This little section is reserved for the variations and errors I have found for this issue.

Firstly, two of the three stamps show some shade variation; not as marked as the differences seen with the sports, but certainly noticeable when seen next to each other. This suggests that there were at least three print runs during the stamps’ lifetime. With printing having been transferred to in-house for at least some stamps this would be a means of ensuring that stocks of unsold sheets would be controlled. Print more when needed, but don’t have too large a stock for when the they were due to be withdrawn, nor have to place small, costly orders to ensure sufficient stock to reach that date. The variation is a pointer to how much less control one has with a laser printer than litho printing.

From variations to errors. As shown elsewhere, stamps from this year show a tendency to perforation errors. Here is one stamp with an extra misplaced vertical line, and one from a sheet that was grossly misaligned. Note that it is normal stamp size though. Could it be that sheets were perforated two or more at a time and one sheet was rotated top to bottom?