Thursday 29 April 2021

New version of the Norvic Security Machin Checklist now available and up to date - version 2.3.5

The latest version of our much-consulted Checklist includes all this year's stamps with relevant Norvic and Stanley Gibbons catalogue numbers and as much information as we have about printing dates etc.

The checklist (version 2.3.5) can be downloaded here.

 

If I looked at this with fresh eyes I would say that it has certain disorganised elements.  For instance, the main section of notes is somewhere near the middle, starting on page 25 of 57.  Certainly it would benefit from some reorganisation and some illustrations: but there is little time for that.

My main area of concern at present is the Reverse Cross-reference, which enables users who start with SG numbers to work out what our numbers are and therefore how to find particular stamps.  This is actually larger than it needs to be, I think, and I have asked on page 39 for feedback on this.   

As Gibbons' catalogue does not distinguish between years (on stamps with a year code) nor even between printers - something that even Royal Mail regard as different - there seems little point in having 10 or more lines for the 2nd class counter stamp: Gibbons' number is U2995, ours is 2911 with .0 to .20 so far for different years, one extra entry for SBP, and one for Walsall's phosphor colour variants.  

But the collector having found that SG U2995 is Norvic 2911.- can easily find all the other years in the table on page 5, and so on.  This will save about 8 pages, reduce the file size and download speed, and the printing for those who do.

I propose to change with the next major edition unless I get a European Super League-type backlash from the fans!



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