Plate Blocks And Full Sheets.

When I was younger (in the 1960's - 1980's) I bought many plate blocks and some full sheets at the post office. Are these still collectible and have more than face value? Or should I just use them for postage? if so, they should last the rest of my life.

While they are still collectable, they are generally worth less than face value.

Postage

I'm sort of restarting my hobby after many years away. So kind of in the same boat as you. I'm also a little more optimistic than the grizzled veterans here :D

Try searching ebay and HipStamp to see what they're currently selling for. Both sites have a feature to filter search results by "sold" status. That's a better gauge of the market values than the asking prices.

Also try to find a Scott catalog if you can. Some libraries have these available for borrowing. Volume 1 is all you need for US stamps. Rare perforation types, wrong colors, or plate numbers do exist. Just low probability. Hard to know these things without a reference catalog. If no Scott catalog is available, try Stamp World for a free online resource. It's not very detailed but quick and easy.

As eyeonwall said, they are generally worth less than full value. So you might want to follow Deprotinator's advice and check out what the ones you have are selling for on ebay. And depending on the nature of your collection, they may still be collectible, even though worth less than face value. I collect US Airmail stamps. I have plate block samples for most all of them (except C1-C6 and the Zepps, though my collection of the singles is complete), issued in sheets. (I also have sheets for a lot of the US Airmail issues, but have not been as diligent in trying to acquire them all as I have for plate blocks.) For booklets I have full panes, and in most cases complete booklets; these tend to be worth more than face value, sometimes much more. For coil stamps, I will have line pairs. Whether they are worth more or less than face value doesn't matter.

FWIW, I also collect FDCs, and try to acquire FDCs with plate blocks whenever possible. For the most common issues, the bump up in price/value for FDCs with plate blocks is not a lot, but are still desirable objects for collecting in my opinion. In the final analysis, it is your own objectives and opinions that matter in a question like this. Advice from others is helpful, but do what you want to do in end.

While modern plate blocks are almost universally worth more as postage than as collectibles, there are a few (very few) exceptions. You could check your blocks against the values in a recent Durland plate number catalogue. You are unlikely to find anything of value ... but unless you look, you'll never know.

I misspoke earlier. HipStamp doesn't have the feature to filter search results by "sold" status. It's ebay and Delcampe. ebay's mobile app also has a great feature to search using your camera. Very handy if you don't know what exact stamp you have. Their photo search is pretty accurate.

Try to find a stamp show in your area. See what similar sheets are selling for. I've picked up a lot of sheets for around 80% face. If I go for the 3 or 4 cent ones from the 50s-70s, I can get them for 50-60% of face. I use them when paying bills and give some to the church for their mailings. Currently using 5 Bicentennial era 13 cents and a 3 cent stamp. If you have higher values $1 and up, you may get more. Check Durland for rare plate #s.

Those than can be sold at face or above by you will provide one outlet. Otherwise, use as you indicated, will help you realize full face value.

I just came from a local club auction (39 members attending), an album of never hinged 1945 thru 1968 plate blocks, in mounts, sold for $18.00.
Don

Edit: (All commemoratives populated and most definitives were there including a couple of the $1 p.b., no $5 p.b.) I would say that this was a pretty good deal for someone but illustrates what this kind of material can be had for at times.