White spots before your eyes. Distinguishing the new 50p and £1.

 

You will see straightaway that the QR codes on the Prestige book stamps are quite different from the sheets issues. For a moment, I thought this would enable us to distinguish one from the other. But no, of course, as each individual stamp will have a different QR code and that will not help after all!

I suppose it is feasible that part of the design might remain constant to reflect the common source but I would need someone to advise me on that one. There will be something in the long string of characters that will be produced but identifying that amongst the mass of white squares is not something I am going to attempt without guidance!

The slight difference in size of the issues here is purely down to my inconsistent cropping of the later images. Apologies. The colour difference should also be ignored.

 

Update 16 June 2022

I am grateful to Lew Paterson for looking at the QR codes for these (and some other) issues. Here are his findings.

The 4 codes for these illustrations are:

JGB S19981017031001847760010025012201 F6B51D5D00FE2D5801

JGB S19941017031004573840010012012201 7A2413CCC098BDEB01

JGB S19981017031000997760005024012201 53FAA4B2899ACD6801

JGB S19941017031005321590005011012201 D1E0328AE6EDE24501


Possibly the first of each pair, has S1998 while the second has S1994 - could these be different source codes? Yep, just tried my own - S1998 is the Prestige sheet while S1994 is the counter sheets

Looking further, the counter, Book of 8, book of 4 and business stamps use S11 for normal stamps and S12 for large stamps with the last 2 digits in the 20s for 2nd class and in the 10s for 1st class.

First and last prestige book panes

I wondered out loud what might appear in Prestige books and here we have one. The Unsung Heroes Women Of World War II has what may be the face of panes to come.

Just five of the new style definitives with a slightly incongruous looking label. Now I am sure that the label is the same size as the stamps but it looks odd to me. Maybe the need for a label has gone, now that the pane is self-adhesive and not a sort of miniature sheet like we have had in the past.

The stamps are just two denominations, reducing the excitement still further - the 50p and £1 in what appears to be a pretty similar colour to the stamps we've seen already. Clearly, or maybe I should not say clearly as it is not at all clear without a QR code reader, the chunk of code on the right will distinguish these as issues from the Prestige Book but that would seem to be all.

Whereas the normal Machins of old had the MPIL part of the code after the year element M21L or whatever, these stamps have only M22L. MAIL appears to remain as MAIL across the stamps as far as I can see.

It is a little curious and could make used examples difficult to identify. Having said that, just how many used examples of these particular 50p and £1 stamps do we seriously think we will ever see? Apart from those that dealers post to themselves, my guess is zero. So let's not worry about that. 'Used Machins' is a subject for another day when I have a spare few hours to type and you have a spare few minutes to read.

I have not studied these in great depth and maybe we'll discover some difference in printing as I suspect that these come from Cartor and the others are from Walsall. I don't wish to offend the good folk at Cartor but, so far, I have found their end products rather lower in quality and impression than brothers Walsall and the masterful De La Rue, of whom we hear little nowadays. These seem rather better than previous ware - as I said, I cannot quickly detect a difference but I expect it will be a quality or finish matter that does distinguish these.

Presumably the last Machin pane in traditional style is, suitably, contained in the Platinum Jubilee Prestige book. This emerged in February but I forgot to write about it then.

Here we have some repeats in a 2p, 10p and 50p with M21L MPIL codes but a new £1.50 with this code. Indeed, this is the first time a £1.50 stamp has appeared in anything other than a sheet. It looks quite a bright issue to me and that might distinguish stamps from this pane from others if you encounter singles.

More 19 Code issues with fluors and stuff. And Season's Greetings. 2020 will be better.

1p M19L MAIL dull fluor

1st M19L MCIL very deep Royal Mail red

1st M19L MAIL pale Royal Mail red, pale Queen's head, very bright fluor, weak iridescent overprint

(That's enough variations, Ed.)

2nd M19L MAIL bright blue, bright fluor

£1.17 sunrise red M19L MPIL Cartor

2nd bright blue, M19L MPIL Cartor

5p deep ash pink M19L MPIL Cartor

1st Large Royal Mail red M19L MBIL

2nd Large bright blue M19L MFIL

2nd Large bright blue M19L MBIL

2nd Large M19L MAIL bright blue very bright fluor

And that's it for 2019. 

Season's Greetings and let's hope for some excitement in 2020. You almost want inflation to return or Cartor to get sacked or something. 

Let's get some of these stamps on the mail

This miniature sheet was also issued as part of the Machin 50th Anniversary but, for some reason, I didn't get a copy from Edinburgh. Not sure why but a supplier has sent me two so it may have been just as well!

