Plate block

Plate block

A plate block, or plate-number block is a block of postage stamps that includes the part of the sheet margin with the serial number of the printing plate(s) used to print the stamps.

The numbering of printing plates has long been a part of quality control in the printing process. In some cases, for instance the Penny Reds of Great Britain and modern United States plate number coils, the plate numbers appear in the stamps themselves, but the more common practice is to include the number in the margin of each sheet, frequently alongside the name of the printer.

Stamps printed in several colors will have several plate numbers in the sheet margin, one for each color. Stamps printed in large quantities may have multiple plate numbers.

The usual practice in plate block collecting varies by country and era; the classic 20th century United States plate block consists of a 2x2 block in the corner of the sheet. The ambitious collectors will seek to own blocks displaying every known plate number for the stamp; specialized stamp catalogs will list these.

ee also

Plating (stamps)


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • plate block — The block rows of postage stamps, two rows wide, in a pane next to the selvage that contains the number(s) of the plate(s) used to print the stamps. Generally a block of four stamps, it may be larger if the pane of stamps includes more than four… …   Glossary of postal terms

  • plate block — n. Philately a block of postage stamps with a serial number (plate number) in the margin …   English World dictionary

  • plate block — noun : a plate number block * * * Philately. a block of four or more stamps containing the number or numbers of the printing plate or plates in the margin of the sheet. * * * plate block, Philately. a group of four or more connected stamps with… …   Useful english dictionary

  • plate block — Philately. a block of four or more stamps containing the number or numbers of the printing plate or plates in the margin of the sheet. * * * …   Universalium

  • plate tectonics — plate tectonic, adj. Geol. a theory of global tectonics in which the lithosphere is divided into a number of crustal plates, each of which moves on the plastic asthenosphere more or less independently to collide with, slide under, or move past… …   Universalium

  • Block — (bl[o^]k), n. [OE. blok; cf. F. bloc (fr. OHG.), D. & Dan. blok, Sw. & G. block, OHG. bloch. There is also an OHG. bloch, biloh; bi by + the same root as that of E. lock. Cf. {Block}, v. t., {Blockade}, and see {Lock}.] [1913 Webster] 1. A piece… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Block printing — Block Block (bl[o^]k), n. [OE. blok; cf. F. bloc (fr. OHG.), D. & Dan. blok, Sw. & G. block, OHG. bloch. There is also an OHG. bloch, biloh; bi by + the same root as that of E. lock. Cf. {Block}, v. t., {Blockade}, and see {Lock}.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Block system — Block Block (bl[o^]k), n. [OE. blok; cf. F. bloc (fr. OHG.), D. & Dan. blok, Sw. & G. block, OHG. bloch. There is also an OHG. bloch, biloh; bi by + the same root as that of E. lock. Cf. {Block}, v. t., {Blockade}, and see {Lock}.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Block Block — Éditeur Capcom Développeur Capcom Date de sortie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Tubular-plate block — Оправка для закрепления трубчатого стереотипа …   Краткий толковый словарь по полиграфии

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