More 20 Codes and a Challenge.

Here's a challenge. Find a Special Delivery stamp in the Royal Mail online shop. I failed. Anyway, here is my own 500g example with the latest M20L code. This ranks as the #1 high value stamp currently available with what I think is a £7.50 value at the time of writing. The service is more expensive if you need more insurance cover and I wonder whether the same stamp gets used in such an instance, in which case it would have an even higher value! Or, now I think about it, maybe if used for the Guaranteed by 9am service, it would be the highest ever, easily exceeding the old £10 definitive.

Next, there are some more 20 codes. I don't seem to have noted the arrival of the 1st and 2nd Class stamps or their Large siblings as M20L MAIL in previous posts. There is also now a 2nd M20L MBIL which I seem to have missed. So here they are now, together with a 10p light tan.

The only other item of interest is a 1st Class from a recent Concrete & Clay book (4+2) which has a quite different and thinner backing which is also very bright when viewed under UV compared to others. It may have appeared before but this is from the Queen edition and is the first I've noticed.

Apologies for the poor quality images in this post. Having already put the stamps away neatly in my albums I was reluctant to undo all my work and risk not being able to remember what should go where so I just used my mobile phone and did not wait for it to focus on some occasions. But you've all seen plenty of 10p stamps and the different codes don't even show on most of them anyway. I should have used old images and no-one would have noticed.

The first M20L code, a change of printer and some poor design

The Philatelic Bureau have sent me these issues which arrived today. 

I am guessing that the 1st Signed For and 50p stamps have now been printed by Walsall and that is the reason. They both feature M19L codes too which makes them new in my book anyway!

The other item is the first M20L item - the 1st Royal Mail red MCIL from the Tomb Raiders' Concrete & Clay book.

I seldom pay much attention to these 4+2 books but recognise they're a good idea in getting the latest special stamps out there to most of the population who probably wouldn't see them otherwise. Designers normally make a reasonable job of them but this time they're a mess. The stamps feature one font in the inscription but the extended identifier for the book shows something completely different.

The stamps themselves sit uncomfortably in thick white borders interrupting a background illustration which I can only assume someone selected at at random or for most obscure reasons which may make sense in game terms but look awful. I don't know which is worse; the bluish background against the predominantly green and grey stamp or the sadly clashing shades of green grey and brown on the other panel. The stamps themselves illustrate two types of digital art, but they sit uncomfortably next to each other.

I usually only keep the books which have an example of a different Machin stamp so most of them get used for postage and I shall be quite happy for these to go the same way later this year. I do hope the 1st Class stamp doesn't turn out to be a one-off for some reason.