bobby1948
Departed
Rest in Peace
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Sir Edmund Burke
Posts: 690 
What I collect: WW to 1945; US mnh 1922-1990; US used and unused to 1922
|
Post by bobby1948 on Jun 21, 2017 13:42:00 GMT
When coils began to have plate numbers printed on the stamps (at first in addition to the "line," then replacing it entirely), they were collected in strips of three. Then for some reason I have never understood, the standard became strips of 5. I can see no reason for this. If I were a conspiracy theorist, I guess I'd have to look at the USPS (1st tier market) and dealers in modern US stamps (2nd tier market) who set this up as a ploy to sell more stamps. But if so, are there that many gullible collectors who would silently suffer this stupidity? But maybe there is a valid reason behind "5" vs "3." If so, educate me!
|
|
Jerry B
Departed
Rest in Peace
Marietta, Georgia USA
Posts: 1,485
|
Post by Jerry B on Jun 21, 2017 20:09:31 GMT
Hi Bobby
When I collected US, I collected plate numbered coils in strip of 5. The reason being, 2 stamps on either side of the stamp having the plate number. I guess it was a matter of aesthetics. For coils with a line between the stamps, I only collected pairs, i.e.; Line Pairs.
Jerry B
|
|
bobby1948
Departed
Rest in Peace
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Sir Edmund Burke
Posts: 690
What I collect: WW to 1945; US mnh 1922-1990; US used and unused to 1922
|
Post by bobby1948 on Jun 21, 2017 20:26:11 GMT
The reason I inquire is that both strips of "3" and strips of "5" have the same symmetry as long as there is no "line" involved. When numbered coils first appeared, the "line" was still there; at that time I could see the aesthetics of "5" as the line would appear to overbalance a strip of "3." However, the standard was "3" then, and remained "3" for some time after the "line" disappeared. Then, for no rhyme or reason (to my knowledge) the standard suddenly became "5," although many collectors (at least for awhile) still collected strips of "3." Perhaps it really is that collectors just decided that "5" looked better than "3." I guess I just really want to know if there was some point at which a philatelic authority (such as the APS) weighed in and suggested strips of "5" would be better for some reason.
|
|
Ryan
Member 
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,720
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
|
Post by Ryan on Jun 22, 2017 7:39:17 GMT
The Plate Number Coil Collectors Club has many issues of their club journal Coil Line available online - every issue except for those from the last three years, which are reserved for members of the club. And note that the club's name is usually given in abbreviated notation as PNC3 - a clear reference to Bobby's preference for strips of 3! A quick snoop through the journal's index comes up with this article from the September 2004 issue. I would expect there is more to be found if one were to read diligently through the almost 30 years worth of issues online. The club's website is authored in such a way that direct links to individual newsletters are pretty much impossible (or the methods required are inscrutable, one of the two ...). I'll provide a screen capture here, but you can download the full journal(s) yourself if you wish.  For those interested in reading more issues of Coil Line, you can find them on the PNC3 website in the Reference section in the menu at left - click the heading "Coil Line Archives" to read individual issues. There are also issues of another journal available in the Reference section - they're found if you click the heading with the journal's title, The Plate Number. Ryan
|
|
tomiseksj
Moderator 
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,265
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
|
Post by tomiseksj on Jun 22, 2017 12:11:49 GMT
I've got to agree with Dan Kauffman, this wouldn't look quite right as a strip of 8... |
|
zipper
Member
Posts: 2,649
What I collect: Classic GB, QV, France Ceres/Napoleon, Classic U.S., Cinderella & Poster Stamps
|
Post by zipper on Jun 23, 2017 7:06:54 GMT
An interior designer taught me that groupings must always be in odd numbers, to please the eye.
|
|
