Machin Mania

Another New Machin

2012-01-27T04:10:00.003-12:00

With all the hype and expectancy of new codes etc with the issue of the Jubilee Machins no one gave a thought to a new 2012 code on the second class Machin definitive stamps. That is except for one man.

Ian billings has posted a report on his blog. "The discovery 2nd class Machin with a code M12L - MTIL".

I am now keeping my eyes open for these and for new small and Large 2nd class 2012 Business sheet versions.

Thanks go to Ian, Richard P and JB.

Answers to Machin Quiz

2012-01-24T00:08:00.008-12:00

I am afraid we did not have a brilliant turn out, but I guess eight contestants is better than seven:-) Well done to everyone and thank you for taking part. Here are the answers:

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

1. 16p & 50p ("British Design Classics" Machin pane)
2. Newton
3. 1987
4. Stamp Show 2000 Miniature Sheet

5. Breaking Barriers Prestige Booklet
6. 480
7. 1/- mixed value coil
8. Garmelow Manor, Eccleshall
9. Port Vale ( I will also accept Stoke City)
10. Wormwood Scrubs
11. 2009
12. On the back cover of 10p London 1980 books

13. Direction Of Print
14. Modern British Philatelic Circle
15. Jeffrey Matthews
16. 18 in total (4p and 20p values) + 16 Scottish Regionals.
17. 1970 (decimal high values)
18. 20p regional (Wales) 19. A in both cases. ROYBL MBIL
20. Douglas GA Myall

And we have a winner, congratulations go to Robert Bostock who had a total of 20 points. Robert please email me your postal Address and I will forward your prize to you.

Machin News January 2012

2012-01-17T06:41:00.005-12:00

Retail definitive book to be released on 6 February printed by Walsall 12 x 1st-class definitives will have a security code incorporated into the background print. I am reliably informed this will be at the rear of the queens head ie: DIAMTND

The definitive Diamond Jubilee Miniature sheet has the code DIAMMND. Stamps on this sheet-let have no phosphor bands, it seems the Royal Mail have reverted back to (AOP) All Over Phosphor for this issue.

Business sheet Walsall 100 x 1st-class Business sheet is expected to have the code DIAMBND.

Codes for forthcoming large definitves issues are not yet known. These are to be released on 27th March and consist of Counter sheet Walsall 1st-class Large. As these are to be in counter sheets no code is expected for this issue.

Business sheet (Walsall ) 50 x 1st-class Large, some sort of code is expected on stamps from this and the Retail book (Walsall) 4 x 1st-class Large.

This one will be interesting, to be issued on 31st May a Retail definitive booklet to be printed by Walsall. It will contain 4 x 1st-class Jubilee definitives + 2 x 1st-class Diamond Jubilee Commemoratives . It is expected to have a C code incorporated for customised, the code DIAMCND perhaps?

No news of the forthcoming April rate increase as yet, but you can be sure that there will definitaly be one in the pipe line and some new Machins + Regionals to boot.

The stamp quiz is well on the way, to date we have seven contestants that have sent in replies (we need more) so if you have not yet entered please do so without delay.

The Latest Deegam Report has now been published online it contains some interesting reading on Horizon Labels and their grouping. A must read if you collect this type of material.

Machin 2012 Quiz

2012-01-15T03:37:00.012-12:00

Here are your questions for the Machin Quiz, and a chance for someone to win 2 x Waddington Cylinder blocks.

Please send in your answers by email to Roy within the next 7 days. The quiz will close at 6pm Spanish time on 23rd January. In the event of a tie a winner will be drawn out of a hat.

Remember if you do not enter you have no chance of winning.

David Alderfer, John Ball, Dave Feeney, Alan Pearson,Brian Mason and Derek K will all receive one extra point for sending in questions. Good luck!!

QI sent in by David Alderfer: What were the first Machin stamps printed by Cartor in France?

Q2 sent in by John Ball: What was the Maiden name of Arnold's wife Patricia

Q3 sent in by Dave Feeney: In which year was the first official straight edge Machins Issued.

Q4: sent in by Alan Pearson: Where would you find this Image?
Q5 sent in by Brian Mason: In which booklet was the 20p Regional Machins first issued?

