FORMATS FOR 2012 ISSUES IN WHITE ACE COMMEMORATIVE
SUPPLEMENTS
This compilation is being published to assist in collecting currently available issues in advance of publication of the 2012 White Ace album supplements.
The Commemorative Singles SIMPLIFIED pages are
intended to simplify the collector's stamp purchasing
requirements, and are thus an ideal choice for a beginning
collector. Released for the first time by White Ace for the 1996
issues, they have been continued for each subsequent year's issues
and will continue to be published, in the same format, for the
2012 issues. These pages will generally seek to show each face
different stamp only once. For stamps issued in se-tenant format -
i.e. more than one stamp design in a pane - the smallest intact
unit will be shown that contains all designs. This will usually be
a strip, block or full booklet pane. All face different versions
of each commemorative issue will be included and will thus enable
the collector to assemble a complete commemorative collection.
The Commemorative Singles (complete) pages
will continue to be published in their original format for
collectors wishing to assemble a more detailed and comprehensive
collection. For se-tenant issues, these pages will show a set of
singles and a strip or block as in the past. Other stamp
formats will continue to be shown in a manner consistent with
prior printings of this album.
COMMEMORATIVE ALBUMS
NEW MEXICO STATEHOOD (01/06/12)
-Singles – 1 single
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 4
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 4
LUNAR NEW YEAR - YEAR OF THE DRAGON (01/23/12)
-Singles – 1 single
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 1 full sheet of 12 (there
are no plate numbers)
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 full sheet
of 12 (there are no plate numbers)
BONSAI CONVERTIBLE BOOKLET OF 20 (01/23/12)
-Singles – 5 singles and 1 full pane of
20
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 full pane of 20
-Blocks – 1 full pane of 20
-Plate Blocks – 1 full pane of 20
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 full pane of
20
-Booklet Panes – 1 full booklet pane of
20
JOHN H. JOHNSON (01/31/12)
-Singles – 1 single
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 4
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 4
HEART HEALTH (02/09/12)
-Singles – 1 single
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 4
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 4
ARIZONA STATEHOOD (02/14/12)
-Singles – 1 single
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 4
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 4
LOVE RIBBONS (02/14/12)
-Singles – 1 single
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 4
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 4
DANNY THOMAS (02/16/12)
-Singles – 1 single
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 4
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 4
CHERRY BLOSSOM CENTENNIAL (02/24/12)
-Singles – 2 singles & 1 pair
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 pair
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 2 plate blocks of 4 - one
left & one right
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 4
WILLIAM H. JOHNSON (04/11/12)
-Singles – 1 single
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 4
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 4
TWENTIETH CENTURY POETS (04/21/12)
-Singles – 10 singles & 1 block of 10
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 block of 10
-Blocks – 1 block of 10
-Plate Blocks – 1 full sheet of 20
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 10
CIVIL WAR: 1862 (04/24/12)
-Singles – 2 singles, 1 pair & 1
souvenir sheet
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 souvenir sheet
-Blocks – 1 block of 4 & 1 souvenir
sheet
-Plate Blocks – 1 souvenir sheet (there
are no plate numbers)
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 souvenir
sheet (there are no plate numbers)
LOUISIANA STATEHOOD (04/30/12)
-Singles – 1 single
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 4
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 4
GREAT FILM DIRECTORS (05/23/12)
-Singles – 4 singles and a block of 4
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 block of 4
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 2 plate blocks of 4 - one
left and one right
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 4
MAIL A SMILE - PIXAR FILMS (06/01/12)
-Singles – 5 singles & strip of 5
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 strip of 5
-Blocks – 1 block of 10
-Plate Blocks – 1 full sheet
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 10
BICYCLING (06/07/12)
-Singles – 4 singles & 1 strip 4
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 strip of 4
-Blocks – 1 block of 8
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 8
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 8
CELEBRATE SCOUTING (06/09/12)
-Singles – 1 single
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 4
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 4
MILES DAVIS & EDITH PIAF (06/12/12)
