Friday 11 May 2012

Olympics 2012 Gold Medal stamps - format and availability.

This is the style of the stamps to be issued by Royal Mail for each gold medal winner at the London 2012 Olympics:



The stamps will be issued in self-adhesive miniature sheets of 6 stamps with information in the margin.

EDIT: The stamps will be on sale by mid-day the next day at 500 Post Offices. An additional 4500 Post Offices will receive the Gold Medal stamps within a week.

There will be one for each gold medal, individual or team.  In the event of an individual winning more than one gold, then they will get two different stamps using pictures from the event where possible.  If there is more than one gold on in a day, then there will be two stamps/MSs the next day.  Royal Mail FDCs will carry the complete miniature sheet of 6. Only one style of postmark will be used.


The miniature sheets will be printed in A4 sheets of 4 with a narrow selvedge at the left.  This may also contain information about the medal winner, but not against every MS.

The Royal Mail press release said that stamps would be available singly, but we await confirmation that postmasters will be expected to separate stamps from the MS.

UPDATE: Stanley Gibbons catalogue editor confirms each gold medal stamp will be assigned its own SG number providing the stamps are readily available.

More technical information on our webpage.

Further update We understand that postmasters will be told that single stamps may be sold.  This probably means the use of scissors!

The location of the digital overprinter (but not the name) will be shown in the selvedge of the A4 sheet at bottom left.












18 comments:

  1. I'm wondering if RM customers with a standing order for special stamps will receive this issue, and if so, as singles or miniature sheets.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RM's mailshot says that these will NOT be delivered as part of any standing order.

      Delete
  2. Hi Ian. Will you be supplying singles from the minisheets?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is certainly the intention, but not until the games are finished. There is little point in sending them to customers in batches.

      Send an email if you want to sign up (Ian [@] norphil.co.uk )

      Delete
  3. The blog has been further updated today.

    ReplyDelete
  4. If these sheetlets are only available from 500 offices, would these meet the criteria for SG to list them? Or will they be next day in 500 offices and will drift into the remainder as time goes by.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The stamps will be on sale by mid-day the next day at 500 Post Offices. An additional 4500 Post Offices will receive the Gold Medal stamps within a week. I would hope that they would be distributed to the remainder either automatically or on demand.

      Speak to your sub-postmasters and ask them to let you know as soon as they know.

      Delete
  5. Do you know if RM will be issuing a presentation pack of all the Gold Medal stamps after the Games? Cheers :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure they will find some way to put them together. I did suggest that they could produce a Smilers-type album for the A4 sheets. A simple job as they already have everything set up for that.

      Delete
    2. http://www.royalmail.com/bethefirst/gold-medals

      Subscribe with Royal Mail before 31st May, and you'll receive a free presentation folder with every subscription to protect your London 2012 souvenirs.

      Delete
  6. Hi
    I have been told that all m/s will have the name/sport and location in the top left hand corner. Have i bee miss informed, also if they will sel them as a single stamp it wont hurt the back pocket as much

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The A4 sheet will have those details in the top left corner. MS also have the detail at top left as shown above, while the individual stamps have it at bottom right.

      Royal Mail have said that customers will be able to ask for individual stamps from the MS. This is interesting wording: I don't know whether postmasters have been so instructed or whether some may decline to do that. We will be supplying individual stamps.

      Delete
  7. Does anybody know which post offices will be in the 500 who get it soonest? I asked in a local one and they had no clue if they would get them, let alone any other POs locally. Searching the RM website or google generally yielded no info either.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think the list has been announced yet.

      We'll publish it as soon as we have it.

      Delete
  8. Details of the offices that will be selling the gold medal winner stamps is now on the branch finder section of the royal Mail website, both for next day & weekly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unless they have changed it since I looked this is quite useless. Enter a postcode or place and search for a Gold Medal office using the drop-down list. But if there isn't one in your area you have to keep guessing. What we need is a full list of the 518.

      Delete
  9. Would anyone care to guess if Stanley Gibbons will list these as single stamps and/or minisheets within their 2012 suppliments e.g. Standard, Davo etc...???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No need to guess, as shown in the blog in red. SG will list as single stamps and mini-sheets. One could assume that there will be space in albums for both.

      Delete

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