High Value 19 Codes

I say 'high value' but we have already had many Machins over £2 an £3 but you know what I mean.  These come direct from the Philatelic Bureau and I am assuming that the differences are the new code, the security printed backing and now they come from Walsall printers.

Walsall + Cartor = ISP - Courvoisier

A new prestige booklet is out this month - Classic locomotives of Great Britain. Royal Mail know very well that there steam engine fans are inevitably either stamp collectors or unable to resist nice stamps with trains on them!

It's an OK sort of book and a better topic than some we have had but what interests me is the definitive pane. I do wonder just how many prestige books they would sell if there wasn't a definitive pane! 

The Philatelic Bulletin announces that these were printed by International Security Printers. That's a new name to me. I must have missed an article or news about this but discovered from a quick search that Walsall bought Cartor and, together with another France-based printing firm, Courvoisier, formed ISL as an umbrella group for this sort of quality and security work.

So, to all intents and purposes, the stamps are printed by Cartor, on the same equipment as before, so the 2p and 5p may not be new Machins, nor may the pictorial Regionals be new either. We'll have to wait and see as no doubt someone much more technically informed of the process will tell us before long.

I don't see any changes for these 1st class reds, the latest foursome in what is now a fairly permanent feature of 2+4 in a booklet. What makes this booklet amusing is the strange alien / ghost-like image to the wright of the footballer on the blue panel! It may not be obvious on first glance and you may even find that you have to view the actual stamp to see it but it is definitely odd - an unintentionally so!

Machin Self Adhesive slit types. Why did I bother?

I had this bright idea of helping collectors avoid the eye strain I have been experiencing in trying to distinguish between the types of slit in Machin self adhesive stamps. I thought I would scan an example of each and that would be that. However, it isn't at all obvious but, as you'll discover at the end, it may not matter a great deal anyway, once you have tucked three items from 2009 away.

So, according to the lists I have from dealers, the 1st Large red issues are an ideal example as they come in each of types 1, 2 and 2a and have different security codes so my job is comparatively simple. There is only one source of type 3 that I have seen listed so that is even simpler - the 50p, 1st gold and 2nd blue stamps in the definitive pane in the George V book.

So, here we go:


Type 2 from the Walsall MA12 MFIL books of 4

 That's pretty clearly different from the others, obvious gaps top and bottom.



Type 1 from the Walsall MA12 MBIL Buisness sheets

This is where I have trouble - distinguishing between types 1 and 2a 



Type 2a from DLR MA12 MAIL Counter sheets

 I really struggle to see much difference between the two. The illustrations in dealers' lists do say 'less noticeable' slits but, my goodness, these are so much less noticeable to be almost non-existent.



Type 3 from the Walsall George V prestige book MA10 MPIL

No problems with type 3. The lack of gap at the top and decent gap at the bottom is clear.

I tried zooming in on the images, sharpening them and using greyscale to try and make the differences clearer but it is still one big struggle to tell 1 and 2a apart. I am beginning to wonder whether the list I am using has got it wrong.


Type 1



Type 2a



Tye 2



Type 3

There is definitely something I need to look into further. In the meantime, here are images of two examples of the 2nd Large where the difference is a bit clearer and that should help you a bit. Just watch your eyes with those 1st Large reds!

Type 2a DLR MA12 MAIL from Counter sheets

Type 1 Walsall MA12 MBIL from Business sheets

Again, you have the different printers here and codes too and, so far, there are only three instances where I can find types 1 and 2a listed for otherwise same stamps (codes, printer being the same).

These three are:

2nd blue DLR 2009 MBIL Business sheet

1st gold DLR 2009 MBIL Business sheet

1st Large gold 2009 MAIL Counter sheet

Let's cross our fingers and hope like mad that there are no more. then, quite frankly, it won't really matter whether it's 1 or 2a.

You've got MA13 (or M13L perhaps?)

Here's something nicely collectable that reminds me of the old days! De La Rue were unable to meet a deadline for these values to be available at Post Offices so they subcontracted the printing to their rival, Walsall who provided the initial counter stock for 2 April. De La Rue eventually got their act together (they were moving premises) and provided the stamps that were issued in presentation packs and orders that the Philatelic Bureau had delayed. I also understand that De La Rue stamps are now getting to Post Offices too. 

Now, why Walsall didn't simply continue and supply the Philatelic Bureau and maintain counter stocks until some future change I don't know. Maybe it's more convenient if there is just the one supplier of main type of definitive stock. Anyway, that should make Walsall items worth looking out for as they will be comparatively scarce.

They're also easy to distinguish, thanks to another instance of DLR slightly slipping up. Walsall stamps have M13L as the date code, following the traditional layout so far in this respect. DLR, for some reason best known to the guy setting up the plate at the time, used MA13! Great!

The Walsall prints (the lower row in this illustration) have a slightly lighter head and different security slits too.