Worldwide Airmail Machins

This is an eMail from Ivan Carrington

"Hi,
I have a query you may be able to help with What is the correct SG number, 2357a or 2359a. Different books quote different numbers. Or did SG change their number."

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

I have checked up on the numbers you quoted for the Worldwide Postcard stamps and 2357 is one of the fruit and veg special issues (1st class Aubergine) so I can not see that adding an "A" to this would be the correct number.

I feel that the compilers of the catalogue have made a small error here.

SG2358 and 2359 correspond with the overseas booklet stamps which are Europe (blue and roseine) and Worldwide (roseine and new blue). These are self adhesive with 2 phosphor bands, perforated kiss & die cut 14 x 14 with one elliptical hole each side.

These were introduced 27th March 2003 in booklets of 4 and were intended to pay postage on mail up to 40 gr to either Europe or other destinations outside Europe. Single examples were available from philatelic counters as sets of 2.

The Worldwide Postcard stamp you enquire about was issued at a later date also in booklets of 4 (01 April 2004) and takes ( should take on ) the number SG2359A, this may change at a later date if S Gibbons rewrite their catalogues.

The Next Prestige Booklet

Royal Mail have now announced details of the next Prestige Stamp Book. This will coincide with the special issues of British Army Uniforms. Issue date 20th September 2007

The Prestige booklet will be printed by Enschede of Holland. There are 2 definitive panes that may interest the readers of this blog. These are a mixed se-tenant Machin pane with a central label showing a cap badge and a mixed pane of Country definitive stamps with five labels depicting military cap badges.

The Machin pane ( Pane 3:) will consist of 3 values, these are are 2 x 1p, 4 x 46p & 2 x 54p. this pane will be printed in gravure. The Country Pictorial pane (Pane 4:) is of a block of 4 x 1st class country definitive stamps, one from each region. This pane will be printed in litho.

Postman Pat Booklets & Panes:

This posting is a copy of text written and used for part of my eBook A profile on the Millennium Machin. There are many more pages to this book which describe each and every issue of the Millennium Machin in turn and in detail. This eBook is highly recommended, and is not available on the web.

If you would like a copy these are still available. If you wish to obtain it, this is only available via Pay Pal: Price £3.90 click on the link to pay direct. You will receive the book by a return of email in the form of a zip file.

Postman Pat

Another one of my favourites. These retail booklets ( issue date 21/03/2000 ) were also available to the public as an unfolded pane. They are both known with cylinder numbers in the margin or as just a plain label without the cylinder numbers. Official & private first day covers were also produced to commemorate the issue and the Stamp Show.

(Left ) Images of the booklet cover printed by Walsall (front and back). The front shows the wording:

4 First Class Stamps above the Royal Mail Cruciform Logo and a 3 D picture of Postman Pat superimposed in front of a mock up picture of the booklet contents.
The rear of the cover bears a blue vertical bar code , with the number 5 014721 100180

The Horizontal wording reads
See Postman Pat at the Stamp Show 2000 Earls Court , London from 22 - 28 May 2000
For FREE tickets call 0845 072 2000

The booklets contained 4 x Millennium Machins and a label ( below ) the label depicting postman Pat and Jess his black & white cat.

This was folded in the middle, between the label and the stamps. Both plain and cylinder booklets W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 are known.

They have a security ellipse at each side of the stamp, this is set 2 full perforations from the bottom and is three perforations in length.

The ellipse is known to specialists as type 2 (R ). This resembles a shape of a Rugby ball. Type 1 ellipse resembles a sausage or cigar shape.

The stamps have 2 blue phosphor bands which have a afterglow.

The pane has a single extension hole in the margin at the top, centre and bottom of the panes. The direction of print on this issue is inverted, this can be seen as tiny spikes of ink running in the direction of the print. This is displayed when viewed with a microscope or x 10 magnifying glass as tiny spikes of ink running in a down direction. As there are no inter stamp margins, (no borders ) although difficult at first, this is best seen on at the bottom of the chin and the figure 1 in the value tablet.

The Inside cover

To the right of the the inside of the booklet cover there is a vertical bar printed in yellow, the text on the bar reading vertically top to bottom Postman Pat Label Inside, this is printed on this portion of the inner cover. A cut out in the shape of a half crescent is also evident, this is used to keep the booklet closed.

To to left of the yellow bar are lines of more text which read: These stamps are valid whatever the current postage rate and may be used for First Class items up to 60g within the UK. Please note that the First Class rate is no longer valid to Europe. However, these stamps can be used as part payment for postage on any item to any country provided the full cost of postage is paid. Information on postage rates is available from post offices.

