Collecting Corner Blocks

Why is there 4 corner blocks offered for sale by Canada Post and not blocks of 4 middle stamps?? As well is a certain corner better to get for collecting purposes or does it not matter? Thanks. Just trying to figure out their importance. lol.

Are you referring to current issues? I think CP sells sheets of 16 in many cases so that every block has the corner selvage.

I believe bottom corners are slightly more desirable, as the appearance is more favorably "weighted" vs the more top-heavy appearing top corners. Psychologically, at least in North America, top heavy creates a subtle feeling of unease.

On sheetlets of 16, would a center block (1 per sheet)be more valuable than a corner block (4 per sheet)?

Gilles le timbre...only on certain sheets and not necessarily 16...some with bigger amount of stamps.

As a followup question, I was wondering how it became popular - I assume among Canadians - to collect all four corners to begin with? I tried to research this and came up empty.

Oh my!! First I was self consious about being heavy, Now the stamps are TOO!!?? I like blocks of four due the fact that I can always find one good one for the collection and then use whats left for postage. :)
I'd never have enough room to collect all four corners of every new release. That's just crazy. But, what ever floats yer boat.

I assume it was desirable to collect plate block #'s and inscriptions, for that extra bit of scarcity/novelty/history.

With regards to the four corner plate number blocks for Canadian stamps, it started with the first Canadian Stickney rotary press sheet stamp # 164 in 1930 and Kasimir Bileski in his plate block catalogue writes about collecting matched corner plate number blocks. I believe that lower left corners were the most sought after. With regards to U.S. stamps, it was also with a Stickney rotary press sheet stamp # 543 from 1922. However, it started with the middle plate number block of six for this issue like on flat plate U.S. stamps, but it was changed to the corner plate number block of four so that both types exist for this issue.

Centrestage. Plate block collecting has declined in popularity dramatically over the years. I think this is because of the cost of stamps, and also the limited re-sale value when sold. But in its heyday, many collected 4 corners. And those that did not collected the same corner. UL was the favourite as I recall. Nevertheless, plate blocks for pre WW II material still hold their value - and for the very earliest issues they are extraordinarily valuable and hard to get. Personally I like plate blocks - far more character than a single stamp....but it can be costly.

Collecting plate blocks made sense when you had a dozen issues per year. Now you have 10x that, and it gets expensive just trying to get one stamp of each.

On recent or modern Canada issues, on the sheet-style water-activated stamps, as opposed to self-adhesive peel-and-stick versions of the stamp, the corners are nice to have for various reasons.

The corner values change depending on the designs of the different corners and also depending on the desire of the collector.


Selvedge or selvage, the margins around the stamps, often have plate number or printer's inscriptions and information about the printer, the designers, the engravers or photographers shown.

On other corners we find traffic lights or printer's colour dots, often artistically shown as part of the stamp's designs. For example, coloured moose hooves or hoofs for the 4-stamp 1997 Moose miniature sheet.

On other selvage we can find other interesting info that adds to the story of the stamps themselves, which can only, by design, tell part of the story.


Extra groups of insects for the insects issue; different animals or angles of view; extra portions of architecture, extra art.


On Israeli stamps there are tabs extra, then also selvage or margins, making quite a story, and this feature is being taken up by other stamp-issuing countries around the world, attracting collectors to collecting full sheets or miniature panes or sheets.


On some booklets of self-adhesive we do have interesting design features in between the stamps shown. At other times these added features are shown only on souvenir sheets, a very popular section of stamp collecting, whether used or mint, or on the First Day of Issue Covers (envelopes / lettres), having info on the front and backs sometimes.


Plate numbers are only one portion of the attractiveness of collecting either corner blocks or portions of sheets or miniature sheets now-a-days.


And having a good, readable postmark or postal marking along with a used version of a portion is, of course, most desirable, whether or not all of the stamps are really perfect, as shown by the below example of the Canada 1972 Seashore 50c stamps below, with a nice 1977 POCON-style 6-numeral postmark from London, ON, placed on the block of 10 stamps.