Machin Bargain Sales resume now

Observant readers will have noticed that the sales lists which I removed in August have not yet reappeared.

The list of Machin definitives with elliptical perforations (the Gibbons Y-numbers) have not previously been listed at all.

That list is now available on Dropbox.  Quantities available are shown and I will try to update this as soon as possible as stamps are sold.

List 8 - Machin Y-numbers with elliptical peforations. 

List 10 - Smilers Sheets and singles, including Smilers for Kids, and the very rarest normal Smilers. For many of these we have only a single copy.

Other lists, mostly revised versions of previous lists, will be added shortly. 

I'll also be producing a list of Smilers FDCs for sale at attractive prices. 

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Mr Men and Little Miss children's literature stars make a comeback on October's stamp issue

The mystery issue for 20 October 2016 has now been revealed by Royal Mail, and whilst it doesn't have the big impact of 2015's Star Wars issue, it is sure to be popular in certain quarters, and especially among collectors of modern culture and children's literature.

Celebrating the 45th anniversary (yes, really!) of the creation of the Mr Men by Roger Hargreaves, Royal Mail are issuing a set of stamps, and various other products, which will be available for pre-order from 6 October.

From the Royal Mail website 2016 Calendar:
 

Two of the characters appeared in the quickly aborted (but not quickly enough) Smilers for Kids issues in 2008 and 2009 one of which is shown at the top of this post.

No further details are available at this time, but it would not be a surprise if this was a set of 10 x 1st class stamps, with maybe 5 of each gender.   And Royal Mail may well make the stamps showing these long-popular characters available in the Smilers range for personalisation in the run up to Christmas.

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Smilers for Kids - limited success?

When Royal Mail launched the Smilers For Kids range in 2008 dealers and collectors alike were - it's not an overstatement to say - aghast.   Our protests at the production of new stamps packaged for retail sales but significantly over face were heard, but the collectors editions were not the same as those in the retail pack, so 'completists' felt obliged to buy both types.

We knew from the packaging that the option was there to have multiple sets of these, and so it was no surprise when a further set was produced in 2009.

Thankfully the heavy 2010 programme was not further weighed down by a third set this year. 

Royal Mail have now announced that all these will be taken off sale at the end of the year - 29.12.10.   This applies to the retail packs and the generic sheets of 20, stock codes SK001-SK008 and SK011-SK018.

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KEEP SMILING! 10th Anniversary sheet has two unique stamps

Royal Mail's booklets of definitive sized Greetings Stamps started with conventional perforations on the first [SG QA1&2] using old designs (SG 2567-72)

- and the second [QA3] which used 6 new designs (2672-77).  The associated generic Smilers sheets were also with conventional perforations.

The third booklet [QA4] contained 'the most popular of the first 12' but this time with elliptical perforations, bringing 6 collectably new stamps (2819-24).

The two Love booklets [SA1 & SA2] also brought new stamps (2693).

The Smilers for Kids marketing exercise (which thankfully hasn't been repeated in 2010) included the 'New Baby' stamp with elliptical perforations, but as this is only available in the premium-priced sheets it doesn't achieve a separate catalogue listing.   The other three designs in the S4K series (Flower, Hello & Balloons) had all been in QA4 so do have separate listing.

Now, to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Smilers there's a sheet which contains an odd mix in odd quantities -
4 each of the new Birthday Cake and Present stamps,
2 each of the 20gr airmail stamps,
3 Union Flag, and
1 each of the Robin, Love, Thank You, Fireworks, and Balloons stamps.

All these are litho with elliptical perforations, so the Robin, Fireworks and Thank You are new, not having been included in the 'most popular' QA4 booklet.  But these shouldn't be getting a separate catalogue listing either, so make sure you get yours now from this high face value sheet.  If you don't get them now, they will be even more expensive when the preprinted albums are published in May 2011 and these are no longer available.

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Hold on to your hats - the 2009 programme just got MUCH bigger

I think most collectors of GB stamps know that when Royal Mail announce the programme for a year, it is only half (or less!) of the story. There are often retail booklets, Smilers Sheets, and the now infamous 'subjects that didn't make it into the stamp programme' for 2008 which turned out to be Commemorative Sheets similar to Business Smilers Sheets, sold at more than twice face value.

Well 2009 is no exception, and we can now announce some of the additions to the 2009 programme. If you are a 'one of everything collector' I hope you've got a lot of money!

Castles Smilers Sheets. In addition to Northern Ireland on St Patrick's Day (17 March), the sheets for England and Scotland will be issued on their respective saints' days 23 April and 30 November. I assume that means we can expect the Welsh Castles on 1 March 2010, although that's not mentioned officially in the outline programme (see below). The England sheet uses the 1st class flag stamp from the Celebrating England MS, but self-adhesive.

As expected there will be another set of Smilers For Kids, being 4 packs containing 10 stamps each, and 4 generic Smilers Sheets of 20 stamps. Subjects to be announced - see 2008 for possibles.

A new retail book will be issued on 21 May. Containing 4 1st class gold Machins and two stamps from the 1997 Greetings issue (Iris Iatifolia and Tulipa - originally SG 1958 & 1962) now in self-adhesive die cut form. This booklet marks the 50th anniversary of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies and is, as far as we can recall, only the second commemorative booklet, the first being the 2001 booklet which marked the centenary of the death of Queen Victoria.

The 31 March definitives for new postage rates include the 22p in a colour described by Royal Mail as 'stone'. The picture in their Philatelic Bulletin shows it to be dark brown. The others are 17p olive-green, 62p red, and 90p blue. New country stamps will also be issued.

Later in the year three Generic Smilers Sheets, similar to that issued for Beijing Olympic Expo, will be issued on Royal Mail's participation in various International Stamp Exhibitions, in Thailand, Italy and Monaco. There will also be two Commemorative Sheets similar to the Territorial Army sheet issued last year.

One other Smilers Sheet is possible in the summer.

Finally, the devices known universally as Faststamps but which Royal Mail have dubbed Post and Go Stamps (ie those with the Machin head on), are to be issued in packs of 5 values from Royal Mail's Philatelic Bureau in Edinburgh. The branch code on these stamps is said to be that for Bristol, but the value, etc, on the labels will be printed in gravure, by Walsall, who also print the base stamps. Thus these 5, which will be separate, not in the desired se-tenant strips, will be detectably different to those obtained from machines.

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