In celebration of the 25th James Bond film due for release in April 2020, Royal Mail is delighted to launch the official James Bond stamp issue.
The Bond films are the longest running film series in film history with James Bond known all over the world. The films are renowned for many features, including the musical accompaniment, with the theme songs having received Academy Award nominations on several occasions, and two wins. Other important elements which run through most of the films include Bond's cars, his guns, and the gadgets with which he is supplied by Q Branch and is the focus of the Minisheet in the stamp issue.
The six-stamp set features all six actors who have played James Bond, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig.
IMPORTANT UPDATE ON PRESENTATION PACKS - see below, towards the foot of this post.
Stamps in two se-tenant strips.
3 x 1st class - Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, Pierce Brosnan in Goldeneye and Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights.
3 x £1.60 - Roger Moore in Live and Let Die, George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and Sean Connery in Goldfinger.
Miniature sheet - Celebrating some of Q Branch’s most well-known gadgets, centring around arguably the most famous one of them all, Bond’s DB5. This miniature sheet isn’t quite as it seems; under a UV light detailed specs of each gadget will become clear. In another unusual feature the stamps carry a unique 007 perforation.
2 x 1st class - Bell-Textron Jet Pack, Thunderball, and Aston Martin DB5, Skyfall
2 x £1.55 - Lotus Esprit Submarine, The Spy Who Loved Me and Little Nellie, You Only Live Twice
Presentation Pack, First Day Covers, Stamp Cards
The presentation pack delves into the world of Bond; exploring both his relationships with key allies and villains, as well as providing an overview of all 25 Bond films including the latest No Time to Die. The inside of the pack elaborates on 6 of Bond’s most important relationships, whilst the back summarises the James Bond films in their entirety, beginning with Dr No. The pack comes with both stamps and miniature sheet. The miniature sheet comes in a specially designed carrier card with a brief overview of Q and his relationship with Bond.
Retail booklet of the two 1st class special stamps from the miniature sheet and 4 x 1st class Machin definitives coded MCIL M20L, and the 007 logo on the back cover.
UPDATE 20 February: A reader has asked whether the self-adhesive booklet stamps have normal die-cut perforations or 007 as shown on the Royal Mail shop (see below). The answer is that the booklet has normal die-cut perforations, as (almost) shown in the RM supplied image above, with no 007!
Prestige Stamp Booklet (PSB) A real treat for any James Bond fan, the Prestige Stamp Book is a 24-page booklet packed full of fascinating Bond facts and behind-the-scenes insight into the filmmakers, action and stunts, supporting cast and more.
The book includes all 10 stamps and a definitive pane containing 2 x 2p, 2 x 2nd class Machin, 2 x 2nd class Scotland, 2 x 1st class Union Flag. Surprisingly, the Machin definitives have the M19L year code which - aside from any shade differences - means no new stamps as the 2nd class was in last year's Star Wars 3 book and the 2p is in this year's Visions of the Universe book.
NOTE: There is one difference between the MS and the MS pane which is not shown in the pictures.
Each of the stamps has part of the perforations showing 007 (click on the image to see it more clearly on the enlargement) and on these pictures although in different places on different stamps, the stamps from both sources are identical. However on the actual Lotus Esprit stamp the 007 is top right on the MS and top left on the Pane.
Press Sheet (of 8 x MS) in a limited edition of 500
Generic (aka Smilers/Collectors) Sheet This A4-sized collector sheet contains 10 of Royal Mail’s James Bond stamps in
The sheet includes: 3 x 1st Daniel Craig stamps, 3 x £1.60 Sean Connery stamps, 1 x 1st Pierce Brosnan stamp, 1 x 1st Timothy Dalton stamp, 1 x £1.60 Roger Moore stamp & 1 x £1.60 George Lazenby stamp. The background is taken from the opening title sequence of Casino Royale and has the official 007 logo.
Limited Edition version of the James Bond Prestige Stamp Book features a special edition 007 silver foiled front cover. It comes presented in a special tin display case embossed with the 007 logo with just 1,962 of these Limited-Edition sets available to Bond fans – the number being the year of the first Bond film, Dr No.
