Block of Stamps

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

 

Block of Four

A standard block consisting of four unseparated stamps arranged in a 2x2 format. These are popular among collectors for their symmetry and completeness.

 Plate Block

A block of stamps (usually 4 or more) that includes the margin (selvage) with the plate number used during printing. Plate blocks are highly valued for the additional information they provide about the stamp's production.

 

Corner Block

This block is taken from the corner of a stamp sheet, often including the sheet margins and sometimes plate numbers or other markings. Corner blocks can be more desirable due to these additional features.

 

Imprint Block

An imprint block includes the printer's imprint in the margin, providing insight into the stamp's origin ( eg. Name of printer ). These are often collected for their historical significance.

 

Traffic Light Block

This block features the color registration marks (often colored dots or squares) used during the printing process to ensure color accuracy. These marks are typically found in the sheet margins.

 

Gutter Block

A gutter block consists of stamps on either side of a gutter (the blank space between panes on a sheet). These blocks are prized for their uniqueness and the presence of the gutter.

 

Specimen Block

Specimen blocks are stamps overprinted with the word "SPECIMEN" to indicate they were distributed for reference purposes and not for postal use. These are often collected for their rarity and historical value.

Errors, Freaks & Oddities ( EFO )

A range of mistakes can occur when printing postage stamps. These variations, which differ from the intended design, are known collectively as errors, freaks and oddities (EFO). They are of particular interest to collectors as they are normally destroyed as printer’s waste. Only rarely do they slip through the quality control process and make their way out onto the open market.

Genuine errors are uncommon or even rare; postal administrations have several layers of quality control and inspection, and most printing problems are addressed before the stamps ever reach the public.

Errors are known at every stage of production, starting from design, to engraving, to replication of the die, to printing itself, and to perforation. 

Overprint error

Overprints are used to make changes to stamps which have already been issued. In such cases time is short, often leading to mistakes and errors in the printing process. Examples of typical overprint errors are printing the wrong denomination onto the stamp, using the wrong colour, printing upside down or printing onto the gummed side of the sheet. Misaligned or missing overprints, typesetting errors and printing plate errors as well as multiple overprints also fall into the category of overprint errors.

Missing colour error

When one or more colours are missing, it is usually because part of a multi-run printing process is missed.

Double impression error

Double impression errors can only occur if the sheet of stamps passes through the printing machine twice. If the sheet is aligned slightly differently on the second print run, two images of the motif can be seen.

Colour error

Colour errors occur if a stamp is printed in the wrong colour, in the wrong colour sequence or on the wrong colour of paper.

Invert error

This type of error occurs when a stamp motif is made up of several clichés (engraved elements used in typography printing) and one of these is placed into the printing plate upside down.

Gum error

If a sheet of stamps which has already been gummed is fed into the printing machine the wrong way round the stamps are printed onto the adhesive side.

Plate error

Plate errors are mistakes made on the printing plate leading to clearly visible deviations from the original design. A plate error can be found in exactly the same form in several issues or large print runs. Since the error always looks the same, it is possible to identify the area on the printing plate where the mistake has been made.
Plate errors occur either during the reproduction of the original cliché (for example, if an object falls onto the printing plate and damages it) or as a result of the cliché becoming worn down during through printing. Should a plate error be discovered during the printing process, efforts are made to retouch the stamps that have been affected.

Watermark error

Watermark errors refer to stamps which are erroneously printed onto watermarked paper. This category of error also includes stamps where the watermark is in the wrong position, for example upside down.

a 1931 2d Red KGV CofA watermark stamp - SG 127. 

The "C" of the C of A watermark had been soldered on backwards in one position

Perforation error

If the perforation machine malfunctions or does not work at all, one or several sides of a stamp can remain imperforated. This is known as partial perforation. If individual holes are not punched out completely, leaving the paper intact but marked, this is referred to as blind perforation. Misperforation occurs when a sheet of stamps is incorrectly aligned while being placed into the perforating machine. This can result in the perforation running through the middle of the stamp.

Philatelic literature

Philatelic literature is written material relating to philately, primarily information about postage stamps and postal history.

