Homer Watson S/S Perf Variety

Can anyone in this distinguished community explain (rationally) how it came about that the Homer Watson Souvenir Sheet #2110 has two perforation settings?

Normal (perfed to the edges)

rare variety (not perfed to the edges)


Issued in 2005, it took over fifteen years for someone to notice?
What possible scenario? "Wait a sec! The perfs don't go to the edges. Stop the presses! Somebody fix the perforating machine. Oh well, let's keep that first batch. Don't tell anyone, of course."

Good question and observation about potential replies.
I wonder what, if any, specification the printers were operating under? Three possibilities;
1. - PO specified perfs running to the edges
2. - PO specified that the perfs should not run to the edge
3. - PO did not specify (or care)

My speculations;
If it was not 1 or 2, then the printers would have been free to do whatever was cheapest to produce.
Equipment may have broken down in mid-stream at printers.
It is possible that the PO got complaints and push back on the difficulty in trying to remove the stamp from the sheet and ordered the change.
Don

Certainly interesting,
the second sheet, is definitely a "Harrow" perforation (Single punch and die steel) The top sheet, is the interesting one, perhaps a "comb perf" in an advancing perforator bed, that's how perfs through the selvedge occurs in the Australian stamps.

BNAPS should know.


In my humble opinion, the Harrow perf, is always the more attractive.

All they had to do is pull out the extra perforating pins from the perforating pin plate. They may have taken the extra pins to fix other damaged or worn pins.

To me is perforated correctly because the reason they perforated the stamp that way is because they wanted to show the art piece without ruin it with any writing inside the picture, on the white edge it tells you what its is, country of issue and value.

I tend to agree with Rod222, and they probably used two different perforating devices, and never realized the different pin settings. It is quite interesting that it was about 2 years ago on this forum that someone found them and discussed the find. They stated they only found five in a bundle. I know I challenged that. After all, if they were packaged in bundles of 50 it would seem apparent they should have been perforated the same. All of a sudden they showed up at auctions and mail sales and listed with huge values. And they have been coming out in droves since then.

Edit: wow, four years have gone by since being discovered. ! The pandemic sure warped my sense of time for me.

It is possible, the original punch and die steel was designed
as the lower item, then on reflection, pins were removed to
give the top design.

If so, it is the first time I have seen a Harrow perf of such a design.
I have seen a harrow (Russia) where 3 sides were straight pinned,
the fourth , free form curve, that went only part side of the stamp.

In doing so the stamp could not be removed from the sheet without tearing.

Given the amount Canada print, I guess they would have more than 1 punch and die set.

Interesting, nontheless.

The posting relating to this discovery is found at https://goscf.com/t/66380

The first example has to be the original, since it is incorrect by not allowing the user to separate the stamps easily. It was caught early since there are so few examples.
What intrigues me the most is: whodunnit? The change had to be deliberate. The perforation pin change had to be obvious to a lot of the workers on the job, but did no one report it? Who let it slide, allowing a few specimens to increase in value by more than a factor of ten?

I don't see the Lowe-Martin Group deciding on their own to change the perforations. IMO the change came from Canada Post.