Machin Anniversary 50th Anniversary Commemoration: how many new stamps? [Revised and Updated]

As we have known for some time, Royal Mail are next month marking the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the Machin definitive on 5 June 1967.  The issue consists of two miniature sheets... and a prestige stamp book, stamp cards, presentation packs, first day covers, a retail stamp booklet, press sheets, a medal cover, new post and go faststamps, a limited edition prestige stamp book. The stamps will be issued on Monday 5 June 2017.  (Updated again 23.5.17)

The first surprise is that one of the PSB panes is quite different to the pre-issue publicity picture that we were sent, which subsequently appeared in the Royal Mail Philatelic Bulletin.  The change introduces a new stamp and eliminates some of the duplication. Larger images of some of these products can be seen on our new webpage.

50 Years of a Design Icon Miniature Sheet
This sheet contains six new stamps showing the development of the Machin design from the design inspired by the 1d black, through to what was almost the final design.  The Machin head which is common to each stamp is embossed, as is the plaster cast portrait in the margin. Detail of the designs on the stamps is on our website.

Golden Anniversary Celebration Miniature Sheet
The second sheet shows the original 4d dark brown stamp issued in 1967, and includes many of the different design variants of the stamps issued over the 50 years. The stamps are, from left to right,

5p violet (1971), 20p black double-head (1990), 1st class orange (issued in 1993 as the first self-adhesive booklet), 1st class Millennium (2000), 1st class gold Pricing in Proportion (2006), 1st class red (2013), and a new £1 stamp based on the high-value range of 1969, printed using gold foil.

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The Prestige Stamp Book contains five panes of stamps.  The first two have three each of the Design Icon stamps*, and pane 5 has a striking block of 4 gold foil £1 stamps.  But the other two panes contain 8 Machin definitives each, in various designs.   
*As these are separated onto two panes in the PSB they will be catalogued as individual stamps. 

Pane 3 has eight stamps and is described as having the 'make-up' or supplementary values.  These are 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p - plus 2nd class and £1 ruby.

The 50p grey and £1 ruby are not in the current colours, but in the colours first used in 2007.  Odd then that the £1 ruby - and only this stamp - has iridescent printing, coded M17L MPIL.  The central label is a detail from the 50p stamp.

Pane 4 also has eight stamps.  Aside from the 20p double-headed stamps (the pane contains two of these rather than three as shown previously), all the others are 1st class.  (Another odd decision given that the 1st class double-head stamp exists from the Special by Design PSB and the 2009 Treasures of the Archive PSB (SG 2133 and 2956 respectively).

There is also a retail booklet as unimaginative as the one produced for the 40th Anniversary; the security coding is M17L MSIL and the stamps are deep scarlet, not as shown in this publicity picture.

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List of the stamps contained in the retail booklet, the Golden Anniversary MS and PSB panes 3-5.

1p crimson	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	PSB	Y1667
2p deep green	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	PSB	Y1668
5p pale violet	Gummed	Non-elliptical	Gravure	MS	X866
5p red-brown	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	PSB	Y1670
10p orange	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	PSB	Y1676
20p green	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	PSB	Y1687
20p black double-head	Gummed	Non-elliptical	Gravure	MS	1470
20p black double-head	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	PSB	2133
50p light grey	Gummed	Non-elliptical	Gravure	PSB	Y1727
£1 ruby MPIL M17L	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	PSB	U3007
£1 gold foil 2mm phos	Gummed	Elliptical	(Gravure)	MS	U3966
£1 gold foil 2mm phos	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	PSB	U3996
2nd blue	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	PSB	1664
1st black	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	PSB	1668s
1st orange (Horiz)	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	MS	New
1st orange (Vert)	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	PSB	1667
1st gold	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	PSB	1668
1st Millennium	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	MS	2124
1st Millennium	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	PSB	2124
1st gold PIP	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	MS+PSB	2651
1st red MPIL M17L	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	PSB	U3003
1st red MMIL M17L	Gummed	Elliptical	Gravure	MS	New
1st deep scarlet MSIL M17L	Self-adh	Elliptical	Gravure	Book	New

Table updated 14 December.  Highlights in green are new stamps, SG numbers are now shown where they have been allocated.

Responding to a request for clarification Royal Mail have said that both £1 stamps are the same, ie gold foil embossed and neither litho nor gravure. See also comments below, on other variations.
 But we now know that the stamp on the mini-sheet has phosphor bands which must be applied by litho.

§ See comments.  If these new PSB panes are gravure then this is also a new stamp, as SG2955 is litho by Cartor.

The majority of these stamps are very good matches to the originals.  I've added SG numbers numbers in the table above, although some of the original stamps exist in several variants so other numbers may also be relevant.

The new stamps
There are four stamps with security printing: 1st class red (not deep scarlet) coded M17L and MPIL, MMIL*, and 1st class deep scarlet MSIL, and the £1 ruby (magenta) M17L MPIL.

The three other new stamps are the £1 gold foil embossed (with± and without phosphor bands), the 1st class black with elliptical perforations, and the 1st class orange, landscape format, on gummed paper rather than self-adhesive*.    This makes a total of 7 new stamps although specialists will identify some subtle and not so subtle differences from the originals.  The Millennium stamp, for example, has the head placed much further to the left than on the originals, aside from being in two slightly different shades.

±  Contrary to previous observations the £1 gold stamps from both sources do have phosphor bands. But we still don't know for certain what process was used.  BM has pointed out that the embossing must be the final operation after all printing (including phosphor) and application of gold foil.  He suggests that a third party printer may have been involved with this operation, as with the recess printing by FNMT on the Long To Reign ms.

*These two are unlikely to be allocated individual numbers in the SG Great Britain Concise catalogue as they only exist from the miniature sheet. 

There is also a Limited Edition version of the PSB which RM are pricing at £99.95.  This

"comes in an exquisite specially-created display case together with a silver Machin medallion which was handmade in the UK and has been struck in solid sterling silver, weighing 97grams (diameter 60mm). In addition, centrally placed in the lid of the case is an original 4d stamp as replicated on the Golden Anniversary Celebration Miniature Sheet".  

As this is an edition of only 500 we don't know what supplies will be available for Royal Mail online and telephone buyers when it is issued.   We will have a few for those who want them.    We have been assured that the stamps they contain are the same.

The PSB, MS and retail booklet will be added to our webshop shortly.  We will also have some first day covers for sale available for pre-order. 
Customers ordering these new products should not choose immediate payment by PayPal but choose 'Pay by Cheque' and await our return.

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