Q6 sent in by Derick K: How many ½d stamps could one have purchased for £1.00

Q7 Swedish Lawnmower (APS) perfs were only used on one particular pre decimal issue, what was it?

Q8: Name The home where Machin spent the last years of his life

Q9; Which Football club did Arnold Machin support as a young man?

Q10: Where was Arnold Machin imprisoned for 12 months in 1940?

Q11: In what year was the first coded continuous "ROYAL MAIL" iridescent security stamp issued.

Q12: Where would you find this image (left)

QI3: In Machin terminology what do the initials DOP stand for

Q14: What do the initials MBPC represent?

Q15: Who designed the logo for the Machin Collectors Club

Q16 John Waddington printed how many Machin Values?

Q17 In which year was the first decimal Machins issued?

Q18: Identify this stamp (left)

Q19: B replaces WHAT LETTER in ROYAL MAIL - from business sheets (large 1st class and large 2nd class Machins)

Q20: Name this distinguished philatelist

A New Machin Quiz

2012-01-11T05:06:00.008-12:00

UPDATED

It has been quite sometime since we had a prize quiz or competition on site so I thought it may be fun to add another one in the near future. I have decided that this will be a quiz with a difference, and have it in mind that YOU as individual readers will set the questions (and supply me with the answers). I will then select what I think are the best of the bunch and list them here on site. Anyone who sends in a question, if it is selected they will get an extra point + the point for knowing the right answer to their own question, that is if they decide enter of course :-)

Hopefully we have enough readers to make this viable, if not we will have to make up a few questions of our own.

Please make them as easy or as hard as you like but just remember that it is only a bit of fun. I have decided on a prize of a couple of Waddington cylinder blocks for the winner, not worth a fortune I know , but nice blocks just the same.

Please email your questions for consideration to myself or Larry (or both) from today, when we have enough questions to set a quiz I will publish them here and give everyone a week or so to email the answers.

Non- pictorial 10p Bookets

2012-01-07T06:19:00.017-12:00

UPDATED 09.01. 2012

It really bugs me, I go and pay £34.95 for a Gibbons specialised Machin Catalogue and find it is nothing of the sort. I would go so far as to say it was a waste of money.

I wanted specialised information on the different 10p non-pictorial booklets and find that they do not even mention the imprints or different settings to the cover of SG FA3. Perhaps they do not even know about them?

I did eventually find what I was looking for when I reverted to checking my collection which are housed in a large stock book together with some old notes on the subject.

It got me thinking, perhaps you as a reader do not know that there are subtle differences either? so I will try and provide some of the information I am referring to.

Basically there were 3 different printings of this booklet all with the same pane of stamps. 2 x ½p (Turquoise), 3 x 1p (crimson) and 1 x 6p (light green) all were printed by Harrison & Sons.

FA1
Starting with the first printing FA1 it is dated on the inside of the cover November 1975. The date is found at the bottom of the text. The stamps are affixed to the cover with a wide binding margin .

minus Harrison and Sons imprint

There are 2 types of cover to be found either a white cover or a cream coloured cover. In either case there is not to much difference to the catalogue prices unless you compare the different perforation types. There are several of these but I will not go into detail as this is another story.

FA2

The same as above. This booklet is dated March 1976 and the date on this booklet is found at the top of the text, curiously this has either a thick card cover or a thin card cover. I am assuming the thinner card was used via a vending machine and the thicker card sold via philatelic counters. The stamps are affixed to the cover with a wide binding margin . Again with this booklet there are several perf types to collect.

FA3

This cover shown above has the date 13th June 1977, the date is at the top of the text . Easy to spot as the stamps are affixed with a narrow binding margin . The words Harrison and Sons is printed horizontally on the back of the cover.

Now for the good nitty gritty stuff, I hope you do not get to confused. Booklets inscribed 1977 have two variations of the imprint of the words Harrison and Sons. This can either be level with the bottom of the text when compared to the text on the front cover or set higher and level with the top of the text on the front cover.

Top Imprint 1 Setting 1

Bottom Imprint 2 Setting 2

The setting of the word SE Asia (inside cover) is either to the left in the text (setting 1) or set more centrally (setting 2).

