COMPLETING THE CHALLENGE WITH U.S. SE-TENANT STAMPS
One of the biggest challenges for the collector of used modern United States stamps is obtaining joined se-tenant blocks and other complete multiples as issued. Se-tenants are the increasingly common formats in which different stamps are printed together on one sheet, booklet pane or mini-sheet. The term, which is French but has been adopted in the English-speaking philatelic world as well, means roughly "holding on to one another".
Apart from the express mail high values (and errors and other such material, of course) few modern U.S. stamps pose much of a problem to the collector of used issues. Finding the U.S. se-tenants postally used as issued in undamaged blocks or panes and with decent cancellations, however, can be fiendishly difficult. In the case of sheets of 50 different stamps, of course, it is impossible without special arrangements.
The relative scarcity of joined se-tenants is sometimes reflected in catalogue values. The 1969 Botanical Congress issue (Scott numbers 1376-1379) is catalogued as 60 cents for singles but $3 for a block, a 500 per cent premium.
On the other hand, with the minimum price of 15 cents the total for the singles often is more than the listed value of the whole piece, a particularly "good" example being the 1973 postal people set (1489-1498). The easily found singles are listed at $1.50, while the much, much scarcer full strip weighs in at just $1. This is one of the major anomalies of the current Scott values but I am sure few people if any have torn up blocks to "increase" the value of a collection.
In fact, it appears that complete postally used se-tenant items are undervalued by Scott and this is one area where collectors will often have to pay more than the catalogue price.
However the dedicated collector in this increasingly popular field need not draw the line here. For se-tenant items can be collected in a variety of configurations. The USPS presents all issues in a certain way, but there are no guarantees postal users will employ them so. Or bigger blocks or strips may be used and show several or even all possible configurations.
With pairs of two stamps, the permutations usually are quite simple, particularly if the stamps are not arranged checkerboard fashion. A horizontal strip of three of the second US se-tenant issue in ordinary sheets -- the 1967 space twins set (1331/1332) -- illustrates the two possible combinations as each vertical row includes just one design.
Similarly, a 1976 strip of six stamps portraying the signing of the Declaration of Independence (1691-1694) shows the full panoramic set plus the one other possible pair, the right-hand stamp of one grouping and the left-hand stamp of another. No matter how big a block you have, you will find no other combinations. Note that the pair on the left is incomplete; the panes were 10 stamps wide, resulting in odd pairs. Left and right panes were mirror images, so each design was printed in the same numbers.
The set of six stamps marking the 75th anniversary of the first powered flight in 1903 came with two stamps on each sheet, with each horizontal row being of a single design. Any vertical strip of three, therefore, displays the two possible combinations. All horizontal pairs and strips, by the same token, are not se-tenant. A vertical block of six of the high value, designed to pay the basic overseas letter rate, is sufficient to illustrate the format well.
Yet another arrangement is found in the panes of the 1978 Captain James Cook issue. Half of each pane was the vertical portrait stamp, while the other featured his ships in a horizontal layout. The middle strip of 20 stamps, therefore, consisted of se-tenant pairs. A central strip of 4 demonstrates the only se-tenant combination and gives an idea of how the stamps were arranged on the panes. Interestingly, even though these se-tenant pairs are numerically less common than other se-tenant pairs, an unusual number seem to have been kept or used as pairs and so they are no harder to find.
When it comes to blocks, the situation can get much more complicated. One way to show each possible configuration is with an example of each block, as with the 1964 Christmas issue, the first U.S. se-tenants on ordinary sheets as opposed to mini-sheets. These were sold in huge numbers, of course, and people would take a few for letters and then perhaps take a block for posting a package. The result is that the various combinations showed far more use than is normal for a se-tenant issue. The block at the upper left is the official format.
Each possible arrangement of a block for a particular issue can also be shown as part of a larger block. If the stamps are in a checkerboard arrangement with just two designs in each horizontal or vertical row, a block of nine is required to show the four combinations. If you look at the upper left-hand block of the 1990 US sea mammals issue and then imagine each stamp is the upper left-hand stamp in a block of four you will see the possible combinations. Note that while there are four killer whale stamps, there is just one dolphin issue. Other blocks of nine, of course, would have different arrangements but each would have at least one of each combination of four.
The result is slightly different if each horizontal strip of four has four different designs as well. This arrangement was used in the 1993 Christmas issue, and with it a horizontal block of 10 (two stamps by five) is required to show each configuration of four.
As US stamp designs literally go popular, obtaining examples of all variations is getting increasingly difficult. In the rock and roll stars sheet of seven different designs a full pane of 35 is required to show each possible block or strip (and of course the sheets of 50 different stamps, as in the 1993 wildflowers issue, cannot be complete if even one stamp is left off).
With the country and western music stamps, however, less than a full pane is required to show all combinations. Each horizontal row has four different stamps in various orders, but each vertical row has only two, so a horizontal block of 12 suffices to show all variations.
Formats wherein mini-sheets were printed and issued in larger sheets also are of interest when it comes to additional configurations. The 1978 mini-sheet marking the Canadian International Philatelic Exhibition was issued in panes of six complete mini-sheets. In the basic layout the two rows of four stamps are separated by text.
However the top four stamps from one mini-sheet can be found combined with the bottom four stamps from the sheet above it. This eliminates the selvedge and one possible motivation for the use of this block may have been to save space on an envelope.
The series of mini-sheets marking the five years of US involvement in World War II takes a similar format. Because of the large size of each design, however, each pane has just two full mini-sheets. A "block" of 15 shows each possible combination.
