River Wildlife - 2nd class special stamps in abundance - 13 July 2023

Although for many years Royal Mail have said that they don't want to give the wrong impression by using 2nd class stamps to commemorate any person or event, it  doesn't seem unreasonable that some of the many thematic sets which commemorate nothing should at least include 2nd class stamps.

The Blackadder set in May this year did include a pair of 2nd class stamps, but the River Wildlife issue is the first to have 10 stamps divided equally between 2nd and 1st class.  This means the cost is only £9.25 rather than £11 for 10 x 1st class.

Royal Mail included this in their reason for this issue.

Rivers are among the most spectacular of all UK ecosystems, carving pathways through our history, shaping our landscapes and supplying our water. 

They feature a remarkable diversity of plants and animals, either adapted to live beneath the water surface or in closely associated habitats to which rivers bring critical life support. But, without protection, river wildlife faces a range of risks.

All very well.  But that's it.  The presentation pack "showcases the spectacular ecosystem of rivers and explores the habitat diversity, while the outer of the pack goes into more detail about each animal. Written by Professor Steve Ormerod a professor of ecology and former Chair of the RSPB Council".

So unless Prof Ormerod has space in the pack to highlight the threats to each of the species shown, this is in reality just a series of attractive photographs!

Stamps are, at the time of writing, available for pre-order on Royal Mail's shop.

So on to  The Stamps

Set of 10 River Wildlife stamps (5 each 2nd & 1st class) issued 13 July 2023

 

UPDATE 14 July - the 1st class stamps have a single central phosphor band, the same as the 2nd class, in error.   So far no 'correct' ones have been reported.

Update 19 July - reprint due!

I've received this communication from Royal Mail Stamps & Collectibles:

Due to a technical error in the printing of our River Wildlife Special Stamp issue, some of the 1^st Class stamps in the set may be processed as 2^nd Class stamps. We have removed the affected products from sale and apologise to any of our customers who have been affected.

We are  currently setting up a mechanism for customers who have purchased 1st Class stamps in this issue, or products that include those 1^st Class stamps,  to exchange these for replacements free from technical errors.

Further information will be communicated in due course.

So I was wrong in doubting that there would be a reprint!

UPDATE 27 July. The 1st class stamps are once again on the Royal Mail wesbite.  The technical specification reads "bars as appropriate" - which it probably did before, but they might mean it this time!

2nd class: Beaver, Atlantic Salmon, Kingfisher, Beautiful Demoiselle, Water Vole
1st class:  Grey Wagtail, Common Mayfly, Otter, Brown Trout, Dipper

Technical Details and Acknowledgements

The stamps were designed by Studio Up, using photographs as detailed below, and printed by Cartor Security Printers in litho on paper with ordinary gum. The stamps are 41 x 30 mm, printed in two sheets of 50, in se-tenant strips of 5 as shown.

Beaver © David Chapman/Alamy Stock Photo; Atlantic Salmon © Keith Ringland/Alamy Stock Photo; Kingfisher © Wild Birds, Alius lmago/Alamy Stock Photo; Beautiful Demoiselle © PjrNature/Alamy Stock Photo; Water Vole © Terry Whittaker/naturepl.com; Grey Wagtail © Gavin Rowley/Alamy Stock Photo; Common Mayfly © Paul Young/Alamy Stock Photo; Otter © Dave Vowden/Alamy Stock Photo; Brown Trout © Paul Colley/Getty Images; Dipper © Andy Rouse/2020VISION/naturepl.com

Products available

Set of 10 stamps, first day cover,, postcards, presentation pack, collector sheet, framed set and sheet.

Collector Sheet

The sheet, costing £10.45, predicatbly includes all 10 River Wildlife stamps, printed on self-adhesive paper making 10 different stamps to those available at Post Office branches.  The stamps are printed with similar images on the se-tenant labels.  Although the labels are slightly larger and do not have the King's head or value, they are similar enough to stand a good chance of passing for stamps!  

