Canada adds five new stamps, sheet to its Baby Wildlife definitive series

Canada Post is continuing its Baby Wildlife definitive series with five new stamps March 31. The stamps fulfill new postage rates in effect that day.

In addition to the five self-adhesive stamps in different formats, the set will include a perforated souvenir sheet of five with moisture-activated adhesive and four nondenominated ($2.50) international-rate postal cards.

The nondenominated (85¢) Beavers permanent stamp pays the new domestic letter rate and will be issued in coils of 100 and 5,000. The permanent stamp is always valid as postage for the first-class letter rate, regardless of future rate increases.

The $1.20 Mountain Goat stamp pays the letter rate to the United States, the $1.80 Atlantic Puffins stamp pays the oversize-letter rate, and the $2.50 Young Bull Elk stamp pays the international letter rate. Each of these three stamps will be issued in booklets of six and coils of 50.

All of the booklet and coil stamps are self-adhesive and have serpentine die cuts.

Customers who only want to purchase a single domestic letter-rate stamp at a post office counter will pay Canada’s new single-stamp rate of $1. A $1 Burrowing Owls stamp created for that rate will be issued in a coil of 50.

The souvenir sheet includes one stamp of each denomination, with five pictures of different wilderness scenes in the selvage.

The five international-rate postal cards use the same imprinted stamp designs as the stamps. The picture sides of the postal cards show enlarged versions of the stamp designs. Each postal card sells for $2.50.

Canada began the Baby Wildlife series Jan. 17, 2011, with a set of four stamps featuring arctic hares, a red fox, Canada goslings and a polar bear cub. A set issued Jan. 16, 2012, pictures raccoons, caribou, loons and a moose. The Jan. 14, 2013, set shows woodchucks, a fawn, a black bear and a porcupine.

The new stamps were designed by Monique Dufour and Sophie Lafortune.

Lowe-Martin printed the stamps by five-color offset lithography and the souvenir sheet by nine-color lithography on Tullis Russell paper, with general tagging on all four sides.

The self-adhesive stamps have serpentine die cuts. The souvenir sheet is perforated and has PVA gum.

As definitives, the stamps will be in continuous printing as needed. The souvenir sheet print run is 155,000.

The coil of 100 permanent domestic rate stamps is Canada Post item 101384, and a strip of four is item 401384118. A strip of four from the large coil of 5,000 permanent stamps is item 401385118.

The coil of 50 $1 single-stamp domestic rate stamps is Canada Post item 401389117, and a strip of four is item 401389118.

The booklet of six $1.20 stamps is item 111222. The coil of 50 $1.20 stamps is item 101386, and a strip of four is item 401386118.

The booklet of six $1.80 stamps is item No. 111223. The coil of 50 $1.80 stamps is item 101387, and a strip of four is item 401387118.

The booklet of six $2.50 stamps is item 111224.

The coil of 50 $2.50 stamps is item 101388, and a strip of four is item 401388118.

The souvenir sheet of four is item 401384145.

The nondenominated international rate postal cards are Canada Post items 262382 (beavers), 262383 (burrowing owls), 262384 (mountain goat), 262385 (Atlantic puffins) and 262386 (young bull elk).

Canada Post will service 11,500 official first-day covers franked with the souvenir sheet. The FDC will have a Dawson City, Yukon Territory, postmark and is Canada Post item 401384144.

Canada Post products are available at www.canadapost.ca/shop. Stamps and FDCs will be available by mail order from the National Philatelic Centre, Canada Post Corp., 75 St. Ninian St., Antigonish, NS B2G 2R8, Canada; or by telephone from the United States and Canada at 800-565-4362, and from other countries at 902-863-6550.

Canada’s stamps and stamp products are also available from many new-issue stamp dealers, and from Canada Post’s agent in the United States: Interpost, Box 420, Hewlett, NY 11557.