Postage Value of Older Stamps including Post and Go - October 2025 version.

This post brings previous tables up to date with the postage rates effective from 6 October 2025.

The tables are included primarily to explain the stamps used on cover, because they show that, for example, a stamp originally issued as a 30p Europe 20g stamp would later be valid for 100g and with a value of £1 in 2015 and £2.20 in 2023!

Remember that the International Rate stamps were all valid at the rates shown for inland postage, just as the 2nd, 1st, Large, Signed For, and Special Delivery stamps were all valid for inland services in addition to those shown and on international mail.

Now, of course, the old Machin and Country definitives without barcodes are no longer valid but the Post and Go stamps are as are the commemorative stamps, so the tables are still relevant for new use as well as for for Postal History purposes.

The E stamp was issued from January 1999-2004, and paid the Europe 20g rate.  This was 30p when issued and the cost but also the franking value increased periodically:

October 1999 (34p), April 2000 (36p), July 2001 (37p), May 2003 (38p), April 2004 (40p), April 2005 (42p), April 2006 (44p), April 2007 (48p).

Airmail Rates Table

	Europe 20g / E‡	World 10g	World 20g	World 40g
April 2009	56p	62p	90p	-
April 2010	70p	67p	97p	£1.46
April 2011	68p	76p	£1.10	£1.65
April 2012	87p		£1.28	£1.90
April 2013	88p		£1.28	£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
April 2019	£1.35	£1.60	£1.55	£2.30
April 2020	£1.42	£1.68	£1.63	£2.42

	E20/ W10	Europe 100g	World 20g	World 100g	Europe Large 100g	World Large 100g
Sept 2020	£1.45	£1.70*	£1.70*	§	no NVI	no NVI
1 Jan 2021	£1.70	£1.70	£1.70	£2.55	£3.25	£4.20
4 Apr 2022	£1.85	£1.85	£1.85	£2.55	£3.25	£4.20
3 Apr 2023	£2.20				£3.25	£4.20
2 Apr 2024	£2.50				£3.25	£4.20
7 Oct 2024	£2.80				£3.25	£4.20
7 Apr 2025	£3.20				£3.50	£4.30
6 Oct 2025	£3.40				£3.50	£4.30

All definitive and country NVI stamps without barcodes were invalidated on 31 July 2023;
Christmas and Commemorative stamps remain valid.

'E'- denominated stamp - still valid at a value of £3.40

 

Europe 20g/Worldwide 10g Post and Go stamp now valid worldwide for 100 g.

* With effect from 1 September 2020 a combined Euro 100g/World 20g Post & Go stamp was issued, priced at £1.70.
§ On the same date the World 100g stamp was replaced by two stamps: World 100g Zone 1-3 is sold for £2.50, and World 100g Zone 2 is £2.55.
 
On 1 January 2021 the pricing for all world zones was standardised, although that for large letters over 100g varied.   The Post and Go range was then consolidated to include airmail Large Letter stamps. 

Inland premium services

Note that some of the rates were in effect before the stamps were issued, and some new stamps were issued at old rates before tariff increases.

Stamps Issued ±    or Rates Effective	1st Signed For 100g	1st Large Signed For 100g	100g Special Delivery	500g Special Delivery
17 November 2009 ±	£1.14	£1.36	-	-
6 April 2010	£1.15	£1.40	-	-
26 October 2010 ±			£5.05	£5.50
20 April 2011	£1.23	£1.52	£5.45	£5.90
30 April 2012	£1.55	£1.85	£5.90	£6.35
2 April 2013 §	£1.70	£2.00	£6.22	£6.95
31 March 2014	£1.72	£2.03	£6.40	£7.15
30 March 2015	£1.73	£2.05	£6.45	£7.25
29 March 2016	£1.74	£2.06
27 March 2017	£1.75	£2.08
26 March 2018	£1.77	£2.11	£6.50	£7.30
25 March 2019	£1.90	£2.26	£6.60	£7.40
23 March 2020	£2.06	£2.45	£6.70	£7.50
1 January 2021	£2.25	£2.69	£6.85	£7.65
4 April 2022	£2.35	£2.85
3 April 2023	£2.60	£3.10

Special Delivery and Signed For stamps were invalidated on 31 July 2023.

 § Royal Mail Signed For stamps were issued 27 March 2013, replacing Recorded Signed For, but were sold at old rates until 2 April. 

 

** Compensation for Signed For was reduced from £50 to £20 on this date, and compensation for Special Delivery was increased from £50 to £750.

