Modern Plate Blocks

So...I've saved from plate blocks from the 1990's onward. Waste of time...yes or no? I think I've heard that newer ones don't have quite the same cache as classic ones.

there are a few exceptions but most are based on face value so long as you buy for less than face value you can always use them as postage if you want to get rid of them later.

Hi DaveG28,

Waste of time? - Typically No. It is a hobby and if you get enjoyment from collecting modern plate blocks then it is typically not a waste of time.

Waste of money? - Possibly! If you did not pay more than their face value, and you have the ability in later years to use them as general postage then it is not a waste of money. You could now purchase modern plate blocks for 60-100% of their face value on numerous auction sites. Also using them for postage in 20-30 years could be a problem like using the older 3 cent stamps on today's mailings is.

- stamporator -

I love 20 cent stamps so I can use 2 and then use up 3 of my 3 cents with it.

Waste of time? No. Not if you are collecting for a hobby.

But if you are "investing" in these items, waste of money? Probably. Bank Saving account would probably pay better interest for the foreseeable future.

Stamp collecting is not traditionally an investment hobby like gold, stocks and bonds may be. There are a FEW investment grade stamps, but they are not readily available. Most stamp issuing agencies [USPS included] look to generate revenue from collectors by issuing ten. hundreds, thousands more stamps than are needed to support mail service. The USPS has recently even delved in to the unsavory practice of trying to craft "investment" grade stamps by printing limited numbers of non-inverted $2 Jenny air mail stamps.

Up until the 1960s worldwide stamp collections could be finitely contained in a few albums - roughly considered the classical era. Since 1960, [current era] most stamp issuing agencies have tried to cash in on stamp collectors by issuing excessive numbers of issues and quantities of stamps.

The irony is that a large number of stamp collectors suspended their collection activities in the 1960's and have only recently returned to the love of their youth. It would be a fascinating study to examine what happened, why, and why now the resumption. Not to mention the impact on the hobby.

I was originally buying them as they came out, so yes...I bought them at face value. I thought I was getting interested in saving plate blocks as well as mint singles, but the plate blocks just never held my interest. So, yeah, I'll probably save the singles that I need and use the rest for postage. I do have a lot of older plate blocks , too. I'll probably keep those intact. I love the old engraved designs, and blocks of them just look good.

My original thought behind this post was that I was wondering if newer self-adhesive plate blocks are even held in the same regard as classic water-activated blocks.

That's an interesting question, because since the advent of self adhesive postage, many (not all) US stamp issues have plate numbers in multiple corners (some two corners, others all four corners and still others no plate numbers at all). Added to the mix are those issues where there are more than four designs involved and in many cases (not all) the designs are laid out side-to-side rather than in block form, meaning you would be encouraged to collect the entire pane (or at least a half a pane) in order to acquire all of the designs for a given issue.

Compare that to the mid-to-late 20th century issues when you'd buy a pane of 50 or 100 stamps typically of only one design and in most cases there would be only one plate number. That in itself means that there are many more plate blocks available today than there used to be, which almost always means that its "value" is diminished.

Of course the joy of collecting the plate blocks and the ease of storage do make plate blocks a worthy addition to one's collection ... at least for those who are not particularly interested in secondary market value.

Another collecting discipline these days seems to be migrating toward collecting only plate number "singles" as this website promotes:

http://www.apnss.org/index.htm

They started putting the plate numbers in all 4 corners when they went to panes of 20, and this started before they switched to all self-adhesive.

I don't know if this still holds true, but a couple of years ago, when I was working on a collection of plate blocks for U.S. airmail issues, the modern plate blocks (self-adhesive), like the Scenic American Landscape series, required a modest premium over face value to acquire. And I imagine that some more popular self-adhesive might retain some premium above face value. But if history is any guide, a lot of today's stamps will be lucky to be worth face value in the future. At least the "Forever" ones are guaranteed this, so there's that.

Ah! I do have a number of the Scenic America plate blocks. I'll save those at least. The rest, I'll likely just break up if I need the mint singles, and use the rest for postage. The mint singles seen to be what I always go back to whenever I try to collect something new. I do save some full sheets if the stamp is a topic that strikes my fancy.

As mentioned above there are some such as Scott# 2869, Legends of the West, that have held their value.

In my view, most modern stamp issues in the US (and increasingly likewise in other countries) are printed in such a way so as to encourage collectors to collect whole panes. Extensive headers and pictorial renderings in the selvage on panes of stamps have become the norm rather than the exception, thus turning them essentially into large souvenir sheets. Furthermore, even with panes that lack selvage designs, there are frequently printed texts on the backs of the panes that would render collecting them attractive.

Except in a relatively few instances, plate blocks of modern US stamps have been eclipsed by full panes.

True. I had been saving full panes for a while as well. Eventually I decided it was all too much. I've kept full panes of the ones I really liked, and broke up the others, keeping a block or strip of the different stamps from each sheet. Now I have a lot of postage to use!

I wonder what the estimated amount of stamps are never used.