In philately, a block is a group of four or more un-separated stamps. Blocks are of interest not only because they are rarer than individual stamps, but they also preserve relative positions of stamps as they were originally printed, information that is crucial to understanding how the stamps were produced.

Format

Blocks of stamps from the edges of the original sheet or pane often include sections of the sheet's margin, which may have a wide variety of information. For instance, arrow blocks preserve the guide lines used by line up the sheets for

perforation A perforation is a small hole in a thin material or web. There is usually more than one perforation in an organized fashion, where all of the holes collectively are called a ''perforation''. The process of creating perforations is called perfor ...

or other production steps (these are usually angled in an arrow shape, thus the name), and center line blocks includes lines printed down the middle of a sheet. An imprint block includes the name of the printer, while for many United States stamps the zip block includes a promotional mention of the ZIP code. Typical examples of blocks are: 1.Traffic Lights Block 2. Imprint Block 3. Plate Block 4. Gutter Block

Collecting

Traffic Lights Block Traffic Lights block contains the color registration markings in the stamp margins. Imprint Block Imprint block contains the name of printer in either bottom or top margin of the stamp sheet. Plate Block The most commonly collected kind of block is the

plate block A plate block is a block of stamps from the edge of the sheet which shows the ''plate'' or ''cylinder'' from which the stamps were printed. Background The numbering of printing plates has long been a part of quality control in the printing proc ...

, which includes the part of the margin where the

serial number A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it. Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist ent ...

s of the

printing plate Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The e ...

s may be found.Plate numbers are a familiar part of collecting.
Michael Baadke, Linns.com 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013. Gutter Block Gutter block contains stamp margins which are normally at corners of stamps are in the centre of block of stamps.

Values

Although blocks of rare stamps are highly valued, a block's price may actually be so high that no buyers can be found, leaving the owner with the agonizing prospect of breaking up the block, so as to be able to sell the stamps individually. In some cases, dealers have publicized plans to break up a famous block, in the hopes of that someone will come forward to save the block from destruction.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Postage Stamp Block Philatelic terminology

Format

Collecting

Values

See also

References