New Regionals with codes

 

Here are the new Regionals, following the changes made for definitives and NVIs. I am quite surprised that the opportunity was not taken to bring in some fresh designs for these four nations. They were pleasantly different and original way back in 1999 but whilst some still work well others have not stood the test of time so well.

The Northern Ireland 1st Class has never seemed right, stretching the Emerald Isle idea to the limit with some fields which I would not be at all surprised to discover were a graphic designer's choice from generic stock photos and may well be an aerial view not far from me here in sunny Northamptonshire!

For what is now the top value we have an oak tree, a thistle, a leek and some embroidery instead of a potato or whatever we should associate with Northern Ireland. Had I been on the committee at the time I am sure I would have voted against the decidedly grimy looking leek as being rather sad for the Welsh and the NI stamp on the grounds that the value tablet is invariably most unclear. Adopting four plants, a rose, a thistle, a daffodil and a shamrock (?), or some variations on the theme, would surely have been more attractive and consistent.

I shall stop moaning now and let you enjoy these new issues with their false perforation lines and codes. You can also have fun trying to figure out where in the main image you can find the code section colour used! Just for fun I have removed that perforation line from the English 2nd Class and I am not sure it isn't actually a better looking stamp. With the gap now evident closed a little that would, in my opinion, be an improvement. That line strikes me as a failure of design. You really should not have to draw perforation lines and the ellipses jar rather.

2020 New Definitive Values, James Bond and London 2020

The Queen Victoria 1d black, 2d blue and 1d red from 1840/1 return once more in a London 2020 booklet. You will recognise these from a few years ago when the 175th anniversaries were noted in 2105/6. I like the idea but the Queens head and value tablet placing has always jarred slightly with me. Having said that, I can't think of where else they could go. I might have been tempted to replace Victoria with Elizabeth II and change the text to 1ST CLASS and 2ND CLASS. In fact I might try that in my editing program and if it works I'll share the results here just for fun.

We also have a Concrete & Clay booklet and a Prestige booklet marking James Bond films.

The 4+2 booklet features  te 1st Royal Mail red with code M20L MCIL which we have already seen.

The prestige book pane has a strange combination of the Union Flag 1st and the Scottish Saltire 2nd so that's going to upset the Welsh and Northern Ireland people for a while. Then there are 2 very tired looking 2p deep greens and a couple of 2nd Class blues. the Scottish stamps have the later serif-style value tablet but the UK one is the older sans serif type, not that we've had the later type for that stamp. Now might have been a good time to change that although quite why we get this combination is anyone's guess.

This pane, being planned and presumably produced sometime previously, features stamps with the code M19L MPIL. The 2p looks very much like the one in the February 2019 book but the 2nd Class stamp looks, to me, a quite new 'baby blue' shade. It also appeared in the February 2019 book so I'll have to dig that out to compare. It'll probably turn out to be the same as Cartor would, I guess, just bring out the colours from last year in whatever process is used. Not a tube of paint, I know, but some sort of formula that can be readily repeated.

The main event this month is the issue of the new definitives, supposedly to meet demand for the new rates coming into force in a few days. This has become a regular March (or sometimes April) affair and I do look forward to it, albeit with some trepidation now that the combined total is £29.80!!

  

  

 

The official colour names are:

£1.42 garnet red

£1.63 sunset red

£1.68 tarragon green

£2.42 purple heather

£2.97 rose pink

£3.66 harvest gold

£3.82 holly green

I recognise a few of these.

 

 

 

The regionals are all just as we've seen for many years now with just new values. I can't remember seeing the black outline on the Northern Ireland higher value but that's probably my memory rather than anything new. Perhaps that was introduced when the font changed and I didn't notice.

Whilst these designs do reflect the nations well I am surprised they have not been changed since 1999. There are so many items or scenes which could be representing the four nations that could be used and I am also surprised that the designs have remained such that some values are not at all easy to read. I suspect that they are little used and no-one really cares. Those businesses who have sheets of them for particular product postage needs are so used to looking for the yellowy-brown or purple one that I guess staff don't need to bother about the value tablet either. One reason for retaining the designs, I guess.

Right, now to move once more rows of stamps from page t page to make room for all of these unexpected values. I really should have learned my lesson by now and left a lot more room between values.

Walsall do definitives again. Cartor fail.

[This post should have been published in April. Apologies for the delay]

A slightly more interesting bunch of definitives appearing this time. I'll start with a DLR M17L code 50p grey with security printed background. That first appeared in October 2017.

Then, at this time of year we get the latest requirements of rate increases and this year that brings us four new stamps and values. Not that we'll see many on envelopes as my own Post Office knew nothing of them at all and had hardly any real stamps either. They just stick those white 'Horizon' labels on everything now.

At the same time, and appearing to be part of the same set but it isn't, we have a £1.55 now with security backing print.

The above are all M18L and printed by Walsall (other than the 2017 50p). Also by Walsall is the M18L MCIL 1st Class red from the RAF Concrete and Clay book. The different shade of 2nd Class deeper brighter blue is M17L MTIL.

A new printing of the Special Delivery 100g stamp with an M17L code and security backing paper is also now to be found. This is from De La Rue.

For some reason, OK, to generate more income, we have had to purchase complete sets of the four regionals from each country once more, even though the 1st and 2nd Class are NVIs! We're told that it was considered necessary to make all the typefaces the same across the four sets. They had previously been a bit of an odd mixture, admittedly, but the new typeface seems even more difficult to decipher on many, especially the 2nd Class from England and the face value of the Northern Ireland basket weave, or whatever it is, is really difficult to figure.

So these are all new issues. Strangely, they are still gummed and not self-adhesive and I have to say that, with the grey or white now also replacing any silver ink, if it weren't for the fact that the designs themselves hadn't changed the set could easily have been a new issue from the Tokeleau Islands or somewhere similar, hardly ever to be used but generating some useful island revenue.

Just wait until we have a new extension to this set featuring scenes from each nation, changing every other month!

From Cartor we have the RAF Prestige book definitives, a 2p green, 5p brown and £1.17 orange. The standard of Cartor's printing is not particularly brilliant and they have almost failed to represent the security codes on these stamps. they should be M18L MPIL but that is not at all easy to see. Not that this matters a great deal. I am sure the only place you'll find them is in the booklet.

  

There's quite a lot here and you may well need several new pages in the album.