Alice PPI Stamp in Wonderland Growth?

Readers interested in Postage Paid Impressions featuring real stamps will recall that Smyths Toys use the Alice in Wonderland stamp in their campaigns.

Last year PD sent an example which was "in a darker shade" than the year before:

This week GF has sent an example of the 2019 mailshot which uses the same stamp but measuring a much larger 39 mm square.  (I can't lay my hands on a Smyths one but HPB used one that was 25 mm square.

 

This actually looks to be the same size, so perhaps it is HPB that was wrong?  Whatever the case, the PPI is bigger than the original stamp which was 35 mm square.

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Post and Go update

As readers will know there have been no new Post and Go stamps issued by Royal Mail, and none is in the programme for the current year.  Some agree with this, some would welcome more of these and fewer expensive stamp issues.

The British Postmark Society Journal report for April includes the following which may be of interest to those collectors still looking for Post and Go.  It is worth noting that if the reels are being used for the 'post an item' option, ie with a value on, use of old stock may produce something totally new, so it is worth looking in kiloware as well.  I was reminded of this by the receipt this morning of an eBay purchase with a MA16 1st class Machin with value, date, and weight shown - see picture.

No new designs appeared in the first quarter of 2019, but the Winter Greenery designs reintroduced on 1 November 2018 continued in use into the new year. Various older issues reappear as stock is used up – for example, on 10 April 2019 kiosk 68 at Chorley was issuing Symbolic Flowers (2014) for 1st class/international and Hibernating Animals (2016) for 2nd class.  Meanwhile, Winter Fur and Feathers (2015) was found at Camden High Street and undated Poppies were still being issued at South Norwood.

In a number of cases, rolls of Post & Go stamps are inserted in the wrong reel of a kiosk, either in error or because of a shortage of the correct stamps.  Two recent examples found were 1st class letter on 2nd class (blue) Machin stamps from Camden High Street and 1st class letter on 2nd (blue) Game of Thrones stamps from Slough.

UPDATE 17 May
I'm grateful to DP for sending some examples of various Post & Go stamps with old and new European postage rates:

Robin MA13 from Harrogate

Poppy R17YAL from St Albans

 

Poppy MA16

 

Machin M17YAL from Farnham

"It does raise the question do we collect the service type or the value of the label which echoes what someone wrote about the Post and Go Christmas tour a few years ago about receipts."

Receipts are especially useful for location confirmation as it is more and more difficult to keep track of where old machines have gone and more particularly where new machines are installed, sometimes without publicity if they are the smaller machines with a counter mini-terminal as well.

"I wanted to get examples from both Huddersfield offices, which was pointless as the Northumberland Street office’s three machines were switched off and the New Street office’s two were on but out of service. At New Street I was told that they didn’t have any stock for the machines. Otherwise they would have turned it on for me to get the collectors strip. Colchester and Ipswich both turned the machines on for me to get collectors strips. However Chesterfield wouldn’t. 

"From correspondence with the Post Office I’ve had questioning if the relocated Ealing branch would have SSKs, I was told that they don’t publicise that information and won’t be adding new location or amending existing branches."

I looked at the Post Office website Branch Finder page, and Post and Go is still listed in the filter selection and in Branch Details. If it is kept updated then that is good for collectors.

UPDATE 24 May:  JE of the British Postmark Society has made this very valid point about the Post Office Branch Finder, showing that their database is not accurate.  That may be what was meant in the last line in italics, just above.

The Branch Finder does not necessarily yield correct and up-to-date information.

Some locations shown as having Self-service Kiosks no longer have them - e.g. Dundee, which had SSKs in the old Head Post Office (Meadowside) lost them in February 2018 when the franchised replacement PO opened at 30 Whitehall St, but the new location appears as a Post & Go office on the Branch Finder.

Even more extreme - Southport's main PO in WHSmith, Chapel St, lost its SSKs in 2014, when the Wincor-Nixdorf machines were withdrawn!

Conversely, POs which have acquired SSKs more recently, such as Slough August 2016), Burnham (Slough)(Autumn 2017), South Norwood (august 2017) and Barkingside (2017), do not appear when the Post & Go filter is applied...

