This image is scanned from the selvage of a block of stamps issued by the United States. The Mr. ZIP character was used by the Postal Service to advertise the idea of the Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) postal coding system. Mr. ZIP appeared on several stamps and stamp-related publicity items. This image comes from the 1970's.
For many years, the Postal Service has been placing non-stamp images in the selvage (paper areas outside the stamp images, near the edge of the sheet) with printing plate numbers, copyright notices, slogans, and other markings. Examples of the messages include "MAIL EARLY IN THE DAY" and "USE ZIP CODE".
Collectors have accumulated blocks of stamps with plate number markings for many years. These additional markings, however, are quite common, and are priced lower than plate numbers in the Scott catalog.
There is another Mr. ZIP image available on my web pages.
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