Five years after I set it up I have made the first substantive post to my World Postal History blog.
Read about the connection between a registered airmail cover from Soviet Russia to England and a famous Hollywood film star.
Exploring Russian language, political place-name changing and industrial development, this story took an unexpected turn.
Readers will have seen that postal authorities have taken various approaches to the Trump Tariff situation. Although the tariffs will apply differently to all nations, the US government (= president) has decided that all incoming mail may now be subject to duty and charges.
In the US the Obama administration raised the limit there from $200 to $800 (£560). Subsequently the Chinese distirbutors Temu and others flooded the world with all manner of goods which included free shipping at a price which could not be matched in most western countries. It was this that caused Trump in his previous administration to threaten to pull out of the UPU, which eventually led to different postage rates for mail to the USA as Royal Mail's world zone 3.
So Pres. Trump has decided to abolish the limit altogether. Now you might think that this would hold up all the mail until US Customs had examined every item. But the US has seen how the EU and Australia, among others, have solved this problem. They decided that all online marketplaces (think eBay, Etsy) calculated and the sums due (with varying degrees of accuracy) and remit it to the authorities.
In the UK companies can use a system set up by Royal Mail, but this would require everything - including postage - to be handled through their website, ie no stamps.
Up to date
Royal Mail is working on a similar system for the current situation for mail to the US; but in the meantime goods packages are not being accepted at Post Offices*. Letters and Large Letters not requiring a customs label are still being accepted and sent to America. (Presumably it is not possible to buy online postage for packets to the US either.)
I have already seen one report where a lady posting a birthday card was told she couldn't send it. This is wrong! So if you are posting a card or letter, or even sending a few stamps in an ordinary letter (which should be declared but of course many aren't) post offices should still accept it. If you are refused, ask them to double check the instruction.
*Elsewhere
The same applies across the world. Most European countries, South Korea, Australia and others are not sending packets to the USA.
Postal History
When the EU changed their system Royal Mail produced a new rejecttion label shown here and alongside. It's possible they will do something similar especially to catch mail posted in boxes. If you find anything like this, please let me know for reporting here.
UPDATE 27 August:
It seems that the only items which can now be posted using stamps in postboxes or at post offices are personal letters and cards. Even gifts valued under US$100, which suffer no duty, must be declared so posted at the branch and with postage (and the extra 50p handling charges) generated by label - paid for in cash or card.
July has started as June ended with the default Dog Awareness Week postmark so I'll start by repeating the one JM supplied last month and also show a July dated copy of the other layout, from MM.
 |
| DOG Awareness Week slogan, Inverness Mail Centre 30-06-2025 |
 |
| DOG Awareness Week slogan, Sheffield Mail Centre 04/07/2025 |
MM sent a copy of the United States Postal Service slogan for the campaign. Australia has also used one but I haven't managed to get a good copy yet, most of them being not as good as the British ones!
 |
| Dog Bite Awareness slogan, Indianapolis 24 Jun 2025. |
Update 23 July: my thanks to RD for a much clearer example of the USPS dog slogan, from Boston
 |
| Dog Bite Awareness slogan, Boston 9 Jul 2025. |
British Heart Foundation default slogan postmark Cornwall Mail Centre 15/07/2025
 |
| BHF slogan Cornwall Mail Centre 15/07/2025 |
Apart from various commemorations of the NHS (National Health Service) over the years, there are no other regular slogans in July, so we may have only the default British Heart Foundation for the rest of the month.
UPDATE 29 JULY - Congratulations to the Lionesses, we should see examples of this slogan tomorrow.
It's Home. Again.
Champions of Europe 2025.
England Women's
Football Squad
UPDATE 30 July 2025: Thanks to (another) IB for a couple of examples of the slogan used at Mount Pleasant Mail Centre 28-07-2025
 |
| England Women Euro 2025 Football Champions slogan used at Mount Pleasant 28-07-2025 |
 |
| England Women Euro 2025 Football Champions slogan used at Gatwick 28/07/2025 (colour adjusted) |
Other postmarks and postal markings
MM also sent this cover from 1982 with a Post Office label that I don't recall seeing reported at the time (or since) - but then in 1982 although curious I wasn't too interested in postal history. (Although I kept much of what came through the post then!)
