The Admiral Stamps of Canada

Fifty Cents

Date of Issue: 26 January 1912
Quantity: 11,070,000
Method of Printing: Wet and Dry processes.

Introduction

The fifty-cents stamp was issued in sheet form only, from a total of 4 plates (see Summary for details), and was used for parcels and other large or heavy items.

The relatively large number of printings for the fifty-cents value is probably due to its use as a means to indicate payment of certain taxes, for which purpose it was overprinted WAR TAX or INLAND REVENUE TAX.

Shades

There are a number of shade variations. Although the earliest printing from Plate No. 1 was black, the printing from Plate No. 2 was the deepest black of all. As this plate wore down due to use, the printings turned a a silver grey colour. The later printings are described as black-brown and a lighter brown-black. Because of the difficulty in showing subtle differences in shade in this medium, for simplicity, the following illustration just represents the shades as light and dark.

FIFTY CENTS LIGHT
Light Shade		 FIFTY CENTS DARK
Dark Shade

Retouches and Re-entries

The one die that was used in the making of the fifty-cents value was retouched for the laying down of the last plate, Plate No. 4. Stamps printed from this plate show a strong vertical line in the upper right spandrel.

For a detailed description of the other retouches and the re-entries, readers are advised to consult George Marler's book Canada: The Admiral Issue (see References).

 FIFTY CENTS WEAK VERTICAL LINE
Weak Vertical Line		 FIFTY CENTS STRONG VERTICAL LINE
Strong Vertical Line

Lathework

Type D from Plate No. 3. See Lathework for an explanation of lathework types.

Updated: 5 Oct 97