  

Inland basic letter rates

Comprehensive tables of postage rates have been published by the Great Britain Philatelic Society and are freely available.  These and the rest of a hugely comprehensive website have been put together using members' subscriptions, so if you agree it is worth paying to join.

 

 

Please let me know by email if you spot any errors or omissions in this blog post.  

(Now edited to remove details of values of some NVIs in 2024.)

 

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All stamps are - or were - all valid for all services, inland and international.

A recent comment on the previous post asserted that it was not possible to use 2 x 1st class (£1.70) stamps to pay the international postcard or letter rate as the non-denominated (NVI) stamps were only to be used for the service mentioned.

This is totally incorrect as the following examples will demonstrate.  Of course many of these are old-style Machins but the same applies now to stamps and Post and Go stamps.

International Mail

£1.57, 5p and 1st class paying correct rate to Australia

World 20g, World 60g, Europe 20g and Machins airmail to Australia

Denominqted and 2 x 1st class to France

 

Postage on this expensive package to the USA includes a 1st class stamp

From a reader in Canada for the postmarks posts, the postage here is made of 4 recent 1st class stamps, an old 2nd class plus 50p

 

Likewise this one does precisely what was suggested in the other post, using very old 2 x 1st class stamps to (over-)pay the current £3.20 rate

Recent packet to Belarus used 1st class Large datamatrix Machin and denominated stamps

   

I don't have examples of  airmail stamps used inland, nor special delivery used on medium parcels sent by ordinary mail, but they do exist.  They are a way to get these higher value stamps fine used for collections.

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Postage Value of Older Stamps including Post and Go - 2024 version.

This post brings previous tables up to date with the postage rates effective from 2 April 2024.

The tables are included primarily to explain the stamps used on cover, because they show that, for example, a stamp originally issued as a 30p Europe 20g stamp would later be valid for 100g and with a value of £1 in 2015 and £2.20 in 2023!

Remember that the International Rate stamps were all valid at the rates shown for inland postage, just as the 2nd, 1st, Large, Signed For, and Special Delivery stamps were all valid for inland services in addition to those shown and on international mail.

Now, of course, the old Machin and Country definitives without barcodes are no longer valid but the Post and Go stamps are as are the commemorative stamps, so the tables are still relevant for new use as well as for for Postal History purposes.

The E stamp was issued from January 1999-2004, and paid the Europe 20g rate.  This was 30p when issued and the cost but also the franking value increased periodically:

October 1999 (34p), April 2000 (36p), July 2001 (37p), May 2003 (38p), April 2004 (40p), April 2005 (42p), April 2006 (44p), April 2007 (48p).

Airmail Rates Table

	Europe 20g / E‡	World 10g	World 20g	World 40g
April 2009	56p	62p	90p	-
April 2010	70p	67p	97p	£1.46
April 2011	68p	76p	£1.10	£1.65
April 2012	87p		£1.28	£1.90
April 2013	88p		£1.28	£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
April 2019	£1.35	£1.60	£1.55	£2.30
April 2020	£1.42	£1.68	£1.63	£2.42

	E20/ W10	Europe 100g	World 20g	World 100g	Europe Large 100g	World Large 100g
Sept 2020	£1.45	£1.70*	£1.70*	§	no NVI	no NVI
1 Jan 2021	£1.70	£1.70	£1.70	£2.55	£3.25
4 Apr 2022	£1.85	£1.85	£1.85	£2.55	£3.25	£4.20
3 Apr 2023	£2.20				£3.25	£4.20
2 Apr 2024	£2.50				£3.25	£4.20
7 Oct 2024	£2.80				£3.25	£4.20

All definitive and country NVI stamps were invalidated on 31 July 2023;
Christmas and Commemorative stamps remain valid.

* With effect from 1 September 2020 a combined Euro 100g/World 20g Post & Go stamp was issued, priced at £1.70.
§ On the same date the World 100g stamp was replaced by two stamps: World 100g Zone 1-3 is sold for £2.50, and World 100g Zone 2 is £2.55.
 
On 1 January 2021 the pricing for all world zones was standardised, although that for large letters over 100g varied.   The Post and Go range was then consolidated to include airmail Large Letter stamps. 

Inland premium services

Note that some of the rates were in effect before the stamps were issued, and some new stamps were issued at old rates before tariff increases.