Philatelic literature is generally divided into the following categories:

• Stamp catalogues
  • Single country catalogues
  • Worldwide catalogues
  • Geographic area catalogues (e.g. Africa)
  • Time period catalogues (e.g. Reign of King George V)
  • Specialized catalogues (e.g. postmarks, plate blocks, perfins, etc.)
• Periodicals
  • Journals
  • Society newsletters
• Auction catalogues
• Books
• Bibliographies of philatelic literature
• Background material - Non philatelic material useful to stamp collectors. For example, currency exchange rates, maps, newspapers etc.

Maximum Card

A maximum card (also known as a maxi-card, or maxicard) is a postcard with a postage stamp placed on the picture side of the card where the stamp and card match or are in maximum concordance (similarity). The cancellation or postmark is usually related to the image on the front of the card and the stamp.

Maximaphily did not become organised until after the Second World War. Before then maximum cards were created as novelties, often by tourists. Maximaphily is closely associated with thematic or topical stamp collecting and many thematic collections are enhanced with appropriate maximum cards.

A maximum card (maxicard, maxi-card, MC) is made up of three elements: the postcard, the stamp and the postmark. 

The object of maximaphily is to obtain a card where the stamp and picture are in close concordance, ideally with an appropriate cancellation, too. If all three elements are concordant, then that card truly is a maximum [concordance] card (hence the name maximaphily). 

Preferably, the image on the postcard should not be simply an enlargement of the image on the stamp. There are exceptions. For example: a work of art, like a painting (not a detail of it), is often shown in its entirety, both on the postcard and on the stamp of the maxicard.

It is one of eleven classifications of philately recognised by the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) and therefore has its own FIP Commission.

The eleven FIP Commissions which deal with the following subjects:

• Aerophilately
• Astrophilately
• Fight against Forgeries
• Maximaphily
• Philatelic literature
• Postal history
• Postal stationery
• Thematic philately
• Traditional philately
• Revenues
• Youth philately

Fight against Forgeries

In general, philatelic fakes and forgeries are labels that look like postage stamps but have been produced to deceive or defraud. Learning to identify these can be a challenging branch of philately.

To a large extent the definitions below are consistent with those given in the introduction to various recent editions of the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue. 

    "We use the term "forgery" to indicate stamps produced to defraud collectors (properly known     as forgeries) and to defraud stamp-issuing governments (properly known as counterfeits). 

    "Fake" is used to indicate the alteration of a genuine stamp to make it appear as something         else. Fakes might refer to cancellations, overprints, added or clipped perforations, stamp             design alterations, etc."

The first postage stamp was issued in Great Britain in 1840, and by the early 1860s the first postage stamp forgery appeared on the market. 

By 1863 forgeries were so common that the book Forged Stamps: How to Detect Them was published and by 1864, forgeries were being produced of both common and scarce stamps from a wide range of issuing countries such as Austria, British Guiana, Finland, India and Spain.

War mail forgery Ludwig III. (left). On the right the original.

Left: counterfeit stamp from envelope. Right: genuine stamp.

Astrophilately

Astrophilately is a branch of philately which deals with the collection of stamps and postmarked envelopes related to spaceflight. It is the intersection of space and postal history. Covers cancelled on the date and at a post office near the controlling agency are used in postal exhibits to share the development and conquest of the cosmos.

Topics of interest include postage stamps, cancellations, and covers connected to various projects. Examples include rocket mail, dating from as early as the 1928, and mail actually carried on space flights, a practice that began with Project Apollo missions, and has continued since then. Specialists distinguish astrophilately from topical collecting with a space theme; astrophilatelic items are those with direct connections to space missions, whether or not they include any special pictorial depiction.

Aerophilately

Aerophilately is the branch of philately that specializes in the study of airmail. Philatelists have observed the development of mail transport by air from its beginning, and all aspects of airmail service have been extensively studied and documented by specialists.

1932 Canadian "first official flight" cover, Great Bear Lake to Rae (now Behchoko), includes both a special cachet and a surcharged airmail stamp.

