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Champlain surveys the East Coast - 1606

French settlements in North America

Stamp Info

Name Value
Date of Issue May 28, 2006
Year 2006
Quantity 4,300,000
Denomination
51¢
Perforation or Dimension 13 x 12.5, 11
Series French settlements in North America
Series Time Span 2004 - 2008
Printer Canadian Bank Note Company, Limited. Ashton-Potter (USA) Limited.
Postal Administration Canada

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Stamp Price Values

Condition Name Avg Value
M-NH-VF
Mint - Never Hinged - Very Fine Only available to paid users
U-VF
Used - Very Fine Only available to paid users
* Notes about these prices:
  • They are not based on catalogue values but on current dealer and auction listings. The reason for this is that catalogues tend to over-value stamps.
  • They are average prices. The actual value of your stamp may be slightly above or below the listed value, depending on the overall condition of your stamp. Use these prices as a guide to determine the approximate value of your stamps.

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Hidden Date

The hidden date for this stamp can be found in the bottom-left corner.

Layouts

Pane of 16 stamps

Quantity Produced - 250,000
Current Purchase Price: Only available to paid users
Original Purchase Price: $8.16
Perforation: 13+
Dimension: 39.7 mm x 40 mm (vertical)
Printing Process: Lithography in 6 colours plus 1 intaglio
Gum Type: P.V.A.
Tagging: General, 4 sides
Paper: Tullis Russell Coatings
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Souvenir sheet

Quantity Produced - 150,000
Current Purchase Price: Only available to paid users
Original Purchase Price: $2.00
Perforation: 13+
Dimension: 215 mm x 155 mm
Printing Process: Lithography in 6 colours plus 1 intaglio
Gum Type: P.V.A.
Tagging: General, 4 sides
Paper: Tullis Russell Coatings
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Official First Day Cover

Quantity Produced - Unknown
Current Purchase Price: Only available to paid users
Original Purchase Price: $1.51
Cancellation Location: Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Perforation: 13+
Printing Process: Lithography in 6 colours plus 1 intaglio
Gum Type: P.V.A.
Tagging: General, 4 sides
Paper: Tullis Russell Coatings
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Official First Day Cover - Plate Block

Quantity Produced - Unknown
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Joint OFDC

Quantity Produced - Unknown
Original Purchase Price: $3.00
Perforation: 13+
Printing Process: Lithography in 6 colours plus 1 intaglio
Gum Type: P.V.A.
Tagging: General, 4 sides
Paper: Tullis Russell Coatings
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About Stamp

If you'd encountered Samuel de Champlain in 1606, he'd have been the fellow with a quill in his hand. The great explorer was actually a cartographer by trade, and accompanied the first French settlers in North America not as expedition leader but in order to map the new territories. His early maps and drawings of eastern North America were remarkably accurate, and his copious journals record detailed drawings of local flora and fauna.* Unfortunately, Champlain made no effort to record his own likeness.

This problem was the starting point for the design of a new stamp - a joint issue with the United States - that features Champlain's 1606 exploration of the east coast of North America. A special attribute of this joint issue is that the OFDC and souvenir sheet feature both the Canadian domestic rate (51¢) stamp and the American domestic rate (39¢) stamp.

The stamp is the third in a series honouring 400 years of French settlement on this continent, which will culminate in a 2008 issue celebrating the founding of Québec City.

"There are no reliable portraits of Champlain, so we decided to show instead the type of vessel he used during the 1606 expedition," says Alain Leduc, Manager of Stamp Design and Production at Canada Post. "This involved some reconstructive history."

The stamp depicts a barque, a small, two-masted sailing ship built by the French to explore coastal waters too shallow for their larger ocean vessels. It is in fact a reconstruction by Montréal historian and illustrator Francis Back, who re-imagined the barque based on historical information in Champlain's journals and records, such as supply lists. He produced a detailed sketch, which was then reproduced as a line drawing suitable for intaglio printing by illustrator Martin Côté, who also illustrated last year's Port-Royal stamp.

The new stamp, like others in the series, is the work of the Montréal design firm Fugazi. "Throughout this series, we've tried to bring together the best of old and new, combining historical and contemporary design -techniques," says designer Réjean Myette. "In this stamp there's a play of bright and dull colours, and we've placed a traditional, engraved image of the boat against a contemporary map of the New England coast."

Champlain charted this coast from Nova Scotia's Port-Royal south to Cape Cod during the fall of 1606. It was a harrowing voyage that encountered shipwrecks, skirmishes, scurvy and deteriorating weather. Champlain never returned to this coast, but his maps broke ground for later adventurers.

Given the journey's historical importance to both Canada and the United States, the stamp is a joint issue, one of only a few since 1959, when our two countries first collaborated on the St. Lawrence Seaway stamp.

In fact, this year's Champlain stamp is the second joint issue in the French Settlements in North America series, which began with a joint issue with France in 2004. Last year's Port-Royal stamp, the second in the series, is still available through the National Philatelic Centre.

* More about Samuel de Champlain is available online at http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/206/301/lac-bac/explorers/www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/explorers/kids/h3-1410-e.html.

Creators

Designed by Réjean Myette. Designed by François Martin.

Similar Stamps

Reference

Canada Post Corporation. Canada's Stamp Details, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2006, p. 20-21.

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