NEWFOUNDLAND 40 1876 5c BLUE SEAL ABNC ROULETTE 8 (5) WITH FANCY LEAF CANCEL
Five cent, blue, Ringed Seal stamp from the roulette perforation issue of 1876-79 using plates from the First Cents issue, engraved, no watermark, rouletted 8 perforations. Printed in 1876 by the American Bank Note Company of New York on crisp, thin translucent Pelure paper. Used with contemporary cork hand-held fancy leaf cancel. Sound, fault-free stamp.
Joseph Pease, the artist that engraved this design apparently used the image of a Ringed Seal (faint body rings and forward pointing "paws" with claws) which is found in the Arctic and Labrador but not the island of Newfoundland. Since the image didn't look like the common Harp Seal (no body rings and clawless flippers pointing backwards) familiar to most Newfoundlanders it was thought to have been drawn in error. The Ringed Seal image was again used in the 5c rouletted issue stamp of 1876 but due to continued public displeasure, the design was redrawn with flippers pointing backward to more closely resemble the familiar Harp Seal for the 5c blue seal stamps produced by the British American Bank Note company in 1880-1898.