Collector sheet of 10 River Wildlife stamps alongside labels showing similar images.

The Framed set and sheet are priced at £34.99 each.

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Last chance to buy - stamps going off sale 1 August

Royal Mail have announced the Last Chance To Buy the following stamp issues, which will come off sale on 1st August 2023. This includes all stamps and products associated with these stamp issues.

• Rugby Union
• The FA Cup
• The Stamp Designs of David Gentleman
• Heroes of the Covid Pandemic
• Pride
• Royal Marines
• Unsung Heroes : Women of World War II

If you buy any now they will be sold at current prices, but a reminder that 2nd class stamps were issued for the Rugby Union stamps.

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Why does Royal Mail issue odd-value stamps for use on parcels, but make it more expensive to use them?

It's a rhetorical question, because in the end it is cheaper for them if you pay online, and they also capture information about you for future marketing.

Reminding you of an early discussion, back on a 3 May post, 

'Royal Mail have said, "We have chosen to add the other values to ensure variety and also provide the option for more flexible use of special stamps for parcels."

 

But it sticks in the craw somewhat when they issue £1 and £2 stamps in the Windrush set,

and then advertise like this on social media:

 

If ever there was a reason NOT to buy Royal Mail special stamps, then this is it.

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Cigarette smuggler found with unusual forged stamps - Manchester Evening News

An interesting story from the Manchester Evening News concerning some forged stamps.  These didn't make it to market, but did any others?

'Breadwinner' with 'good work ethic' caught smuggling 800 sheets of fake stamps into Manchester Airport

Border Force guards have smashed a plot by a computer science student to smuggle more than £40,000 worth of counterfeit postage stamps into Britain.

Officers stopped 42-year-old UK-based father-of-three Ogbehudia Adun at Manchester Airport after he hid almost 800 sheets of fake first and second class stamps under clothing in his luggage. Initially, Adun claimed the stamps were ''invitations'' but he later admitted acquiring the fake items from his native Nigeria to sell on the black market in Britain.

He came back to the UK via Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris and aroused suspicion due to the number of suitcases in his possession. He was also found to be carrying an excessive number of duty free cigarettes. Royal Mail’s security investigators were handed the stamps and later confirmed that they were counterfeits of the £1.75* Marine Turquoise and £2.55 Garnet Red stamps first issued by the Royal Mail in 2020 and 2017 respectively. 

Genuine £2.55 stamp

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“Border Force Officer James Pattison opened the bag where he found four, what appeared to be cardboard packages sealed with tape. The packages were beneath some clothing, but otherwise had not been concealed.

“Officer Pattison opened the packages and found what appeared to him to be counterfeit stamps. The paper appeared to be of poor quality and lacked the perforated edges that are normally seen on genuine Royal Mail stamps."  (My emphasis.)

The contents of the packages included, 577 sheets containing 13,848 £2.55 stamps (24 to a sheet!) and 195 sheets each containing an unspecified number of £1.75* stamps.

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In mitigation, Patrick Williamson said, “The defendant had limited involvement. It is my understanding that he met someone in Nigeria who asked for a favour from him, that being taking a parcel of stamps through customs.

“He realises now that this was a foolish decision, and when he got to France, he realised the error of his ways. He has expressed remorse to me, especially because of the effect it has had on his family.

''He shares the caring responsibilities with his partner and was the breadwinner of the family.

“He has a good work ethic and has worked consistently since he first came to the country from Nigeria 12 years ago. He has recently started a computer science course at a college in Leeds city centre and he currently brings home around £1400 a month.”

Adun, of Bodmin Road in Leeds, West Yorkshire, admitted possession of articles in use for use in fraud and was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and complete 15 rehabilitation activity days as part of a 12 month community order. He must also pay the court £500 in costs.

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* The numbers don't add up (assuming the turquoise green are in sheets of 24) and there are no pictures of the stamps.   I suspect the error is that these are actually £1.70 stamps.  

