Meaning of "a" or "b" after Scott # on US plate blocks such as J84a or J84b.

As a buyer of US stamps and plate blocks, I continually see a Scott # with a letter after it such as "a", "b", etc. For example, on Postage Due plate blocks for 1931 on Hip, J84 is listed as J84, J84a, J84b, etc. Are these Scott designations? Should I get a Scott Catalog or other reference? Thank you, Frank

Comments

  • 3 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • In the Scott US specialized catalogue the color of J84 is dull carmine, J84a is scarlet, and J84b is scarlet as well but is a wet printing. A lower case letter at the end of a Scott catalogue listing usually signifies a variety of the main stamp. Check out the Durland catalog for your plate blocks.
  • As Les states, Scott uses lower case suffixes to designate varieties of a stamp which they feel don't warrant a major listing.Besides color varieties. other stamps that will get a letter suffix are:
    1. Errors (inverted designs, e.g. C3a Inverted Jenny, missing colors, etc.)
    2. Perforation varieties.
    3. Stamps that are issued as se-tenant pairs, blocks, or panes with many designs, such as the DC Superheroes and many others. The major number will be assigned to a fully intact pair/block/pane, while each separate stamp design will get a letter suffix.
    4. Souvenir sheets sometimes get a major number and sometimes a letter designation (minor number), getting the basic number of the highest value stamp of the set it was issued with.
    5. Booklets. The individual stamps in a booklet will get the major number, while a complete booklet pane will get the suffix.

    There are other examples, also. As they say at the ballgame, you can't tell the players without a scorcard, and the Scott Catalog is the scorecard you need to tell the stamp players apart.
  • edited March 2019 0 LikesVote Down
    One more thing: An upper case letter suffix is a whole 'nother animal. In that case, it is usually because a postal entity issued another stamp within a series that Scott had already assigned (or reserved) numbers for. If it is, say, a new 18c denomination, Scott will shoehorn it in between the previously issued, and numbered, 15c and 20c designs, with an upper case A suffix on the number of the 15c stamp.
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