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Wednesday, 22 October 2025

Is this a new label, or a very old one?

I've been using a stock of old premium services barcoded labels for many years now, some go faster than the others.  International Tracked is probably slowest of all!

My question is prompted by the latest image sent to me by our Canadian correspondent which has a different label.


All my stock has a solid colour border - green for International Tracked & Signed, orange for International Tracked, dark blue for International Signed For, etc.

The one on SS's cover has no coloured border, and the legend at the foot is all text and no graphics - but the barcode number is earlier alphabetically - RF 5821.... rather than my RN 20297 ....

At a guess I would say that this is an earlier one, rather than more recent and - because it was posted in the Southampton area and postmarked by the Mail Centre rather than a post office branch - I would say this might be from big dealer Rushstamps.


I've not seen one of these before - anyone else?

UPDATE 23 October Thanks to Tom (see comments) the source of these has been identified.

The label on the cover is identified on Royal Mail's Track & Trace webpages as a 'business label' - presumably supplied to business account customers on request.  Here are some screenshots from that page.  I still don't remember seeing any of these so I suspect not many businesses (or not many philatelic businesses) use them.



It is interesting that the more detailed ones are for post office branches, because the graphic instructions at the foot describe what is done at delivery.


4 comments:

  1. I believe it’s a business label: https://www.royalmail.com/business/content/more-finding-reference-numbers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you - I wasn't aware of that page. My rolls came from the PO, so would not have been the business versions.

      Delete
    2. No worries, I work in a PO so am very used to the green bordered ones but have seen those business ones before, they seem to be getting scarce though not seen one in years!

      Delete
  2. I have an example of the purple one (Int. Signed) on a delivery from Tallents House a few years back but usually they used the PO version.

    ReplyDelete

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