The sheets currently listed are described as:
Printed by Walsall Security Printers
These stamps have the Diamond Jubilee overlay
Date = 26/01/12
SSN = 0156293 - Printed Vertically
Type 1 Security Cut = NO INTERUPTED CUT on 'Paper Clip' Top and Bottom
And we have had more reports of the counter-sheet stamps being sold or received on letters.
Meanwhile also on eBay after the report of a 2nd class Sunday Times coil piece being sold for £113, a second example has been chased up to £129.66 in ten bids in a listing where bidders' identities were kept private for some reason. Given that eBay hides the bidders' user-IDs through a a*****d code all this move by the seller does is hide how many unique bidders there were. More people are finding these and I suspect the number now known about is around 30, although one dealer was reported to have 40 in stock. This has not been verified and I suspect there may have been some confusion with the gummed coil version.
Miscut Sheep Faststamp Packs are becoming more common - or at least they are being advertised for what they are by the sellers rather than being 'discovered' by knowing buyers. Royal Mail Tallents House must be surprised at the additional orders they are receiving, from people trying to get a different version to the one they were originally sent!
And over the weekend this blog passed 300,000 visits - thank you all for your interest, and keep sending the reports!
Congratulations Ian, looking forward to the next 300,000
ReplyDelete£129? Looks like the buyer of my copy, on complete cover, for £58 got a bargain...
ReplyDeleteCould you give some help to a Machins newbie collector in the US?
ReplyDeleteBusiness sheets have 50 stamps.
How many stamps in a counter sheet, and why are they called "counter"?
Business sheets of Large stamps are 50 to a sheet; BS of small stamps are 100 to a sheet. These are conveniently concertina-folded into the size panel you see in the article. They are aimed at small businesses who use stamps rather than franking machines/meters. Business sheets are supplied by Royal Mail Direct at Edinburgh but are also sold by many post offices.
ReplyDeleteBefore decimalisation, stamps sold at post office counters (hence the name) had 240 to a sheet. After decimalisation this changed to 200 which made (ac)counting easy. The self-adhesive counter sheets are only 25 (5x5) and are much easier for counters to handle, as they need no folding.
Congratulations Ian! Great going
ReplyDelete