BOBs, or Back of the Book stamps are a fun and often overlooked area of collecting.  I’m more a dabbler than a serious collector when it comes to revenues. If something falls my way and in my budget range, I’ll scoop it. My collection is modest because I tend to focus more on airmail, but I can never pass up a good excise stamp. Stamps issued during the Great War are among my favourites. They are beautifully engraved and a rich source of propaganda. If you are doing any research into propaganda from the period, look no further than the iconography used in the posters used to sell them.

I found this poster prime example of Great War propaganda in the Toronto Public Library archives:

Canada war revenue poster

The poster and the stamp tick all the boxes for WW1 imagery. I’d love to acquire the $5 stamp in the poster, but it’s far above my price ceiling for revenue purchases. I’ve seen a .25c one from the series go for over $200. I save my dollars for airmails and go cheap on the revenues.

The best source for Canadian revenues and info on them is E.S. J. van Damn – http://www.esjvandam.com/ and https://canadarevenuestamps.com/ I desperately wish they’d update their dated web design and include a proper indexing. It’s infuriating to navigate. But it’s the best online for current pricing.

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