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Now, of course, the old Machin and Country definitives without barcodes are no longer valid but the Post and Go stamps are as are the commemorative stamps, so the tables are still relevant for new use as well as for for Postal History purposes.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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Postal rates 7 April 2025 - basic airmail rate and 1st Large Letter see biggest increases.

By now many of you will have seen news of Royal Mail's next price increases on stamp/Postcrossing forums or social media, but as yet there is no press release so we don't know what weasley words Royal Mail will use this time to justify some quite large rises.

Press Release added 2106 7 March:

Royal Mail carefully considers prices, balancing affordability with the increasing cost of delivering mail. 

Letter volumes have fallen from 20 billion a year in 2004/5 to 6.7 billion in 2023/4, and could fall to 4
billion a year within the next four years. Over the same period, the number of addresses has risen by four million meaning the cost of each delivery continues to rise.

Nick Landon, Chief Commercial Officer at Royal Mail said: “We always consider price changes very
carefully but the cost of delivering mail continues to increase. A complex and extensive network of trucks, planes and 85,000 posties are needed to ensure we can deliver across the country for just 87p.

“Ofcom has recognised that reform is urgently needed to protect the one-price-goes-anywhere Universal
Service which requires Royal Mail to deliver letters to around 32 million UK addresses six days a week.
Reform will allow continued investment in the modernisation and transformation of the business to
provide a more financially sustainable service.” 

Ends

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The new rate chart can be downloaded here.  New prices in bold, unchanged rates in italics, reduced price in red.  The differential between 2nd and 1st for a 100g Large Letter rises from £1.05 to £1.60 (and 12 months ago it was only 55p!). 

The 2nd class rate for 100-250g is reduced to below the April 2024 rate and is now only 15p more than the April 2023 rate, presumably reflecting market forces.  If it doesn't matter that 2nd class will only be delivered on alternate days this seems to be a much better option than 1st class. 

	1st		2nd
Letter	1.70	1.65	0.87	0.85
Large Letter – 100g	3.15	2.60	1.55	1.55
- 250g	3.60	3.50	2.00	2.10
- 500g	3.60	3.50	2.40	2.50
- 750g	3.60	3.50	2.70	2.70
Small Parcel 2kg	4.99	4.79	3.90	3.75
Medium Parcel 2kg	7.19	6.99	6.29	6.15
- 10kg	8.99	8.69	7.89	7.65
- 20kg	13.69	13.19	11.89	11.55

Special Delivery rates are also increased.  The 100g rate rises by 40p from £8.35 to £8.75, the 500g rate by 50p to £9.85. Increases for delivery by 9am are between 11% and 21%.

UK Tracked rates see minor increases.  The basic 1st class Large Letter rate is again raised by 10p to £3.70, the Small Parcel rate by 16p to £5.15.  The 2nd class rate remains at £2.80 for 750g the Small Parcel is up by 10p to £4.05. 

UK Signed is up from £3.35 to £3.60 1st class and from £2.55 to £2.77 for 2nd class.

International rates.   The basic letter rates are increased, but not the Large Letter and Parcel rates.  The airmail rate which increased in October from £2.50 to £2.80 goes up a further 40p to £3.20, and the surface rate is up 50p to £3.10.  This is bad news for Postcrossers!  It will bring a new barcoded definitive of £3.20; however creating either rate from special stamp issues is going to be more difficult especially with the size of new barcoded stamps to make up any shortfall.

A quick look at Premium services - International Tracked, Signed, and Tracked & Signed see changes of up to 15% but not at all levels.

The stamps

Prices for Large Letter Airmail stamps have remained static since January 2021, so it should be no surprise that they are now higher and will require new stamps.

Airmail rate stamps issued 27 March 2025: £3.20 spruce green (100g letter rate)
£3.50 Wood Brown (100g Large Letter Europe)
£4.20 Bright Blue (100g Large Letter Worldwide).

Technical details are the same as for other definitive stamps: printed in gravure on self-adhesive sheets of 25 by Cartor Security Printers.  The security codes are MAIL M25L.  The printing dates are 13, 14 & 15th January 2025 respectively (lowest to highest).

 Scan of actual stamps:

 

This post is now open for comments - and corrections.

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Royal Mail Stamp Programme for 2025

The Royal Mail stamp programme for 2025 can now be published and all those who contributed to our competition can now see how accurate their predictions were.  (Answer - not very!  Four readers sent in lists which contained 3 of the subjects on the list (including Christmas so really only two), and one of those had a suggestion which may be a third.

In fact some subjects not included in the list had more or as many supporters, with Jane Austen having 4. Nobody got the two Music Legends correct, and only one person suggested the right TV programme, although two others were also suggested.  One subject was suggested by 7 readers and is included in the programme.  (More details below.)

The subjects as listed below are as Royal Mail provided them to us in autumn 2024,, updated in spring 2025.  I have added (in brackets) associated anniversaries which may or may not be the reason behind the issue.

This year fewer of the stamp issues are media/entertainment related, leaving more (including Christmas) more directly relevant.

This programme should be made public at the same time as the Vicar of Dibley stamps which are on a separate post. 