Stamps Issued ±    or Rates Effective	1st Signed For 100g	1st Large Signed For 100g	100g Special Delivery	500g Special Delivery
17 November 2009 ±	£1.14	£1.36	-	-
6 April 2010	£1.15	£1.40	-	-
26 October 2010 ±			£5.05	£5.50
20 April 2011	£1.23	£1.52	£5.45	£5.90
30 April 2012	£1.55	£1.85	£5.90	£6.35
2 April 2013 §	£1.70	£2.00	£6.22	£6.95
31 March 2014	£1.72	£2.03	£6.40	£7.15
30 March 2015	£1.73	£2.05	£6.45	£7.25
29 March 2016	£1.74	£2.06
27 March 2017	£1.75	£2.08
26 March 2018	£1.77	£2.11	£6.50	£7.30
25 March 2019	£1.90	£2.26	£6.60	£7.40
23 March 2020	£2.06	£2.45	£6.70	£7.50
1 January 2021	£2.25	£2.69	£6.85	£7.65
4 April 2022	£2.35	£2.85
3 April 2023	£2.60	£3.10

Special Delivery and Signed For stamps were invalidated on 31 July 2023.

 § Royal Mail Signed For stamps were issued 27 March 2013, replacing Recorded Signed For, but were sold at old rates until 2 April. 

 

** Compensation for Signed For was reduced from £50 to £20 on this date, and compensation for Special Delivery was increased from £50 to £750.

  

Inland basic letter rates

Comprehensive tables of postage rates have been published by the Great Britain Philatelic Society and are freely available.  These and the rest of a hugely comprehensive website have been put together using members' subscriptions, so if you agree it is worth paying to join.

 

 

Please let me know by email if you spot any errors or omissions in this blog post.  

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Machin definitives - get them before they go up in smoke!

Six weeks ago I alerted readers to the production of my list of Machins with X numbers, that is the first decimal stamps which had ordinary perforations.

I have added a price list of the gummed Machin definitives with ordinary perforations (Gibbons X-numbers) to Dropbox today. You can download it at the link below.

This list includes a number of specialist variants to catalogue listed stamps, including some of the shortened phosphor bands (which are illustrated).

Also included are many of the high-catalogue stamps from Prestige Stamp Books but at much lower prices than elsewhere.

We now have until July to use the stamps, but I shall continue to work on lists so that those readers who wish to add to their collections at bargain prices can do so, while the stamps are still available.  Some are only in very small quantities and when they are gone, they are gone (unless I find any more!). And if they don't go, then it's off to Royal Mail's incinerator. 

List 1 - Booklets: Window, folded, label, mixed content.  

This list contains Stanley Gibbons series prefixed F, G, H, MG1 and the PM series of mixed content self-adhesive booklets.  (More F & G books added; stitched booklets added 25 July)

List 2 - Prestige Stamp Booklets, DX series - no DY series (premium priced) available.

List 3 - Machin Regional Definitives - Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland.           

List 4 - Varieties on Machin Folded Booklets 

List 5 - Country Definitives, cylinder & date blocks - England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales

List 6 - Self-adhesive booklets - Pre-security, airmail, security, greetings.

List 7 - Machin gummed definitives with ordinary perforations - SG X-numbers. 

Machins with elliptical perforations, the SG Y-numbers: many are listed in our online shop.  We can combine orders from these lists and the shop, but please choose the 'Pay by cheque' option on the shop, do not pay by paypal or card or we will not be able to combine for accounting. 

Thank you to all the readers, especially new customers, who have been able to add to their collections by buying some of these and saving them from the incinerators.  As I am also liquidating my own Machin and country stamps many of these are one-offs, but there are still bargains to be had.

Due to domestic matters and dealing with orders, I have not been able to produce any more lists, nor to update the existing ones, which is I may not be able to supply everything you might want.

List 7 also includes the square high values (SG 829-831b) and the tall high values (SG 1026-28).  

Not included, although I have them are the NVIs and PIP NVIs as shown above.  

I'll be happy to have wants lists, by SG number, for this type of stamp, including self-adhesive and coils.

Please send lists by email - text or spreadsheet welcome.

UPDATE:  Thank you for lists sent since this was posted, especially for spreadsheet lists. These (or word docs in tables) are especially useful for large quantities.  I'm not working on these much at weekends, and there will be interruptions on some other days, so please be patient.  All will be acknowledged so that you know I've got them.

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King Charles III definitive stamps to be issued 4 April 2023.

Royal Mail has announced the details of the first definitive stamps for the new monarch, King Charles III.