I've not heard of a £1.70 forgery, but thought I had seen a reference to the £2.55 being forged, though I can't now find it.  

If these are 'lacking the perforations' then they may be like the England £1.33 that was found a few years ago with no perforations, simply rouletting between the stamps.  

Maybe these were produced for another mailing scam (as were the £1 brown) and that this seizure is the entirety of the production.  Maybe not.  If anybody has any further information please let me know.

 

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Windrush: 75 years - 22 June 2023

After WWII, Britain encouraged immigration from Commonwealth countries. To a large extent this was to help rebuild the country as there was a shortage of labour at the time. *

HMT Empire Windrush is best remembered today for bringing one of the first large groups of post-war West Indian immigrants to the United Kingdom. **   The ship which was en route from Australia to Britain via the Atlantic, docked in Kingston, Jamaica, to pick up servicemen who were on leave.§

The British Nationality Act 1948, giving the status of citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC status) to all British subjects connected with the United Kingdom or a British colony, was going through parliament, and some Caribbean migrants decided to embark "ahead of the game". Prior to 1962, the UK had no immigration control for CUKCs, who could settle indefinitely in the UK without restrictions. §

The ship was far from full, and so an opportunistic advertisement was placed in a Jamaican newspaper, The Daily Gleaner, offering cheap transport on the ship for anybody who wanted to travel to the UK. Many former servicemen took this opportunity to return to Britain with the hopes of finding better employment, including, in some cases, rejoining the RAF; others decided to make the journey just to see what the "mother country" was like. One passenger later recalled that demand for tickets far exceeded the supply, and that there was a long queue to obtain one. §

A commonly given figure for the number of West Indian immigrants on board the Empire Windrush is 492, based understandably on news reports in the media at the time, which variously announced that "more than 400", "430" or "500" Jamaican men had arrived in Britain. However, the ship carried 1027 passengers and two stowaways**, and the ship's records, kept in the United Kingdom National Archives, indicate conclusively that 802 passengers gave their last place of residence as a country in the Caribbean.§

When the Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury from Jamaica on 22 June 1948, it marked the start of the postwar immigration boom which was to change British society. Images of the African-Caribbean passengers filing off the gangplank have become part of the country's social history. *

Arrivals were temporarily housed near Brixton; the area's Windrush Square commemorates the ship's arrival. The majority remained to settle permanently, and now form a central part of British society. The ship itself made its final voyage in 1954. *

Royal Mail are marking the 75th Anniversary of the arrival of MV Empire Windrush.  It has come to symbolise the mass migration of people from the Caribbean to the UK in the post-war era. Eight new stamps featuring vibrant illustrations have been created exclusively for Royal Mail to celebrate this occasion.

A set of eight Special Stamps celebrating the 75th anniversary of the arrival of MV Empire Windrush to the UK. Featuring original illustrations, created exclusively for Royal Mail by 5 Artists celebrating the contribution of the Windrush generation to the UK over the past 75 years.

The Stamps

Windrush: 75 years, pair of 1st class stamps

1st Class
From Small Island Life to Big Island Dreams by Kareen Cox (at Tilbury)
Ode to Saturday Schools by Tomekah George (schoolroom)

Windrush: 75 years, pair of £1 stamps

£1.00
Carnival Come Thru by Bokiba (steel band)
Basking in the Sun After a Hard Work Day by Emma Prempeh

Windrush: 75 years, pair of £2 stamps

£2.00
The March by Emma Prempeh
Here We Come by Bokiba (cricketers)

Windrush: 75 years, pair of £2.20 stamps

£2.20
Taste the Caribbean by Kareen Cox (street food)
Dancehall Rhythms by Alvin Kofi (dance)

Technical Details
The stamps were deigned by The Chase and Supple Studio and printed by Cartor Security Printers in litho on paper with ordinary gum.  The se-tenant pairs are printed in sheets of 60, perforated 14½ x 14.

