Hints & Tips - Miscut booklets

Its no secret that Machin booklets are a passion of mine, I find them of great interest to collect as they are a whole new Machin medium in their own right.

I promised a write up on miscuts, sorry you have had to wait, but I have been busy of late with other projects and packing for my move.

Better late than never so here we go with a short description on what to look for.

People often confuse the word "miscut" with a miscut stamp or booklet cover, when in fact the term refers to the actual contents of a booklet. Ie: where the pane has been miscut.

Miscuts booklets should be removed by the quality control staff at the printers, but as with all errors some are bound to escape their attention and do slip the net. These find their way into the philatelic market and are highly sought after by collectors of booklets and panes, some are quite scarce and hold premium catalogue prices. They also make a nice display when housed and written up with the normal cut panes.

Above a miscut booklet showing the cut line in the centre of the pane

Below a normal cut booklet with lines at top and bottom

Most miscuts are easy to spot if you know what to look for, normal cut booklets have a guillotine line on both edges of the pane ( known as the cut lines). Most miscuts on the other hand show the cut line in the centre of the pane.

Miscuts are also known where they alter the se-tenant combination of stamps. These carry a bigger premium over and above the norm and command very high prices, some are in the £100s.

Do you have a collection of booklets tucked away? If so I suggest you dig them out and get checking the contents, its quite possible you have something of value that was thought to be a run of the mill item.

Good luck and keep em peeled.

More on Matthews

When I wrote about Jeffery Matthews recently, I made the comment that someone could write a book on his fantastic career and his contribution to British Stamp design.

Jeffery has never been shy to give his autograph to collectors, and many collectable Machin items bear it, in fact any fees obtained by doing so are donated straight to charity.

Jeffery has also been rewarded for his work receiving the MBE (Member British Empire) amongst other awards.

Whilst surfing the net I came across a nice piece giving an account where Jeffery actually gave an interview to Larry Rosenblum and David Alderfer during The Stamp Show London in 2000.

I am sure you will find it most interesting, read the whole account for your self, here is the link.

http://www.gbstamps.com/gbcc/gbcc_matthews_intvw1.html

Machins Made Early

On my previous post there was some confusion as to the second cover being available now. I have left a comment to clear up the confusion.

However, I have seen Royal Mail issues sold early in the past, but never 3 weeks in advance.

Do you want to make (create) an early pre release cover for the Machin 40th anniversary? If so check out the link below.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Unissued-Machin-pack-number-398_W0QQitemZ120120262656QQihZ002QQcategoryZ65143QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
By the looks of the picture the seller has a pile 5 inches high.

Birmingham Postmarks "You Cant Lick Em"

Today I am going to write about two first day covers, which may be of interest to you. Well I find them of interest as they both not only have Birmingham postmarks, but Birmingham postmarks with a difference.

The city of Birmingham, in the West Midlands, UK ( if you did not know ) is my place of birth and the city where I live at this time.

The first is a double cover that commemorates the first self adhesive postage stamps of Sierra Leone and the issue of the first trial self adhesive Machin to Britain on 19th October 1993.

Printed by Joh Enschede (gravure) in landscape format the stamps had 2 yellow phosphor bands printed on OFNP paper.

These were issued in booklets of 20, originally only sold in the Tyne Tees test area, but they were eventually made available to all collectors via Philatelic counters. These stamps were withdrawn after the trial, as they were found to be difficult to remove from the backing paper and the ink used to cancel them tended to be to easy to remove from the shiney surface.

Here is a just a bit of trivia for you. Did you know self adhesives were also issued originally by Sierra Leone as a trial to see if they could combat stamps sticking together due to the humidity?

Getting back on track:

The novel cancel on this cover is in the design of a protruding tongue with a postmark which has the appropriate name of LICKEY END.

Lickey End is a small village, part of a local national trust beauty spot( the Lickey Hills) on the edge of Birmingham.

This village is only a mile from my house in Rubery, Rednal. If you remember I wrote a small piece about the Lickey Hills last year in conjunction with Michael Dodds visit from Australia. Below a blow up of the postmark. ( sorry its a bit blurred )

The second cover (shown below) is to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Machin due for release in June this year. This has the cancellation of MACHIN ROAD, Erdington, Birmingham.

I do not know if the name of this road bears any relation to Arnold? But it Is possible, after all we have trains and pubs named after him :-)

This is also interesting to me as the cachet portrays Machin booklets, which is one of my Machin passions and specialities.

Another postmark which I wrote about last year was the Kings Head, a public house in Kings Heath, Birmingham.

This postmark was used locally to commemorate the Three Kings miniature sheet issued 31st August 2006. If you wish to refresh or take a look at the page here is a direct link. http://www.gbmachins.co.uk/html/stamps_on_stamps.html

Stamp Addicts

Now this is an unusual Machin that is a mock-up from (of) an original stamp.

Created by The stamp Addicts, for April Fool's Day last month and which is being sold to provide funds for the Scarborough Philatelic Society in the UK. A nice addition to compliment a Machin or Cinderella collection.

Stamp Addicts which is a yahoo club where members help other members in enjoying philately. The club was founded in November of 2000, mainly as a portal to distribute free stamps to people around the world.

Since its humble beginning , it has now turned into a full fledged, cost free club, where members get to share experiences, stories, finds, ideas, and stamps in a relaxed and honest atmosphere.

The club has several moderators and many members. New pages are being developed to enhance the club's activities, on an ongoing basis.

To visit or join the club just click here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stampaddicts/