The text continues: Post code inquiries www.postcodes.royalmail.co.uk or tel: 08457 111 222
Customer Service Help line tel: 08457 740 740 Text phone 0845 600 0606 (for the deaf or hard of hearing). Product and service information: http://www.royalmail.co.uk/

To the left of the fold the text reads:

This Postman Pat Label is issued to mark the Stamp Show 2000 hosted by Royal Mail. For further information and Free tickets write to: Royal Mail 20 Brandon Street, Edinburgh EH3 5TX.

The text continues: Please note this Postman Pat label is not a stamp and is not valid for postage. POSTMAN PAT (TM)
(C) WA Ltd 1999

To the left of the cover, printed left to right vertically is the text: Printed by Walsall Security Printers Limited, UK.

Great Britain Decimal Stamp Book Study Circle Souvenir Pane

The (GB DSB SC ) issued a special pane, ( shown left ) .

The original unfolded cylinder panes were heat encapsulated in a clear plastic wallet and were issued to members only as a Special Issue Souvenir Sheet.

The rare souvenir pane was issued to celebrate and commemorate a joint meeting between the booklet association and the BDSSC The British Decimal Stamp Study Circle * which was held at the Earls Court, London Exhibition on January 27th 2000.

* Note On January 1st 2006, the two well known specialist circles joined forces and united as one study group. They are now known as the ( MBSC) Modern British Study Circle.

: A Royal Mail First Day Cover

(Above) This is just one cover that was issued to commemorate the London Stamp Show 2000. ( Right ) : This shows a the postmark related to the 1st day cover enlarged.

As I said earlier if you wish to read the rest of this book, this is only available to you via Pay Pal: Price £3.90

Enschede Cylinder Blocks

May I remind readers that I am still selling Enschede Cylinder blocks on eBay. Many have gone but I do still have another 90 - 100 blocks that are for sale.

These are yellow (AY or C) phosphor or blue (AB) phosphor. Blocks are available with 2mm, 4mm or no varnish.

Also, there are three types of gum, white, cream or blue tinted.

I will be listing these cylinder blocks in batches of 20 or so each week, dot and no dot blocks are available. All stamps listed are unmounted mint and are post office fresh. A money back guarantee if applies you are not 100% satisfied.

Grab your self a bargain

The starting price for all blocks is approx ½ MCC catalogue, and postage will be combined for two wins or more. These blocks will continue to be listed until supplies are exhausted.

If you wish to refresh or read the original post explaining these stamps and cylinders here is the direct link to my previous post.

http://machinmania.blogspot.com/2007/05/enschede-printings.html

You can also jump on to a link to the eBay sales page from the page above.

A profile of The Millennium Machin

For those of you that missed the quiz, you also missed out on the free gift which was a copy of my eBook entitled a Profile of the Millennium Machin.

If you would like a copy these are still available. But as the quiz is over if you wish to obtain it, this is only available via Pay Pal: Price £3.90

Commemorative Label Booklets ( 01)

Bank of England 300th Anniversary

It was a surprise to me that the majority of contestants that entered the Machin Quiz were stumped by question number 8 and 8A. This referred to The bank of England Commemorative Pane.

It is obvious from answers that there was either no information on the web or if there was it was difficult to find.

So today I am going to describe this issue in more detail, subsequent issues that followed this in the same series will be described at a later date.


The actual booklets or and panes are now known to Machin collectors as Commemorative Label panes and booklets. They were first issued on July 27th 1994. The booklet and panes were printed by The House of Questa in Lithography on OFNP(C)/PVAl paper. Label panes without the booklet cover were also available.

To look at the covers of this booklet one would not know that they contained a multicoloured commemorative label as it was identical to the standard bar code type booklets that were on sale which contained just 4 x 1st class Machins, they also had the same retail Bar code (1001800 ) see below.

The contents of this new booklet were still 4 x 1st-class flame NVIs and had the multicoloured commemorative label attached to the stamps at the left, this was attached to the booklet cover by a selvedge.

Plain and cylinder booklets / panes are known. Cylinder numbers were printed in the selvedge Q1 Q1 Q1 Q1 Q1 Q1 Q1 pQ1. These represent a number for every plate used to print the labels and the stamps.

The panes were perforated to the left where they joined the selvedge, the selvedge was ellipsed (as were the stamps). The ellipses were of the Rugby ball type. There were no perforations at the top or bottom of the panes. The labels were roughly the same size as 6 x definitives, so the actual panes gave the dimensions of a pane of 10 stamps.