The scope of aerophilately includes:

• airmail postage stamps, both official and unofficial 
• other types of labels (such as airmail etiquettes)
• postal documents transmitted by air
• postal markings related to air transport
• rates and routes, particularly first flights and other "special" flights
• mail recovered from aircraft accidents and other incidents (crash covers)

While most of the study of airmail assumes transport by fixed-wing aircraft, the fields of balloon mail, dirigible mail, zeppelin mail, missile mail, and rocket mail are active subspecialties. Astrophilately, the study of mail in space, is a related area.

Melbourne - Launceston flown cover, carried by ANA Ltd on their inaugural air mail service.

Indicia

 
In philately, indicia are markings on a mail piece (as opposed to an adhesive stamp) showing that postage has been prepaid by the sender. Indicia is the plural of the Latin word indicium, meaning distinguishing marks, signs or identifying marks.
 
Indicia can take a number of forms :
1.       Imprinted stamps

A Malaysia postcard issued in 1965 with imprinted stamp

 
 
2.       Handstamps

A handstamp indicium from German East Africa indicating prepayment of postage. A scarcity of postage stamps in WWI caused postal authorities to handstamp "Frankiert mit 7½ H" (plus a seal from the director of posts) on envelopes brought in by the public.

 
3.       Meter stamps

A typical Malaysian meter stamp

 
 
 

Omnibus Stamps

An omnibus issue is an issue of stamps by several countries with a common subject and which may share a uniform design. Omnibus issues have often been made by countries under common political control or groups of colonies due to the close co-operation required to produce the issue. Omnibus issues are to be distinguished from joint issues which are usually much smaller in scope.

 

Historical Background

In 1898, it was four hundred years since the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reached India. Having left from Lisbon in 1497, Vasco da Gama rounded Cape of Good Hope, explored the east African coast and finally crossed the Indian Ocean to arrive in India in 1498. The voyage of Vasco da Gama may been seen as one of the major efforts in establishing the Portuguese colonial empire – the Portuguese would dominate the trade on the Indian Ocean for the next century.

 

In 1898, Vasco da Gama was commemorated throughout the Portuguese Empire. The postal authorities did so by issuing a set of commemoratives.

 

For use in the Portuguese possessions in Africa, a set was issued inscribed ‘AFRICA CORREIO”. The Portuguese possessions in Africa were at the time : Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Portuguese Congo, Portuguese Guinea and Sao Tome & Principe.

 

The FIRST omnibus issue “Vasco da Gama”

The stamps were also issued in other Portuguese possessions, as part of an omnibus issue that included Portugal.  The six Portuguese colonies were : Macau, Portuguese India, Timor, Azores, Madeira, Africa & Portugal homeland.

 

Thus, the issue was a Portuguese version of what would call an ‘Omnibus Issue’ or in French a ‘Grande Série’.

 

 

The omnibus Overprint “REPUBLICA”

 

 

In 1910, the monarchy in Portugal had been ousted and the republic proclaimed. All over the Portuguese Empire available stamps, including the “Vasco da Gama”, were overprinted “REPUBLICA”.

 

The set was reissued with overprints in almost all countries within the Portuguese Empire, in two occasions.

  

 

The omnibus Overprint “REPUBLICA” + “new currency”

In 1912, the Portugal adopted a new currency – the escudo/centavo.  Thus the stamps were overprinted with “REPUBLICA” and the new face value of the new currency. 

 

Portuguese Africa, Macau and Timor stamps were also overprinted with “REPUBLICA” and new currency.

 

The omnibus Overprint “REPUBLICA” + “country name” + “new currency”

In other Portugal colonies, Portuguese Africa’s, Macau’s and timor’s stamps were used for the overprint.  The overprint also includes the name of the colony/country.

Angola -1914

Cape Verde – 1913

Congo -1913

Guinea - 1913

Mozambique – 1913

Mozambique’s Inhambane – 1913

Mozambique’s Marques – 1914

Mozambique’s Quelimane – 1914

Mozambique’s Tete – 1914

Sao Tome & Principe - 1913