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What other stamp materials can I collect?
- Postal stationery products are popular among some collectors. These have the stamp designs printed or embossed
(printed with a raised design) directly on them.
- Stamped Envelopes were first issued in 1853. More than 600 million of them are now printed each year.
- Postal Cards were first issued in 1873. The first U.S. multicolored commemorative postal cards came out in 1956.
Several different postal cards are issued each year.
- Aerogrammes (air letters) are designed to be letters and envelopes all in one. They are specially stamped, marked
for folding and already gummed.
- Other philatelic collectibles include:
- Plate Blocks usually consist of four stamps from the corner of a pane, with the printing plate number in the margin
(or selvage) of the pane.
- Copyright Blocks feature the copyright symbol © followed by "United States Postal Service" or "USPS" in the margin
of the pane. The USPS began copyrighting new stamp designs in 1978.
- Booklet Panes are panes of three or more of the same stamp issue. Panes are affixed inside a thin folder to form
a booklet. Usually, collectors of booklet panes save the entire pane.
- Souvenir Sheets are panes of stamps issued without plate number's that may have margins containing lettering or
design that commemorate a notable subject, such as Daffy Duck and Sonoran Desert.
- First Day Covers are envelopes bearing new stamps that are postmarked on the first day of sale. For each new postal
issue, the USPS selects one location, usually related to the stamp subject, as the place for the first day dedication ceremony
and the first day postmark. There is even an annual First Day Cover Collecting Week.
- First Day Ceremony Programs are given to persons who attend first day ceremonies. They contain a list of participants,
information on the stamp subject and the actual stamp attached and postmarked.
- Matted Panes are full panes of stamps that are on a colored matted sheet to match the stamps. These are
suitable for framing.
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