Each stamp had 2 x 4 mm A - or C (yellow) Phosphor bands, Perforation was 14¾ x 14(ER). It should be known that error booklets and panes exist with missing phosphor.


A further issue was released in May 1995, this commemorated the birth centenary of R.J Mitchell.

For those who if you do not know the name Mitchell was the inventor of the racing sea plane that was developed into the famous WW2 fighter plane known as the Spitfire.

But that's another story for another time, any offers? R J Mitchell was also commemorated on another Machin booklet, also the Spitfire can be found on certain machin counter booklets which depict aircraft. Dont you just love Machins? :-)

The second part of the question asked what differed from the second issue compared to the first? This was actually not a trick question, as there were two main differences and either one was acceptable. I am pleased to say the majority who sent in answers picked up on one or the other and got it right.

One:
The second pane was on the right of the stamps, still joined to the booklet by a selvedge at the left of the pane. The reason for the change in format was due to pressure from collectors, there were those who complained that due to the format of the label at the left of the Bank of England pane, a crease occurred across the centre of label where the booklet folded. And royal Mail know by now, we dont like creases do we? :-)

Two:
It ( the second booklet & pane) was also printed by a different Printer, this being Walsall Security Print .

I will describe another commemorative booklet and pane in my next post.

Winners Machin Quiz

Will the prize winners please email me their postal address ?

I will then send out your prizes. The results are correct (or near) correct answers from possible 36 )

WINNER: 1st prize
(31) Larry Rosenblum:

I tossed a coin to determine the runner up

2nd PLACE: (heads) 2nd prize
(29) Andrew (Drew) aka Stampstudy

JOINT 2nd: (tails) (29) John Schorn

(27) Ian Billings
(25) Terry Wilson
(23) James whitford-Stark
(23) PDC (no name given)
(21) DBJ (no name given)
(20) Merriot Sebastion
(20) Mike Dainty
(20 K Brown
(19) Roger Spruce

Machin Quiz (Answers )

Well I did warn you that these questions would not be easy, actually some were easier than others, and I added a few teasers to get the grey matter working in overdrive. Well whats a quiz for? :-)

Well done to ALL that entered, everyone did very well. The winners and results will be announced here tomorrow. I just love keeping people waiting :-)

I hope that you have enjoyed surfing the net looking for answers, to those that you were uncertain of or found things difficult, at the same time, I hope that you have learned something (even if only a little) about the Machin Definitive.

ANSWERS

1/What is the size (in inches) of the famous Arnold Machin Plaster cast effigy of HM ?

1A/Where is the original plaster cast of the Machin effigy kept?

1B/ (Bonus question 2 points) How much in (£s) pounds sterling was Machin paid for his commission for designing and creating the effigy? (To the nearest £50)

For security and conservation reasons, the bust, measuring 18in by 16in, is normally kept in the vaults of the British Postal Museum and Archive (BPMA) in London.

Machin, was paid a flat fee of £4,500 for his work., he surrendered all his rights to the design.

2/Which Denomination was changed from red to the colour of eggshell blue?

2A/Why was the above colour change needed?

2B/ (bonus question 2 points) Other than the colour change there was another major difference to the design of this stamp , what was this?

2C/How many colours were used (Pre decimal & decimal) before Jeffery Mathews designed his new palatte in 1988?

The pre decimal 8d Machin had its colour changed from ( vermillion) red, the same time as the 4d sepia was changed to vermillion.

The change was needed as 4d sepia was to dark and did not show the postal cancellations. The head on the 8d vermilion stamp was that of head A ( A flat base) : The Eggshell blue stamp has a rounder base (Head B:)

The initial palette of 14 colours was chosen after extensive testing. While most were solid colours, the 1/6d and 1/9d used different colours for effigy and denomination, while the 10d and 1/- had backgrounds that varied from darker on the left side to lighter on the right.

3/ What does PPP stand for in Machin terminology?

Pre Printed Phosphor. PPP: This was a short lived experiment with a pre printed phosphor coating applied to the paper. The phosphor was printed directly, then the ink was additionally applied during the printing process. The stamps having a matt looking appearance. Only three values were issued, the 1p, 2p, and 10p

3A What does the terminology EEH stand for?

On certain cylinder blocks an Extra Extension Hole (EEH) can be found in the margins, these were introduced as a reference position by printers to locate broken or bent pins

4/In what year were Machin stamps first issued with a discount star overprint on the gum?

4A/What were the values of the (first two) starred gum Machin stamps?