Technical Details:
Stamps designed by Interbang and printed by International Security Printers. In 'Olympic Landscape' format (60 x 30 mm) the two values are in sheets of 36, printed in lithography with PVA gum. The miniature sheet is 192 x 74 mm with stamps 60 x 30 mm or 40 x 30 mm.
Acknowledgements: 2020 © EON Productions Limited and Danjaq, LLC. 007 Gun Logo and related James Bond Indicia © 1962–2020 Danjaq, LLC and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. 007 Gun Logo and related James Bond Trademarks are trademarks of Danjaq, LLC. All Rights Reserved. George Lazenby as James Bond photo © Loomis Dean/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images. Digital image enhancement: Smoke & Mirrors London.
UPDATE 19 March
TWO DIFFERENT PRESENTATION PACKS EXIST My thanks a customer who emailed, and to 'Anonymous' who commented:
Has anyone else been caught out by the different Presentation Pack (code AP472) arrangement for this issue? On my copy at least, rather than plastic pockets to hold the stamps and MiniSheet, the items are stuck directly onto the cardboard of the pack (thus making them no longer Unmounted Mint).
I rang RM, and was told that it was standard policy for this issue (the nice woman at RM didn't know whether it would hapen for subsequent issues). I've arranged to return the PP for a refund and have bought the set and MiniSheet separately.When the second such report arrived I check with my contacts at Royal Mail. Apparently there were two versions of the Presentation Pack AP472 and APR 472. The latter had the stamps stuck to the card (but not cancelled) and are not, therefore, what most collectors want. No information about this APR pack was supplied to dealers, nor indeed to the people who handle our orders!
These sound like Retail packs (R for retail) such as those A4 packs retailed apparently exclusively by WHSmith. But nobody knows anything about them!
The error in sending the APRs to ordinary customers was noticed, but too late to know who had been sent the wrong pack, so they could not be recalled. If you have not examined your packs yet check them, and if they are wrong, phone or email the usual contacts to arrange for a returns number and a replacement. It is not necessary, as anonymous unwittingly did, to forgo the normal pack and buy the loose stamps and MS instead.
I hope RM will include something about this mistake in their Bulletin to alert their customers who are not readers of this blog.
UPDATE: The packs containing cancelled stamps are sold by Royal Mail via the Amazon marketplace - see here for more details.
Products: First Day Covers not included; single design sheet stamps available in multiples of 6.
Product
|
Stock
Code
|
Value
|
Stamp
Set (3 x 1st,
3 x £1.60 se-tenant)
|
AS5500
|
£6.90
|
Character
Set
|
AS5500E
|
£7.20
|
Miniature
Sheet Barcoded
|
MZ149
|
£4.50
|
Q
Branch Stamp Sheet Set
|
MZ149A
|
£4.80
|
Presentation
Pack
|
AP472
|
£12.20
|
Stamp
Cards
|
AQ288
|
£4.95
|
Retail
Stamp Book
|
UB430
|
£4.20
|
Collector
Sheet
|
AT113
|
£12.60
|
Prestige
Stamp Book
|
YB088
|
£16.99
|
Limited
Edition Prestige Stamp Book
|
YB089
|
£64.99
|
Limited
Edition Q
Branch BU Coin Cover
|
AN175
|
£19.95
|
Limited
Edition Q
Branch Silver Coin Cover
|
AN177
|
£85.00
|
Limited
Edition Q Branch Gold Coin Cover
|
AN179
|
£530.00
|
Limited
Edition James Bond BU Coin Cover
|
AN176
|
£19.95
|
Limited
Edition James Bond Silver Coin Cover
|
AN178
|
£85.00
|
Limited
Edition James Bond Gold Coin Cover
|
AN180
|
£530.00
|
Limited
Edition Press Sheet
|
PZ044
|
£39.99
|
Limited
Edition Silver Miniature Sheet
|
MZ149B
|
£199.00
|
Limited
Edition Silver Stamp Set
|
AS5500M
|
£199.00
|
James
Bond Secret Dossier
|
AW140
|
£29.99
|
Villains
& Gadgets Complete Collection Set
|
AW139
|
£14.99
|
Framed
Collectors Sheet
|
N3190
|
£29.99
|
Framed
Stamp Set
|
N3187
|
£29.99
|
Framed
Miniature Sheet
|
N3188
|
£29.99
|
Daniel
Craig Framed Print
|
N3202
|
£69.99
|
Piers
Brosnan Framed Print
|
N3204
|
£69.99
|
Sean
Connery Framed Print
|
N3203
|
£69.99
|
Timothy
Dalton Framed Print
|
N3206
|
£69.99
|
George
Lazenby Framed Print
|
N3207
|
£69.99
|
Roger
Moore Framed Print
|
N3202
|
£69.99
|
Discuss!
