How do I collect plate blocks of self-adhesive stamps?
A block of stamps is any unseparated multiple of stamps consisting of two or more rows. Plate blocks are multiples of stamps with margin paper attached that includes a number identifying the printing plate (or plates) or cylinders used to print the stamps. Plate block collecting was once a very popular stamp hobby specialty in the United States. It suffered terribly during the 1970s, when format changes made by the United States Post Office Department (later the United States Postal Service) resulted in plate blocks of 12 or 20 stamps, rather than the traditional block of four stamps collectors were used to seeking. Many collectors still collect U.S. plate blocks, but the increasing popularity of self-adhesive stamps has created new questions. Traditional plate blocks of stamps with water-activated adhesive are still often available as blocks of four. The water-activated 33ยข Year of the Dragon stamp issued Jan. 6 is shown as a plate block at top left in Figure 1. The block consists of