In 1982 Christmas booklets were sold at a discount, these had a star overprinted on the gum. The values were 12½p and 15½p

5/What was the value of the first Machin stamp with A (or C phosphor) with an phosphor afterglow?

5A/Which company printed the this first Machin stamp(above) with a phosphor afterglow?

Sorry if these questions confused you, they were not put very well, however, Enschede printed a 38p 2B (Roseine) Machin with C phosphor compound with an afterglow. The terminology was changed to that of (A2) phosphor at a later date, this after glow, was originally known as novaglow phosphor (date of issue 29/10/94)

6/Most Machins are perforated 13½ x 14, 15 x 14 or 14 x 14. Which issue was perforated 12 x 12?

Recess High values (pre decimal and decimal)

6A/Which printing company perforated certain stamps 13 x 13 in error?

During November of 1990 a perforation error occurred on certain 1st class booklet Panes containing None Value Indicated stamps ( NVI ) printed by Walsall Security Printers the panes of 4 were ACP/ PVA gum. The perforation on these booklet panes was found to be 13 x 13 ( in error ) instead of 14 x 14 .

7/Who designed the Millennium Machin stamps?

7A/Name 3 different printers of the above Millennium Machin stamps?

The design of the Millennium Machin was adapted by the Chase design Group, notably the designer was Richard Scholey. De La Rue, Walsall & Questa All Printined The Millennum Machin. These can be distinguished by minor differences in the design

8/ Which company printed the first commemorative label panes of 4 x 1st class?

8A What did the Commemoration of the above first pane represent?

8B/ Several Commemorative panes followed in the footsteps of the above, other than the themes of the commemoration labels what was the main difference to the make up of the second issue compared to the first pane?

Questa Printed the first Commemorative label in 1994 depicting The 300 Anniversary of the Bank of England. The label was on the left of the stamps.The format changed on subsequent commemorative booklets after this. The make up of the pane reversed as to print the label to right of the stamps.

9/ With the issue of the new Ruby £1 how many basic (different) Machins are there to collect. (to the nearest 5)

With the issue of the £1 Ruby, according to the publication "A Time Line" there are now approx 401 basic Machins to collect

10/Four new Machin sheet stamps were printed in 1993 on Optical Free Phosphor Paper name three of the 4 values, what were the denominations of these ?

10 A Bonus Question (2 points) Other than the denominations above and EXCLUDING the Readers Digest strip and Mathews Stampshow 2000 Miniature sheet, name one other Machin printed with OFPP

26/10/93 25p salmon pink , ex cylinder 5: 01/11/93 35p deep yellow ex vert coil: 01/11/93 41p stone ex vertical coil. The 25p was also issued in a vertical coil on the same dates.

1st class Orange red 6/04/93 (Harrison) will also be accepted for question 10. This
fourth value was issued in booklets of 4 and 10, date 6/04/93.

The Millennium Machin 1st class was ALSO printed on this type of paper 23/5/2000. This can be found on HM stamps miniature sheet issued to mark the Stampshow 2000, it is said that this sheet miniature sheet (OFPP) is the residue left over from the printing of Mathews Miniature sheet.

NB: 25p, 35p or 41p or 1st class orange were accepted for question 10A . Where one of these answers were not given to question 10 provided 3 of the 4 stamps were named correctly in Q 10 .

11/In what year was the £1 value on high values changed from the script type to that of a more modern block type?

It was 6th Dec 1972, when the value was changed from a script fount to that of Eric Gills Perpetua typeface, this brought the fount into line with all other current Machins

11A Who was employed by Royal Mail (name of printers) to who printed the above Machin £1 stamps?

Large Recess high value printings by Bradbury & Wilkinson were perforated 12 x 12. These were the first Machin high values in 1969, these were also the recess printed pre decimal Machin stamps. The set consisted of 4 values , 2/6d , 5/- , 10/- , and £1. None of the stamps had phosphor bands. The decimal series followed in 1970.

11B/ Two basic types of paper are known for the printings of the £1 stamps above with Block script, what are they?

The two types of paper are known as Post Office Paper (POP ) and Contractors Paper. (CP) Contractor paper was bought in as a stop gap due to shortages of the the original.

12/How many single stamps did the second box dispenser of self adhesive coil stamps contain?

12A What was the difference between the Format of stamps from the first dispenser Box and the second?.

12B Which company printed the stamps in questions 12 and 12B?