The first stamps will be issued on 4 April, with philatelic pre-orders commencing 4 March.

First and Second Class (and Large) NVI stamps will be issued in April 2023 but stocks of Low-value and High-value Definitives will not need to be replenished until Autumn 2023, therefore, in keeping with the zero-waste policy, the make-up values of the King Definitive stamps will follow in late Summer.

King Charles III 1st class definitive stamp 4 April 2023.

We understand that the existing colours will continue to be used for 2nd, 2nd Large, 1st and 1st Large.

The introduction of the King’s Definitive stamps continues to be event driven i.e. when new stamps are required, and there will be no wastage of QEII (barcode) Machin Stamps.

The full range of Barcode Definitive stamps introduced in 2022 will remain on long term sale and continue to be sold alongside the King’s Definitives. 

The stamps feature a portrait of His Majesty The King created by Martin Jennings for The Royal Mint for the obverse of the new UK coinage and subsequently adapted by Royal Mail for use on definitive stamps. Stamp designs © Royal Mail Group Ltd 2023. Stamp artwork preparation by Endhouse Studio. 

I think this would have been better; banknote portrait modified by HalfpennyYellow member of Stampboards forum.

Alternative proposed design for Charles III definitive stamps.

The Flowers pictorial stamps on 23 March 2023 will be the first to bear the profile of the King.

UPDATE: My thanks to JG for this additional information gleaned from the illustration of the sheet which has been widely used (see Postal Museum website).

"The first part of the barcode reads: S11151017031004506380009501022301 on the enlarged central stamp. There are changes in the barcodes of the background stamps only in the last two digits of the red numbers as expected - they give the position number of the stamps in the sheet. The second part of the barcode is completely different on each stamp as expected providing a unique identifier for each stamp.

 S111 is the value code for the stamp indicating 1st NVI

5 is the source code - for a counter sheet of 50

0095 is the stamp value in pence - I thought the price of a 1st class stamp was likely to go up before the release of the stamps

010223 is the barcode date, usually close to the printing date on the sheet

01 is the code for the stamp type - in this case a definitive

These code numbers suggest to me that the stamps have only just been printed, within a day or so of the 1 February."

UPDATE 3 March

A new £2.20 stamp has been announced for the new All-World airmail rate for letters - see Tariff

Definitive £2.20 stamp for All-World airmail letters to 100g, to be issued 4 April 2023.

It does seem rather odd that this stamp will be issued the day AFTER the rate comes into effect.

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Postage Value of older stamps including Post and Go.

I overlooked updating this information at the start of 2022; the post will later incorporate the 2023 tariff.

The tables are included primarily to explain the stamps used on cover, because they show that, for example, a stamp originally issued as a Europe 20g stamp is now valid for 100g and has a current value of £1.85.  So a letter to Europe much heavier than 20g can now use that stamp - up to 100g.  

Likewise,  Worldwide 40g and 60g stamps are now worth £2.55 and can be used anywhere in the world up to 100g.

‡ I've now added the E stamp, issued from January 1999-2004, which is the equivalent of the Europe 20g rate.  This was 30p when issued and the cost but also the franking value increased periodically:

October 1999 (34p), April 2000 (36p), July 2001 (37p), May 2003 (38p), April 2004 (40p), April 2005 (42p), April 2006 (44p), April 2007 (48p), April 2009 - as below.

 

The Worldwide Postcard stamp (shown) issued in 2004 was originally sold at 43p. The cost and the franking value increased - April 2005 (47p), April 2006 (50p), April 2007 (54p), April 2008 (56p), April 2009 as shown in the Worldwide 10g column below.

Airmail Rates Table

	Europe 20g / E‡	World 10g	World 20g	World 40g
April 2009	56p	62p	90p	-
April 2010	70p	67p	97p	£1.46
April 2011	68p	76p	£1.10	£1.65
April 2012	87p		£1.28	£1.90
April 2013	88p		£1.28	£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
April 2019	£1.35	£1.60	£1.55	£2.30
April 2020	£1.42	£1.68	£1.63	£2.42

	E20/ W10	Europe 100g	World 20g	World 100g	Europe Large 100g	World Large 100g
Sept 2020	£1.45	£1.70*	£1.70*	§	no NVI	no NVI
1 Jan 2021	£1.70	£1.70	£1.70	£2.55	£3.25	£4.20
4 Apr 2022	£1.85	£1.85	£1.85	£2.55	£3.25	£4.20
? ? 2023

* With effect from 1 September 2020 a combined Euro 100g/World 20g Post & Go stamp was issued, priced at £1.70.
§ On the same date the World 100g stamp was replaced by two stamps: World 100g Zone 1-3 is sold for £2.50, and World 100g Zone 2 is £2.55.
 
