Ornamental Corner Blocks

St. Maria Goretti 50th Anniversary of Martyrdom - 157I (1953) St. Bartholomew 9th Century of Death - 200I (1955) St. Rita de Cascia 5th Century of Death - 211I (1956) St. Domenico Savio Centenary of Death - 221I (1957) Most of the Vatican City stamps were traditionally issued in sheets of 40-100 stamps. Today, Vatican stamps are typically issued in sheets of 10 or less. Sheets with less than 10 stamps, referred to as Mini Sheets, are usually decorative and have at times been mistaken for a Vatican issued Souvenir Sheet. But, during the 1950’s and 1960’s the Vatican issued some stamps in sheets with an Ornamental Corner Block. A corner block is comprised of four stamps and the inscription ‘Il Foglio di sessanta Francobololli’ (‘The Sheet of Sixty Stamps’) plus the value of the complete sheet. For example: A sheet of sixty ₤35 stamps displays a total sheet value of ₤2100 as in the 1957 Maria Goretti issue above. Only one Ornamental Corner Block issue, 3rd World Congress of Lay Apostolate, Scott 453-454, contains 50 stamps per sheet and consists of six stamps in the corner block. As of today, there were only seven sets of stamps issued with Ornamental Corner Blocks. The Vatican Notes article found in the references below provides a reasonable explanation for the use of the ornamental corner blocks. Nubian Monuments - 380I (1964) Man at Work - 427I (1966) 3rd World Congress for Lay Apostolate - 454I (1967) Is there any value to owning a set of the Ornamental Corner Blocks vs owning a standard block of four? I will use the Ornamental Corner Block of the Maria Goretti, Scott 156-157, example defined by member Daniel Bayer…. 250,000 complete sets of the Maria Goretti were issued in sheets of 60. Therefore, there were approximately 4200 Ornamental Corner Block sets available. We know that many of the Ornamental Corner Blocks were purchased from the post office by the public for mail use, so the number of Ornamental Corner Blocks available to philatelists is much lower than 4200. Since only one Ornamental Corner Block exists on a sheet, the law of supply and demand generally dictates the value of a Mint Never Hinged Ornamental Corner Block to be higher than a standard block of four. Besides, the Ornamental Corner Block is a much more appealing addition to any collection. One example of each of the seven Vatican City Ornamental Corner Block issues is displayed. Article Links: • Anonymous, “The Inscription Block of Five” Vatican Notes, Vol.11, No. 3, pp.7-8 (1963)