By Hans Niedermair
Canadian Stamp News
October 12, 2010
As reported in October 12th edition of Canadian Stamp News, Canada Post's new blue whale definitive is both the largest stamp and highest denomination it has ever issued. 
Released Oct. 4, the stamp, which measures 12.8 by 4.9 centimetres, was engraved by Jorge Peral based on an illustration by Suzanne Durancaeu using a "new, state-of-the-art laser engraving technology," Canada Post manager of stamp design and production Alain Leduc told the October to December 2010 issue of Details
"Due to the stamp's high value, we wanted to introduce as many security features as possible in order to prevent fraud," he added.
While Leduc would not reveal all, he mentioned that some of the security features include invisible "tagging" inks, such as a large cluster of krill and a diver.
"Looking at these stamps with a black light introduces a whole new dimension to the design," Leduc said.
Additionally, intaglio printing in itself is a security feature - since it is a daunting task to replicate - while microtype was used to write the Latin name for blue whale, Balaenoptera muscuclus.
Of course, the blue whale is the largest known animal to have ever existed, with the largest recorded creature weighing in at 180 tonnes and measuring more than 30 metres long. Feeding mostly on small crustaceans called krill, there are five known populations of the creature, two of which reside in Canadian waters, off of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
With a total population estimated at between 5,000 and 12,000 animals, blue whales are listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The mammals were almost hunted to extinction until 1966, when an international moratorium on whaling was put in place, and observed by most nations.
The stamp is the ninth in Canada Post's series of engraved high-value definitives. Previous issues include a $1 loon stamp issued in 1997 (Scott #1695), $1 stamps showing white-tailed deer and Atlantic walruses issued in 2005 (SC #1696-97), a $2 polar bear stamp released in 1998 (SC #1698), $2 stamps depicting peregrine falcons and Sable Island horses issued in 2005 (SC #1699-1700), a 2003 $5 moose stamp (SC #1701), and the $8 grizzly bear stamp released in 1997 (SC #1702).
Canadian Bank Note produced 1.5 million stamps in sheets of two, as well as 1,000 numbered uncut press sheets - signed by Peral - of 18 stamps using four-colour lithography with silk-screening and intaglio. The stamps were printed on Tullis Russell paper with PVA gum and 13-plus perforations on all sides.
The official first-day cover is cancelled in Tadoussac, Que., a popular whale-watching destination and the oldest surviving French settlement in the Americas.
A blue whale appeared on a Canadian stamp 10 years ago, part of a four-stamp set depicting whales (SC #1868-71).
Source: http://www.canadianstampnews.com/default.html
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