British Stamps - What Does The Letters Mean..?

Hi guys..Picked up a sheet of English Scott 33 stamps and was wondering what the letters in the corners mean..Some say "BE" and some say "FG".
Robert

Basically, they are sheet positions. I believe that this stamp was issued in sheets of 240 to make up one Pound Sterling and each stamp in the sheet was assigned letters in the corners to identify the position.

Chimo

Bujutsu

Some people (such as me) collect these issues with their initials on them, i.e. "GE". Here's a complete exhibit using such initials: http://www.rfrajola.com/gbrf/gbrf.htm

Glenn Estus

Glenn..Nice site, BUT how come my stamps have that lettering in all 4 corners, but the site you gave us only has letters on the bottom..?

Bujutsu..If that is the case then it would be the easiest stamp to plate..right..?

Wert - note that your stamps have the same letters at the top and bottom, but reversed. Basically a measure to prevent reuse of the stamp by pasting parts together.

The history of this stamp indicates that:

In 1858 letters to identify the plate were put in each corner. Prior to this the bottom only had letters

In 1864 the plate # was added & can be found in the frame about ear height on the right & left (plate 71 to the last one 225 -1879)

There was also a change of color, perforations & watermark prior to 1858

In all you might have a very large topic to collect here

A common collecting activity is seeking all plate numbers for this issue. One is rare and a second is extremely rare (six figure pricing), the others are straightforward to acquire. The third image you posted is plate 181. The second image is indistinct. It would be interesting to see if whoever assembled the sheet was trying to assemble all plate numbers.

cjpalermo1964..Which ones are rare so I can my eye open for them..?

77 is the jackpot! It, like some other plates, was rejected, but some stamps escaped.

225 (the last plate) is expensive in relation to the others, but not in that league.

Regards.

Geoff

#77 - extremely rare indeed ($750M+ US estimate)
According to Stanley Gibbons

Of the mint examples, there is one in the Royal Philatelic collection, one in the Tapling collection in the British Library, one in the Raphael collection that was stolen in 1965 and has not been seen since, and the fourth was in the Ferrary collection sold in the 1920s, but its authenticity was never confirmed and has not been seen since.

The used examples include two found in the early 20th Century that were damaged and have not been seen for more than 50 years, one in the Crocker collection that was lost in an earthquake in San Francisco in 1906, and one in the Adams collection now in the British Library.

Not sure Wert if they are the easiest to plate because this is not my area of expertise(?) You would think though that the letters would give you an indication where they are in the sheet. As far as plate numbers are concerned, you can see the numbers in the scroll to the right and left sides. There are close to 100 different plate numbers.

Chimo

Bujutsu

The plating is actually very tricky, there is a lot to it. I have heard of a cd with 30 thousand 1d red stamp images on it regarding different plate numbers and varieties. I sell these 1d red stamps on covers and they seem to constantly sell out. A very popular stamp to collect.

Plating may be tricky for the Penny stars with only two letters but for the later issues it should be fairly easy given the plate is printed on each stamp.

Interestingly, the 77s fetched a few hundred quid into the 1960s. Quite a leap to the £550,000 that Gibbons sold one for a couple of years ago. Incidentally, the excited purchaser's comment makes for one of the more depressing statements I've come across:

"I am a strong believer in asset diversification and consider collectibles to be a part of a truly diversified portfolio. I am confident this iconic stamp, as history has shown, will prove non-correlative to other asset classes and will be a valuable portfolio contributor for myself and my children".

Strange, I suspect my "portfolio" will take precisely the opposite turn ...

Geoff

Please don't quote me on this, but, I also have heard that there is a possibility that Plate #77 may not exist (?) I know, this sounds stupid, but, I did hear this at a talk. Some sources believe that the 77 was an altered plate and may never have existed??

I am not an expert on these but thought I would pass this on.

Chimo

Bujutsu

Here is a closed listing for a nearly complete plated set, to give you an idea of the task.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/33-Exceptio...em1c4abe4de8