The boxes: (2ND B OX) contained 200 individual stamps. The first dispenser 18/03/97 contained 100 hori

zontal self adhesives horizontal format , this changed to that of second 200 stamps in vertical format on 06/04/98. Enschede Printed both formats , These were 1st calss & second class NVI,s and were computer engraved

13/ Deegam is the acronym of D.G.A M. What do these initials stand for?

The full name is that of Douglas George Albert Myall, I will accept Douglas G A Myall as an answer. Well done to those who gave all Chritian names, (really I should award a bonus point for all Chritian names , but its a bit late to change the rules for this now)

14/4 New PiP Machin stamps were introduced this year 2007, what does PiP stand for?

Pricing in Proportion

15/ (just for fun this one) The bonus point (2 points) was given Andrew Allison for the best answer to the question. How much longer will the Machin design rein?

Andrews answer will be will reproduced at the end of this posting, first the correct answer is:

In the mid-Eighties, the Queen came under pressure to replace the Machin head with a modern design. After seeing five new designs, she relayed the message to the Royal Mail that she did not favour change just for the sake of it. Indeed, the Queen let it be known through her private office that she was "very content with the Machin effigy".

The real answer is "no one knows". It is understood that officially she has decided to keep the same Machin design on Royal Mail stamps for the rest of her reign.

ANDREWS ANSWER & BONUS POINT:

"Till the old duck says nighty night, In her stately bed, on this day oh what a fright a stamp with a new head. But truth be told This beloved design will never fold. All machins both yours and mine."

Machin Quiz (Follow Up)

All who replied with answers (TO DATE) have received a free gift. My eBook

A profile on the Millennium Machin

This gift was posted in an email consisting of a zip file. Please let me know that you have managed to save the files, open them and read them with out problems. Tomorrow or Monday I will post the results of how you fared in the quiz, along with the answers / I will also name the winner and runner up.

The Quiz is over if you wish to obtain a copy of the Millennium eBook, this is available via Pay Pal: Price £3.90

Another Favourite & A Machin Quiz

"Sorry Roy, I'm a bit late. I guess I didn't think it would end so soon.

Anyway, for what it's worth, my favourite is the Matthews Colour Palette Miniature Sheet from Stamp Show 2000. I also liked the large Machin White embossed Pane, delicous!!!

The worst is the very disappointing 3 Kings Miniature Sheet".

London Bus:
A late bus this time (still, unlike the real thing, at least I turned up)


The Kings miniature sheet

This carries a £3.00 Machin Definitive and reproductions of 1d stamps (one penny ) definitives issued during the reigns of the three monarchs.

The sheet was designed by Katja Thielan of Together Design and printed by De La Rue in gravure. It measures 127 mm x 73 mm.

The £3 stamps has two phosphor bars, although to specialists this is a different variety , it is basically, except for shade and the colour of the phosphor, the same as the high value stamp available in sheets of 200.

Machin Quiz


Indications are that A Machin Quiz may be welcome by collectors. Would you be interested if I devised such a quiz with a nice prize for the winner (drawn from a hat if more than one winner) and a second prize for the runner up?

If so just say yay or nay in answer to this thread.

I will warn you though, If I pick out the questions it will not be easy :-)

Roy

Machin News : Another New Stamp

Printings of the Machin Special issue Cartor generic sheet were issued late due to problems at the printers. Royal Mail seemed un perturbed by the fact. They arrived to special account holders 8 days late (12 June) so first day cover producers were unable service generic products.

Note: They have up to early July to send these out to customers.

Others (miniature sheets and prestige booklets) made their respective deadlines so I guess this is why Royal Mail did not rush the order.

5th June 07

Ian Billings (posted to Virtual Stamp Club)

" RM told Post Office Branches that they won't, after all, get them on Tuesday 12th, and the Trade Manager has told me that (now) we ought to get them by the end of this week. The Trade will still get them before the POs. The question has been asked, of the policy makers, as to whether it is correct for the stamp sheet which is not available on sale until probably 2 weeks after the scheduled date of sale, to be postmarked with the latter.

The Machin 40th Anniversary commemorative stamps were issued on 5th June. The fact that this part of it was not then available does not alter that, and Royal Mail does not regard this as a separate element: the stamp contained in the Smilers Sheet WAS issued on 5th June as part of the miniature sheet. It therefore doesn't matter to them that it was late, there are no official FDCs produced with the Smilers stamps on, only the MS and one pane from the PSB."

12th June 07

"The trade have received theirs but hey are not at PO counters yet, and no one knows when they will arrive.

We also do not know which printer was involved in the end"

( There were reports of the reprint Glorious England Sheet) saying "It was suspected that it was printed at Walsall".