So this year we have two UK television programmes and another Music Giants - an Australian.  There are some very obvious anniversaries, although whether the anniversaries will be specified on the stamps remains to be seen.  

Many people think that Monopoly is a British invention because the original UK version was produced by John Waddington, but that was under licence from US toy and gamemaker Parker Brothers.  But it's hard to see the Peanuts link with the UK.   

But as can be seen from the previous British stamps shown, many of the topics have already been covered in greater or lesser detail in the past. 

Other subjects which might have been covered, and which were suggested by readers ...

- The 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen (yes, she's appeared before, but this is a worthy anniversary.)

- The Centenary of John Logie Baird's first demonstrations of  Television.

- The Women's Rugby World Cup and the Snooker World Cup.

- Television soap EastEnders, and sitcom Fawlty Towers - 40th anniversary of first broadcasts.

- under Music Giants, the following were suggested: Oasis, Bob Marley, Kate Bush, George Michael, Bay City Rollers.

- thematic suggestions included Art Deco Buildings, Coins, Sports Cars, Reintroduced Species, Small Pets, the Anglo-Saxons, Reptiles. (Sorry if I missed any!)

I'm sure there will be a significant number of Prestige Stamp Books and Collector Sheets.  If you are still buying everything, it will be an even more expensive year.  I'll do my best to continue to provide you with all the information I can.

PRIZE TIME - one person's name features in two issues this year.  The name is the same, the person is different.

When you spot it, email me with your name and address - don't leave the answer as a comment - and  I'll send some philatelic prize which has not yet been decided!

14th January	The Vicar of Dibley, television situation comedy (30 years)
30th January (Thanks John H)	The Royal Armouries
18th February	Music Giants - AC/DC (Australian band founded by two Scots)
11th March	Garden Wildlife
27 March 15th April Updated 23 January	British Myths & Legends
Also 27 March	Airmail definitives
1st May (Yes, this means no stamps in April.)	Valour and Victory Stories of the Second World War; overprinted sheet for Europhilex 2025
22nd May	The Chronicles of Narnia  (75 years since the first book by C S Lewis was published.) I had a report today, 6 May, of somebody being offered the MS in a post office - and buying it of course!
12th June	Royal Observatory at Greenwich - 350th Anniversary of Founding
3rd July	Fungi
24th July	Peanuts
14th August	Monty Python (television series 1969-74 - and films)
11th September	Ducks
25th September	Steam Locomotives - 200th anniversary of the Stockton - Darlington Railway
16th October	Monopoly (nobody saw that one coming!)
4th November	Christmas
27th November (Updated 26 June)	The stamps of Queen Victoria (WHY?  QV died in January 1901 so the obvious time to mark the 125th anniversary would be in 2026.)

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A reminder of Royal Mail's reasoning behind £1 & £2 stamps.

 I posted this in May 2023, but it's worth repeating here as people keep asking why £1 and £2 special stamps are being issued when there is no £2 rate.

What values should be used on Royal Mail's special stamps?

For decades Royal Mail has told us that they preferred not to use anything other than 1st class and airmail values for their special stamps, even though this meant that the cost of sets was high, and few were being used on inland mail by people who wanted to send 2nd class mail.

There were always 2nd class stamps in the Christmas set for the obvious public demand reason, but in very few other sets - but things are changing!

I'm highlighting this hear now, although I cannot provide any details yet, but several of the stamp issues projected for the rest of the year have stamps with values other than 2nd, 1st and £2.20.

Pair of £1 Viking Britain stamps

Royal Mail have said, "We have chosen to add the other values to ensure variety and also provide the option for more flexible use of special stamps for parcels."  

This would, however, mean that some stamps might being issued for which there was no specific postage rate, and therefore no solo use.

Block of 4 £2 Dinosaur stamps.

 Given reports on how stamps are treated on letters and parcels, I can only hope that the Stamps and Collectibles division of Royal Mail had some influence on the Operational areas of Royal Mail, and on their retail partner, Post Office Ltd.  

This might just ensure that the pictorial stamps that they are making available for all users to actually use, might be treated in the mailstream in a way that made it worthwhile for people to use them.

Look out for these in future new issue announcements.

So there you have it - and there have been plenty of them.  How many other than 1st or 2nd have you seen, if you are in the UK?  How many £2.20/£2.50 have you seen in the rest of the world?

 How many have been offered to people to use on parcels or any other mail?   I know my PO had a supply of Tower of London for all counter positions, and not all would have been bought by collectors.
 

UPDATE - as we know now, the policy changed in the spring of 2025, and all future special stamp issues apart from Christmas will be 2nd or 1st class, or  a mix of both.

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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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Why does Royal Mail issue odd-value stamps for use on parcels, but make it more expensive to use them?

It's a rhetorical question, because in the end it is cheaper for them if you pay online, and they also capture information about you for future marketing.

Reminding you of an early discussion, back on a 3 May post, 

'Royal Mail have said, "We have chosen to add the other values to ensure variety and also provide the option for more flexible use of special stamps for parcels."

 

But it sticks in the craw somewhat when they issue £1 and £2 stamps in the Windrush set,

and then advertise like this on social media:

 

If ever there was a reason NOT to buy Royal Mail special stamps, then this is it.

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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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