I'm wondering what the "Villains & Gadgets Complete Collection Set" is as it is not shown yet on Royal Mail's shop or WOPA.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that RM have chosen 'Goldfinger' to represent Sean Connery's tenure (his third outing as 007) - each of the other movies marks the respective actor's debut in the role - but, all in all, a far more impressive set than most of the recent movie tie-in issues. (That is, if you can call this a tie-in, since it has nothing to do with the new movie.)
ReplyDeleteIt is shown in the Royal Mail copy of 'FIRST' which I have received but in that it is called the 'James Bond Dual Compartment' with the order code number AW139 priced at £14.99.
ReplyDeleteDavid Niven?
ReplyDeleteNot one of the official James Bond films. David Niven in Casino Royale (1967) and Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again (1983) were not EON Productions and therefore not included in the list of 25 films.
DeleteThere is a large piece on this new issue in one of today's national newspapers. It states that writing on the Q Branch stamps in revealed by UV light. I wonder how many of the stamp buying public have a UV light? In the same paper there is a rather nice little cartoon referring to the James Bond issue and self-adhesive books of stamps.
ReplyDeleteWhich paper please, Brian?
DeleteSorry but a bit late in my reply. It was the Daily Mirror.
DeleteAs a big James Bond fan myself this set is rather impressive, and for the person that said this set, has nothing to do with the new movie, in a way it does as the new movie marks the 25th James Bond movie.
ReplyDeleteJust read on the BBC news site that the release of the James Bond film has been put back by 7 months. I wonder if this will do anything to the issue date for the stamps?
ReplyDeleteJust been announced the Bond movie has moved to November release. will RM push this release to November, or go ahead as normal, surely they would have printed the April release date on some of their material for this set.
ReplyDeleteI doubt they will put back the release of the stamps.
DeleteI hope they don't because I have just sent off a couple of packets of maximum cards to SHCs for cancelling, and I expect the FDC producers are expecting their covers back from postmarking very soon.
This is definitely going to be a weird set now... Celebrating a film which won't be released for months and covering rates only valid for a few days!! Best laid plans ganging agley...
DeleteI don't think this matters too much as the issue is for the James Bond genre, not this specific film.
DeleteHas anyone else been caught out by the different Presentation Pack (code AP472) arrangement for this issue? On my copy at least, rather than plastic pockets to hold the stamps and MiniSheet, the items are stuck directly onto the cardboard of the pack (thus making them no longer Unmounted Mint). I rang RM, and was told that it was standard policy for this issue (the nice woman at RM didn't know whether it would hapen for subsequent issues). I've arranged to return the PP for a refund and have bought the set and MiniSheet separately.
ReplyDeleteIs this a permanent change of policy? If it is, no more Presentation Packs for me!
There is a new stamp in the Definitive pane. Not obvious at first glance, but the 2nd Class Saltire has a 'grey' Queens Head, and this has been listed as a new stamp in the May GSM. The original stamp issued on 20/03/2018 has a 'silver' Head (SG. S159). The new 'grey head is listed as S159a.
ReplyDeleteThe original stamp SG S159 is also grey, as I confirmed with somebody who has more detail on country definitives than I do:
Delete"The 2nd class changed from silver to grey from the 23/02/2016 printing.
The 1st class changed from silver to grey from the 19/05/2016 printing.
All the sheet printings from those dates have only used the four process colours of CMYK to get all the colours required. I have seen this put down as the head is now printed in grey from the black plate which implies that it is printed in grey but it is not. The head is made up from a screen and printed in black which gives the effect of grey."
So on this occasion John Deering appears to be wrong. If the shade difference is enough for a sub-number, then I have a lot more sub- or whole-numbers for the Concise editor to include!