NEWFOUNDLAND 222i NSSC 205a 1933 15c GILBERT INVERT REVERSE WATERMARK MNH CV0

Description

NEWFOUNDLAND 222i NSSC 205a 1933 15c GILBERT INVERT REVERSE WATERMARK MNH CV0
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NEWFOUNDLAND 222i NSSC 205a 1933 15c GILBERT INVERT REVERSE WATERMARK MNH CV0
Fifteen cent 'Gilbert on the Squirrel' from the Sir Humphrey Gilbert issue of 1933, engraved, Coat of Arms* watermark (sideways), claret, perf 13.5x13.5. Excellent color and appearance, very well centered. Mint never-hinged original gum. No faults not obvious in the scan. The normal position of the watermark for this stamp as viewed from the back is with the top of the Coat of Arms shield to the left and the Elk* facing up - this is listed as watermark position number 1 in the Newfoundland Specialized Stamp Catalogue (NSSC) by Walsh and Butt. The stamp being offered here has the watermark with the top of the shield to the right and the ELK* facing up - listed as an inverted watermark (more correctly known as a reverse inverted watermark) - watermark position number 3 in NSSC. This stamp is listed as 205a in the Newfoundland Specialized Stamp Catalogue with a value of 0 USD for a mint never-hinged example.
*Note" Many people have assumed that the animal on the top of the Cost of Arms shield is either a caribou or a moose (both of which are quite common in Newfoundland). In the registered design granted in 1637 to the Colony of Newfoundland by Royal Letters Patent, the heraldic description for the Crest reads: "On a Wreath Or and Gules an Elk passant proper." (see attached article by Stanley C. Calder in BNATopics from October 1949) However, this still doesn't clear up the matter. Europeans refer to "elk" what North Americans call "moose". Moose became extinct in Great Britain 1,000s of years before the original Newfoundland Coat of Arms was designed and granted. Therefore it is not likely that the original designer used a "moose" as the model for the "Elk" on the shield. And since "caribou" were largely unknown to European royalty as well, just what was the animal used as a model for the Coat of Arms? In the British Isles, many people refer to some of the larger species of "deer" as "elk". This would probably be most particular to the royalty in reference to Red Deer and Fallow Deer held for their exclusive use on their country estates. Fallow deer were introduced by the Normans into southern England in the first century A.D. for hunting (a sport more or less reserved for nobility). The Fallow "deer" is the only species of deer other than moose with palmated antlers. I believe the animal shown on the Newfoundland Coat of Arms is neither a "moose", "caribou" or an "elk" but is in fact a Fallow "deer".
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