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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Jersey to post first pictorial Post and Go Faststamps

Jersey Post will issue Post and Go stamps featuring protected species stamps at Stampex.

First reported in Stamp Magazine, the stamps depict a puffin, agile frog, red squirrel, hedgehog, barn owl and green lizard and will be issued on 18 February.

UPDATE 12 January.
The stamps are now shown above.  As with UK stamps, all 6 designs may be obtained in all 6 'values", which with Jersey Post are:
 
Local Letter / Local Large / UK Letter / UK Large / Europe up to 20g / Intl Letter up to 20g

More details soon, meanwhile you can get a flavour of the designs by looking at Andrew Beckett's portfolio here. None of the designs to be used is on the website, however.

Information will also be at www.jerseystamps.com - but not yet.

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Post and Go Faststamps for 2012 - dates and subjects

Royal Mail's Stamp Programme mini-calendar lists some definitives and Faststamps as well as the expected commemorative issues.


Dates and subjects for Faststamps are as follows:


24 February - Sheep (by Robert Gillmor)
24 April - Pigs (by Robert Gillmor)
21 May - Union Flag (design as used in PSBs and Smilers Sheets)*
28 September - Cattle (by Robert Gillmor)

 The Union flag could be very useful for the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics.  Maybe other flags will follow with a White Ensign Post and Go machine at Portsmouth and Chatham Historic Dockyard!

WWF International Agent slams Royal Mail stamp issue!

This blogpost has been modified for reasons which will become obvious.

Most stamp issues related to the WWF require approval from the international organisation, and from the Swiss company Groth AG who have exclusive rights to approve the designs etc.

In an earlier version of this blogpost we quoted from the 15 February 2011 Newsletter of Groth AG, official philatelic agents for WWF International. The Royal Mail stamps for the 50^th anniversary of WWF were not arranged with WWF International in Switzerland, but with WWF's UK branch. Apparently deprived of their commission on this stamp issue, Groth's criticism in their Newsletter was evidently an embarrassment to both WWF International and WWF UK – and also, now, to Groth AG.

Groth's Newsletter (downloaded as a pdf) has now been edited to remove all reference to the Royal Mail issue and the criticism, and we have been asked by WWF International via Hans Groth if we would also remove the reference from our blog.

I have no wish to prolong the embarrassment by continuing its publication so I have removed the Newsletter quote from this blog as well.

This is what Groth say about their organisation:

Today, Hans is proud to say that the collection - the largest thematic collection in the world - is still selling well and that his company will soon be celebrating a quarter of a century of collaboration with WWF. It is projected that the Collection will continue to be produced at least until 2011 when WWF will celebrate its 50th Anniversary.

To date over one billion stamps and almost 400 issues have been printed and sold, generating more than 20 million Swiss francs in royalties - an important source of funding for WWF's conservation activities.

 

I am sure that there was a financial arrangement between Royal Mail and WWF UK for the use of the WWF logo: these things do not need the intervention of a philatelic agent. As I wrote in the original version of this post:

Royal Mail wanted to mark the 50th anniversary and should be able to do what they want for that both in numbers and animals.  Thinking about it, if the only way that people in the UK and US (for example) can be aware of endangered animals in Yemen and Siberia is by buying stamps from Yemen and Russia then that is unproducitve.  Far better I think for the big countries to highlight the work of the WWF by showing endangered animals worldwide? 

But the United States will not mark the 50^th Anniversary and have never issued a WWF stamp, and I'm told that Canada Post has not either. In fact, looking at the Groth AG site, it would seem that Spain, Norway, and even Switzerland have also managed to resist the impulse to deal with Groth.

 

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What do you think? - let us know by leaving a comment (also see comments section)

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50th Anniversary of WWF - and a nudge to Europa

Royal Mail is issuing a set of stamps, miniature sheet and prestige stamp book to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of WWF – the Worldwide Fund for Nature.  

Forests are the Post Europ theme for 2011 so the WWF Miniature Sheet depicts the Amazon Rainforest where the WWF are involved in a number of projects to protect and conserve the forest and its plants and animals. The 1st Class stamp will bear the Post Europ logo in addition to the WWF logo.

 
Other products include a Prestige Stamp Book, presentation pack, first day covers, stamp cards, and a coin cover.

Full details, eventually including special postmarks, will appear on our website.