Anybody trying to maintain a complete and current list has an uphill task! 


UPDATE 9 July: According to the August edition of Stamp Magazine it is possible that some formats of Post and Go stamps are not being reprinted.  

"The Postal Museum and other sites with Royal Mail kiosks have been unable to replenish their stocks, including stamps which were digitally printed.

"Machin-head stamps with the year coded '18' are available from a few machines, but nothing more has been updated. Existing stocks are being used up, with a few oldies appearing among them."

As Don Staddon writes, "The situation will need to be resolved soon".

The implication is that Royal Mail are reprinting the stamps required for Post Office SSKs, but not for their own machines.  Strange.


UPDATE 8 November.
Thank you to all readers who continue to update the changes in branch details, openings, closures, moves and FADs.  There hasn't been much general news about the Post and Go stamps available from Royal Mail but a new report here is a comprehensive list of what the Museum machines carried during autumn 2019.  

It also depicts the Winter Greenery stamps used at Post Office branches including the 2019 reprint, and the Machin 1st class 2019 reprint has now been reported, shown below digitally enhanced.

Any NEW stamps and reprints of old will be shown in new posts.  This post will continue, for the time being to record changes similar to those already included in the comments.   A new 2020 post will probably start early in the new year.




UPDATE - It would be useful and much appreciated if, for relocated or other new offices, readers could provide Office name, postal address inc postcode, and FAD.
This information will be of use to collectors monitoring Horizon labels as well as Post and Go. Any changes NOT involving P&G SSKs are also welcome, but probably best sent by email rather than as comments here. 

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Validity and Value of stamps with no Value (NVI)

It is over four years since we first had to consider the change in letter weight steps and the question of stamps pre-printed with obsolete weights.  A reader asked the question on the latest Revenue Protection post last month, and so I'll give this important subject it's own entry on the blog.

The question was:

There is another issue, as touched on, in that what postage rate do some of the perfectly legal NVIs and earlier Post & Go stamps now pay. A number of the original rates no longer exist.

I assume an "E" value will probably still pay the Europe rate of up 20g. Where is this set out, either for the public or the Royal Mail staff?

We have Overseas booklet stamps showing Worldwide postcard rate? Originally apparently 43p. What does that pay for today? Ditto Europe up to 40g - no longer a published postage rate. Worldwide up to 40g & 60g likewise both as booklet stamps and/or Post & Go values. Europe up to 60g and so on.

Does anyone know whether the answer set out anywhere or where the contact point is to enquire?

The answer is buried deep in a blogpost of April 2014, so I'll repeat and expand on it here.

UPDATE 10 April 2014

Regarding the future value of obsolete Post and Go stamps Royal Mail have advised:

Existing P&G stamps for WW 10g and WW40g and other previously issued NVI’s for which there is no current postage value e.g. WW Postcard, will continue to be valid for the next applicable weight step up from its stated value i.e. WW 10g stamp will be valid at the WW 20g value and the WW 40g stamp will be valid at the new WW 60g value.

Although they were asked specifically about Post and Go stamps, the reply covers the self-adhesive booklet stamps, including the airmail postcard rate stamp, which is the same rate as the Europe 20g/World 10g. The following year the 60g step was replaced by the 100g step and the same principle applied.  In other words, the stamps showing 40g are now valid for 100g.  The 10g and 20g stamps are still valid for the weights shown, as before.

Users of Stanley Gibbons' Great Britain Concise catalogue will know that the introduction includes some tables of postage rates.  One which is missing is this table which, apart from indicating the original selling price of some of the stamps, explains why certain definitive stamps were issued and, in the case of the £2.25, reiussed after being replaced.

	Europe 20g	World 10g	World 20g	World 40g
April 2009	56p	62p	90p	-
April 2010	60p	67p	97p	£1.46
April 2011	68p	76p	£1.10	£1.65
April 2012	87p		£1.28	£1.90
April 2013	88p		£1.25	£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

* error corrected
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.

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Post and Go overhaul

As previously mentioned, Royal Mail are cutting back on the Post and Go programme this

year,  although they have not made a specific announcement about just how much.  Already we know that they are not having kiosks at either Spring Stampex or the Scottish Congress in Perth, and I have been told unofficially that they will not be taking their machines to the political party congresses in the autumn. 

