Why would a stamp be handstamped, and then cancelled with a circular punch?

Was this stamp cancelled with a hand-stamp by some bank or company and afterwards inadvertently hole punched for filing purposes or is it a specimen?

The $1 value was first released with a green frame and red centre. One year later it was re-released with a red frame and green centre.

Several bank note companies used a circular punch in the middle of the stamp when a specimen was required. This prevented the stamp from being used in the future but allowed the recipient the ability to identify the stamp. Could this be a "specimen" of the new colour arrangement.

The last of the Canadian contemporary overprints were printed in 1864. The ABNCo. continued to overprint with the word "SPECIMEN" in red ink on the stamps of other countries in conjunction with a small 2.5mm security punch usually located in the lower right-hand corner of each stamp. On several of the proof sheets as illustrated in the Christie's ABNCo. Archival sale of 1990, a hand-stamp was also used in red ink with the words "Return to RECORD & SPECIMEN DEPT." surrounded in a red outlined box.