-Singles – 2 singles, 1 pair & 1 full
sheet
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 pair
-Blocks – 1 block of 4 & 1 full sheet
-Plate Blocks – 2 plate blocks of 5 - one
right & one left, & 1 full sheet
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 5
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL-STARS - 1 SHEET OF 4
SE-TENANT DESIGNS (07/20/12)
-Singles – 4 singles from se-tenant or
single design sheets and 1 se-tenant block of four
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 se-tenant block
of 4
-Blocks – 1 se-tenant block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 2 se-tenant plate blocks
of 4 - one left and one right
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 se-tenant
plate block of 4
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL-STARS - 4 SINGLE-DESIGN
SHEETS (07/21/12)
-Singles – see above
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – see above
-Blocks – 4 different blocks of 4, each
having a single stamp design
-Plate Blocks – 4 different plate blocks
of 4, each having a single stamp single design
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – see above - no
single design plate blocks
INNOVATIVE CHOREOGRAPHERS (07/28/12)
-Singles – 1 set of 4 singles & 1
vertical strip of 4
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 vertical strip of
4
-Blocks – 1 vertical block of 8
-Plate Blocks – 1 vertical plate block of
8
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 vertical
plate block of 8
FLAGS OF OUR NATION - SET #6 (08/16/12)
-Singles – 10 singles & 2 strips of 5
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 2 strips of 5
-Blocks – 2 strips of 5
-Plate Blocks – 2 strips of 5 - one with
plate number
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 2 strips of 5
- one with plate number
EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS (08/17/12)
-Singles – 1 single
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 4
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 4
WAR OF 1812 (08/18/12)
-Singles – 1 single & full sheet
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4 & 1 full sheet
-Plate Blocks – 1 full souvenir sheet
(there are no plate numbers)
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 full
souvenir sheet (there are no plate numbers)
O. HENRY (09/11/12)
-Singles – 1 single
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 4
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 4
EARTHSCAPES (10/01/12)
-Singles – 15 singles & full sheet of
15
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 full sheet of 15
-Blocks – 1 full sheet of 15
-Plate Blocks – 1 full sheet of 15
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 full sheet
of 15
CHRISTMAS HOLY FAMILY CONVERTIBLE BOOKLET OF 20 (10/10/12)
-Singles – 1 single
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 full pane of 20
-Plate Blocks – 1 full pane of 20
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 full pane of
20
-Booklet Panes – 1 full booklet pane of
20
SANTA & SLEIGH CONVERTIBLE BOOKLET OF 20
(10/13/12)
-Singles – 4 singles and 1 full pane of
20
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 full pane of 20
-Blocks – 1 full pane of 20
-Plate Blocks – 1 full pane of 20
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 full pane of
20
-Booklet Panes – 1 full booklet pane of
20
LADY BIRD JOHNSON (11/30/12)
-Singles – 6 singles & 1 souvenir
sheet of 6
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 souvenir sheet of
6
-Blocks – 1 souvenir sheet of 6
-Plate Blocks – 1 souvenir sheet of 6
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 souvenir
sheet of 6
Many of the 2012 commemorative issues listed are
unexceptional and follow formats long established for each of the
albums listed. For those which are not common or do not fit
established patterns, we offer the following explanations.
The Civil War sheet has relatively unusual layout, but
is similar to Jamestown Settlement (2007). There is one stamp of
each of the sheet's two stamp designs on one side—which we
consider to be the front of the sheet and which categorizes it as
a souvenir sheet. The remaining ten stamps are in se-tenant format
on the other side—which we consider to be the back. Accordingly,
in our Singles Complete pages we show two different singles, a
se-tenant pair and a full sheet—which is similar to what we did
with Jamestown, and the same as we showed the first issue of this
series in 2011.
As most users of White Ace Commemorative pages are
aware, we showed a full pane of the Legends of Hollywood series
issue―with a large illustrated area of
selvage on one side of the sheet―in all of
our Commemorative albums except for the Singles Simplified, Plate
Blocks Simplified, and Copyright Singles or Blocks.
Including a full sheet when it has this layout, began with the
Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe issues in the early 1990s,
and has continued for issues having similar format ever
since. For example, refer to Frida Kahlo (2001), Daffy Duck
(1999), Andy Warhol (2002), etc. In our 2012 pages, we will
follow this pattern by including a full sheet of Miles Davis &
Edith Piaf .
