What Is The Appeal Of Plate Blocks?

I have never understood the appeal of plate blocks. But I have never asked a plate block collector why they collect them. So, now I am asking.

The answer is probably as varied as there are collectors ... but let me attempt to explain:

In the early days of US stamp collecting, plate blocks meant a whole lot more than they do today. They were used to identify the position of a stamp within a sheet (that were subsequently cut into panes of 50 or 100 stamps).

In fact, from the 1930's through the 1960's most plate blocks consisted of only four stamps and most of them were on first class postage so they cost as little as 12 cents (4 x 3 cent stamps = 12 cents). Like anything else, it became a "fad" to collect them, as there was only one plate block per sheet of stamps and, in theory anyway, they were always "worth" more than a block of stamps without the selvage and plate number. Some collectors also strived to acquire "matched sets", that is plate number blocks in all four positions as an added collecting specialty. Still others made a collection of affixing plate number blocks to a first day cover and collected the stamps that way. Like anything else, the plate block was a less common variety of a stamp compared to a mint stamp or block of stamps without a plate number, so there was a perceived added value to them in the marketplace.

Fast forward to the mid-1960's when se-tenant stamps started appearing in the US and into the 1970's when multi-color presses made their appearance, there was no longer an easy way to collect plate blocks, as the only way to collect a plate block showing a complete set of stamps of any given issue, often required a plate number strip of 6, 8, 10, 12 or even 20 stamps. Still other stamps with 50 different designs (such as State Flags, Flowers, etc.) meant collecting entire panes of 50 stamps. Meanwhile, the cost of postage kept going up, making plate blocks quite expensive. The post office was also partially to blame, as they were getting greedy by assuming plate block collectors would avidly acquire all of these multiples for their own collection, bringing in additional revenue to the post office. Instead, many plate block collectors revolted and went back to collecting typical blocks or even single stamps.

There was also the often heard lament of collectors who were having difficulty storing large strips of stamps in a correct plate block format that not only required expensive purchases of stamps, but they also had to purchase expensive storage albums to keep them in. When the post office started issuing more and more new stamps, and multiple designs for each issue, and larger and larger quantities, it further eroding the perceived "value" of a plate block.

Fast forward to the present day and we have self adhesive stamps that are seldom issued in panes larger than 20 stamps and many of them have plate numbers in all four corners, meaning that of 20 stamps, 16 stamps would make up a matched set of plate blocks leaving only four stamps leftover. Further, we now have many stamps for various international and priority mail and express mail rates that are valued at $1, $5, $10 or $20 apiece, making the collecting of plate blocks of such stamps out of reach of many on a limited budget.

There are still a fair number of collectors who may delve into collecting "plate number singles", which is one stamp with the attached plate number selvage. For modern collectors there is some interest in these stamps, as they are obviously less costly to acquire than a full plate block and the plate numbers of today easily identify the outside firms that have printed the stamps. For example a plate number starting with (P) = Ashton Potter; (V) = Avery; and (S) = Sennett Security Products. (There were a number of other prefix letters used in earlier stamps, too.)

The bottom line is to collect stamps in the format that you enjoy. If plate blocks interest you, then collect them. If not, stick with single stamps. There is enough variety out there to satisfy virtually all stamp collectors interests.