A solid engraved stamp is one for the album

Philatelic Foreword by Jay Bigalke

I have to confess. I’m a sucker for a serious engraved stamp. It probably comes as no surprise if you have read a few of my columns and especially after reading this week’s cover feature.

One of my favorite stamp issues, and one that hangs prominently in my office as a framed print, is the $5 Moose stamp issued by Canada in 2003.

I still chuckle, too, about the nickname for the error that exists on this stamp (Scott 1693a) where the intaglio ink is missing and only the offset ink is present. Some call it the “moose in snow.”

The normal version has a place of prominence in my album, as do the other stamps in this series and many other engraved stamp issues from many different countries.

Connect with Linn’s Stamp News: 

    Sign up for our newsletter
    Like us on Facebook
    Follow us on Twitter

So imagine how I felt when the opportunity came up to visit the Canadian Bank Note facility in Ottawa. I felt like a child in a candy store — but without the ability to take any candy.

But there was plenty of eye-candy for a stamp collector to see. I mention this story because I wrote it for the Linn’s reader (though I obviously enjoyed it, too). We strive to provide you with interesting content each week and sometimes we really do go out of our way to get that exclusive.

We do this for our loyal fans, and we appreciate your support in keeping up your subscription. If you only subscribe to the monthly edition, I’d be thrilled if you would give the weekly a try again. We have been providing additional content in those issues, and on page 52 of the Sept. 17 issue we have a summary of just a few of the stamp news stories you may have missed over the past couple of weeks.

Do you have a favorite engraved stamp you would like to share with us? Drop me a line via email, or write to P.O. Box 4129, Sidney, Ohio 45365-4129, and perhaps we can feature some of the favorites in a future issue.