The first major phosphor error for many years, affecting a special issue, has occurred with the River Wildlife stamps.
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.
This applies to counter sheets and presentation packs.
If you find any 1st class stamps with 2 phosphor bands as they ought to be, do please let us know!
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 1st Class stamps in the set may be processed as 2nd Class stamps. We have removed the affected products from sale and apologise to any of our customers who have been affected.
Further information will be communicated in due course.
So I was wrong in doubting that there would be a reprint!
UPDATE 20 July:
1st class Stamps have now been withdrawn from Post Offices.
The reprinted 1st class stamps were available from Royal Mail's website from 27 July. (More detail in the comments.)
First Class in the Collectors Sheet are correct (2 bands), but a different printing of course.
ReplyDeleteJust checked my sheet again. All 1st Class have 2 bands and all 2nd Class 1 band.
DeleteWill it be a good idea to hold onto these stamp 'errors'?
DeleteFather in Laws Collector sheet was 2 bands on first, CB on 2nd hen it arrived last Saturday along with an FDC with all 1st and 2nd with centre bands
DeleteThe phosphor error is also present in the stamps used by Royal Mail on the First Day Cover.
ReplyDeleteWeirdly, the "correct" 1st class phosphor bands are present on the self-adhesive stamps in the Collectors' Sheet.
The error in the normal stamps makes it seem that RM doesn't think commemoratives will be used for postage any more!
Ian, County Durham
I'll be using them, but should I stick to using them for domestic mail then? 2 x 1st = international.
DeleteUse them for anything; when it comes to international you can use anything: 2nd class + 2nd Large + 30p works as well.
DeleteSelling something worth 75p for £1.10 should surely mean that these "First Class" stamps are withdrawn from sale as soon as the mistake is realised, or maybe that's only if the stamps were intended to be used postally which they're not.
ReplyDeleteWe'll have to hope that the RM Revenue Protection team have been warned about this mistake and don't think that a 1st class stamp with only one band is a forgery!
ReplyDeleteYet another case of not caring about what is issued as long as it makes money for the Collectables part of Royal Mail. I bet no-one even considered some of us might be using these on mail. It's such a contrast with some other countries' issues - I was in Luxemburg last week and although they have relegated their philatelic counter to an industrial area on the edge of the city it was staffed and offered a great service. They also have a sensible stamp issuing programme. It will be interesting to see what Royal Mail's response to this error is if they make one.
ReplyDeleteJust spoke to customer services regarding this the chap I spoke to did not even know what a phosphor line was!! No hope for RM I think .
ReplyDeleteOnly the 2nd Class stamps are available to order on RM Website. The Presentation pack has also been withdrawn.
ReplyDeleteI just bought a1st day cover from the RM website. The stamps are cancell3d but the error on the 1st class stamps are still there.
DeleteThe FDCs won't be replaced: they will all have the error, as will all Presentation Packs sold until they were alerted to the error.
DeleteThe way I got round that was to buy a fresh set of stamps and a blank cover from the post office. Stamp and address it up and then sent it to the handstand stamp centre where they cancelled it for me so now I have 2 covers. 1 correct and 1 with the error
DeleteYeah, the way I got round that was to buy a fresh of stamps. A blank cover from the Post Office put the stamps on, address it up, and then send it to the handstamp centre where they Canceled t for me and then send it back to me. And now I have 2 covers 1 with the error and one without.
DeleteJust been on to customer services again it seems that customers have to fill out a form to request an exchange for incorrect stamps. go to www.royalmail/stampsenquiries then go to stamps & collectibles shop help for the form to fill in and submit, a bit long winded but some help.
ReplyDeleteBut do you want to swap them? If the 2-band stamps are made available (as they surely must be online if not at post offices) then why not have both - both will be in the catalogue.
DeleteInformation from customer services, No new FDC's will be available to order with the updated 1st Class stamps on. The only way to get an updated FDC will be through a straight swap with the ones initially sent out to customers.
DeleteThanks Ian a very good point. but it seems that RM send you a pre paid label to send the stamps back then you get a replacement so that way it's up to you if you want both types.
ReplyDeleteThe Royal Mail website is now saying:
ReplyDeleteDue to a technical error in the printing of our River Wildlife Special Stamp issue, some of the 1st Class stamps in the set may be processed as 2nd Class stamps. We have removed the affected products from sale and apologise to any of our customers who have been affected. Customers who have purchased 1st Class stamps in this issue, or products that include those 1st Class stamps, can visit our website at royalmail.com/riverwildlifeexchange to find out more.
If you go to the weblink, though, there is just a holding message.
I didn't think they worried about phosphor bands these days and just treated mail equally badly.
ReplyDeletePrinting errors will become more common and an important source of revenue for a failing business.
My local Post Office had sold all but a couple of 1st Class before they got the message to send them back, as I bought a few sets on the day of issue why would I want to send them back! surely they will go up in value if Collectors want a copy / set for their Collection. RW
ReplyDeleteRoyal Mail site now offering the reprinted 1st Class stamps (2 Bands) in strips of 5, half-sheets of 25 and full sheets of 50
ReplyDelete1st Class stamps now back on RM website. No Presentation Pack as yet.
