. in exactly the same spot each time?

I don't have the actual stamps in hand, but this looks like flaws caused by the hot foil stamping process. So, I don't think this is all litho per what Scott says. In it, heated type is impressed against a sheet of material that carries metallic foil that transfers and sticks to paper. Too hot and you get overmelting of the material and blobs, too cool and the material doesn't stick. Everything doesn't necessarily heat or cool evenly so you can get parts missing or all missing.

I know that "gold missing" is an expensive error for this and other issues but the foil can be removed. So I think the real errors are for those stamps that completely missed the gold foil printing step. The OP inscription block falls into the EFO category but is probably worth only a small premium.

Here's a/my South West Africa example of the phenomenon:

Interesting. Thank you.

Please amplify your comments in both posts; you're still not being clear, at least to me.



We're talking specifically about the "3" of "43" missing part of the top part of that numeral on each stamp of the inscription block. Here is the detail from the upper right stamp with missing parts indicated:

countyboy01 apologized for it being hard to see, but that's more a fault of the stamp color. Most any device you may have should enlarge the image if needed.



Nobody has mentioned the "C" until you have in your last post. How is this relevant to the discussion, please?



If by "correct" you mean "normal", then the two latest posts show that. There are not three possibilities presented. The OP already acknowledged that the inscription block lettering "CANADA 43" was different from the norm.