Now it is time to get out your own collection if you have one and check what you have. Covers of FA3 are known with combinations of imprint 1 setting 1 or imprint 1 setting 2 - and a third type imprint 2 setting 2.

When you have found out what you have , check out perforation types for these booklets also look for miscuts , depending on the perforation type (there are 5), a simple booklet valued at £1.00 or so could be worth £25.00 or even £60.00. Let us know if you find anything of value.
Happy Hunting

UPDATE I have been informed that the scan of the settings and imprint was actually taken from the Machin Collectors Club QE 11 Catalogue. I now remember scanning a few years ago and inserting it into my stock book for easy reference.

Brian Morris informs us these varieties are listed and mentioned in this catalogue. I there fore thank Brian for his observations. I would also like to thank Melvyn Philpot and members of the MCC for use of the scan. We have written about the MCC catalogue and have recommended it to readers on several occasions.

Douglas also informs of the listings in the MBPC catalogue this is another society well worth another mention.

Machins in the Kitchen

2012-01-06T19:52:00.000-12:00

Roy has shown us Machins for the floor or the wall. Royal Mail also has Machins for the kitchen. Shown above are aprons and oven gloves, so you can be the best dressed chef in your neighborhood. The prices are a little more budget-friendly than the rugs. The aprons are £13 and the gloves are £10, plus the usual (excessive, especially for overseas customers) postage charges.

So if all your Machins are hidden away in albums, stockbooks or shoe boxes, here’s a way to bring some out into the daylight.--Larry

What Ever Next, Machin Carpets?

2012-01-05T04:44:00.007-12:00

Curling up on the rug with a fist full of stamps now has a new meaning for some people. No I am not joking these are Machins with what I will call "a mat finish."

This is not a new thing as I remember someone sent me an email linking to the rug site a couple of years ago. Douglas Myall also mentioned them in one of his Deegam Reports.

A company called "Rug Maker" has officially been granted a licence by Royal Mail to manufacture their exclusive Stamp Rug Collection which according to the website "fully captures the iconic design of Machin’s Royal Mail Stamps."

A Machin nut I may be, but for the life of me I can not imagine having a Machin Rug hanging on my wall or sitting in front of my fire. Plus the fact starting prices for the smallest rugs (47" x 39") would put me off straight away, they are a whopping £695.00.

There are however some interesting designs which I think as a Machin buff you may like to look at.

Preston Mill Booklet Proofs

2012-01-02T07:12:00.009-12:00

I spotted this little gem on eBay 3 x uncut proofs of a £1.20 booklet cover which was never issued (Preston Mill). It was eventually issued in 1981 (SGFM1) as a £1.40 booklet (top) containing 10 x 14p Machins (bottom)

A nice addition and talking point to compliment any booklet collection. It is up for sale at a modest £95.00. Apparently, from the description "this is a extremely rare piece originating from the late Len Newbury collection."

Preston Mill

An idyllic 18th-century water mill with a distinctive conical-roofed kiln and red pantiled buildings, Preston Mill today is extremely popular with artists and photographers.

The mill now belongs to the Scottish National trust, it remained in operation until 1959 and the water-wheel and machinery all still work. Now a major tourist attraction it receives thousands of visitors a year.

Our Resident Poet

2011-12-31T04:10:00.006-12:00

He is at it again. Our resident poet has just emailed me this version of the Kenny Rogers song "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town."

As you can see it has a Machin twist

They've painted up your lips
and re-tinted your curly hair
Ruby are you contemplating
coming out somewhere
The shadow on your bust
just looks so sure and sound
Oh Ruby
I love you as a pound.

From Tim , Happy New year to All

Birmingham 5 Ways

2011-12-30T23:09:00.004-12:00

Just for you Douglas, not that you will remember this far back, long before Machins :-)

I Will have a look to see if I can find some images of Solihull for another time.

OLD BIRMINGHAM UK

2011-12-29T02:26:00.008-12:00

Throughout the the new year I would like to show you a few images of old post card views, they are mainly of of Birmingham, my home town. The first is the old post office in the city centre.

Although this is not Machin related unless you count that I used to purchase a lot of of my Machins from the philatelic counter there many moons ago.