Products

Stamp set, FDC, Presentation Pack, Stamp Cards, Coin Covers, Framed set.

First Day Covers

For collectors wishing to produce their own FDCs with a slogan postmark, these Windrush slogans are currently running and I would expect them to run all week.

 

Sources: § Wikipedia, * British Library, ** Royal Museums Greenwich.

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June 2023 Slogan postmarks and other interesting postal markings

June's slogan postmarks continued from May with the British Heart Foundation (default).

New June slogan postmarks will be shown here; please check for latest updates before spending your time scanning, but if you have something new or another format, then please do send it in for publication.

This was on our incoming mail last week.  From Jubilee Mail Centre 02-06-2023.

British Heart Foundation slogan Jubilee Mail Centre 02-06-2023

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Thanks to RW for sending the latest new slogan, which will please the greetings card industry, which is for Father's Day.  This started on 10 June.  A poor impression from Tyneside NE/SR Mail Centre probably 12/06/2023.

Don't Forget
Father's Day
Sunday 18 June

Father's Day slogan Tyneside Mail Centre 12/06/2023

Three more examples, from JE, today. Here are two of them in the different formats.  Lancashire and South Lakes (Preston) 12/06/03 and Mount Pleasant 10-6-2023

Father's Day slogan Mount Pleasant Mail Centre 10-06-2023

Father's Day slogan Preston Mail Centre 12/06/2023

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UPDATE 17 June.    Now that it's too late to post a card for Father's Day a new slogan has been introduced ahead of the issue of the Windrush stamps on 22 June.  My thanks to Andi B for sending examples from Greenford/Windsor Mail Centre and Southampton Portsmouth & IOW both dated 16 June 2023.

MV Empire Windrush
Port of Tilbury
22nd June 1948

 
WINDRUSH FOUNDATION

MV Empire Windrush slogan used Greenford/Windsor Mail Centre and
Southampton Portsmouth & IOW  16/06/2023

UPDATE 22 June.  And now in the other format, which is actually a better look.  From Swindon Mail Centre 19-06-2023 (Thank you to MH for a first contribution!)

MV Empire Windrush slogan used Swindon Mail Centre 19-06-2023

UPDATE 3 July.   After Windrush slogans reverted to the default for a period until 29 June, and then on 30 June a new NHS slogan was introduced.  

Supporting

NHS 75

 

Supporting NHS75, Birmingham Mail Centre 30/06/2023

Look out for different versions TO addresses in Wales and Scotland.  If anybody has examples of these both from those countries and others to those countries, please send scans.  Thank you.

Here's one from Manchester (also on the first day) to Scotland with the NHS Scotland slogan.

Supporting NHS Scotland 75 Years, Manchester Mail Centre 30/06/202

This will run into July, and look out for the Dog Awareness Week slogan which will probably start at the weekend 8/9 July.

 

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Other postmarks, postal markings etc,

It's been a while since we had any local postmarks, so here is the counter date stamp of Ranworth on the Norfolk Broads - and a photo of the shop.

Ranworth Norwich Norfolk counter date stamp 21. AP. 23

Thanks to RW for these pictures of the Post Office at Galmpton, Brixham, and the cds it uses.

Glampton Brixham Devon counter date stamp 22.JU 23

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If you have any other interesting postal markings, please send them to one of the email addresses in the top right of this blog.  Thank you.

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Remember, all postmarks appearing in June will be added to this post, so check here before you spend time scanning and emailing.  I'll add new ones as quickly as possible.

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Barcoded Machin and other forgeries - but why bother?

I received these forgeries recently.  The person who sent me these singles received them as samples from a 'wholesaler' in Hong Kong (or Mainland China*) of British and French stamps.

I can understand why the crooks would want to forge the 1st and 2nd class stamps, and maybe the Large versions - but the airmail values?  The £1.85 stamp doesn't even have a current postage use, without make-ups.

Which is which? 

