New Machin on September 9?

On September 9, Queen Elizabeth II will become the longest reigning British monarch, exceeding the reign of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. There have been rumors of a new Machin and/or a miniature sheet. One of our readers tipped me to this advertisement by British First Day Covers. It shows a first-class Machin in a color that doesn't exist today, and it appears from the image that the security overprint does not extend over the Queen's portrait, something that was done with the Diamond Jubilee special Machin in 2012. 

The UK newspaper The Telegraph had an article about this event in March. But before you go there, here's a trivia question. Which monarch had the longest reign before Queen Victoria? You'll find the answer in The Telegraph article here, along with a list of the five longest reigns in British history to date (at the bottom of the article).

Meanwhile, I took a little trip to Wikipedia to learn what "crouch, bind, set" means.

UPDATE: Ian Billings has more here.

--Larry