Machin Calling

I was searching through one of my philatelic accumulation boxes, and I came across this phone card with the Machin image. It was sold by Royal Mail, and the Golden Jubilee text dates it to 2002.

The image above the card is a fold-over instruction card, with yet another Machin image.

As far as I can tell, Royal Mail no longer sells phone cards.

--Larry

Chat About Machins

Unfortunately I have to go back to the UK tomorrow on urgent business and will be away for a couple of weeks, so this blog will not get updated as much as usual. In the meantime would you like meet and chat to other Machin Collectors Worldwide? If the answer is yes then this is your perfect chance.

On the 23rd February 2012 The Internet Philatelic Dealers Association are proud to commemorate its 10th Anniversary. For this anniversary they will be issuing a special Anniversary Cover to all members as part of the celebrations and will be holding a 24 hour anniversary marathon chat on the weekend of 25th February for everyone in the philatelic community. Moderators are in place for every hour of the duration so someone will always be on hand no matter what time of the day.

The chat room can be accessed via the IPDA Web Site at www.ipdaonline.org or via this direct link http://host7.parachat.com/hosted/index.html?site=30739&room=IPDA_Chat_Room This room is open from 10AM on the 25th February - 9AM on the 26th

I do hope that some of you can attend, please mention Machin Mania as to the source of where you got the information about the event when you arrive there. I am hoping I will be there my self for a few hours, so we may get a chance to chat to each other.

A little bit of background.

The IPDA was formed in 2002 by a group of stamp dealers who had a vision that the Internet, and web based services including online e-commerce and online auctions, would fundamentally change the philatelic industry. The vision that the Internet would impact dealers and sellers of stamps, as well as collectors, has turned out to be a reality today.

While there are thousands of sellers across the various Internet channels today and while many are professional dealers, there are also many that are casual sellers and many that are simply individuals with a few stamps to sell and often with limited knowledge of the subject material they are selling.

The IPDA is now a group of dealers and part time sellers who believe there is a need for a global organisation to represent them and to endorse them as accredited sellers to the global Internet buying community. The IPDA believes, and has seen proof, that the reach of the Internet will expand the market place.

The IPDA are always happy to receive new members and welcomes anyone who sells anything philatelic online to fill in the online membership application form this includes sellers who list on eBay and other auction houses.

Membership of the IPDA is only $20.00 per year and offers a philatelic dealer or part time seller the opportunity to be accredited it also offers buyers some security that the dealers or sellers they are buying from are accredited. The services provided to members are always under constant review.

Mishmash Machins

Earlier this month, my local stamp club had show-and-tell night. I was going to use my five minutes to show how the Jeffery Matthews colors improved the look of the Machins.

Unfortunately, I was the last person to speak, and it was getting late. I put the colors aside and briefly showed one other item.

Above is the page I put together to show the Machins before and after the adoption of the Matthews colors.

For those of you not familiar with Machin history, here’s the story in brief. When a new set of low-value Machins was needed for the new decimal currency in 1971, the Post Office worked hard to find a set of colors that was distinguishable. However, they didn’t pay much attention to consistency. As time went on and new denominations were needed, additional colors were introduced without much thought. I call the result of that policy “Mishmash Machins.” A selection of the Machins issued during the 1970s and early 1980s is shown in the top two rows of the page.

In 1983, designer Jeffery Matthews was asked to develop a new range of colors. The first request was for 15 colors, but soon it was obvious that wouldn’t be enough, and he developed 30. These, along with a few others, are still in use. Matthews developed three more colors in the 1990s and a final one, ruby, that was introduced in 2007. The bottom two rows of stamps show many of his colors. The full set of colors that he developed is shown here.

Even with the small illustration above, you can see the difference. Matthews eliminated the light and the gradated (fading from dark to light) backgrounds. All his colors are deep with a lighter portrait of the Queen.

Considering that Matthews also designed the typeface now used on the series, he has done much to insure the survival of Arnold Machin’s superb design.

--Larry

If past statements from HM Queen Elizabeth are anything to go by, she likes the Machin design and wishes for it to stay for the rest of her reign. So there we have it (again) in black and white. The Machin is here to stay.

And it looks as though we still have a few more years of collecting Arnold Machin’s iconic image

In a new statement to mark the start of her diamond jubilee year, the Queen – only the second monarch after her great great grandmother Queen Victoria to celebrate 60 years on the British throne – vows once again to serve her people for the rest of her life.

Her message is interesting because, unlike addresses issued to mark her silver and golden jubilees, the Queen takes the opportunity to rededicate herself to her people, scotching rumours that she might abdicate in favour of her son and heir, Prince Charles

Read more:

Diamond Machin With Short Bars

Lots of people are reporting Diamond Jubilee Machins from booklets of 12 (code T) with short bars top (Deegam SIN code) S16.

It seems that there could be a few of these on the circuit, average prices for a single at the moment seem to be around £1.75 + postage

I dare say this will be listed in The Complete Deegam Machin Handbook when Douglas updates his CD.

Please let us know if you have found any other Jubilee varieties and we will endeavor to report them here.