In 2008, we included the first and second sets of the
Flags of our Nation Coil series and after publication discovered
that some collectors took exception to the sequence in which we
displayed these stamps. On this coil, the USPS placed the plate
number on the first stamp of the roll, and on every
subsequent tenth stamp. However, unlike prior se-tenant coils, the
subsequent nine stamp designs on the first set and all ten stamps
on the second set were arranged alphabetically.
In the White Ace plate block albums, we have always
shown a plate number coil with the plate number at the center of
the strip for an odd number of stamps (Tropical Fruit 2008 for
example); or with the plate number on the stamp whose position is
half of the total for an even number of stamps (Fruit Berries 1999
for example).We are aware that our sequence places the stamps out
of alphabetical order, which some collectors have found
objectionable. On the other hand, we do not recall anyone advising
that the Fruit Berries or Crops of the Americas stamps were out of
alphabetical order.
In planning our album layout for Flags of our Nation we choose
retain our usual placement of the plate number. Thus, for the
five-stamp strip of the Flags of our Nation that contained the
plate number, we displayed it with the plate number on the center
stamp; to complete the set of ten stamps we showed the remaining
five stamps as a strip without plate number. In our singles pages,
we showed the same two five-stamp strips. We will continue to use
this arrangement for the 2012 coil which is the final release in
this series. Finally, one should note that the collector is free
to break up the coil in any sequence desired and mount it in the
space provided.
In the White Ace Plate Block Albums, a plate block is
considered the smallest block (of 4 or more stamps) that can be
taken from the margin of the sheet, that contains all stamp
designs, and has attached selvage bearing a plate number. If more
than one such block can be removed from a sheet and the plate
number is adjacent to a different stamp design in any of these,
then each such example is shown in our Plate Blocks Complete
pages. In our Plate Blocks Simplified pages, any such plate
position can be collected. In most cases, there will be two rows
or columns of stamps opposite the plate number. (This definition
may vary somewhat where there is a particularly attractive header
or illustrated selvage or where there is more than one plate
number along the same margin of the sheet).
The Mail a Smile and Bicycling sheets place each stamp design in
its own column, resulting in 5 and 4 different columns
respectively. In order to include all designs in the plate block,
two full width rows of stamps with a plate number at one or both
ends are required. Similar logic applies to Innovative
Choreographers for which each stamp is placed in its own row.
Prior issues of this sort are Sunday Funnies (2010), Abraham
Lincoln (2009), and Thanksgiving (2009).
Both the Twentieth Century Poets issue requires 10
different designs in each plate block, and a top plate block has
plate numbers next to different stamps than the bottom plate
block. Because of this, we have to show both top and bottom plate
blocks in Plate Blocks Complete pages, so we just show an unbroken
sheet. A case similar to this was the Garden of Love (2011) issue.
Dogs at Work, Cherry Blossom Centennial, Great Film
Directors and Major League Baseball All-stars require left &
right plate blocks because on each of these plate numbers are
adjacent to different stamps. Previous issues with this
configuration are Cowboys of the Silver Screen (2010), Negro
Leagues Baseball (2010) and numerous prior issues.
With alternate rows offset horizontally, the Miles
Davis & Edith Piaf sheet has a totally new layout. However, a
plate block of 5 from the bottom left hand corner of the sheet, 3
columns wide by 2 rows high, contains all of the stamps and has a
plate number in the left hand corner. The same applies to the 5
stamps at the upper right (3 columns wide x 2 rows high).
Additionally, because of the illustrations at the upper left and
lower right, this sheet is essentially the same as Gregory Peck,
and Merchant Marine, although it is arranged differently. For this
reason, we also show a full sheet in our Singles Complete, Blocks
and Plate Blocks Complete albums.
Sometimes, issues having souvenir sheet or booklet
formats have either no plate number, or have plate numbers on the
back of the pane. Our practice has been, and continues to be, to
include examples of such issues in our plate block pages as
souvenir sheets. Issues of this sort for 2012 are Lunar New Year,
Civil War, War of 1812 and Lady Bird Johnson and will be treated
accordingly.
What the USPS began in 2010 and has continued since,
is that copyright markings are either absent or on the back of the
sheet for every issue. Because there are no copyright markings on
the face of any pane, there will be no Copyright Singles or
Copyright Blocks album pages for 2012.
For other issues for which our format may be puzzling,
we direct the interested collector examine our format guides
posted on-line for prior issues of similar configuration which may
be a precedent.
