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$10 Denomination - Blue Whale Stamp

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Canada Post celebrates the majestic blue whale - the largest animal known to have lived on Earth.

Sized at about 100 feet long and 200 tons, the blue whale gracefully swims the ocean at 8 km an hour, emitting loud pulses, groans and moans.

As the largest and highest denomination stamp ever produced, this is the 9th and final issue in the Canadian Wildlife series which includes: a grizzly bear, a loon, a polar bear, a moose, a white-tailed deer, an Atlantic walrus, a Peregrine falcon, and a Sable Island horse.

This blue whale stamp also has security features (intaglio and invisible “tagging” inks) to reinforce its authenticity, making it a valuable collector’s item.

A special printing technique called microtyping was used to write the Latin name for blue whale - a feature that is normally impossible to reproduce by any other means than intaglio. Additionally, a large cluster of krill (the whale’s food of choice), along with a diver, were introduced using tagging inks. These can only be seen under an ultraviolet lamp.