£1.85 Barcoded Machin Definitive - and forgery

£2.55 Barcoded Machin Definitive - and forgery

£3.25 Barcoded Machin Definitive - and forgery

£4.20 Barcoded Machin Definitive - and forgery

The forgeries are on the right. What is not visible in these pictures is that all these have source code MBIL at the top right, suggesting that the origin of the iridescent image is business sheets.  

As usual with these forgeries the ROYAL MAIL text over the Queen's profile is in horizontal parallel lines,  but unlike some forgeries, the barcode printing is raised and glossy rather than flat.

Glossy barcode on £3.25 forgery.

ROYAL MAIL iridescent printing in parallel horizontal lines

Glossy barcode on £4.20 forgery.

ROYAL MAIL iridescent printing in parallel horizontal lines

Coming from the same stable is the England barcoded country 1st class definitive.  (I don't have a genuine one for comparison.)

Glossy barcode on 1st class England forgery.

.... and the lower values from the Aardman special issues (also self-adhesive) issued in October 2022.

Forged 1st & 2nd class Aardman commemorative stamps.

An interesting thing about this set is that the same stamps have also been reported on different backing paper.  This version has only one row of small text on the backing paper:

Forged 2nd class Aardman commemorative stamp - different backing paper.

These are the pictures sent to our correspodent by the 'wholesaler' offering him some bargain prices. The writer was an eBay user who had been a member since April 2022 and had - apparently - no dealings at all through ebay, with zero feedback and no products offered for sale.  (* they used an email address ending .hk, but their eBay location translated as 'Mainland China'.)

Whole sheets which would fool many users and some collectors and dealers. 

Another source has sent me these 2nd class 2021 Christmas forgeries.  Again, I don't have genuine for comparison but the backing paper is trademarked on the reverse, and the barcoded piece even has a join!

 

 

Two different 2nd class Christmas 2021 stamps, with the barcoded one having two sheets of paper joined.

Oracal is an international company supplying 'vinyl' for printing. That is, from what I can understand, the sort of easy-fix vinyl used in advertising and customising vehicles, which may be peelable (temporary and repositionable), or permanent (with a 2-3 year guarantee).  This vinyl has backing paper.  The paper shown above stamps appears to be backing paper from that sort of product.  Certainly that's what comes from a search for 'Oracal Print Vinyl permanent'.

I can find nothing in Oracal which suggests that they have a product suitable for stamp printing with an Oracal backing,  The backing paper used for these stamps is much thicker than modern backing paper, even for business sheets.

Update: Closer examination reveals that these Christmas stamps have been restuck onto this backing paper: they are not properly aligned and some have folded corners or creases.

Obviously in time Royal Mail will not be supplying Machin stamps when their supplies are exhausted and replaced by the King Charles III definitives - although we expect that those might also be forged before long.  The forgers are being careful not to offer them before they are widely available from legitimate sources!

Swao-out surpluses

But what about those collectors and dealers who have genuinely acquired barcoded stamps from Royal Mail's swap-out scheme, and now find - as I predicted last year - that they have far more than they use and need to sell them at a discount.  How will the people who have been buying from China be persuaded to buy from us instead !?

Maybe the United States Postal Service (USPS) has the answer? 

Defeating counterfeit postage – In Financial Year 2022, the Postal Service and Postal Inspection Service seized more than 340,000 packages with counterfeit postage and more than 7.7 million counterfeit stamps with an estimated $7.8 million loss avoidance for the Postal Service. Expanded actions to crack down on fraudulent postage include:

* Postal Service interdictions of packages with counterfeit labels affixed. The Postal Service will fully exercise new authority to take possession and dispose of packages identified with counterfeit postage.

* Reviews of shipments on Postal Service docks and during warehouse outreach visits

* Shut down of websites and closure of eCommerce accounts selling counterfeit postage

* Engagement and partnership with eCommerce companies to disrupt activity

* Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collaboration

* Promotion of the Inspection Service’s rewards program which provides rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a person that unlawfully uses, reuses, or forges postage stamps, postage meter stamps, permit imprints, or other postage; or uses, sells, or possesses with the intent to sell any used, forged, or counterfeit postage stamp or other postage.