Blue Peter is a British children's television entertainment programme and is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. An enduring feature of the programme is the annual charity appeal, which asks viewers to collect items that can be recycled or sold to raise money for the chosen cause. For example, in 1973–74, Blue Peter sponsored a "Stampede", asking people to donate postage stamps in support of Ethiopian famine relief.
In 1981 the appeal was for postage stamps and pre-decimal and foreign coins for Operation Pipeline, which provided 150 Javanese villages with pure water systems and health care services.
The delay in the delivery of this item is very much
regretted. Unfortunately it was missorted into the
Blue Peter Pipeline Appeal bag and has only now
been returned to the Post Office by the organisers
of the appeal.
Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience
caused to you as a result of this unfortunate error.
Dyffryn circular date stamp
 | |
| Dyffyrn Post Office 14 JL 25 circular date stamp Dyffryn Ardudwy 14 July 2025 |
There is a Dyffryn in Cardiff, but this one - Dyffryn Ardudwy in full - is in Gwynedd, north of Barmouth. It's a small village astride the Welsh main coast road (A 496) between Barmouth and Porthmadog; as you can see, navigating the village as a pedestrian is hazardous! The Google streetview is from 2018 and the shop is now branded Onestop.
 |
| Google street view 2018. |
 |
| One Stop - Fox's Stores of Dyffryn, Google 2024. |
Update 23 July
MM has sent this image of a surcharged letter with a large REUSED STAMP handstamp. I feel it is one that we ought to have seen before, but I can't find another image in my files.
Unfortunately we don't know when or where it was applied; from the limited address (only a part-cover was received) it may be south eat Essex; the stamp is coded M14L but again that doesn't mean that it is that old. But of course Machins are no longer valid, so it is quite likely that this pre-dates the invalidation.
 |
| Large 'Reused Stamp' handstamp, unfortunately undated and office of use unknown. |
Post Office and Royal Mail pictures
Lars Tåders has sent some photos from his travels which may be of interest to readers.
The first is of the vehicles at Royal Mail's Dartford Delivery Office (on a Sunday which is why they aren't out delivering.)
 |
| Royal Mail delivery vans at the Dartford Delivery Office (June 2025) [Credit Lars Tåders] |
Post Office branches
Mundesley Norfolk and Springbourne, Bournemouth.
 |
| Village Post Office at Mundesley, Norfolk (June 2025) [Credit Lars Tåders] |
 |
| Branch Post Office at Springbourne, Bournemouth. (June 2025) [Credit Lars Tåders] |
Readers will be aware that treatment of the mail changed when we left the European Union (1 January 2021), and again in July of that year when the EU countries introduced the same rules.
 |
| Customs form CN22 |
I wrote (edited):
In effect this means that all goods bought from outside the EU are subject to local VAT. In practice letters containing a few stamps are - as at present - less likely to be examined and charged by local customs authorities who are likely to be concentrating on bigger fry.
A customs declaration is an official document that lists and gives details of goods that are being imported or exported, for more information about why a declaration is needed please click here
If you are sending goods or any items of commercial value (including gifts and samples) to a country outside of the UK you will need to complete a customs declaration and associated electronic pre-advice must be supplied. The easiest methods of doing this are via Royal Mail Click and Drop or via the Post Office as outlined below.
You will need to complete a customs declaration (CN22 or CN23) for any gifts and goods sent abroad. Items sent without a customs declaration (CN22 or CN23), associated electronic pre advice, or are incorrectly or partially completed may be delayed or returned to sender. It is your responsibility to verify that any items you send meet relevant customs requirements at the time of sending and your item/s are compliant.
Items containing Personal Correspondence do not require a CN22 or CN23. Personal Correspondence is letters, brochures, catalogues, C4 and below addressed to an individual (that are not sale of goods), postcards§, braille letters, individual invoices/statements.
For example, items such as individual university prospectus/brochures/catalogues sent in A5/A4 envelopes with a personalised covering letter addressed to the individual enclosed making it clear to customs authorities what is contained inside.
This example is interesting in the light of an email received from JE of the British Postmark Society (BPS) today. The Society's quarterly journal was returned as non-compliant, using an orange label not previously seen - CN15(c)
 |
| Returned To Sender C4 envelope with CN15(c) added |
 |
| CN15(c) Returned to Sender label for Customs non-compliance. |
I'm not sure how this differs from the University prospectus examples in the Royal Mail website. It probably didn't have a covering personalised letter. JE didn't say whether it was opened or not: if it wasn't, how would anyone know that the contents were not 'Personal Correspondence', it's very close to being a Catalogue.