This shows a few of the various different styles used for the definitive, all but the 4d being perforated and able to be used for real, not that more than half a dozen ever will be, I suspect*.

To my eye they all seem to have broader white margins than the originals. It is nice to see the first self-adhesive honoured here, albeit now with gum! The PIP 1st gold is there, I am sure, purely to annoy me as I have written so often in the past of how I find it a dreadful design and I really had not wanted to be reminded of it. But that's life. The 1st red is also unique in having the code M17L MMIL.

The sheet contains another example of the rather splendid, if a touch showy, £1 very shiny gold. I cannot detect any difference between this and the four in the prestige booklet but no doubt there are differences if you are into fluor and phosphor glow. I cannot ven see the phosphor bars at all!

So here, too, are the entries from the prestige booklet:

£1 very shiny gold

1st gold PIP, 20p 150th Anniversary style (no codes) and 1st Royal Mail red M17L MPIL

5p brown pink, 20p green (no codes) and £1 ruby, M17L MPIL

1st black with ellipses

50p grey no code

1p cerise no code

---

Getting back to normal issues now, there are a further four with 17 codes:

2p deep green DLR 2 bands M17L MAIL

1p crimson DLR 2 bands M17L MAIL

1st Royal Mail red Walsall M17L MSIL Type I backing

1st Large Royal Mail red Walsall M17L MFIL type II backing

*The sheet I started with above costs just £3.85 which is the total face value of the decimal stamps. If you can get this at a Post Office then I urge you to do so - in fact buy lots and use these on your mail. Well, stick the 1st PIP on some bills or something that is likely to be destroyed shortly after arrival but the rest may eventually land in some child's collection here or there.

I suspect that my local Post Office in Towcester, despite being redecorated recently and re-opening today (the 1970s shelving had had its day really), will not have these so I may have to spend some money and get a supply from Edinburgh. It'll be well worth it, though, if a few do get through to someone else who will care for them and someone new may, perhaps, be inspired to treasure Machins for another 50 years.

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.

Merry Christmas

Combining my collecting interests in this year's Christmas card. All the best to all my readers and I shall try to be in a better mood next year.

Incidentally, I spotted this while out walking yesterday in the adjoining village of Eastcote, Northamptonshire. I am not an expert in the field of British Post Boxes but I haven't seen anything like this before so guess it must be some new type. I am sure that every other box I've encountered has an embossed EIIR symbol. This shiny metal plaque looks a little less important.

No doubt someone will bring me up to date on these things. A quick Google image search didn't reveal much but I ahve also shared the picture on twitter @GBMachins so that'll probably get some comment too.

The Royal Mail Stamp Shop. Not exactly First Class.

Having realised (OK, been told!) that there is, indeed a sheet issue of the 1st Class amethyst definitive, I thought I really ought to get one. So where do you go if you want a stamp? Apart from the supermarket (they tend only to have books) and let's say your car uses vast amounts of fuel or is one of the VWs, Audis, Seats or Skodas that had the software to deceive emissions test devices fitted and you are very worried that you may damage little children. Yes, well done! You go to the Royal Mail web site.

They have an online Shop. It isn't very good, though. I failed to find any 1st Class amethyst sheet stamps. They have the booklets and miniature sheets but not the 'normal' stamps.

I see that they still have the old and horrible PIP designs for what they cheerfully call Everyday Stamps!! That illustration has been there for years. They also have several cups of tea dotted around the place - not something a true collector would risk so close to mint items!

The site may be useful for business things and for finding people's post codes and rates for parcels to Outer Mongolia but not, I'm afraid, of much help to collectors. What surprises me is that Royal Mail haven't put The Philatelic Bulletin online. It would be comparatively easy to do and could be restricted to subscribers if they really wanted to. At least then, however, we could access information and buy items consistently and without getting hot and bothered enough to write ruddy articles about it.

Clearly I shall have to drive into town and buy a stamp. It has just occurred to me that I didn't even get a copy on what I had thought was a pretty comprehensive supply request list with Edinburgh. Very odd.

Rare stamps!!

I actually got some stamps on an envelope in the mail this morning. The fact that it was from another dealer in Machin stamps says it all really. Are we the only people who are now using these? Is this 'collecting' lark merely a sort of self-perpetuating affair where Royal Mail know that we're the only people buying them and just produce all sorts of variations for the fun of it and watch contentedly as people like me write articles encouraging you to acquire this or that?

Oh well, for the benefit of those who are still awake and wondering what is new out there, here are the latest developments and issues.