Partly because of this we have taken time to look over our Post and Go stock and ensuring that all our stock is actually listed in our webshop, that all is in the correct category and will be selected under the 'Faststamps/Post and Go' heading.  We've also adjusted many prices - now is the chance to get some you may have missed many at lower prices than advertised elsewhere.  Included are stamps printed in Australia, Hong Kong and Korea, and some of the newer digital printing versions of earlier stamps.

As with Machin Security Stamps, when Post and Go (or Faststamps as they were called) were first FS numbers.
While we were waiting for Gibbons to produce the first entries, we set about our own numbering system, partly because we wanted to list the stamps logically in our stock. So those available from Post Offices and elsewhere with no additional inscriptions were allocated
produced, there was no catalogue listing. When Stanley Gibbons catalogue editors did compile a listing it was fairly straightforward, with one catalogue number assigned to each of the five original values.

The localised or commemorative inscriptions (variously and incorrectly described as either underprints or overprints by some) to stamps sold at Stampex and international exhibitions, are in the FT series.

Stamps issued from machines at the BPMA, Postal Museum, local stamp fairs and exhibitions, and military and other museums and attractions are listed in FV series. We stock very few of these.

Our stock is listed on our webshop here.   The software arranges stock in a certain logicality, but it is not completely intuitive even in our system.   Some first day covers are also available.

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Innovative Britain stamps win Asagio 'Best Design' award for 2015

Royal Mail has won the Asiago International Award for Philatelic Art 2016, for the Innovative Britain set of 8 stamps.  Often tagged in the media 'for the most beautiful stamps' the awards are considered the Oscars of Stamp Design and are awarded annually in Asiago Italy.  

This year the jury included a stamp designer, journalist, philatelist and film critic.  The awards are presented under the patronage of the President of Italy and Circolo filatelico Sette Comuni, the Seven Towns Philatelic Circle.

 

CIFO, the Italian equivalent of the ABPS reported this on 5 July.  The judges were favourably impressed, "the present boldly treatment of a difficult subject as the latest inventions of British scientists in the fields of optical fibers, stainless steel, DNA, electronics, bionics, road safety, through striking images and visually perfect, and concise captions but easily understood. "  (Google translation).  The stamps were designed by GBH and printed by International Security Printers in lithography.  Royal Mail said, "GBH created original visual interpretations of the inventions' key functions for six of the stamps, while two were designed using existing imagery and computer generated imagery illustration."

Portugal won the prize in the Ecology category, for four stamps, with a Polish stamp for World Blood Donation Day taking an award from the Italian Academy of Philately and Postal History. Spain received the award of the Palladian Axademy of Vicenze fo ra miniature sheet promoting Exfina, the Spanish national stamp exhibition.

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Stamp Collecting Isn't Dull, But Phosphor Has Become Duller

During the last year the phosphor used for British stamps has been changed, and I have been asked to write about which stamps exist.

I understand that although the basic composition remains the same, the phosphor ink from the new supplier is not as bright as that used previously.  (I've been told that on some examples of stamps or Post and Go Faststamps the brighter phosphor had taken on a yellow tinge over time, which may be the reason for the change of supplier !)

First things first, this change was made in the autumn of 2015, so all printings with 2016 year codes have dull phosphor.  The following stamps with 2015 year codes exist with both bright and dull phosphor.   In the case of counter sheets all printings after the date shown are dull. 

Counter Sheets
1p             05/11/15
2p             28/09/15
5p             06/11/15
10p           30/09/15
20p           01/10/15
£1             12/11/15

1st purple     18/09/15
1st Large      01/10/15
2nd class      29/09/15
2nd Large     03/09/15

1st Signed    13/11/15

Business Sheets  - these exist with and without SBP

2nd class    

2nd Large

1st class

1st Large

Booklets:  information awaited.

Because I have concentrated on year codes as and when the arrive or are discovered, I have not kept track of whether our supplies have bright or dull phosphor.   A later version of the Norvic Security Machin Checklist will have this information when it is finalised.

At this stage I cannot supply specific types for any of the 2015 issues.

