The Commemorative Issues of 1972 - Part One

This is my last post before my Christmas break, and my second last post before I get into another very long series of posts for the 1972-1978 Caricature Issue. This week, I have explored the first four commemorative issues of 1972. Like the previous issues of 1971, a good grounding in the paper varieties of these stamps will prove to be a very useful reference for the specialist of the 1967-73 Centennial issue, who is trying to sort the 1972 printings of some of the stamps from the 1971 printings, as the stamps of 1972 exhibit characteristics that were not seen on the earlier stamps.

In my detailed post I go through the usual discussions of paper types, fluorescence, gum and perforations. There are several things though about these issues that stand out:

1. There are more se-tenant stamps being issued again, but this time, they can only be found in horizontal or vertical pairs. 
2. There are many fewer varieties of fluorescence on most of these stamps, with most having fewer than 5 varieties, in contrast with 1971, where there were many more on some stamps. 
3. All the stamps have PVA gum, and generally there is only three types of PVA gum found, which appear, very, very similar to one another. 
4. There are fewer types of paper used to print the stamps, though some of these, such as the ribbed chalky paper are making their appearance for the first time. 
5. All of the stamps, except for the World Health Day issue are on chalk surfaced paper. 
6. There are practically no shade varieties to speak of on these stamps.
7. There are three basic perforation measurements, as well as line and comb perforations, but there is almost no variation within an issue, except for the Figure Skating issue, where there may be as many as 9 different line perforations!
8. All of the issues except the Figure Skating issue exist tagged, but all of the tagged issues use the new Ottawa tagging. None are Winnipeg tagged. The Ottawa tagging exists in either the migratory OP-4 tagging, or the stable OP-2 tagging. However, no issue exists with both types of tagging. 

Of course there are the usual range of first day covers and commercial covers that can be collected, and the se-tenants present a challenge to the collector looking for used, because the pairs and blocks do not correspond to any specific postage rate, which means that they will generally only be found on larger registered or special delivery covers, and even then only in larger multiples. 

You can read all about these stamps in full detail, by going to my website and viewing the full post, via the following link:

https://www.brixtonchrome.com/blogs/canadian-stamps-and-postal-history/the-commemorative-issues-of-1972-part-one

Next week, I am off for Christmas, so there will be no posts until the new year. In my first post of 2019, I will cover the last issues of 1972, and will then start my series of posts on the 1972-78 Caricature issue.