Throughout the year, the Postal Inspection Service will continue to partner with federal, state, and local authorities to enforce the laws and bring criminals to justice. The Postal Service and Postal Inspection Service will continue to adapt to evolving security threats and implement expanded measures to safeguard Postal employees and preserve the security of the mail that Postal Service customers expect and deserve.

They seem to be making some progress especially with the rewards programme which rewards those who shop the criminals.  But it is clearly not enough.  With echoes of Royal Mail's 'the innocent recipient pays' policy, the USPS recently made this announcement - which was not received well!. (My emphasis.)

In recent years, a surge in the use of counterfeit postage has been found in the mail stream. The intentional use, or sale, of counterfeit postage is a crime because it seeks to obtain services without payment. This activity reflects an intentional effort to defraud the Postal Service of the funds it needs to provide services to the public.

 In response to this problem, the Postal Service is filing a federal register notice about changes to the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), that will allow the Postal Service to treat items found in the mail stream bearing counterfeit postage as abandoned. “As the most trusted government agency in the nation, we will continue to work together with other law enforcement and government agencies to protect the sanctity of the mail,” said Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale.

The Postal Service’s proposed changes will provide the public notice of the handling of items bearing counterfeit postage. Under the revision articles found in the mails with counterfeit postage will be considered abandoned and may be opened and disposed of at the Postal Service’s discretion. The mission of the Postal Service and the Postal Inspection Service is to ensure the safety, security, and integrity of the U.S. Mail. The implementation of these new regulations will continue to support and enhance this mission.

Consumers purchasing online items may be surprised to find out that the vendor mailed their goods using counterfeit postage. Under the new regulations, such items will be considered abandoned and disposed of at the Postal Service’s discretion. When this occurs, consumers will have to seek recourse from the vendor.

USPS stamps are being forged extensively and advertised as being shipped direct from China. But given Royal Mail's record with identification of forgeries - or misidentifying genuine stamps as forgeries - there is ample evidence that a legal challenge to such a policy here could be successful.

Let's hope it never comes to that, but I do wonder what Royal Mail can do to stop this influx.

UPDATE: I have been provided with this email address for people to send information about new forgeries and new outlets to Royal Mail.

But of course for new forgeries, we would like to have the information and images at the same time!

email address stampsintelligence@royalmail.com  

 

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Warhammer - 8 June 2023: at last something really British.

Warhammer is a tabletop miniature wargame with, originally, a medieval fantasy theme. The game was created by Bryan Ansell, Richard Halliwell, and Rick Priestley, and first published by the Games Workshop company in 1983.

Founded in 1975 by John Peake, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, Games Workshop was originally a manufacturer of wooden boards for games including backgammon. It later became an importer of the U.S. role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, and then a publisher of wargames and role-playing games in its own right, expanding from a bedroom mail-order company in the process. It expanded into Europe, the US, Canada, and Australia in the early 1990s. All UK-based operations were relocated to the current headquarters in Lenton, Nottingham in 1997. 

(Readers of a certain age, especially those with children now in their 40s, may remember the Fighting Fantasy, series of role-playing gamebooks produced by a company of the same name co-founded by Sir Ian Livingstone CBE and Steve Jackson.)

£2.20 Old World Dwarfs stamp

As in other miniature wargames, Warhammer players use miniature models (minis) to represent warriors. The playing field is a model battlefield comprising models of buildings, trees, hills, and other terrain features. Players take turns moving their model warriors across the playing field and simulate a battle. The outcomes of fights between the models are determined by a combination of dice rolls and simple arithmetic. Though the gameplay is mostly based on medieval warfare, it incorporates fantasy elements such as wizards, dragons, and magical spells.