Royal Mail's advice on the link shown is:
Since your item cannot be processed through customs, we have returned it
to you free of charge. If you choose to pay for it to be sent again,
please ensure that you familiarise yourself with the customs
requirements to prevent your item being refused by the destination
customs authority.
I doubt that the label is peelable, but if it is covered, it seems that the BPS can send the package again with CN22 added and no additional postage, as Royal Mail have omitted to cancel the stamps the first time.
Another Returned to Sender form CN15 or CN15(b) is applied to mail which has reached a destination country which has been returned to sender for other reasons of non-delivery or non-collection (insufficient address, gone away, not collected, deceased, etc). Here are two examples of the pink form.
 |
| CN15 Return to Sender form from Ukraine 2016 |
 |
| CN15 Return to Sender form from Germany. |
This is another example of Postal History being made; the new orange label is the latest in a long line of similar labels which are now codified (presumably) by the UPU.
If you have any experience of having mail returned because of a failure to comply with new Customs requirements, please let us know. For a form to be printed there must be a need, ie there must be many examples of this.
-
As you probably know, some sources are encountered a lot more frequently than others. The most common stamps found on social and business correspondence are from booklets of 12 and business sheets respectively.
From personal experience and a few reports, the least likely 2nd and 1st class stamps to be found on social correspondence are actually from counter sheets, with most people buying their stamps at supermarkets, newsagents and other outlets.
 |
| Inland special delivery solo use. |
 |
| 97p to Ukraine returned to sender. |
Numbers of variants
At the time of writing there is a huge number of 2nd class blue: 13 counter sheet, 13 MTIL, 13 MBIL, at least 6 MRIL, and even more 1st class because of two types of books of 6. And that's without any specialist variations. Even the stamps look 'all the same; on a page in the stockbook.
To display these to members at the local club in any meaningful way would mean also including enlargements showing the iridescent printing of the year code and/or source code. This would involve a lot of work (45 for the 2nd class) and, I think it's fair to say, while such a display might meet with surprise (as do similar displays of a year's special issue 1st class stamps) I don't think it will be very interesting.
So I have decided that, apart from my own specimens of 'one of each stamp' and any other covers showing usage, which will not be focussing on actually which of the 45 stamps it might be, I am going to abandon my accumulation.
Your chance!
Before I consign the many covers, sorted by year and source and unsorted, to kiloware I am giving readers who would like to fill gaps in their own collections the chance to do so from what I have. I'm not going to list them - the Checklist can also be used to mark off which you have on cover if you are so inclined.
So if anybody wants to fill a gap let me know what you need and as I work through several boxes I will set aside covers to fill those gaps. All will be 'collectable', that is they will have dates as clear as I can get and be clean, though addresses may be handwritten. The only charge for this will be for postage - anything else you wish to pay will be appreciated. Any overseas collectors who have airmail-stamped GB covers - we may be able to arrange exchange and no money need change hands!
Please contact me by email. I'll acknowledge each request and spreadsheet the requirements, which will be served in order of receipt. It's very much a 'first come first served' opportunity.
And it won't be a quick turn round: emptying boxes and packets will take time, probably well into the spring of 2022. But I will do my best to provide gap-fillers if I have them.
"Due to the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic The Association of Scottish Philatelic Societies Scottish Congress which was due to be held in April and hosted by Kirkcudbright Philatelic & Postcard Society and Dumfries Stamp & Postcard Club has been cancelled."
Having missed the Stafford Stamp Fair last month, I was pleased to be able to go to the Warwickshire Event Centre, Leamington Spa on Saturday 3 July for Midpex 2021. For many of us it was the first event apart from a few club events in early 2020 that we had attended since 2019.
Taken in isolation it was business as usual because Midpex only happens in alternate years so meeting up with members of specialist societies was simply a case of meeting two years on, as normal. Except, of course, that nothing is normal.
Arriving 15 minutes after opening, I was greeted by a longer queue than is usual because contact details were being taken and checked. Fortunately those who have the NHS Covid app on their phones were able to bypass this and scan the QR code to record arrival. There was no temperature scanning.
