FORMATS FOR 2016 ISSUES IN WHITE ACE COMMEMORATIVE
SUPPLEMENTS
This compilation is being published to assist in collecting currently available issues in advance of publication of the 2016 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
2016 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
QUILTED PAPER HEART (01/12/16)
-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
RICHARD ALLEN - BLACK HERITAGE SERIES (02/02/16)
-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 MONKEY (02/05/16)
-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)
SARAH VAUGHAN (03/29/16)
-Singles – 1 single
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 1 full sheet (there are
no plate numbers)
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 full sheet
(there are no plate numbers)
SHIRLEY TEMPLE - LEGENDS OF HOLLYWOOD SERIES
(04/18/16)
-Singles – 1 single & 1 full sheet
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 single
-Blocks – 1 block of 4 & 1 full sheet
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 4
and 1 full sheet
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 4
WORLD STAMP EXPO NY 2016 (05/28/16)
-Singles – 2 singles & 1 full pane of
24
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 2 singles
-Blocks – 2 blocks of 4 & 1 full pane
of 24
-Plate Blocks – 1 full pane of 24 (there
are no plate numbers)
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 full pane of
24 (there are no plate numbers)
REPEAL OF THE STAMP ACT, 1766 (05/29/16)
-Singles – 1 single & 1 souvenir
sheet
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 souvenir sheet
-Blocks – 1 souvenir sheet
-Plate Blocks – 1 souvenir sheet
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 souvenir
sheet
SERVICE CROSS MEDALS (05/30/16)
-Singles – 4 singles & 1 souvenir
sheet
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 souvenir sheet
-Blocks – 1 souvenir sheet
-Plate Blocks – 1 souvenir sheet
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 souvenir
sheet
VIEWS OF OUR PLANETS (05/31/16)
-Singles – 8 singles & block of 8
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 block of 8
-Blocks – 1 block of 8
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 8
(bottom 2 rows with pl #s left )
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 8
PLUTO EXPLORED (05/31/16)
-Singles – 2 singles & 1 full
souvenir sheet
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 full souvenir
sheet
-Blocks – 1 full souvenir sheet
-Plate Blocks – 1 full souvenir sheet
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 full
souvenir sheet
CLASSICS FOREVER (06/01/16)
-Singles – 6 singles & full souvenir
sheet
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 full souvenir
sheet
-Blocks – 1 full souvenir sheet
-Plate Blocks – 1 full souvenir sheet
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 full
souvenir sheet
NATIONAL PARKS (06/02/16)
-Singles – 16 singles, & full sheet
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 full sheet of 16
-Blocks – 1 full sheet of 16
-Plate Blocks – 1 full sheet (there are
no plate numbers)
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 full sheet
(there are no plate numbers)
INDIANA STATEHOOD (06/07/16)
-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
EID (06/10/16)
-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
JAIME ESCALANTE (07/13/16)
-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
STAR TREK (09/02/16)
-Singles – 4 singles & 1 block of
4
-Singles SIMPLIFIED –1 block of 4
-Blocks – 1 block of 4
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 4
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate
block of 4
KWANZAA (10/01/16)
-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
DIWALI (10/05/16)
-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
HOLIDAY WINDOW VIEWS CONVERTIBLE BOOKLET OF 20
(10/06/16)
-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
WONDER WOMAN (10/07/16)
-Singles – 4 singles & 1 vertical
strip of 4
-Singles SIMPLIFIED – 1 vertical strip of
4
-Blocks – 1 block of 8
-Plate Blocks – 1 plate block of 8
-Plate Blocks SIMPLIFIED – 1 plate block
of 8
FLORENTINE MADONNA & CHILD CONVERTIBLE BOOKLET
OF 20 (10/18/16)
-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
HANUKKAH (11/01/16)
-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
NATIVITY CONVERTIBLE BOOKLET OF 20 (11/03/16)
-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
Many of the 2016 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.
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 Marilyn
Monroe and James Dean issues in the mid-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 2016 pages, we will follow this
pattern by including a full sheet of the Shirley Temple issue in
all but the Singles Simplified and Plate Blocks Simplified pages.
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).
Our format for souvenir sheets has been
to show the individual stamps and a full sheet in our
Commemorative Singles pages, and an unbroken souvenir sheet in
all of our other pages. For 2016, this is the case for
Repeal of the Stamp Act, Service Cross Medals, Pluto Explored
and Classics Forever.
Sometimes, issues released in pane of
stamps or booklet format 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
2016 are Lunar New Year, Sarah
Vaughan, World
Stamp Expo-New York 2016 and National Parks.
In recent years it has become increasingly
difficult to distinguish between commemoratives and definitives.
Sometimes the USPS makes the designation in the Postal Bulletin
and sometimes not. The Wikipedia entries for Definitive
Stamp and Commemorative Stamp are instructive.
Commemoratives are issued to celebrate some event, person or
cultural feature and are usually not reprinted when sold
out. Definitives are intended to satisfy a particular postal
rate or be used in conjunction with other stamps to pay postage
for a period of time and are reprinted when inventory is
depleted. In addition to these categories, the USPS issues
"special" stamps such as love and greeting stamps, which we
include in our commemorative pages. The difficulty with
these definitions is that definitives can often be regarded as
"commemorating" the image they bear, commemoratives are not
restricted to the first class one ounce rate and at the time of
the first printing even the USPS may not know if it will reprint
an issue when it is depleted.
In 2016, it appears that the USPS has
designated as Commemoratives only non-denominated
first-class single ounce rate stamps that celebrate a person
or event. Any issue paying a rate other than first class
single ounce or which bears a generic image such as fruit,
or animals is likely to be designated a definitive. To avoid
confusion, we have accepted the USPS designations in
deciding in which album to show each issue. If you have 2016
stamps that do not appear in the list above, please check
the White Ace Regular Issue Format Guide as they are likely
to be listed there.
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 2016.
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.