In article m,
K. Patrick Laffin wrote:

Can anyone tell me what I am looking for on Canadian Christmas stamps
and assorted other issues. Are these phosphorescent like the British
stamps of the same period or are they fluorescent like Ottawa tagged
stamps from 1972 onwards?

Winnipeg tagged stamps were phosphorescent and Ottawa (or General)
tagged stamps were fluorescent.

With Winnipeg tagged stamps, you can just barely see the bars
without needing a light. Usually, they glowed a bright greenish-white
shade. The bars were either wide, narrow, on one side or the other, both
sides, or in the middle. It depended on the letter rate, plus they were
experimenting on what worked best for the equipment.

Ottawa tagged stamps, OTOH, glow a bright green. Although on older
issues with the Type 1 tagging (with migrating phosphor) they now have a
dim yellowish appearance. All of my issues with this compound have bled
into the entire stamp, mount and page, leaving just a faded ghost of the
original bars. Later changes produced a more stable formula, so that it
stayed where it was applied. Ottawa (General) tagged issues were mainly
two bar - that is applied between the stamp design over the perforations
from top to bottom. There are variations to this, and now, most are
applied around the circumference of the stamp. Some exceptions being
where the design juts into its neighbour - then there is a break in the
tagging. Thge 2002 48 cent 100th Anniversary of the Canadian Postmasters
and Assistants Association is one example of this.

IIRC, all Canadian glow in the long-wave light. American stamps, I
know, used the other opposite wave (short if Canadian used long.)

--
Pete Ware
Thomasburg ON
Remove the obvious when replying by e-mail - I'm fed up with the latest virus!