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Monday 13 May 2013

Football Prestige Booklet Panes


Updated


What do you think of these panes  from new Prestige booklet?



Pane 1:   This shows Four 1st Class Regionals, + two 1st Class Red Machins and two 1p Machins.  Only the Machins have M13L + MPIL security codes.

Pane 4:   Mixed Machin Pane consisting of two each of 2p, 5p and 10p Machins, again all with M13L + MPIL security codes. 


A reply to Dave in Durham who wrote

"What do I think of them? I don't know - I haven't seen them because the Royal Mail decided to put the booklet in a stupid plastic bag such that if you want to see the stamps, you have to destroy the bag thereby reducing the value!! Which numpty thought that one up?"





It looks as though the numpty has tried to make the booklet look like a pack of chewing gum & stickers which we useto buy as kids back in the late 50s. Although its a novel idea I agree with with Dave in a way. If you want to see the contents they have to opened. Would a resealable packet been better?
Just in case you have not seen them yet above is a pic of  the unopened article


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I do not find the first pane attractive, with its very odd mix of stamps. At least they could have had a more balanced layout, as they have in the past. For example, the four Machins in the four corners.

Also, when Royal Mail fills a pane with 2p, 5p and 10p Machins, they have clearly given up any pretenses that someone, somewhere might actually buy this booklet for postage. It confirms the gimmicky nature of these panes that are created solely so that collectors like us will buy them.

The presence of security codes on these stamps makes them sadly even more desirable for collectors, as it makes the unique characteristics of these stamps very visible.

I believe that the security codes represent Royal Mail's honest attempt to reduce fraud, although I have my doubts about the recent extension of these features to the very low values. How many forged 1p stamps have you seen on eBay?

However, it's a lucky happenstance that this gives them the ability to create these prestige booklet varieties for collectors. After all, how many of these 2p Machins are going to appear on letters that might require someone to check the security code to find the origin of the stamp?

--Larry

dave in durham said...

What do I think of them? I don't know - I haven't seen them because the Royal Mail decided to put the booklet in a stupid plastic bag such that if you want to see the stamps, you have to destroy the bag thereby reducing the value!! Which numpty thought that one up?

Machin Man said...

Some interesting comments, I agree with most of them.

My opinion,I think its high time that Royal Mail did away with these and other formats now. They are getting rather boring, but they will not do it as it is equivalent to printing ten pound notes for them.

Collectors are the only people who buy them, and we as a entity are falling by the wayside in droves.

The younger generation are not falling for the Dr Who, Star wars, James Bond and many other guises of so called special issues which are only designed to attempt to obtain new younger customers.

If Royal Mail (and others) want to keep their existing customers they must consider the long term effect in reality.

Producing to many stamps just for the sake of it is destroying this great hobby of Kings.

If they carry on this way as the older generation pass away. There will be no philatelists or customers left.

DaveM said...

The first pane should indeed have either the 4 Machins or 4 Country stamps in the corners - simple design principles. It looks so disjointed as it stands.

The second pane is about as inspired as a wet weekend in Wolverhampton. Why not push the boat out and design something relevant to the PSB theme, such as 4 Machins in the main colour of each of the 4 home football teams?

Chris Bett said...

Agreed, however the pane 4 stamps in a pack I opened have a 2.0mm phosphor shift to the right. In another pack I opened there is no phosphor shift. I am now left with one sealed pack.

John Beresford said...

Go on Chris, open the third packet! We collect postage stamps, not chewing gum wrappers.

Brian Morris said...

The packets can be opened carefully at either end and can still look OK. At least you will know what you have and the book can be put back in after. I agree with John we are stamp collectors and sweet wrapper collectors

DaveM said...

Further to my previous comment - there is also a lack of consistency in the 4 Country Pictorials, as only the Northern Ireland stamp is based on the design of the standard sheet pictorials. The other 3 (flags) are taken from designs that have appeared on various minisheets and the like, and are neither the standard pictorials, nor, arguably, definitives.

Ian - Norvic said...

It makes sense to use the national flag stamps; if Northern Ireland had a current flag that would have been used as well.

My contacts at Royal Mail have acknowledged that the layout of the flags pane and the low value of the other pane were a monumental error and that 'lessons have been learned'.

As for the packaging it's exactly the concept Royal Mail had in mind:

"Shining examples
This highly collectible item is made even more
special by the fact that it comes in a stunning,
souvenir foil wrapper, just like the football
stickers of childhood."

Anonymous said...

I bought three: 1) one to pull out the stamps and put in my album (I figured there was a critical mass of Machins/regionals to justify that instead of buying through a dealer), 2) one to take out of the wrapper and put in my PSB collection, and 3) one to keep "pristine" in the wrapper. I guess I'm doing my part from this side of the pond to keep RM in the black :-) Dennis

Anonymous said...

"Lessons have been learned"? After more than 40 years of issuing prestige booklets, only now "lessons have been learned"?

Incredible.

--Larry

machinmaniac said...


I am surprised that nobody has commented that the definitive stamps appear to be litho, in spite of the fact that the inside back cover states that they are photogravure.