Description: This item consists of a vertical pair of 10-cent Canadian postage due stamps. The specialized design features an ornate scroll border with distinct maple leaves nestled in the top corners, paying homage to Canadian national symbols. At the center, a large, shaded "10" dominates the frame. The inscriptions read "CANADA" at the very top, "POSTAGE DUE" along the inner arch, and "CENTS" below the central numeral. Reflecting the bilingual nature of Canada's postal system, the French equivalent "A PERCEVOIR" is inscribed along the bottom banner. Engraved and printed in a distinct violet ink by the Canadian Bank Note Company, Limited, these stamps were not used for standard mail prepayments. Instead, postal clerks affixed them directly to incoming envelopes to indicate the exact amount of surcharged penalty fee that the mail carrier needed to collect from the recipient before handing over the delivery.
Circa: 1935
Condition: Used.
Notes:
Because these stamps were meant exclusively for accounting internally within the post office, members of the general public could not walk up to a postal counter and purchase them in mint condition, making uncancelled pairs highly appealing to philatelists. The presence of a partial blue cancel mark on the right edge indicates that this specific pair was processed through a localized post office, where a clerk manually marked them to prevent reuse.