This was long before it became just a Post Shop selling all kinds of rubbish that Royal Mail call collectibles. I guess its called progress, but today if I asked for a cylinder block the clerk would look at me in amazement and wander what the hell I was talking about.

Hence to say when I am in the vicinity I no longer use the facilities. But this does not detract from the fact I have some great memories of the service I used to get and of the building itself which has not changed much in over a hundred years.

Britain in Miniature - Live!

2011-12-22T19:24:00.000-12:00

We've recently had a few posts about the Britain in Miniature book, one about the slip-cover and one about the contents. I thought I would try something new, so I created a brief video in which I display the book and some of its contents.Let me know what you think.--Larry

Christmas Greetings

2011-12-10T07:54:00.004-12:00

I know it is a little early to start conveying Christmas Greetings, but I have a feeling that I may be just a bit busy later on with all the shopping trips, parties, meals and booze ups.

My wife informs me that she has it all planned out what we doing day by day and it is written on her calender. So no time I am afraid for stamps. Saying this I may still manage the odd post or two.

What better way to pass on our greetings to you this festive season than with a mock up of a Specialised Machin Miniature label (sheet).

We hope you like it.

Roy & Larry

Norvic Philatelics

2011-12-08T03:56:00.008-12:00

Last week Larry introduced us to Adrian Kepple and his new blog which he (Adrian) writes for Stamp Magazine.

Today I am re -plugging Ian Billings who is no stranger to us (Norvic Philatelics) and blogs about British Stamps. Ian's Blog is always up to date with the latest news, and I am not afraid to say his articles are without doubt most interesting and informative. With his permission much of his material describing new, past and current Machins has been reproduced here on Machin Mania at one time or another.

Ian's latest post is a gem and describes the 68p definitive hidden code and the Machin pane from The Dhal prestige pane which due to be issued in January of next year. I have no intention of repeating his work today but do recommend that you click the link to his site and read the information (and comments) for your self. Well done Ian and Richard P for the scan, and many thanks to you both for sharing your knowledge.

Diamond Jubilee Cover

2011-12-04T06:03:00.006-12:00

I have just spotted this beautiful cover on the net, although it will not be available until February of next year it is one to watch I tell myself.

I have ear marked it as one to buy for my small collection. The reason I am interested in this particular cover are the two Machins used as part of the miniature sheet and the post mark which will be used on the day.

I have collected Birmingham postmarks for some time now, this one depicts Jubilee Road, Birmingham.

Jubilee Road in the district of Rubery ,Frankley was named to commemorate the 1977 Queens Silver Jubilee, this is when the street was built. Frankley is just a stones through form my previous home address.

"Britain in Miniature"

2011-12-03T08:20:00.003-12:00

Many thanks go to David Alderfer for this email.

Dear Roy,

Here's a short synopsis of "Britain in Miniature" which you illustrated 2 December on your blog.

The faux sheetlet of 3p and 5p Machin stamps with a black label in the center illustrates the front and back of a hard cardboard slipcase that contains a 77-page book titled "Britain in Miniature." The book was published by The British Post Office in 1972 in a limited edition of 2000 numbered copies. It was issued to commemorate the 25th wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

The book is a combination of text, photographs, illustrations and actual postage stamps (17 issues; 80 stamps) including the pair issued for the Silver Wedding (3p blue and silver and 20p purple and silver) and a set of decimal Machins (1/2p to 10p with the four decimal high values). The stamps are mounted throughout the book with stamp hinges.

In 1972, Stanley Gibbons did the marketing of the product. I do not know what it's original selling price was. Examples occasionally are offered on eBay. Rushstamps has about one copy a year available for purchase at $125.

The book can be seen as the prototype for the Annual Yearbook format that Royal Mail began issuing in 1984. They are the same size and format as those annual products.

There seems to be little demand for "Britain in Miniature" within the stamp collecting community, but the book is a lovely item, though not of great value.

David Alderfer
Chicagoland area

11p Regionals with Single Phosphor Band

2011-12-02T19:58:00.002-12:00

I was recently working on my Machin regionals collection and came across a stamp that I purchased some years ago but never put into the collection. It is an 11p Northern Ireland regional with a single left band.