Mercifully, perhaps, one issue of four designs makes things much simpler for collectors. The 1978 quilts issue is cunningly arranged so that each block of four is identical. The "different" formats are obtained simply by turning it around. This format has not been repeated. No doubt it does not lend itself well to most designs, but it is also possible that it may have not offered enough potential for multiple sales to philatelists.
Apart from the express mail high values (and errors and other such material, of course) few modern U.S. stamps pose much of a problem to the collector of used issues. Finding the U.S. se-tenants postally used as issued in undamaged blocks or panes and with decent cancellations, however, can be fiendishly difficult. In the case of sheets of 50 different stamps, of course, it is impossible without special arrangements.
The relative scarcity of joined se-tenants is sometimes reflected in catalogue values. The 1969 Botanical Congress issue (Scott numbers 1376-1379) is catalogued as 60 cents for singles but $3 for a block, a 500 per cent premium.
On the other hand, with the minimum price of 15 cents the total for the singles often is more than the listed value of the whole piece, a particularly "good" example being the 1973 postal people set (1489-1498). The easily found singles are listed at $1.50, while the much, much scarcer full strip weighs in at just $1. This is one of the major anomalies of the current Scott values but I am sure few people if any have torn up blocks to "increase" the value of a collection.
In fact, it appears that complete postally used se-tenant items are undervalued by Scott and this is one area where collectors will often have to pay more than the catalogue price.
However the dedicated collector in this increasingly popular field need not draw the line here. For se-tenant items can be collected in a variety of configurations. The USPS presents all issues in a certain way, but there are no guarantees postal users will employ them so. Or bigger blocks or strips may be used and show several or even all possible configurations.
With pairs of two stamps, the permutations usually are quite simple, particularly if the stamps are not arranged checkerboard fashion. A horizontal strip of three of the second US se-tenant issue in ordinary sheets -- the 1967 space twins set (1331/1332) -- illustrates the two possible combinations as each vertical row includes just one design.
Similarly, a 1976 strip of six stamps portraying the signing of the Declaration of Independence (1691-1694) shows the full panoramic set plus the one other possible pair, the right-hand stamp of one grouping and the left-hand stamp of another. No matter how big a block you have, you will find no other combinations. Note that the pair on the left is incomplete; the panes were 10 stamps wide, resulting in odd pairs. Left and right panes were mirror images, so each design was printed in the same numbers.
The set of six stamps marking the 75th anniversary of the first powered flight in 1903 came with two stamps on each sheet, with each horizontal row being of a single design. Any vertical strip of three, therefore, displays the two possible combinations. All horizontal pairs and strips, by the same token, are not se-tenant. A vertical block of six of the high value, designed to pay the basic overseas letter rate, is sufficient to illustrate the format well.
Yet another arrangement is found in the panes of the 1978 Captain James Cook issue. Half of each pane was the vertical portrait stamp, while the other featured his ships in a horizontal layout. The middle strip of 20 stamps, therefore, consisted of se-tenant pairs. A central strip of 4 demonstrates the only se-tenant combination and gives an idea of how the stamps were arranged on the panes. Interestingly, even though these se-tenant pairs are numerically less common than other se-tenant pairs, an unusual number seem to have been kept or used as pairs and so they are no harder to find.
When it comes to blocks, the situation can get much more complicated. One way to show each possible configuration is with an example of each block, as with the 1964 Christmas issue, the first U.S. se-tenants on ordinary sheets as opposed to mini-sheets. These were sold in huge numbers, of course, and people would take a few for letters and then perhaps take a block for posting a package. The result is that the various combinations showed far more use than is normal for a se-tenant issue. The block at the upper left is the official format.
Each possible arrangement of a block for a particular issue can also be shown as part of a larger block. If the stamps are in a checkerboard arrangement with just two designs in each horizontal or vertical row, a block of nine is required to show the four combinations. If you look at the upper left-hand block of the 1990 US sea mammals issue and then imagine each stamp is the upper left-hand stamp in a block of four you will see the possible combinations. Note that while there are four killer whale stamps, there is just one dolphin issue. Other blocks of nine, of course, would have different arrangements but each would have at least one of each combination of four.
The result is slightly different if each horizontal strip of four has four different designs as well. This arrangement was used in the 1993 Christmas issue, and with it a horizontal block of 10 (two stamps by five) is required to show each configuration of four.
As US stamp designs literally go popular, obtaining examples of all variations is getting increasingly difficult. In the rock and roll stars sheet of seven different designs a full pane of 35 is required to show each possible block or strip (and of course the sheets of 50 different stamps, as in the 1993 wildflowers issue, cannot be complete if even one stamp is left off).
With the country and western music stamps, however, less than a full pane is required to show all combinations. Each horizontal row has four different stamps in various orders, but each vertical row has only two, so a horizontal block of 12 suffices to show all variations.
Formats wherein mini-sheets were printed and issued in larger sheets also are of interest when it comes to additional configurations. The 1978 mini-sheet marking the Canadian International Philatelic Exhibition was issued in panes of six complete mini-sheets. In the basic layout the two rows of four stamps are separated by text.
However the top four stamps from one mini-sheet can be found combined with the bottom four stamps from the sheet above it. This eliminates the selvedge and one possible motivation for the use of this block may have been to save space on an envelope.
The series of mini-sheets marking the five years of US involvement in World War II takes a similar format. Because of the large size of each design, however, each pane has just two full mini-sheets. A "block" of 15 shows each possible combination.
Mercifully, perhaps, one issue of four designs makes things much simpler for collectors. The 1978 quilts issue is cunningly arranged so that each block of four is identical. The "different" formats are obtained simply by turning it around. This format has not been repeated. No doubt it does not lend itself well to most designs, but it is also possible that it may have not offered enough potential for multiple sales to philatelists.
posted by Chad Neighbor at
5.6.07
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