FRANCE VARIETES - ROTARY PRINTING.
These varieties concern stamps printed on rotary presses. Paper manufacturing techniques didn't allow for an endless reel, so reel splices were made to increase the length of the reel and avoid stopping printing to add more paper. To make them easy to locate, their position in the printing web was marked by a "bell", a strip of colored paper, which drew the attention of the printing machine operator to the location of the splice. THESE CONNECTIONS WERE THEREFORE WITHDRAWN FROM THE ISSUE FOR DESTRUCTION - IT IS VERY RARE, truly exceptional, that these coins avoided the scrap heap and ended up in the post office, unseen by the teller, and SOLD at the counter.
- 5 francs 1958 blason de Lille n° 1186 - complete vertical strip of ten stamps with sheet edges IMPRESSION SUR RACCORD stamp in position 3 - mint **