On 1 January 2021 the pricing for all world zones was standardised, although that for large letters over 100g varied.   The Post and Go range was then consolidated to include airmail Large Letter stamps.


Inland premium services


Note that some of the rates were in effect before the stamps were issued, and some new stamps were issued at old rates before tariff increases.

Stamps Issued* or Rates Effective	1st Signed For 100g	1st Large Signed For 100g	100g Special Delivery	500g Special Delivery
17 November 2009 *	£1.14	£1.36	-	-
6 April 2010	£1.15	£1.40	-	-
26 October 2010 *			£5.05	£5.50
20 April 2011	£1.23	£1.52	£5.45	£5.90
30 April 2012	£1.55	£1.85	£5.90	£6.35
2 April 2013 §	£1.70	£2.00	£6.22	£6.95
31 March 2014	£1.72	£2.03	£6.40	£7.15
30 March 2015	£1.73	£2.05	£6.45	£7.25
29 March 2016	£1.74	£2.06
27 March 2017	£1.75	£2.08
26 March 2018	£1.77	£2.11	£6.50	£7.30
25 March 2019	£1.90	£2.26	£6.60	£7.40
23 March 2020	£2.06	£2.45	£6.70	£7.50
1 January 2021	£2.25	£2.69	£6.85	£7.65
4 April 2022	£2.35	£2.85	£6.85	£7.65
? ? 2023	£2.25	£2.69	£6.85	£7.65

* Royal Mail Signed For stamps were issued 27 March 2013, replacing Recorded Signed For, but were sold at old rates until 2 April.

  

UPDATE 25 November: SD & RMSF stamps were withdrawn from sale at post offices on 31 October 2021, and also from Royal Mail's online shop.  They continue to be valid for postage at current ratesuntil invalidated on 31 July 2023.

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 but will cease to be so from 1 August 2023.

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Datamatrix stamps - positional blocks and singles.

I wrote in February about the difficulty in deciding how to collect positional blocks of the new definitive stamps with datamatrix barcodes added.  This post expands on that and explains how to obtain the blocks you want.

Previously sheets of 25 or 50 stamps had cylinder numbers on the left and the printing date on the right, sometimes with colour markers.    Thus collectors generally collected cylinder blocks of 6 and date blocks of 8. 

Most* of the new stamp sheets had a different layout with the stamps printed sideways in relation to the most of the marginal markings.

Here the cylinder numbers and the printing date appear in the same (top) margin and the colour blocks in the right.   This suggests that a block of 10 (the top two rows as shown in the Scotland sheet above) would provide all the detail previously collected over 14 stamps, representing a saving to the collector.

* This applies to all the stamps so far issued in counter sheets, other than the four Machin NVIs which are printed in sheets of 50, with the cylinder number on the lower (left-hand) pane, and the date on the upper (right-hand) pane.

Collectors could still collect just a cylinder block of 6; date blocks were more problematic as mentioned in my earlier post.

However, obtaining the stamps in the required formats is not straightforward.  Whilst it is often possible to obtain some or all in post office branches, not all branches have all the stamps - the high value and airmail stamps could be difficult to find, and the country definitives would be especially difficult outside the country concerned.

Royal Mail's Philatelic Bureau has, for some reason, decided not to supply blocks of 10 which would satisfy collector requirements.  Indeed one reader received the blocks of 10 country definitives with the right margin removed, being told that that is how they had been told to supply them!   

I am not sure that if a collector ordered a complete sheet of any of these stamps and then sought to return 15 of them to leave just the required block of 10, that this would be acceptable with a part refund given.

Which means that collectors are forced to ask dealers to obtain them at increased cost. Even then the dealers have to be sure that ad hoc orders are correctly filled: I use a diagram for this purpose attached to orders.   This gets the required block of 10:

Cylinder and date block of 10 marked for clarity.

Of course one could choose other blocks, especially for subsequent printings with the same cylinder number, when only a block showing the date might be required.  This diagram - confusing as it may seem - covers many other positional blocks.

Choose your block position from a menu of 8.

As yet, despite the existence of several new printings (see recent post) none of these is available from Tallents House.  

We can obtain most requirements for any collectors requiring blocks of 10 or others from sheets of 25 or other blocks from sheets of 50.

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