The 11p regionals were issued in 1976 to pay the basic airmail letter rate to zone B. During their lifetime until withdrawal in 1980 they also paid a few other rates. They were photogravure printed by Harrison and Sons.

As with nearly all Machins, except those that paid the basic second-class rate, they were issued with two phosphor bands.

The catalogs note that both the Northern Ireland and Scotland 11p regionals are found with a single band, either a left band or a right band. The only explanation I found was in the Deegam Handbook, where Douglas Myall says that the omission of one of the two bands "was caused by underinking of the phosphor cylinder."

In the image of my stamp above, you may be able to see an indication of the left band and that there's no similar band on the right. With a UV lamp, I found that there is actually a bit of phosphor at the lower right; hopefully that doesn't decrease the value of the stamp too much.

And speaking of value, therein lies a tale. The MCC Catalogue (2008 edition) values the Northern Ireland right band at £15 and left band at £75; the Scotland right band at £100 and left band at £65.

Douglas Myall only gives price ranges in the Handbook, and they are reasonably consistent with the MCC values.

The recent Stanley Gibbons Specialised Volume 4 Part 2 lists the Northern Ireland stamps at £6 and £9 respectively, and the Scotland stamps at £40 and £35.

Could this be a case where Gibbons' prices are actually lower than true market value?

--Larry

Miniature Machins

2011-12-02T04:24:00.004-12:00

Browsing through old posts on the Machin Forum I came upon this little gem with information from one of the members describing it. (below)

It looks like a sheet of stamps, but is it?

"I don't know about a sheet but the design, including the "label" (which is really the title) was used for the cover of presentation book issued by the Post Office in 1972 on the Queen's silver wedding anniversary. See the text for CP4 on page 6 of Appendix 11 of the Deegam Handbook. Only 2000 such packs were issued."

This forum has been running now for as long as this blog and has some really good discussions with valued information on the Machin definitive. I do not know why but it has gone a little quiet of late. hence this little plug

If you are not yet a member and would like to contribute, or just ask questions here is the link to browse and or join.

Adrian Keppel's new blog

2011-11-29T19:25:00.002-12:00

Adrain Keppel is a Machin collector (among others) living in Scotland. He had his own blog, AKPhilately, and contributed a few posts here at Machin Mania.

Adrian is now blogging for Stamp Magazine, where he posts once a week. Although it is not always about Machins or even GB, it is well worth visiting. Find it at

http://blog.stampmagazine.co.uk

We wish you much success, Adrian.

--Larry

Isle Of Man First Day Covers

2011-11-28T05:41:00.003-12:00

Whist browsing a well known auction site I spotted these covers which took my fancy. Although I do not make a habit of buying covers I made a mental note to go back with the intention to place a cheeky bid on them. Unfortunately the seller will not deliver overseas so both he and I missed out this time.

Larry & I briefly wrote about Isle of Man stamps and the other regional Machins sometime back. Click here and here for the links.

Coronation Plaster Cast

2011-11-26T05:16:00.008-12:00

As it is the Queens Diamond Anniversary next year I thought this image of a plaster cast profile of Queen Elizabeth II may be appropriate to show on these pages.

It was created 60 years ago in 1952 designed by Mr N A Trent of Chelsea to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II Coronation.

Although it was not created by Arnold Machin, it is certainly in his style. Perhaps (if he viewed it) it could possibly be where Arnold got some of his inspiration. Nice Eh?

Another portrait of Her Majesty dressed in coronation robes will be issued next year (2 Feb 2012 ). It is that of the £1.10p value on a set of stamps depicting all the monarchs to date that make up the the House of Windsor.

Although I complain a lot about Royal Mail and some of the boring designs they have produced over the last decade. I must admit I like this set of stamps very much. Well done RM keep up the good work.

Site And Traffic Overview

2011-11-20T04:50:00.008-12:00

I had a little time on my hands today so I took a trip into the Google Blog settings for this site. I have often wondered how many visitors we get and I was very surprised to find a page informing me of an overview to the visitors that actually frequent the site.

For your information here are some of the statistics.