The first is a 2nd Large DLR with M14L date code. Then there's a book of 12 Walsall 2nd CB showing M14L MTIL which will doubtless be the most frequently found stamp on post this year so not exactly worth a fortune but needed nonetheless if you're going to keep that collection complete.

Next we have three more DLR items. A 10p, 20p  and 1st Large showing M14L.

Now there's is something surprising. A new Post And Go print showing both Euro 20g and World 10g which are now the same price but it must have been confusing for people wanting to send something 9g to somewhere that wasn't in Europe. To be honest, I get confused by the rates and weights anyway and really do wonder whether this idea of NVIing everything is that bright after all.

It all started with 1st and 2nd and then E came along when we had a perfectly adequate 34p stamp (or whatever the rate was at the time). I suppose it did mean that we could buy stamps and carry on using them after a rate change and got a little bit of satisfaction from the fact that spending all that money in advance had saved us a few pence later. So those made some sense and it always seemed pretty reasonable to buy an Airmail envelope (actually, maybe that was where it started now I think about it) and just pay whatever the latest price was for the flimsy sheet of blue paper.

The latest flurry of activity around these rates and weights, though, seems to be heading for confusion. They are trying to hang on to six for the 'collector's strips' as all sorts of problems will develop if there are numbers like 11 or 5. The NCR machine putting values on the labels seems to be going back to the original idea of a stamp but just adding the value at the end instead of us having to buy a range and make up the rate ourselves.

For now, though, the Post And Gos continue apace with these two overprint issues, 'The B.P.M.A. on Flags and Machin olives. Both these have the new dual value although here in Type 4 font at the same point size for both lines, unlike the NCR Type 2a font with its different sizes.

The Machin Post And Gos here all have an MA13 date code. I imagine there must be a lot of that year's backing around so it could be some time before we see MA14. The NCRs below are the 'normal' basic set which I think I have featured before but that may have been with no date code or a strip I had earlier. the Worldwide 10g and 40g values will exist as these were still in being when the first NCRs appeared and will be worth hanging on to.

Of course, there is still no mention from some dealers of the other NCRs - the ones with the actual values printed that I have written about recently. I am still none the wiser as to whether they are indeed likely to be a myriad different denominations for those. I am pretty sure there will be - a similar range to those we see on Horizon labels seems logical although perhaps the 'Signed For' denominations and one or two others can't be included because there would need to be some paperwork kept behind the counter and if someone had to queue up afterwards to hand that over it defeats the purpose of the automatic machines.

So far, I have to say that by far the most common labels I am seeing on post are the Horizon gold ones. They're awkward to collect but do seem to be the range that is surviving. I will write about them in an article soon.

Royal Mail Stamp Reproductions - worth starting a collecting now.

This was issued in 2000 to celebrate the 160th Anniversary of the 1d Black. Quite rare these days, the packs can be found at dealers and at auction but expect to pay £30 or more.

Issued 8 May 2010 and featuring the stamps that most collectors don't have in their British sets! The reproductions are marvellous.Still available at the time of writing at Royal Mail's on-line shop for £5.05!

Also still available at Royal Mail's on-line shop at the time of writing is the 15 September 2011 issue for the 170th Anniversary of the 1d red. I am not sure why such strange numbers but maybe that was the best they could find to have an issue for in 2011. A very good buy at Royal Mail still - just £5.95

The 2012 Facsimile pack had an Olympic theme and recreated the 1948 issue. I guess that was the last time the Games were held in Britain. An even stranger number, 64th Anniversary. These are not available from Royal Mail and must have sold out in 2012. Still available at dealers and auctions for around £18.

The beautiful Seahorses high value issue came out on 19 September 2013. Now this time they got the numbers right with a 100th Anniversary. This is still available at Royal Mail for an extremely modest £8.95.

Due out on 25 March is the Festival of Britain facsimile pack. Hmm.. 63rd Anniversary? This is, perhaps, not the most appealing of the packs issued so far but it's only £5.95 so worth getting for completeness and we'll wait and see what they decide to celebrate in 2015.

This was a nice stamp around in 1915. That'll do!

Seriously, though, these packs are excellent items, well-produced and featuring, so far, interesting an attractive stamps and comprise a collection that you can start now and maintain at modest cost with some reasonable hope of keeping complete too!

Christmas by kids.

These are the cheerful designs for Great Britain's Christmas stamps this year. There is also a range of Madonna & Child stamps available but these are the ones that seem to be grabbing the limelight.

There was a competition and children were invited to send in their designs. From thousands of entries these two were chosen. I find these so familiar but can't figure why. 

Illustrations from Royal Mail and available to buy from 5 November from them at this link.