New postage rates will be introduced on 31 March 2014. In Post and Go machines the Worldwide 10g and Worldwide 40g stamps will no longer be relevant and they will be replaced by Europe 60g and Worldwide 60g stamps.
The new 'values' or 'service indicators' are expected to be available on Machin head, Union Flag, and Spring Flowers stamps, but will also be available on previous issues where they remain in the machines.
If you find any of these I will be interested in obtaining stock of both new values, both for myself and for customers. I still need Machin MA13, Union Flag MA13, Robin MA12, and all Freshwater Life.
Mock-ups of what we can expect
In order to keep track of which designs of Post and Go stamps are available this post is available for readers to record what has appeared, and where - and on which type of machine, as the NCR version is rolled-out through the country.
Mock-ups of what might be available
Some people have asked about FDCs for the new rates. Apart from the very
first sets of brown which was sold in a pack of 5 values, and the first
set of blue Machin heads, Royal Mail have only ever produced official FDCs for
the designs, rather than the values. However FDCs can be obtained by dealers and collectors.
Only on-topic comments will be published!
UPDATE 28 MARCH 2014
For both Wincor-Nixdorf and NCR Post and Go
machines (and the BPMA machine) I have reliable information that the new stamps will
be available from start of business. A notice should tell customers
wanting Worldwide 10g to buy Europe 20g. At a later date the Worldwide
10g option will be reinstated under the 'post an item' menu.
See
PostagelabelsUK blog.
UPDATE 10 April 2014
Apologies for not adding this earlier: I thought it had been done, but I now rectify the omission! 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."
I'm not sure of the position now that the basic Worldwide 10g and Postcard rates have been re-instated to the tariff.
REPORT 31 MARCH 2014
Contrary to statements by some people who thought they knew something that Post Office Ltd and Royal Mail managers did not, the software changes for the new tariff were effected before the branches opened for business this morning.
Wincor-Nixdorf machines dispensed Europe 60g and Worldwide 60g stamps, and the Worldwide 10g and Worldwide 40g options were no longer available. To cater for the restored world postcard and Worldwide 10g letter rate of 97p, a magnetic notice was affixed to the machine advising customers who wanted to post such items to choose the "Letter Europe (up to 20g) option" for a 97p stamp (see pictures). Unfortunately the body of the machine is mainly plastic so the label placed on the red and white metal pictogram panel below the screen. One unfortunate side-effect of the software change is that instead of dispensing up to 99 stamps the machine will now only take orders for up to 20, meaning far more transactions. [However, it is still possible to purchase at least 5 x Collectors Sets of 6 in one transaction. I regard the reduction as a fault and have reported it as it does produce longer queues.]
The
IAR Machine at the BPMA produced Machin stamps with MA13 and Union Flag with no year code.
Reports from two
NCR machine locations referred to software problems. Apparently the machine displayed the 60g options, took the money, gave change and printed receipts but not stamps. The fault was reported before noon and it is to be hoped that it will be rectified by tomorrow. If it is, then 1 April will be the first day for NCR 60g stamps - unless anybody can tell me any differently ?
A second report was that when a 'Collectors Set' was selected, the 4 old stamp values were printed but the two 60g were not, so producing a strip of 4.
Contents of Machines
I'm grateful to the many correspondents who have phoned, left voicemail messages, and emailed, about what they have found in various machines from Truro to Glasgow and many points between. I'll summarise this and put some more pictures up in this same blogpost later.
Meanwhile, here is a picture of a collectors set of the Spring Flowers from Norwich, demonstrating the small figures of value used for the two 60g stamps, compared with the others. Also the weight line is inset compared with the Europe 20g but is in the same place as the Worldwide 20g.
Table of contents as advised to 2 April.
Please see added comments for ongoing details of machine contents,
which will only be shown here if they are new stamps to the list.
Location
|
Contents
|
Comment
|
Norwich
|
Machin
undated. Also Robin MA13
Spring
Blooms
|
1
out of order
|
York
|
Machins
in both.
|
|
Barnsley
|
Spring
Blooms
|
|
Camden
High Street
|
Cattle,
Union Flag
|
|
Truro
|
Flags
Birds 3
|
Birds 3 available on 31 March, only just reported.
|
Sutton
(1 m/c)
|
Spring
Flowers
|
|
Croydon
(6 m/c)
|
#1,3,6 Flags no year code; #2 spring blooms;
#4 Machins
no year code; #5 Robins MA13
|
|
Darlington
|
#1
Cattle; #2 had Flags on Saturday
|
|
Trafalgar
Square
|
#1 Spring
Blooms, Rivers
in all other machines
|
|
Aldwych
|
Machins
(no year) in both
|
|
Old
Street
|
Sheep;
Flag (no year); Machin (no year)
|
|
Holborn
|
Machin
(no year); Rivers
8 April update: Lakes
|
|
Baker
Street
|
Rivers
(both)
8 April update: Ponds
|
|
Paddington
|
Flag
(no year)
|
|
Glasgow
(branch?)
|
Pigs,
Cattle
|
|
Harrogate
|
Sheep, Flags
|
|
Leeds
|
Birds 4, Pigs
|
|
Birmingham
Pinfold
St
|
2
out of order; most had Machins
One:
Flowers jammed, second flowers jammed, so replaced with Flag
|
|
Basildon
WHS
|
Machin
no year
|
(no
magnet)
|
Southend-on-Sea
|
1.
Spring Blooms; 2. Machin (no year)
|
(magnet)
|
Golders
Green
|
Machin (no year)
|
(magnet)
'Newvision' on receipts
|
Blackfriars
Bridge
|
Machin
(no year)
|
(no
magnet)
|
Cirencester
(NCR)
|
Machin
– Col Set of 4, no 60g
|
|
Stroud
(NCR)
|
Machin
– Col Set of 4, no 60g
|
|
Bristol
|
2
x Flags; 3 x Spring blooms
|
(machines
labeled with contents)
|
Durham
|
Spring
Flowers; Robins MA12
|
|
Plymouth
|
Machins (no year)
|
All 3 machines
|
Macclesfield
|
Spring Blooms (1st and 2nd)
|
-
|
Manchester (Spring Gardens)
|
Machins in 2 m/c)
|
One machine not working
|
Sydenham (NCR)
|
Machins (1st and 2nd)
|
All working well Tuesday 1 April with upgrade.
|
Grimsby
|
Birds 2
|
Seen on eBay 20 April, with April purchase date (see below)
|
Images from Norwich and supplied by readers.
(Click on each for larger images)
Norwich
BPMA
Old Street, London, Sheep
Trafalgar Square/William IV Street Rivers
Old Street Flags
Durham Silver Street
Glasgow St Vincent Street
Pigs and Cattle
Harrogate Sheep
Leeds Birds 4
Spotted on eBay (not bought on 31 March but in April)
Birds 2 from Grimsby
And lastly, Lakes and Ponds from Paignton (update 15 May)
Several collectors have sent reports of oddities from several different Post and Go machines: I've been waiting for an opportunity to tell you about these, and now that there are several to report, it seems an appropriate time.
