Thursday 30 September 2021

Value of older stamps for postage purposes.

With so much going on I was remiss not updating these tables very much earlier in the year, so I am taking the opportunity now, in readiness for a further update possibly at the beginning of 2022.

The tables are included primarily to explain the stamps used on cover, because they show that, for example, a stamp originally issued as a Europe 20g stamp is now valid for 100g and has a current value of £1.70.  So a letter to Europe much heavier than 20g can now use that stamp - up to 100g.  

Likewise,  Worldwide 40g and 60g stamps are now worth £2.55 and can be used anywhere in the world up to 100g.


‡ I've now added the E stamp, issued from January 1999-2004, which is the equivalent of the Europe 20g rate.  This was 30p when issued and the cost but also the franking value increased periodically:

October 1999 (34p), April 2000 (36p), July 2011 (37p), May 2003 (38p), April 2004 (40p), April 2005 (42p), April 2006 (44p), April 2007 (48p), April 2009 - as below.

 

Airmail Rates Table



Europe 20g / E‡
World 10g
World 20g
World 40g
April 2009
56p
62p
90p
-
April 2010
70p
67p
97p
£1.46
April 2011
68p
76p
£1.10
£1.65
April 2012
87p
£1.28
£1.90
April 2013
88p
£1.28
£1.88

E20/ W10
Europe 60g
World 20g
World 60g
April 2014
97p
£1.47
£1.28
£2.15

E20/ W10
Europe 100g
World 20g
World 100g
April 2015
£1
£1.52
£1.33
£2.25
April 2016
£1.05
£1.52
£1.33
£2.25
April 2017
£1.17
£1.57
£1.40
£2.27
April 2018
£1.25
£1.55
£1.45
£2.25
April 2019
£1.35
£1.60
£1.55
£2.30
April 2020
£1.42
£1.68
£1.63
£2.42

E20/ W10
Europe 100g
World 20g
World 100g
Europe Large 100g
World Large 100g
Sept 2020
£1.45
£1.70*
£1.70*
§
no NVI
no NVI
1 Jan 2021
£1.70
£1.70
£1.70
£2.55
£3.25
£4.20



* With effect from 1 September 2020 a combined Euro 100g/World 20g Post & Go stamp was issued, priced at £1.70.
§ On the same date the World 100g stamp was replaced by two stamps: World 100g Zone 1-3 is sold for £2.50, and World 100g Zone 3 is £2.55.
 
On 1 January 2021 the pricing for all world zones was standardised, although that for large letters over 100g varied.   The Post and Go range was then consolidated to include airmail Large Letter stamps.


Inland premium services



Note that some of the rates were in effect before the stamps were issued, and some new stamps were issued at old rates before tariff increases.
Stamps Issued* or Rates Effective
1st Signed For 100g
1st Large Signed For 100g
100g Special Delivery
500g Special Delivery
17 November 2009 *
£1.14
£1.36
-
-
6 April 2010
£1.15
£1.40
-
-
26 October 2010 *


£5.05
£5.50
20 April 2011
£1.23
£1.52
£5.45
£5.90
30 April 2012
£1.55
£1.85
£5.90
£6.35
2 April 2013 §
£1.70
£2.00
£6.22
£6.95
31 March 2014
£1.72
£2.03
£6.40
£7.15
30 March 2015
£1.73
£2.05
£6.45
£7.25
29 March 2016
£1.74
£2.06


27 March 2017
£1.75
£2.08


26 March 2018
£1.77
£2.11
£6.50
£7.30
25 March 2019
£1.90
£2.26
£6.60
£7.40
23 March 2020
£2.06
£2.45
£6.70
£7.50
1 January 2021
£2.25
£2.69
£6.85
£7.65

* Royal Mail Signed For stamps were issued 27 March 2013, replacing Recorded Signed For, but were sold at old rates until 2 April.
  

UPDATE 25 November: SD & RMSF stamps were withdrawn from sale at post offices on 31 October 2021, and also from Royal Mail's online shop.


I hope readers find this useful.  It is probably worth reminding everybody that these are also all valid at the rates shown for inland postage, just as the 2nd, 1st, Large, Signed For, and Special Delivery stamps are all valid for services other than those shown and on inland and international mail.


8 comments:

  1. Ian,
    Thanks for that.
    I’ve never been sure of the current validity of stamps from 1971 to 1984 with a face value including a ½p.
    For the current 66p basic second class rate could I for example use four 16½p Machin definitives or, more likely, two 15½ps plus a 35p ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes indeed. That's covered somewhere else in the blog, back in 2009 when neither side knew what they meant:

      https://blog.norphil.co.uk/2009/09/saving-p.html

      Delete
  2. I have recently bought some mint commemorative aerogrammes(remember them?) for £1.30 each and are using them to write to pen pals who really enjoy receiving them as examples of British history and culture....they are listed as having an equivalent value in today's mail rate as the £1.70 overseas rate

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is really helpful, but I’m curious what the current 2022 values are. Also, previously there had not been a distinction with large letters: why then wouldn’t a “Europe up to 60g” letter have a value of say £3.25 or is it capped at the regular letter value of £1.85?
    Many thanks in advance for any clarification. J

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, I should do a further table for 2022. The Europe rate is for an ordinary letter (£1.85) not a Large Letter. That, in fact, is the only change to the first table.

      The value of inland Signed For stamps has increased (to £2.35 and £2.85) but not Special Delivery.

      Delete
  4. Can I use E stamps for inland postage?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Can I use E stamps for inland post? I have £100s worth useless stamps since the barcode debacle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Jane. E stamps and airmail stamps can be used for inland parcels etc at the above rates (more after April).
      Inland stamps - including Signed For and Special Delivery - can be used for overseas without restriction.

      All this is until 31 July.

      You wrote earlier about stamps that you had, but that was not relevant to the post you commented on.
      If you would like to repeat that by email I'll answer as best I can.

      Delete

Thank you for reading the blog and commenting: please use an identity (name or pseudonym) rather than being Anonymous; it helps us to know which 'anonymous' comments are from the same person to avoid confusion. Comments are moderated to avoid spam, but will be published as soon as possible.