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More New Machin Security Stamps - the list grows!

Even as this was in draft, news came in of even more new Machin definitive stamps or variants on last year's stamps.  So first a summary of what we have had so far this year.  

Following a suggestion from MachinManiac Larry, I have changed my terminology.  PBP now refers to PLAIN backing paper and SBP to SECURITY backing paper.


2015 Year Codes   (stamps in [ ] brackets not yet in stock)

2931R.5 - 2nd class coil - MRIL - reported used, then mint

2911B.5a - 2nd class business sheet MBIL on security security backing paper (SBP)

[2931.5a] - 2nd class book of 12 MTIL on SBP

[2936.5a] - 1st class red book of 12 MTIL on SBP

[2914B.5a] - 1st class red business sheet MBIL on SBP (no picture yet)

3745a  -  1st class amethyst purple book of 6 on SBP [O15R]

[2937.5a] - 1st Large book of 4 on SBP (no picture yet)


2016 Year Codes (M16L unless otherwise stated)

2913.6 - 2nd Large counter sheet printed 15/01/16 - plain backing paper (PBP) (see below)

3002.6 - 2p counter sheet printed 12/01/16 - PBP (see below)

3010.6 - 10p counter sheet printed 11/01/16 - PBP  (see below)

3133.6  - £1.33 counter sheet  08/01/16 - PBP

3744.6 - 1st class amethyst counter sheet printed 21/01/16 - PBP  [O16R] (see below)

We have stocks of some of these, in some cases very small stocks and only singles; we hope for sheets to arrive soon which will allow us to break out cylinder and date blocks.  Some booklets we have no cylinders but hope for them to arrive soon.


Last year I reported 5 new stamps (plus the Alice in Wonderland booklet) by 7 March.  This year we have 5 stamps with 2016 year codes, plus 7 more printed backing paper variants with last year codes.  Fortunately there are none scheduled for release at Stamps, but who knows what we may find on the Royal Mail stand that haven't already been found in Post Office branches and supermarkets ! ?

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Post and Go machine M001 had a life before BFPO

When Royal Mail announced that Post and Go machine M001 was being installeed at RAF Northolt's BFPO facility, some people asked where it had been before that.   The IAR website is silent on the subject, showing no 'history' on the relevant page.

So it happens that a complete coincidence has led to my being able to reveal the answer and show an example.  As you can see, these were purchased on 16 March 2015, at a time when the machines at Crewe and Bradford North were printing the location on their stamps.  This stopped on 30 March when rates increased.

The collectors strip had a top value of Worldwide 60g.  As you can see from this 1st class stamp, the location is Wheatstone House -

and as you can see from the receipt, this is in Swindon.

(Both images are from a photo which I have enhanced.)

A scan image of the purchases after the rate increase:

 

Wheatstone House is the base for ROMEC, Royal Mail's facilities management company, but there is (or was) also a Delivery Office there, because RM had adverts for postmen/women-drivers there.  On the other hand the local newspaper said that the DO was closing with relocation nearby, so only those really in the know can explain.

Anyway, my contact says that the machine was located at the training centre part of Wheatstone House and was accessible to anyone visiting the site, from outside contractors to postal staff. 
Apparently it did take cash but changed to card-only in early March.


After the tariff increase on 30 March the caption was removed.  The stamps I have seen from this period are from session 0085, so there were not that many transactions in the intervening period.  (On the other hand, session 0085 shows stamp numbers exceeding 150, so plenty were bought at that time.)

So, if the stamps were being bought on a regular basis by people who wanted to post letters, why have none appeared in kiloware?  One would expect that at least one would have shown up somewhere?  Or maybe sales were really very slow.   Maybe some people bought them as souvenirs of their training course??  (Stranger things have happened!)

There is an earlier mention of M001 on the oh-so-inconsistent IAR website, though this does not tie in with the previously mentioned kiosk history:

M001 on the move

M001, the first of the new Royal Mail Enquiry Office kiosks is being moved from its location in Wheatstone House to an Enquiry Office to help with the Christmas rush.

A site survey is being carried out this week, and we will confirm venue and installation date shortly.

