Security Printed Backing Paper and 16 Date Codes

  

A new security feature has been added to Machin definitives. Not only do the stamps have the background text but now the backing paper for the self adhesive issues has a similar ROYAL MAIL wavy text running across, including beneath the stamps. the stamps themselves are the same as before so I am not sure whether we need to bother about these or not really.

As far as I can tell, there is no date code on the backing paper. I am not inclined to collect these as they're not really different stamps in my view. However, as the next code 16 self adhesive issues will probably be on this paper I will get them anyway and if a few happen to come through with 15, or 16 with no text, then I guess I'll just take them as they should be few. [Says he hopefully. Ed]

These three are O15R code S, and M15L codes B and T, al from Walsall.

Talking of 16s, here are a few that have appeared so far:

   

The 1st amethyst has O16R and no code, the others M16L being De La Rue printings.

There are also a couple of dull fluor items. I do find this extremely dull in another sense and may well abandon this as the stamps seem to me to have no visible difference at all. They have Code S from Walsall and no code O15R from De La Rue. These two below should, of course, be the same size. One day this otherwise excellent Google blog software will enable me to crop and do rather more with images than simply choose vaguely described sizes. (I could adjust sizes in the code but that is largely guesswork and a bit of a pain).

 

Finally, you shpould look out for what ought to be the last of the 15s, this 2nd Large MA15 MFIL from Walsall.

1d red for the new prestige book but no Machin definitives

Just one tiny Machin definitive appears in the February British Philatelic Bulletin. And I mean tiny, being a mere 4mm x 5mm illustration of the 1st amethyst on the cover design of the previous month's voting leaflet.

February 2016 also sees the issue of the Royal Mail 500 Prestige book which also features no Machin definitives but the 17th Penny Black anniversary stamps instead. These will be the 1st in 1d Black, 2d blue and 1d red designs. The 1d red is a new arrival, similar in design to the existing two. These are nice stamps and, appearing also in a book of 6, we may even see a few of the red ones on mail. Having said that, I saw none of the black or blue ones when they came along last year.

As for Machin definitives, I can only guess that we'll see some rate change issues in April or that there will be another prestige pane before too much longer.