As is often the case the first table had the programme and floor plan, alongside fair flyers and dealer brochures. Unfortunately nobody was making sure that the programme was given to everybody, and - partly I suspect because of its Cavendish sponsorship message - it wasn't immediately visible among the already scattered piles of material left by dealers and other fair organisers.
There were slightly fewer dealers and fewer specialist society tables, which meant that there was more space for wandering, and it was easier to see who was where. It's a pity the floor plan shown on the website isn't the same as on the programme, where it is divided into three images with no indication as to where they adjoin.
Dealers I spoke to later in the day were pleased with how things were going; as one said at lunchtime, "the place is buzzing!". Depending on their speciality, some were doing an exceptional of business for most of the day, some seemed quieter but that is often the case.
It was very good to be able to meet up with dealers and collector friends who we hadn't met for some time, and in some cases not before. It's always nice when contributors to this blog make themselves known: sometimes they are lucky enough to get a cup of coffee!
All in all, the Midland Philatelic Federation and the location organisers are to be congratulated on another excellent event.
Acquisitions
A major acquisition was a newly published 'Complete Machin Catalogue' - A Specialised Guide. Read more about this in a separate post.
If you're only interested in mint stamps, there is no need to read any further, although I hope you do because I think postal history can be interesting even to those who don't collect it.
I browsed some GB postal history boxes, and found a few pieces including a run of correspondence from London to Czechoslovakia from just after the war through to the 1980s!
Getting a single high value stamp properly used is always good, even if the registered label has dropped off. This King George VI 10d issued in 1939 was still in use in December 1953 (the QE2 stamp wasn't issued until February 1954). It pays the 4d letter rate plus the 6d registration fee.
 |
| Solo use of 1939 King George VI definitive to pay 4d letter + 6d registration fee to Czechoslovakia in December 1953. |
The 4½d Wilding definitive was issued on 9 February 1959 to pay the 2 ounce (second step) inland letter rate effective from 1957. But that still wasn't enough for this March 1965 letter which is marked
More to Pay/Over 2 oz
and has a 3d postage due stamp to cover twice the deficiency.
 |
| Underpaid 1965 inland letter, over two ounces with 3d to pay. |
When registration fees change at different times to letter rates, some interesting and short-term combinations can arise. This 2/3d registered letter includes the 1/6d and 1d definitives and the 1964 8d Geographical Congress stamp. There were probably a lot more ways to make up 2/3d (1/6d + 9d being the most obvious in the absence of a 2 shilling stamp).
The 2 ounce letter rate was 6d from 17/5/65 to 16/9/68 and the registration fee was 1/9d from 29/4/63 to 2/10/66. The date on this is unclear but it is in 1965 and is endorsed 3/7/65.
 |
| 2/3d rate 2 ounce registered letter July 1965, with postage including the 8d Geographical Congress commemorative. |
The 8d was an odd stamp because when it was issued in 1964 it could be used alone to pay (1) the foreign postcard group B airmail rate, (2) the foreign newspaper up to 1 ounce group B airmail rate. By the time this was used it would also pay (3) the 4-6 ounce inland letter rate, and (4) the foreign surface printed paper reduced rate for 8 to 10 ounces.
Collecting stamps is great, as a starter - the interesting task of working out why they were issued and how they were used can be very rewarding as well.
The Music Giants V: Paul McCartney stamps were issued on 28 May, as detailed here.
As mentioned in a comment on the original post, at least one 1st class stamp is recorded as being used two days before the official release date. NB says that it was "Sent from Colne, Lancs BB8 so presumably bought at Skipton Road PO BB8 0NQ".
 |
| 1st class McCartney II stamp posted two days before issue. |
 |
| Enlargement of postmark, on reverse, showing Lancashire & South Lakes 26/05/2021 - click on the images to see enlargements. |
I'll be posting brief notes about additional items for sale added to our website roughly once a week, as I know that not everybody has time to look everywhere.
The most recent additions have been:
GB: Folded Booklets - back in time to the machine-vended 50p £1 etc booklets. Not many of any of these, and some have already been snapped up.
 |
| Benin surcharges 1994. |
GB Security Machin 2nd class coils used - although these have been generally available mint their availability used has in many cases been confined to direct mail shots within the UK. Thus they are only seen by overseas collectors in kiloware, and that is not as plentiful as it was (nor as cheap!). Here are a few of the 2009, 2012 & 2015 versions.
