These three blocks of 5¢ U.S. postage stamps feature a portrait of George Washington. These stamps are part of the Prominent Americans series, issued by the United States in the 1960s.
What makes these particular blocks interesting is the ZIP code promotional slogans in the selvage (the non-stamp margin area). These slogans were printed on the edges of sheets to promote the relatively new ZIP code system, which was introduced by the U.S. Postal Service in 1963. Each block here includes a different slogan:
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"ADD ZIP TO YOUR MAIL – USE ZONE NUMBERS FOR ZIP CODE"
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"ADD ZIP TO YOUR MAIL – ALWAYS USE ZIP CODE"
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"YOUR MAILMAN DESERVES YOUR HELP – KEEP HARMFUL OBJECTS OUT OF YOUR LETTERS"
These are often collected as ZIP slogan blocks or ZIP blocks, and are a popular specialty area within U.S. stamp collecting.
These three blocks of 5¢ U.S. postage stamps feature a portrait of George Washington. These stamps are part of the Prominent Americans series, issued by the United States in the 1960s.
What makes these particular blocks interesting is the ZIP code promotional slogans in the selvage (the non-stamp margin area). These slogans were printed on the edges of sheets to promote the relatively new ZIP code system, which was introduced by the U.S. Postal Service in 1963. Each block here includes a different slogan:
-
"ADD ZIP TO YOUR MAIL – USE ZONE NUMBERS FOR ZIP CODE"
-
"ADD ZIP TO YOUR MAIL – ALWAYS USE ZIP CODE"
-
"YOUR MAILMAN DESERVES YOUR HELP – KEEP HARMFUL OBJECTS OUT OF YOUR LETTERS"
These are often collected as ZIP slogan blocks or ZIP blocks, and are a popular specialty area within U.S. stamp collecting.