Warhammer was the first commercial miniature wargame designed to use proprietary models. Prior to this, miniature wargames rulesets were designed to use generic models that could be bought from any manufacturer.

For millions of hobbyists around the world, Warhammer is more than just a game – it is a way of life. From collecting, customising and painting model figures to constructing battlefields and landscapes for them to rampage through, and from playing online games and reading novels set in these huge fantastical universes to joining fellow enthusiasts for mammoth tabletop battles decided on the roll of a dice, Warhammer is an endlessly creative, competitive and collaborative hobby. 

Now collectors of stamps may regard this as all a bit extreme - but game players are enthusiastic as many stamp collectors and philatelists are. 

Stamp details

A set of six stamps depicting some of the characters used across the three games of Warhammer- Warhammer: The Old World, Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar. Presented as three vertical se-tenant pairs.

Set of 6 Warhammer stamps issued 8 June 2023, 2 each 1st, £2, £2.20.

1st class - Space Marines, Orks. Warhammer 40,000 announced itself to the wargaming world in 1987. Drawing on a whole range of science-fiction influences, while also incorporating a unique fantasy element.  Over nine editions (so far), the creators have introduced a rogues’ gallery of foes for the Space Marines to battle against. Warhammer 40,000 is the best-selling miniature wargame in history, and this is probably why this series has been chosen for the 1st class stamps.

£2.00 - Stormcast Eternals, Slaves to Darkness. In 2015 a more ambitious new game was produced. Reinventing the mythic fantasy landscape of its predecessor on a much grander scale, Warhammer: Age of Sigmar takes place in the eight Mortal Realms.

£2.20 - High Elves, Dwarves. The first edition of Warhammer was set in a mythical medieval landscape populated by knights, elves, wizards and goblins, where fierce battle could be joined according to guidelines detailed in the first rule book. This immersive fantasy world was explored further in Games Workshop’s in-house magazine, White Dwarf, and in an ongoing series of popular novels published by their own imprint Black Library, allowing players to imagine in ever greater detail the legendary domain in which their games took place.

Minisheet

Since its inception, Warhammer has been defined by its unique visual style, incorporating elements of fantast, sci- fi, horror, religious iconography, surrealism and black humour.

The Miniature Sheet captures this aesthetic style in four stamps featuring paintings and illustrations used in Warhammer’s codexes and rule books across four different worlds.

1st class: Warhammer 40,000 - Rogue Trader. 1st class Warhammer The Old World - Battle for Skull Pass.
£2.20 Warhammer Age of Sigmar - Yndrasta, the celestial spear.  £2.20 Warhammer The Horus Heresy - The Emperor of Mankind.

Technical Details

The stamps and miniature sheet were designed by Common Curiosity and printed in litho by Cartor Security Printers. All the stamps are 60 x 30 mm, the miniature sheet 192 x 74 mm.  The stamps are printed in sheets of 36 with conventional gum, and the miniature sheet is in press sheets of 12 on - what seems to me very thin - self-adhesive paper.   © Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2023.

Unfortunately Royal Mail's information does not say who the artists of the miniature sheet paintings are.

Products available

Set of 6 stamps, miniature sheet, two first day covers, presentation pack, stamp cards, press sheet of 12 MS, collectors sheet, fan sheets, medal covers, silver plated ingots, framed set & collectors sheet.

Collector sheet

Warhammer Collector Sheet - 10 stamps with related labels - litho, self-adhesive.

Fan sheets - Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar - each containing three stamps, limited edition of 5.000 each at £7.50

Medal covers - Warhammer 40,000 with the set, and Age of Signar with the miniaure sheet. Silver-plate medals are also colloured.  Limited editions of 5,000 each at £19.99

SilverPlated Stamp Ingots - Spare Marines (Warhammer 40,000) and Stormcast Eternals (Age of Signar) - again 5,000 each at £24.99

 

Gaming mini models are usually sold unpainted allowing the players to create their own colour schemes. The FDC insert shows eight of the models against a plain backrgound.

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