One fact that has has been noted



The Machin special issue from the Generic Sheet is not embossed (as it should be) so even if you do not collect gravure / litho differences this will definitely take a spot in the next Gibbons, and all basic catalogues. It is a completely different stamp.

Buying the complete sheet of 20 is an expensive way of adding a single to stamp to a collection. So if you need a mint copy look for someone breaking up a sheet.

Ian Billings ( Norvic Philatelics) has indicated he will be doing this, I guess so will others who sell on eBay.

A Tribute to Czeslaw Slania

After the last posting I think it is only fitting to mention Czeslaw Slania, his name deserves to on a par with Arnold Machin as one of the greatest artists of all time.

Born: October, 1921, in Silesa, Czeladz, Poland

Died: March 17, 2005. Aged 83 in Cracow, Poland.

As a youngster Slanias hobby was that of making sketches, he liked to make miniatures. Showing a talent from early days often amusing friends and family by sketching banknotes where he replaced the faces with that of girlfriends’ faces.

It was after the second world war at the age of 24 that Czeslaw Slania knuckled down and learned his true trade of fine engraving. Joining the Cracow School of Fine Arts.

After just six years (1951) he undertook his first commission to make his mark in the world of stamp design, engraving a stamp for the Polish Government Printing Works.

He moved to Sweden in 1959, and became a full time employee of The Swedish Postal Service as an engraver.

He was appointed as Royal Court Engraver in Sweden, Denmark and Monaco, and won numerous awards for both the beauty, speed and proliferation of his engravings.

A quote from the Royal Mail in 1999

"Czeslaw Slania has earned himself a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most prominent and prolific stamp engraver."

He is the inheritor of a centuries-old skill that has been practiced by some of the greatest artists, including Rubens, Rembrandt and Dürer. His dexterity and attention to detail is quite remarkable; he has the ability to engrave at an astonishing 10 lines per millimeter. Slania's versatility is evident in the broad range of subject matter he happily tackles, from royal portraits and flora and fauna to film stars."

Press release from Sweden Post:

"The Royal Court Engraver of Sweden Czeslaw Slania died the night of Thursday, March 17 after a long period of illness. Czeslaw Slania was 83 years old. Czeslaw Slania was born in Poland on October 22, 1921.

A great artist has passed away. His over one thousand stamps are admired and treasured around the world. We at Sweden Post are grateful to have been part of his work,’ says Britt-Inger Hahne, Managing Director Posten AB, Sweden Post Stamps."

Czeslaw Slania was buried in March, 2005 in the Rakowicki Cemetery in Cracow, Poland.

Your Favourite machins

Many thanks to all that replied to the questionnaire. Your answers were varied, which did not surprised me, but one or two of you did pick out certain stamps that I guessed may be among the top 5. We also have suggestions of the ugliest or least favourite.

From various groups and emails here are the results. If I have misquoted or made a mistake please let me know.

Ian Billings (Norvic Philatelics)

For me it has to be 1st class large format, embossed self-adhesive in grey & white, printed by Walsall.

My comments

1st class in larger format printed in intaglio by Enschede of Holland, engraved by Czeslaw Slania is surly a great stamp. The detail on this printing makes this by far one of the best Machins ever.

The 1st class large format, printed in Letterpress by Harrison & Sons from the same booklet, is the ugliest Machin, but it was produced like this just to show just what leaps and bounds printers have made over the years.

James Conway email

"£1 large format Intaglio by Enschede. "

Someone in the same frame of mind as myself, so it deserves a picture.


----------------------------------------





Doug Moss


"I like the double-headed 150th anniversary Machins".




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Charlie, Lecanto, Florida

"My favorite is the newest color variety that I acquire. I guess I am too fickle to become enamoured with one particular stamp".

----------------------------------------


Adrian

"My favourite one is (I think) the £1 black (pre-decimal version with elaborate pound sign). Engraving is so much nicer than Slania's work of the 1990s.






More favourites
(I never can choose!): The Enschedé printings of the 1990s, such a beautiful definition of the head. And the first ATN printings of De La Rue, I love the "mottled" colours of those!

Larry Rosenblum (GB Machins)

"My favorite is actually two of them, the orange and black ones, the pre decimal 1/9 and the first decimal 9p. A close second is the engraved 10p, the color usually called cerise".

Thanks Larry, sorry I do not have a pic of the 9p.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jamerson
"Never really thought about having favourites before, but thinking about it.

