To discourage theft by their employees, companies and government departments used to perforate their stamps with initials or insignia. Stamps that have such perforations are referred to as "perfins," an abbreviation for "perforated initials."
The earliest know Canadian perfin on cover features the initials of W.J Gage & Company of Toronto, and it is on 3-cent Small Queen dated 8 October 1889.
Instructions and limitations concerning the use of perfins was posted in the quarterly supplement of the Postal Guide in April 1910. It stated:
Perfins may be collected in three ways: one of each type or perforation, a copy of every stamp perforated by every perforator, and a copy of every stamp perforated by every perforator in eight possible positions (where the perforation may be oriented north, east, south or west, on each side of the stamp).
Over 300 perfin types were made and used until the 1980's when postage meters rendered perforating stamps obsolete. Almost all of the known perfin types may be found on Admiral stamps.
Grand Trunk Railway System |
Canadian Explosives Ltd. |
Travellers Insurance Co. |
Northern Electric Co. |
Updated: 5 Oct 97