Tête-bêche

In philately, "tête-bêche" (French for "head-to-tail", lit. "head-to-head") is a joined pair of stamps in which one is upside-down in relation to the other, produced intentionally or accidentally. Like any pair of stamps, a pair of "tête-bêches" can be a vertical or a horizontal pair. In the case of a pair of triangular stamps, they cannot help but be linked "head-to-tail". Mechanical errors during the process of production can result in "tête-bêches", but in most cases "tête-bêches" are produced for the purpose of collecting.

During the printing of stamps for booklets, the pages of stamps are usually printed in multiples from a larger printing plate. This can result in "tête-bêche" pairs. It is unusual for these pairs to find their way into the postal system, as they are cut into individual booklet pages before binding into the distributed booklet. A block of 24 5d Machin stamps, which should have been guillotined into four booklet pages, includes four "tête-bêche" pairs. This was sold in 1970, in the normal course of business, by the British Post Office and is exhibited by a member of the Royal Mail Stamp Advisory Committee. [ [http://www.gbstamps.com/gbcc/gbcc_walker_page2.html Tony Walker exhibit page] (retrieved 17 September 2006)]

ource

ee also

*sheet of stamps

External links

* [http://www.hkpsoc.com/articles/tete-beche_forgeries.html Hong Kong "tête-bêche" forgeries]
* [http://marbl.library.emory.edu/DigitalExhibits/stamps/005.html Israel "tête-bêche" blocks] from the Sol Singer Collection of Philatelic Judaica
* [http://stamps.luxcentral.com/classic.stamps/7.tete.beche.jpgLuxembourg "tête-bêche" block]
* [http://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/aboutus/resources/archivepublications/housingdimension/0,,4-0-8434-12338,00.html Pairs of pentagonal "tête-bêche" stamps]