Royal Mail 500 the major event at Spring Stampex with a full range of products to buy

Royal Mail is celebrating 500 years of the establishment of the Royal Mails by Henry VIII in 1516 issuing a set of 6 stamps showing aspects of the postal service over the centuries.  These range from a Holbein portrait of Sir Brian Tuke who first established the Mails through to the new £70m Medway Mail Centre in Kent.

This stamp issue will take place during Spring Stampex and Royal Mail are wasting no opportunity to produce as many products as possible for collectors to buy, including a miniature sheet and prestige stamp book.  As 2016 is also the 175th anniversary of the introduction of the Penny Red, replacing the Penny Black, a new definitive-size 1d red stamp will be issued in the PSB (gummed) and in a retail stamp booklet similar to last year's 1d black retail booklet.  The 1d red is also being made available in the Smilers Personalisation service and for Business Customised Sheets so a generic sheet will also be issued.   The issue is split over two days, and you can see full details of all these stamps and other products on our website here.

Remember that last year the Generic Sheet sold out quickly, and the retail booklet was off-sale within months as well.

As usual coinciding with Spring Stampex there will also be new Post and Go stamps on 17 February, continuing the theme of Royal Mail Heritage with forms of transport.  These range from the 1640s Post Boy through to the 1970s Mini-Van, via packet ship, TPO and airmail - see the whole range on this webpage.

Limited information has been issued about the Post and Go arrangements at Stampex.  The Machin stamp will be available with the additional inscription

 500 Years of Royal Mail

The full set of new stamps will also be available, and the Locomotive/TPO design from the set may be available as a solo-design roll, probably digitally printed.  This will be confirmed when we have more information.  The usual pre-order form will be available for big spenders on the IAR website next week.

UPDATE 14 January
Full details of Post and Go Faststamp availability are on this new post.


ADDITIONAL PRODUCT:  Not having learned the lesson from Europhilex, and in response to a suggestion from the Philatelic Traders Society (organisers of Spring Stampex) Royal Mail will offer a limited edition pack of the miniature sheet with Spring Stampex overprint/inscription, to be sold only at the event in London's Business Design Centre.
Royal Mail stated:

To support attendance at Stamp shows a numbered limited edition pack featuring the Classic GPO Posters Minisheet with Stampex Overprint will be on sale at Spring Stampex. A small number may be available to collectors from Tallents House.

Distribution and sale arrangements have not been announced, but we expect the price to be higher than the regular miniature sheet and there to be restrictions on purchases.  There will also be a limited edition postcard of the overprinted miniature sheet.  We will not be handling these sheets. 

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