Canada Beaver stamp -

Thanks Jon and Chris (for your help etc)

René

Historical significance of the beaver

After the early European explorers realized Canada was not the spice-rich Orient, the main profit-making attraction was the beaver population. In the late 1600s and early 1700s, the fashion of the day demanded fur hats, which needed beaver pelts. As these hats became more popular, the demand for the pelts grew.

King Henry IV of France saw the fur trade as an opportunity to acquire much-needed revenue and to establish a North American empire. Both English and French fur traders were soon selling beaver pelts in Europe at 20 times their original purchase price.  The trade of beaver pelts proved so profitable that many Canadians felt compelled to pay tribute to the buck-toothed animal.

Sir William Alexander, who was granted title to Nova Scotia in 1621, was the first to include the beaver in a coat of arms.  The Hudson’s Bay Company put four beavers on the shield of its coat of arms in 1678 to show how important the hard-working rodent was to the company.  A coin was created – which was known as a “buck” – that was equal to the value of one male beaver pelt.

Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Governor of New France in 1678, suggested the beaver would be a suitable emblem for the colony – and proposed it be included in the coat of arms of the City of Québec.

The French Kebeca Liberata medal, created in 1690 to celebrate France’s successful defence of the City of Québec, depicts the image of a seated woman (representing France) with a beaver at her feet (representing Canada).

When the City of Montréal was incorporated in 1833, it included the beaver’s image in its coat of arms.


Sir Sandford Fleming featured the beaver on the first Canadian postage stamp – the Three Penny Beaver – in 1851.

The Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste included the beaver in one of its emblems for a time.

The Canadian Pacific Railway company still includes the beaver on its crest today.

Despite this recognition, the beaver was close to extinction by the mid-19th century. There were an estimated six million beavers in Canada before the start of the fur trade. During its peak, 100,000 pelts were being shipped to Europe each year; the Canadian beaver was in danger of being wiped out. Luckily, about that time, Europeans took a liking to silk hats and the demand for beaver pelts all but disappeared.

Today, thanks to conservation and silk hats, the beaver – the largest rodent in Canada – is alive and well all over the country.
(adapted from Wikipedia)

Now you know our bit of Beaver History !!
René
Canada

Nice stamp and history renden!

Hi Thanks for the stories above Rene, renden. The displays by GrahamSearle to www.aberdeenphilatelic.org.uk Meetings on 15th Oct 2020 give excellent accounts of Hudson’s bay Company and the beaver stamp & other Canada imperforates

Thanks vikingeck (Alex) for the link to wonderful Canadian information on Hudson Bay and the Pence issue - Great stuff !! and bookmarked

René

Agreed — as an occupant myself of territory formerly controlled by HBC, this was a fascinating article.  Names like Selkirk are place names for nearby mountain ranges for example.  

Also, I’m wondering about possible HBC mail service to Fort Vancouver (the one in present day Washington State). 

I was wondering if there was anyway to determine if this stamp is #1 or#4?  Postmarked in August of 1852, so that I don't think helps as both stamps were in use. I am thankful that the spills on the back of the envelope only occurred there. If anyone can help,  that would be great!

from my memory of years gone by, the wove paper printings produced a bit clearer impression than the laid paper which had a more irregular surface. Also the laid paper ink was more orange than the wove examples as I see here. And one could always “lift” the stamp from the cover and use watermark fluid on the stamp (a common procedure 50 years ago) then reattach with a hinge.


and, of course, there are the expertiseing services. 


Doesn’t the APS have a stamp identifying service as well?


My 2 cents worth, keep the change. “)

sudbury12000 here are my Unitrade 1 and 4 with the 1 being on the left. The colour and detail of yours does look more like my #1 as well as the one shared by renden. That proves nothing but would be encouraging.

Sorry to disagree Jeff but the left one is definitely #1 with laid paper visible to the naked eye in good light and was bought as such. They are not as dirty as they look. I try to avoid additional washes unless there are paper or hinge remnants on the back.

Another new arrival is the stamp on the left of the pair in the first photo. They are both Unitrade 4. The newly acquired one comes with a 2016 Greene certification stating it is a mint with original glue, slightly soiled and a corner crease on the lower right. The 4 good margins and deep rich colours are exceptional. I had thought I would sell the used copy I have had for years but now that I have the two together I am thinking it may be a Unitrade 4a brown red. It will stay with me for the time being. That seems to happen a lot.  I had shown the used one before in this thread and JeffS had suggested I give it a bath. I hesitated but since now having given many stamps a 3% peroxide cleaning I went ahead and did so a few weeks ago. There was no noticeable change to the stamp's brightness or colour.

This is the back of the mint copy showing hinge remnant and the corner crease shows on the lower left (minor to my eyes). 

I see what you are noticing Jeff but see no mention of a re-entry in the newest Unitrade and the certification makes no mention of anything out of the ordinary. The only 2 I have seen in person are the ones I have so I can claim no expertise on this stamp. 

Position A33 certainly does have a Reentry above and below PE of PENCE. It's not strong enough to be listed individually in Unitrade but it does fall under 4viii (Minor Reentries). Your stamp does appear to have the reentry. Here's a closeup of the A33 Reentry:

The imperf Canada stamp shown is a 3d but the text mentions a 4d and if it is a #1, Laid Paper should be horizontal. My opinion only, with help from Unitrade Canada Specialized Cat 2024. René