This issue was originally scheduled to be issued in 2012, the centenary of the publication Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s dinosaur thriller, The Lost World. Happily for Royal Mail there is another tie-in this year, as the BBC's 3D movie, Walking with Dinosaurs, will launch at cinemas on 20 December, just in time for the Christmas audiences. (See the trailer here.)
The stamps feature details of the creatures that break out of the standard stamp frame. They are printed over two sheets allowing for vertical strips of five.
From the top (better pictures have now been added to the webpage for this issue, together with the special postmark.)
Sheet 1: Polacanthus, Icthyosaurus, Iguanadon, Ornithocheirus, Baryonyx
Sheet 2: Dimorophodon, Hypsilophodon, Cetiosaurus, Megalosaurus, Plesiosaurus
Polacanthus,
deriving its name from the Ancient Greek polys-/πολύς- "many" and
akantha/ἄκανθα "thorn" or "prickle", is an early armored, spiked,
plant-eating ankylosaurian dinosaur from the early Cretaceous period of
England. Wikipedia
Ichthyosaurus is a genus of ichthyosaurs from the early Jurassic of Europe. It is among the best known ichthyosaur genera, with the Order Ichthyosauria being named after it. Wikipedia
Iguanodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that existed roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids of the mid-Jurassic and the ornithopods' culmination in the duck-billed dinosaurs of the late Cretaceous. Wikipedia
Ornithocheirus is a pterosaur genus known from fragmentary fossil remains uncovered from sediments in the UK. Wikipedia
Baryonyx is a genus of carnivorous saurischian dinosaur first discovered in clay pits just south of Dorking, England, and later reported from fossils found in northern Spain and Portugal. It is known to contain only one species, Baryonyx walkeri. Wikipedia
Dimorphodon was a genus of medium-sized pterosaur from the early Jurassic Period. It was named by paleontologist Richard Owen in 1859. Wikipedia
Hypsilophodon is an ornithopod dinosaur genus from the Early Cretaceous period of England. The first remains of Hypsilophodon were found in 1849 and in 1869 the type species Hypsilophodon foxii was named. Wikipedia
Cetiosaurus meaning 'whale lizard', from the Greek keteios/κήτειος meaning 'sea monster' and sauros/σαυρος meaning 'lizard', is a herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Period, living about 167 million years ago in what is now Europe. Wikipedia
Megalosaurus is a genus of large meat-eating theropod dinosaurs of the Middle Jurassic period of Europe. It is significant as the first genus of ancient dinosaur to be described and named. Wikipedia
Plesiosaurus was a genus of large marine sauropterygian reptile that lived during the early part of the Jurassic Period, and is known by nearly complete skeletons from the Lias of England. Wikipedia
Designed by Why Not Associates, illustrator John Sibbick, printed by Walsall Security Print in gravure.
Not sure if its me, but those stamps don't look that clear, the set does not grasp me for some reason, its probably the white background, if they were set in their natural habitats, they would look better off stamp wise.
ReplyDeleteThis set has to be one of the worse sets of the year, after the previous awesome set of the Merchant Navy.
Hi Martin
DeleteThese are ex-pdf images and have been slightly enlarged. As soon as we get better images they will be replaced. I'll mention that up there ^^^^^ ! Thanks.
Personally I don't mind the stamps, in fact I quite like them. What I do find quite irksome though is a set of 10 stamps, all at First Class rate. Again, Royal Mail would appear to be increasing the company's attractiveness to buyers in the great sell off, at the expense of the collectors. We had it with the butterfly set, beautiful though they are. The British Auto Legends will be even more expensive (7 x 1st plus 3 x £1.28, and a miniature sheet), and on top of that there's the presentation pack, FDCs, stamp cards, and more expensive Year book, and any other philatelic gimmick which Royal Mail consider appropriate for the occasion. There soon will be only Moya Greene who will be able to afford to collect all the issues
ReplyDeleteOne really has to question why we need a further set of 10 1st Class stamps. What happened to the days when an issue consisted of a maximum of 4-5 stamps. So far this year we will have had 5 issues of 10 stamps or more totaling 52 x 1st Class Stamps. If you include the S/A versions in these sets, then that adds a further 15.
ReplyDeleteWell, given that they were prepared in 2012, perhaps they are being issued now before the self-adhesive glue times-out. :-D
DeleteOne argument for sets of ten 1st class stamps is that they reduce the need for the 1st class Machins, so fewer reprints (so those who collect date blocks save money). In any event the cost of ten1st class is £6.00, the cost of the Royal Portraits Stamp Set being £5.92. The cost of the Auto Legends will be £5.64 for the set & £2.40 for the miniature sheet.
ReplyDeleteThere is another point, as the number of 1st class Machins reduces by quantity printed and then further sub-divided by source code, the very average sheet version may be one of the scarcer, will we see an M13L version any time soon?
It is often forgotten that the purpose of a postage stamp is to indicate the payment for a service, given that DLR are not producing much at the moment, there may well be a well justified operational need for the number of 1st class only stamp issues being released. Will stamps sets go back to being mainly multi-value once DLR get up and running properly? Who knows?
"There is another point, as the number of 1st class Machins reduces by quantity printed and then further sub-divided by source code, the very average sheet version may be one of the scarcer, will we see an M13L version any time soon?"
ReplyDeleteHas anybody seen the 1st class or 1st Large MA12/M12L sheet versions used on cover in their mail yet, other than from a dealer? I've used plenty of MCIL - left over from selling the special stamps from mixed booklets, but none of the others.
Personally I don't care too much about these heroes of the past. Prefer our present-day heroes like the golden medal winners of last year. Talking about that, do you know if there's any chance that Royal Mail will issue anything on the Wimbledon victory by Andy Murray? I know he was postally celebrated last year, but this would fit into the range of World Cup Football ('66), World Cup Rugby ('03) and The Ashes ( '05). It would also fit in nicely in my collection of tennis stamps....
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that Royal Mail doesn't currently have a 77p stamp in its line-up, as it would have been perfect for an Andy Murray stamp.
ReplyDeleteYes, no 77p postage rate at present.
DeleteOh please... a Andy Murray stamp no thanks. Mind you we are overdue a stamp set on Tennis so it might come around pretty soon, preferably a set of 6 stamps depicting some classic icons like Fred Perry
DeleteSigh, not another all first class issue... I wouldn't sigh so much if there was a single machin stamp to make it up to airmail postcard rate (yes, there are still people who send postcards, and if I may be cheeky and do a plug, Postcrossing was launched 8 years ago and has featured on two different countries' stamps).
ReplyDeleteis it self adhesive stamps ?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteGood for the diet then! No calories
DeleteHas Britain ever done a series on comics characters or children's book characters and illustrators/writers? Canada just did a series on Superman's 75th Anniversary and it's selling like hotcakes!!!
ReplyDeleteThere was a children's comic issue with characters from various comics over the years, also Gerry Anderson issue, Thomas the Tank Engine, Quentin Blake's illustrations for Roald Dahl books, Winnie the Pooh.... these are the ones I've bought and used (still have a few left)
DeleteChildren's literature Joint issue with USA - http://www.norphil.co.uk/2006/kidz-lit.htm
DeleteHarry Potter > http://www.norphil.co.uk/2007/07aa-harry-potter.htm
Magical Realms > http://www.norphil.co.uk/2011/03a-magical_realms.htm
All sold quite well, especially Harry Potter