GB odds and ends Machin and other - including a used pair of 26p rosine Type II. Also the Milennium Fire & Light set with altered (and unaltered) date of issue in the sheet margin.
I think most people agree that it is important for Royal Mail to protect its revenue, even if they don't always manage to cancel mail that is machineable and seem to make little effort on parcels which are collected from firms by mail centres.
Sometimes Revenue Protection get it right, sometimes they don't as recently received scans demonstrate.
Here's one where they got it right, although it's difficult to read the cachet from Newcastle Upon Tyne. The boxed rectangular mark reads something like:
ROYAL MAIL
REVENUE PROTECTION
17 APR 2021
FULLY PAID..........
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
I suspect the missing part is something like 'First Class', although at 94p it's well overpaid for 1st class and underpaid for 2nd class Large (it isn't a large letter).
Next two examples where two different Mail Centres got it wrong.
The first example has four of the horizontal self-adhesive 1st class stamps (SG 1789) issued on a trial basis in the Newcastle upon Tyne area in 1993. But despite these being accepted at a Post Office (no real guarantee, we know), South Midlands Mail Centre decided they were counterfeit. Now, I ask you, why would the current crop of forgers produce a stamp in this format when they are so good at doing them properly?
 |
| 4 x 1st class 1993 stamps held to be counterfeit by South Midlands Mail Centre, 2021. |
The second example sent to a dealer has a block of 9 of the same - still on the backing paper as they are now almost impossible to remove with the gum intact - again, accepted (but not cancelled) for special delivery. This could have been at a post office or a company collection - 9 x 1st class exactly matches is another rate, in this case the 500g Special Delivery rate. This time tracking shows that it was processed at Home Counties North Mail Centre.
 |
| 9 x 1st class 1993 stamps held to be counterfeit by Home Counties North Mail Centre, 2021. |
I used Royal Mail's Twitter channel to show them these covers and the original booklet and they said the addressees should claim for a refund via their website.
 |
| 20 x 1st class self-adhesive booklet 19 October 1993, SG MG1. |
UPDATE 22 April: DP has sent this even more bizarre example of an incorrect assessment of 'Invalid Stamps' (you can just see that endorsement on the yellow label). A 2nd class from a booklet with imperforate lower edge, and two pairs of 8½p and 6½p stamps from a booklet, all perfectly valid. I think I might need to make up a reference page for Revenue Protection to print off!
 |
| Incorrectly surcharged packet with valid but old stamps assessed as Invalid by Royal Mail Revenue Protection. |
Lastly this time, an example of misdirection, which somebody has described as a sad indictment on the state of geographical knowledge in the 21st century, and not only in the UK.
What's the address, and where did it go? (Click on image to see it larger before scrolling down.)
 |
| Misdirected cover. |
Whether or not you look at the larger image, you can probably see that this is addressed to Tristan da Cunha, South Atlantic. The postage, one £1.60 Ashes Victory stamp and a 10p makes the £1.70 rate which was correct when this was sent in the latter part of 2020 (and is so now).
You may need to check the enlargement to see what has been scrubbed out at the foot (it took me some effort even after I had looked at the pink label). The pink label is inscribed in FOUR languages, and there is a big clue. There's English (Return) and French (Retour), plus RETURNERAS (which is Swedish) - and the other country which uses Swedish apart from Sweden is Finland - PALAUTETAAN.
And indeed at the foot of the envelope, the word FINLAND has been added in a different hand and later scrubbed out. So it seems that somebody in Swindon Mail Centre (where it was postmarked) or the Heathrow International Mail Centre did not know where Tristan da Cunha (nor apparently the South Atlantic) are. What could they have interpreted as suggesting Finland?
And then in Helsinki, where there is a good command of the English spoken language, they seem to have been unable to interpret the original address and send it on it's way to that volcanic island in the south, marking it both Unknown and Insufficient address.
Edit: I forgot to say that I count this as a WIN. True the person who sent the letter to the Tristan Postmaster didn't get his reply, but this is an excellent piece of modern Postal History!
And a member on Stampboards has suggested that what I thought was '6B' is actually 'GB' indicating a return to the UK. Yes, much easier to see from the Machin than the cricket stamp!
I don't think they get any odder than that - but if you have an odd modern example, I'll be pleased to record it here.