No indication that Wheatstone House is in Swindon, and it never did turn up in 'an Enquiry Office'. My guess is that that move did not happen, and it was eventually removed for transfer to BFPO after servicing.

This official statement from Royal Mail (for which many thanks!) tells the story in more detail and accuracy (dates updated 25 February):

Machine M001 was installed in Wheatstone House on 10 February 2015.  The primary purpose was as a development machine for the Enquiry Office Upgrade Project where new features could be tested prior to going live in offices. The machine never took cash – there is no facility to do so. Wheatstone House was chosen because it is the base for Royal Mail Engineering (as opposed to ROMEC) who undertake the various business approvals for any new equipment. The machine was available for use by staff and visitors but only as a straightforward stamp vending facility.

The overprint was removed, along with Crewe and Bradford, following feedback from collectors, so that the same stamps could be obtained from any enquiry office site (ignoring the print string variants). Therefore stamps, with and without the identifier are in the marketplace.

The machine was removed in October 2015 ( I don’t have an exact date) as there was no further requirement for it following approvals of its new features. It was then refurbished and was lined up to go to another enquiry office but the project is holding on five machines at present. M001 was therefore held in store for the period prior to installation at BFPO Northolt on 27 January 2016.

Have you ever seen a Post and Go stamp from machine M001 in 2015, mint, used, on eBay or actual?  Dates and session numbers will be most useful.  

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First stamp booklet with backing paper print - from last year.

Following on from the Walsall-printed 2nd class Business Sheet (reported here) we can now show the first booklet reported on security backing paper (also printed by Walsall).

GW has sent this image of the Long To Reign 6x 1st booklet, with O15R year code.  These ought to be fairly widespread but without knowing the size of the printing, it is impossible to know whether it will be plentiful.

Further printing with O16R year code will surely appear later this year and those will also have the printing on the backing paper, but it may be that the O15R supplies will not be common.

UPDATE 7 February 2016
2nd class booklets of 12 and 1s Large booklets of 4 have now been found with the new backing. Details are:

6x1st purple - packing date 06/01/16 and 12/01/16
12x2nd - packing date 23/11/15
4x1st - packing date 21/12/15

All have 2015 year code, and have the more recent duller phosphor. 

UPDATE
Interesting to note that the Penny Red booklet sold on 18 February has no security printing on the backing cover.

 

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Latest stamps added to our webshop.

The weekend trip to the York Stamp and Coin Fair was successful and uneventful, and I obtained supplies of the two new 2nd class Machin stamps, the 2015 coil and the business sheet with printed backing paper.

Also in this shop update we have added some VFU and fine used definitives, which we know some customers, especially outside the UK, find hard to obtain at reasonable prices.

There are also some Christmas high-values very fine used.  As usual you can find these by clicking on the 'Recent Additions' link.  (Remember, they are shown chronologically according to when they were added to the shop.)

All the used self-adhesive stamps are on white paper.  Many collectors believe that - despite the extra bulk of part of the envelope - the stamps are better presented this way, and will have not suffered any damage during the removal from the envelope by whatever chemical means.

Coming soon: the five airmail NVI stamps in various forms, and the booklets in which they were issued. These are three of them.

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Printing on backing paper makes an appearance at last on 2nd class stamps.

Innovation takes time! Back in June 2014 I wrote:

According to Stamp Magazine:

1. Self-adhesive stamps are to be printed with a security inscription on the entire backing paper from next year to deter forgers.  This will include special stamps as well as definitives in counter sheets, booklets, business sheets and coils.

'Next year' of course means 2015 and sure enough we now know that printing of the 2nd class Business Sheet on 1 December (01/12/15 - and of course there may have been earlier printings) has the new backing paper, which we are referring to as SBP - Security Backing Paper.

Now, the question is how to collect these - if indeed you want to add them to your collection.  The stamps themselves are not different, they are coded M15L MBIL just the same as those already in circulation.

The inter-stamp gaps on Business Sheets are not very large, so you may want to collect in pairs, or a strip of 3 with one stamp removed.   With Booklets of 6 or 12, the spacing shows more backing paper on the 1st and 3rd (and 4th and 6th) columns, but the 2nd and 5th columns are as close as the Business Sheets, so again, maybe strips of 3.  For Counter Sheets pairs, or marginal singles (especially top and bottom) will show more of the backing paper than single stamps.