Favourite: Large, High Value 10/- blue from 1969. Least favourite: 29p grey from 1993"

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Another report

"I was thinking about this the other day and remember when I was back home in south Africa and saw my first GB stamps and by far my favourite had to be the 9p orange and black from 71,, not sure why that’s my choice, ive recently started my gb collection and once ive finished my GB commems ill move onto the machins maybe ill change my view then ..i do have one machin which is my favourite in my collection not for its image but for its post mark - I found it in a kiloware packet,,, It has a perfect circular PM with the words "worlds greatest hobby" in the circle - it has been struck right in the center of the stamp".

Unanimous choice of the ugliest Machin with 3 votes.

Black 1st class Machin in letterpress.

Well there we have it, it seems as though the engraved Machins come out as clear winners. I have not shown any of the small high values, but surely Czeslaw Slania was truely a master at his craft.

Once again thanks to those who took out time to respond.

What about a Machin Quiz? Send in your questions by email (and the answers) to gbmachins@lineone.net If we get enough I will publish it and offer a prize for the winner.

Free Stamps From Royal Mail

Ian Billings (Norvic Philatelics) reports on the Delphi Forum The Virtual Stamp Club.


A nice find for one lucky collector. An Anniversary Prestige Stamp book with 5 panes of stamps instead of 4!

"The lucky collector received two books from Royal Mail's Philatelic Bureau, and one book had 2 sheets of pane 3, the se-tenant Arnold Machin and 4d brown Machin commemorative stamps.

A second report (also from Ian)

"A dealer has reported a different error on the same book.
In a sealed pack of 10 books from the Bureau, one book had Pane 2 duplicated. This is the pane with 2 x £1 stamps in, so he gets £2 extra value!"

Thanks Ian

"Sounds like sloppy work from De La Rue Security Print, and we should expect more reports."

Scotts Article on the Machin

Collectors of Machins are worldwide, below is a post reproduced from

The SoGB news Group

"The July issue of Scott's Stamps arrived with a very neat article about this long lived series.

It is not filled with technical information so the average collector looking for an interesting field should not be put off. The color photos are super. The author is James Mackay who is no doubt well known to most of the regular posters.

Any serious collector who is looking for an explanation as to what causes this series to be so popular might enjoy the article".

Charlie: Lecanto, Florida, USA

Charlie is going to send me a copy of this, when (if) it arrives I will write a short article on the contents.

Thanks Charles

What is your Favourite Machin?

"What is your favourite Machin"? I have been asked the question many times.

Can readers respond to this question and let me know what they consider to be their all time favourite? I will post the results from this thread (along with images) here on this blog in due course.

IE: This can be a single stamp, coil, pane, block or miniature sheet

I can confirm I have many favourites, I will not go into detail and post them all but my all time one off special favourite is this one.

Pane DP303

The Special by Design Prestige Booklet printed in gravure by Walsall Security Printers produced a striking pane of 8 x Millennium Machins surrounding a centre label of the Post Office crest.

Issued on 05th February 2000. I can confirm that this pane produced several new single stamps which are sought after by specialists.
Inset bands left, inset bands right and short bands both top and bottom have been discovered.

Another interesting fact came to light when this pane was studied by specialists in detail.
Stamps on this pane are perforated to a different size than other Millennium stamps issued by Walsall. The perforations measure 14 x 14 compared to 15 x 14 on other issues.

Happy Birthday

Today we celebrate the 40th birthday of the first Machin definitive 1967 - 2007

On behalf of Machin Nuts everywhere, may you have many more happy returns.

At this time most of the official products from Royal Mail have already been dealt with, so I am looking for something different to show you.

One anniversary cover I have come across made me chuckle . This is a mock cartoon of Arnold Machin from Phil Stamp Covers. The illustration depicts Machin biting his nails and his apprentice ( Phil Stamp ) putting the final touches to a sculpture of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

Phil Stamp is shown hitting the sculpture with a mallet and chisel, in the processs breaking the head from the body. Now we know how the famous head came about!

The cover bears a 40th anniversary miniature sheet with a Stoke on Trent hand stamp (Machins Birthplace) and is one of a limited edition of 100 numbered copies.

For more Phil Stamp covers visit the web site http://www.philstampcovers.co.uk/

Below The cover of the 40th Anniversary Prestige Stamp Book

Generic Versus Smilers

Before I start I have to admit I have never been an admirer of "Generic Smilers Sheets", not that some of the stamps are ugly or anything like that. I am a firm believer that the Royal Mail are just taking collectors for a ride with these products.

