634B Stamps And Blocks Of Four Vs Blocks Of Six

Hi everybody hoping the holidays are not turning anyone into a Scrooge. I'm just curious if anyone can help me out with understanding blocks… are blocks of four more recognized with rotary press & blocks of six more recognized with offset printing?

Please provide a better description of the issue stamp issue name, face value, date of issue proper SC#, etc.) as there is no 634B. 634-638 is the six stamp Letter Delivery Service issued July 11, 1974, which has nothing to do with blocks of 4 or offset printing.

Perhaps the subject title is correct but the message should have been posted in a US forum rather than Canadian. If so, then the 634b would refer to the carmine lake shade of the 2c Washington 4th Bureau issue.

If asking about plate blocks, then yes Rotary plate blocks are typically collected as blocks of 4 with the plate number on the corner stamp, and flat plate or offset, the plate blocks are typically collected in blocks of 6 with the plate number on the selvage of the center stamp. Blocks of 6 with the plate number attached to one of the edge stamps are not considered plate blocks and typically sell for only a slight premium over a normal block of 6.

I'm sorry I don't know why my posts keep showing up in Canadian waters. But here's a picture, it might help out. I guess I'm wondering if more context with these blocks I have uncovered

Would these be considered more collectible than a typical block of four, is it such a slight premium that I should break the block? ;} which I would hate to even consider:}

Or is what I'm showing and asking just rubbish:{</3
Thank you #128591;

Off center w/hinge , probably not what most collectors would like

Just my opinion and not any sort of basic "rule" you need to follow, but I never break up older multiples. I figure they've survived this long, so why should I break them up now? With more current stamps issued of more modest value, I have no problem taking a single out of of a pair or a block of four or reducing a large multiple to a more-manageable size. But I would not break up these blocks.

I have no idea if rotary press or offset makes any difference in this regard, but I can't see why it would.

Stamps of this era and earlier were frequently off center so these wouldn't bother me personally. But there are a lot of picky collectors out there who might prefer better-centered stamps. Still, I don't see that as a reason to break up blocks you can't put back together again. If I collected blocks, these block of six would look just fine in my collection and be even nicer because they were six and not the usual blocks of four.

Thank you, I'm in total agreement with this way of thinking

It would be somewhat sacrilegious if I were to even touch them, let alone break them up, gives me the Eeeebies just thinking about it.

Any advice?

Greatly appreciate anyone's input as long as it's positive.
Thank you.

I agree with Drew but here is a different perspective.

I hesitate to break up most older mint multiples, but in this case I would have no problems splitting off the pair and leaving a regular plate block of 4. The reason is that the market for plate blocks in the ordinary configuration is larger than for odd-sized multiples so it might be harder to sell in this configuration.

A typical collector looking for a plate block of 4 might not want to pay the extra premium for the 2 extra stamps (which in this case CV $425 each) when all they want is a plate block of 4. You have lost the chance for a sale to a potential collector who will wait until he finds just what he wants.

From your second batch of photos, it looks like someone started doing exactly that. It appears that there was once a set of 4 plate blocks of 6, two were kept intact, and two were separated into a plate block of 4 and a vertical pair.

Furthermore since it is a mixed H/NH block, you can receive the full NH premium for the two NH singles when separated from the block, while the hinged Plate Block catalog value is the same whether all 4 stamps are hinged or just 1 stamp is hinged (as in your examples).

Since you have a bunch of them, keep them all intact. If I had just one, I might try selling it first as a block of 6 and if it didn't sell after a while then split off the pair and try again as a plate block of 4.