So, what do you think, how will you want to collect - let me know, as dealers shouldn't dictate by limiting what is available.  And do you think this will be any deterrent to forgery? 

As with the new coil, we now have these in stock.

UPDATE: Very interesting comment by stamp printing expert Glenn Morgan in the comments, which I urge all readers to read in it's entirety.

This feature is not there for Joe Public to spot, but it is an essential part of security when bringing a case to court by the very investigators that you write about, who have Royal Mail support by its introduction of such features. 

See the Tullis Russell website for a picture of the Canadian stamp with printing on the reverse.  Again, impossible to see on a stamp which is being used, but for major stocks of suspected forged stamps, then the absence of printing on the reverse is evidence.

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Mint copies Latest Bulk Mailing 2nd class coil stamp now seen.

The latest 2nd class coil - produced for bulk postings by the Direct Mail industry - has now been seen, and we have been sent this picture.

We don't have any stock yet, but hope to be able to supply customers via our webshop after the trip to the York Stamp and Coin fair at the weekend.   More details, including pricing, as soon as possible.

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Take another look at the holiday mail - surprises abound!

If, like me, you don't get round to sorting the Christmas card envelopes that you receive yourself, and from family and friends' hordes until some time in January you should look out for one that is not all it seems.

We all get a lot of red envelopes at Christmas, addressed in a variety of styles.  This one looks like any other unless you really look at it.  The two rows of numbers are the clue, and if you look closely at the apparently 'written' address it is printed with an ink-jet or laser printer in 'joined-up' script.  Look closer at the stamp and you will see that it is the 2015 coil, this time sent courtesy of the Holiday Property Bond.

For me, tearing the stamp off without looking at it was a silly mistake, espcially as JG had emailed me on 5 January with this picture of the stamp on the HPB letter sent to his wife over Christmas :-(

The other thing that you may see on your Christmas post - if it is postmarked at all - are examples of the old Universal-style postmarks.  These ought to be a better clue as to where the item was posted than the 'area' ink-jet postmarks.  (I was told that some mail from North Norfolk was sent to Chelmsford's South East Anglia MC) instead of being processed in Norwich, or even Peterborough as is often the case.

Here's an example of the Chelmsford Universal machine with the Please Post Early 'Snowman' slogan used on 17 December - along with the normal South East Anglia MC 'Last Posting Dates' slogan.   Over on the Stampboards forum some members are recording their finds - but they are few and far between.   So if you have any contribute please pop over - or, if forums are not your thing, send me your image and I'll add it to the records there and for the British Postmark Society.

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Missing pane in Star Wars Prestige Stamp Book.

It's a while since we had any major PSB errors, but Matthew has sent this picture of his book which has only one of the Miniature Sheet panes, the left-pane being omitted.

I'm assured that it is not a case of the missing pane breaking along the heavy roulettes - it really is missing.  So, sold short by Tallents House, but I advised him its a keeper for now.  Anybody interested in this please let me know and I'll pass on your details.

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Philatelic Review of the Year 2015

As we reach the end of the year, it's time to reflect and to look ahead. 

This has been a year of development and disaster for Post and Go output.  Although Royal Mail reduced their attendance at local stamp exhibitions in the UK, the extension of their activities in Germany, France, Singapore and finally Hong Kong made life more difficult for collectors with only the Singapore and Hong Kong variants also being made available from Tallents House and the introduction of two different 'short' strips from the European events.

Permanent machines were also installed in more Delivery Offices and Museums, with the latter producing a welter of changes in the autumn as the change of inscription and addition of a logo coincided with the short-term introduction of the Remembrance Poppy and commemorative inscriptions.

We finally saw the demise of the Wincor-Nixdorf machines in Post Office branches, which at least reduced the number of printing variants, though not the number of errors. The Tudor Street machine dispensed 5 stamps but charged for 6, and significant misalignment of the value was reported from several offices. At the Scottish Congress in Perth some stamps were printed with no year in the additional caption, while for a short time receipts recorded this as the 85^th Congress when it was actually the 86^th. As last year the Christmas 2^nd class stamps were loaded into the area producing 1^st class stamps. Finally despite the in-house production, Royal Mail managed to produce the Hong Kong exhibition stamps with values appropriate to Gibraltar Post!