In fact if it were not for the 40th anniversary of the Machin and the proposed Generic Sheet they would not get a mention on this Blog.


What is the difference?


Generic Sheets are designed and issued along with the stamp program by Royal Mail to compliment every set of stamps and miniature sheet. Mentioned above, the latest to be issued comes out this week (6th June) it is the 40th anniversary of the Machin.

Right on its tail ( soon to follow) is The Harry Potter Generic Sheet. Several others were issued previously and more are planned for the rest of this year (at least one per month).

I am not saying to collectors do not buy these products (each to his own) but, if we as a body of collectors and customers complained more, perhaps Royal Mail would just issue the odd one or two a year.

Below is the Machin Anniversary Generic Sheet.

Personal and Business Smilers Sheets

These are basically the same product as above, it is just that the name has changed. Certain businesses can promote their companies with a logo or message on the attached label. Again this is just another method of extracting more cash from the collector via the back door.

Businesses, use them to design more and more (overpriced) limited edition first day covers.

Some labels even have reproductions (or facsimiles) of stamps that were issued in times past. These all look very nice, but I feel they are ruining the hobby to an extent.

Royal Mail says"Customised Sheets give businesses the freedom to create a unique stamp product, branded with your very own choice of label and background designs.

Businesses can choose from a wide range of stamp designs to use on the sheets adding your logo, sales message or image, to add valuable impact to a promotional event or to maintain your company’s day to day profile.

Special limited edition sequentially-numbered sheets are also available to mark special events or achievements".

Personal Smilers are also designed for Joe public, these are perhaps the only ones I may consider buying, If I wanted to send a personal photograph attached to a stamp.

These sheets them selves are not cheap for businesses or Joe Public to order, so with these inflated prices there is only one winner. Royal Mail. Collectors buy the covers from the dealer, so he/she ( the dealer) has a return on their investment, it is collector again that ends up with empty pockets.

Another new gimmick to attract Businesses is the new Generic Coil: Known as Customised stamp rolls

The Royal Mail website informs customers" Customised Stamp Rolls are the smart way to add to your businesses promotional and direct mail campaigns – providing an instant hit and lasting awareness in the marketplace.


With Customised Stamp Rolls the campaign starts the minute the mailing lands on the doormat thanks to the eye-catching combination of self-adhesive stamps and personalised labels.

Each label can feature a company’s logo or personalised message sitting alongside a 1st Class pictorial definitive stamp. Specially developed for bulk mailings the stamps and labels are provided on rolls of approximately 700 stamps".

I have been informed this information is incorrect, the rolls are in 7000 units, this has not been confirmed by Royal Mail at this time.

Francis Machin Obituary

Francis Machin 1949 - 2007

I am sorry to hear a report of the sudden death in April of Francis Machin. Francis is the architect and son of Arnold Machin. He was 57.

Machin had been working with Royal Mail on a number of projects connected with the 40th anniversary of the Machin but suffered a sudden heart attack whilst on holiday in France.

Francis had been consulted on the 40th anniversary of the Machin by Royal Mail and had written the text for Presentation Pack. He also contributed his own sculpture of his father for a Medal Cover.

Just days before his death, Machin was interviewed for Royal Mail’s website, where he spoke about the anniversary and his enthusiasm for the Machin Arts Foundation, something his father had been unable to establish before his death in 1999.

The Foundation, an initiative providing studios for students studying figurative art, has been set up close to the family estate of Garmelow Manor in Staffordshire. Machin worked with many architectural organisations dedicated to the preservation of alternative uses of historic buildings including SAVE, for whom he co-wrote the book Bright Future: Re-use of Industrial Buildings in 1990.

Francis had seen a number of products evolve including the anniversary miniature sheet itself, for which he provided the photograph of his father used on one of the 1st Class stamps.

The photograph selected for the stamp is actually a passport picture – did that surprise him?

“A little I suppose, though in many ways it’s quite fitting, it’s a modest, unassuming portrait which reflects my father’s character very well.”

Francis also picked out the Generic Sheet, which features all of the original pre-decimal Machin definitives issued between June 1967 and March 1969, on labels next to 20 First Class Machin stamps.

“It’s a very striking product which reminds people of the huge range of stamps the design appeared – and continues to appear - on, I imagine it will be very popular with collectors.”

He also worked with the Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust, a group of enthusiasts concerned with the imminent demolition of early 18th century terraced houses in Spitalfields, east London, and owned The Conservatory, a remarkable roof top venue in Battersea, south London.Mr Machin, who was divorced, is survived by his three children, Alice, Henry and Louis.