ReplyDeleteThere is a strip of 1st class for sale on the RM website it does not say whether they are reprints or not, not very helpful.
ReplyDelete1st class stamps and the Collectors Sheet are back on sale on the RM web site. I'm assuming that these are the reprinted versions with two phosphor bands, though the site dosn't say so explicitly.
ReplyDeleteThe tech spec reads "bars as appropriate" - which it probably did before, but they might mean it this time!
DeleteRM have now added a comment on the main River Wildlife page which implies that the phosphor bands are correct as from today.
DeleteReceived my ordered strip of 1st Class from RM this morning, all correct with two phosphor bands.
DeleteJust bought a strip of first class with the incorrect one phosphor band from my local post office so they haven't got the memo.
ReplyDeleteOrdered my 1st class strip on Thursday they arrived today that is good service.
ReplyDeleteMy stamps arrived yesterday, only to be destroyed at the point of delivery by the postman bending the items in half and jamming them in the restricted sized letterbox. (Not the normal Postman). Obviously hadn't heard of a doorbell or putting them in the clearly marked A4 letterbox.
ReplyDeleteI spoke to a chap at Stanley Gibbons yesterday he seemed to think that the 1st class error strip will probably not be allocated SG numbers, I was appalled really , these are really glaring errors and should be in every collectors album, so I will wait until a proper decision has been made.
ReplyDeleteI don;t know who you spoke to but I think the problem is that the phosphor bands are 'invisible to the naked eye'.
DeleteThat said they DO distinguish between one band centre/left/right, 2 bands, and all over phosphor so there is no doubt in my mind that these will get a separate listing.
Where SG falls down (save in the 'not-recently-published' Specialised) is in identifying the 9.5/8mm bands on stamps from machine vended (10, 50p etc) and on the short bands (or bars) on Machins from 70s/80s Christmas Books as shown in my price lists where each is identified separately.
The SG Specialised has started to reappear in the GSM. The August 2023 issue lists the QEII Barcoded stamps.
DeleteIt does not need Gibbons to tell us if it is collectable or not. Even if they dont catalogue it, it does not really matter. It will still be rightly collected as an error which it is.
DeleteAccording to "Catalogue Column" in September's GSM, BOTH versions of the 1st strip will be catalogued.
DeleteI have long given up SG catalogues, and prefer Michel. I'm certain they'll allocate numbers.
ReplyDeleteMichel might be ok for special stamps but I doubt they are even as good as the Concise for Machins and earlier definitives.
DeleteMy late father maintained that the only catalogue worth having for Machins was Degam.
DeleteThat's as maybe, and many would agree with him, bu as these are not Machins....
DeleteRM are now advertising a mechanism for anyone who wants to replace their one-phosphor band 1st class stamps - see https://www.royalmail.com/riverwildlifeexchange
ReplyDeleteAs if you would!
DeleteI agree - which is presumably why the mechanism involves a member of RM contacting you to arrange the exchange (rather than a more streamlined system). It would seem that they don't expect a flood of requests.
DeleteI wrote to Royal Mail Stamps and collectibles pointing out that as my Standing Order requirements include ALL new issue sheet ’Special‘ stamps I expected them to send me the five First Class River Wildlife stamps that have now been issued with the correct two phosphor bands.
DeleteNeglecting what I had straightforwardly written, the reply includes "sorry that you have been affected by the technical error and can understand your concern" with instructions "so we can replace the item" as if a philatelist wouldn't want to keep an error they had bought ! If I keep them and "require the corrected stamps" which I stated I did " you would need to purchase these" which is exactly what I intended just as I purchase every other issue through my Standing Order and have done for decades.
They simply have no idea.
I can see how they have found it a difficult call. (1) - they have assigned the same product number to the original (up to 26 July) and the replacement (after 26 July).
Delete(2) Despite the accurate and complete communication on this to customers who had (and some who may not have) bought the stamps with the error, they cannot simply send out a second set of 1st class stamps in case anybody does not want them*.
Of course this betrays a basic misunderstanding of the mind of the collectors, who RM also know will buy anything if the price is right (witness the limited edition PSBs with stamps no different to those in the basic ones).
They should understand the mind of the collector, which is to be 'complete' within the parameters of what they collect - mint, used, packs, etc.
* They would also have to send a direct debit note, or deduction from balance note, a month before sending the stamps out, in the terms of their standing order supply; this would, of course, give collectors time to say that they didn't want them: but nobody thinks the way we do.
I've only just received an email from Royal Mail about this. I've been using these stamps doubled up for postcrossing international postcards for over a month. Some of those cards have arrived. Will others get stopped or the recipients charged extra? I have about two dozen left. Not sure whether to return those or try an exchange at the main Glasgow post office.
ReplyDeleteNo, there is no problem in using them. Ultimately it's the face value that counts so 2 x 1st class is fine for Postcrossing cards. Ignore the phosphor bands, few people know or care about them except collectors.
DeleteI wonder if it is possible that the reprinted, corrected versions will be scarcer, certainly genuinely postally used by members of the public, than the originals? I have two post offices nearby who stock commemoratives; one returned the originals but has not got any replacements, and one is still selling the last of the original stamps now!
ReplyDeleteInteresting that RM only sent me the email on 11th August.
ReplyDelete