The Post and Go system continued to be extended in Jersey and Guernsey, and Gibraltar which has produced so many variants as to be utterly baffling - and few of them available from their philatelic arm, except original first day covers some weeks after the actual first day! Post and Go machines from Royal Mail were also installed by Qatar Post Office: these and others, including our own Hong Kong solo-design reel were digitally printed rather than gravure.

The traditional postage stamp situation has been quite by comparison although Royal Mail did their best to maintain interest by keeping us guessing over the subjects of two major stamp issues. Sadly all their precautions came to naught with the Long To Reign Over Us miniature sheet (with stamps printed for the first time by FNMT Spain) as the associated counter sheet was sold in many post office branches well before the official date of issue. They know how to place embargoes on the press and dealers, but not their own retail partner.

The bumper Star Wars issue was treated with scorn by many traditional collectors, and most thought that even if it attracted non-collectors they would probably not be tempted to buy any other stamp issues. Others decided that this was another final straw providing them with a good reason to stop buying any new stamps on their standing orders. Although these were widely available in PO branches and well-advertised, the lack of availability of special stamps across the PO network – especially from branches converted to or moved to the 'Local' model – meant that other collectors decided to give up on new issues simply because they could not be bought! We were lucky to have contributions to the blog (in the form of comments) from insiders who explained how unprofitable special stamp sales were to sub-postmasters.

The expected versions of Machin Security Definitives all appeared, many of the by mid-summer, although unexpectedly many of the varieties which appeared early in the year were not available for long periods after that and only reappeared very recently. In all there were 47 new definitives, although the earliest had M14L codes. In November a new 2^nd class coil was found on a charity mailing leading people to look more closely again at their junk mail. Very few of these have been found so far.

Royal Mail made life difficult and expensive for Machin collectors at the start of the year with the Inventive Britain prestige book containing only one set of definitive stamps, and one new stamp printed in the wrong colour, and over £1-worth of postage left over. Fortunately the Great War and Waterloo PSBs had better contents, and when we got to the end of the year the Star Wars book had NVIs for the first time in years, and a new gummed Union Flag stamp! The tariff changes in March saw the introduction of Large Letters for international mail and a batch of six new stamps totalling £14. Sadly this is likely to continue, despite PO branches using Horizon Labels as much as they can, so we can expect the March 2016 changes to produce a set costing nearer £15. Fortunately there are still only four country definitives for each country, even if some of those are difficult to find locally – English ones seem particularly difficult.

Printing developments have and may continue to give us cause to look more closely at our stamps. Walsall Security Printers (ISP) have new premises with a new, larger, press which meant that new booklet cylinders were required. The M14L version of the 1^st x 12 book appeared from both presses.

Two Smilers Sheets and the Penny Black retail booklet sold out very quickly and were not reprinted. It is difficult to know whether this is dealer speculation or just demand being poorly judged when the print quantity was set. And of course the Penny Black miniature sheet had a limited edition variant sold only at the Europhilex exhibition in London. The distribution arrangements were ill-though-out and badly implemented, despite advice from the trade. Sadly this may not be the last time something designed to 'attract collectors to the event' results in bad-will among long standing customers, and unexpected profits being made by those who are able to attend.

Postmark collectors were treated to nearly 50 new slogans this year, some more relevant than others, although finding them on your own mail when so few stamps are used was a challenge! And Royal Mail have at last made their Postmark Bulletin available free online, to the benefit of collectors worldwide. 

In reporting these I have been assisted by a large number of collectors at home and abroad, and their reports have helped especially the British Postmark Society to keep a more complete record of the slogans actually in use, when and where, especially for late and exceptional use. (It's what philately is all about!)

Which brings me to you the reader, and contributor.  Without the comments, and contributions by email, this blog could not be as successful as it is. As you will see from the statistics alongside, we are only inches away from 2 million page views, a phenomenal number which could not be achieved without you all. Many thanks and

to all readers, contributors, and customers, we wish you a very Happy Christmas and a successful (if impecunious!) New Year.