U.S. Twentieth-Century Poets block in demand

Stamp Market Tips by Henry Gitner and Rick Miller

Demand for recent U.S. se-tenant issues remains fairly high. Many were not stocked in quantity and are hard to find in the aftermarket.

A good example is the set of 10 nondenominated (45¢) Twentieth-Century Poets forever stamps (Scott 4654-4663). The stamps were issued April 21, 2012, in panes of 20, which can be broken down into blocks of 10.

The poets commemorated are Joseph Brodsky, Gwendolyn Brooks, William Carlos Williams, Robert Hayden, Sylvia Plath, Elizabeth Bishop, Wallace Stevens, Denise Levertov, E.E. Cummings and Theodore Roethke.

We previously tipped this set in the Stamp Market Tips column in the June 18, 2018, issue of Linn’s. The 2020 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers values a mint block of 10 (Scott 4663a) at $20. It values the mint pane of 20 at $40.

Demand for this pane has increased recently. Expect to pay $17.50 for a mint block of 10 and $35 or more for the mint pane of 20.

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