Page Views today
107

Page views yesterday
160

Page Views last month
5,288

Page Views all time history
90,432

Main Countries that visit

United Kingdom 39,715, United States 17,337, Canada 5,611, France 3,647 , Netherlands 3,590,
Australia 2,762, Germany 2,440, Spain 1,374, Italy 1,095, Ukraine 453

It is nice to see that so many people are interested in the content we provide. From myself and Larry many thanks to you all. Without your comments and questions we could not keep the blog going. With your help and contributes we hope to continue with the service for a long time to come.

Machin & The Coinage Head

2011-11-19T09:09:00.004-12:00

On the Diamond Anniversary Miniature sheet you will notice that we are looking forward to (5) new definitive type stamps. Described as:

1st class based on a Wilding Definitive.

1st class based on a £1 note portrait by Robert Austin.

1st class based on £5 note portrait by Harry Eccleston

1st class based on the Pre-decimal coinage head by Mary Gillick.

1st class based on the Arnold Machin’s decimal currency head.

and lastly the 1st class new Jubilee Machin Definitive Stamp.

The one I want to bring to your attention today is the 1st class stamp based on the Arnold Machin’s decimal currency head of 1968. I thought as it is a Machin (but not as we know it) it deserved a mention on these pages.

I have picked up some information on this early head which is quite interesting.

The head was submitted by Machin as a competition entry for the new coins from photographs taken by Lord Snowdon. Eventually Machins portrait was chosen for the obverse side of the new coins. But his work had only just started.

Arnold then had to produce a true likeness of the Queen and for this he had four sittings at Buckingham Palace. As this was the first time he had worked on a coin design, he found it a difficult and challenging technique.

He first made drawings of the the Queen's head, followed by modelling in relief. From theses studies he built up the image working at his London studio, and he finally decided in the summer of 1963 that he would need one further sitting. The Royal Family were away at Balmoral on their summer break and so Arnold was invited to join them there.

On returning to London, Arnold continued to work on the effigy, producing several versions and submitted designs for several months. His final portrait, approved by the Queen in June 1964, was handed over to the Mint where it was reduced mechanically with a pantograph machine to coin size.

Arnold visited several times to supervise the final engraving. The first two coins (the 5 new pence and the 10 new pence) with the new effigy of the Queen were in circulation in 1968.

A year later a 50 new pence piece was introduced, and the remaining coins became available as legal tender on Decimalisation Day, February 15th 1971. In March 1965 Arnold was awarded the OBE.

One coin that does not get a mention is that of the full Gold Sovereign, Shown above, beautiful coin in my veiw which allows Machins design to stand out in all its glory. Sovereigns are struck in 22 carat gold, weighing 7.98 grams and measures 22.05 mm in diameter. The reverses show St. George and the Dragon.

Shes Reigning In Our Hearts

2011-11-13T04:47:00.002-12:00

I had this sent to me by email, it made me chuckle so I thought I would share it with you.

To the tune of Its raining

Shes reining in our hearts
The secrets out the stamps are blue, there's nothing else RM could do
and shes reigning, still reigning in our hearts.

The Machin men will clap their hands , a mini sheet to please her fans
shes reigning, still reigning in our hearts.

Expect a Prestige Book to come of age, more Machins yes will grace a page
yes shes reigning, still reigning in our hearts

Diamond Jubilee Definitive

2011-11-12T03:29:00.007-12:00

At long last the official embargo is now off and details of the Diamond Jubilee Machin and other products have been published by Ian Billings on his blog.

I have to say I am impressed and congratulate Royal Mail for their thought and endeavours creating this issue.
Ian informs us (as we suspected) that The definitive will be 'diamond blue' and will show the words 'DIAMOND JUBILEE' continuously in the style of the current security print, what we did not speculate on is that the the security print would only cover the background only. A definite improvement in the design if you ask me!!

Ian also informs us the following will be issued on 6 February 2012:
Counter sheet, Business sheet x 100, 12 x 1st booklet. The booklet will be on sale throughout the year replacing the 1st gold definitive.

In March the following will be issued:
4 x 1st Large letter, 1st Large counter sheet, 1st large x 50 business sheet.
There is no indication of any variation in the inscription to indicate the source of the stamps.

Also on 6 February there is a Jubilee miniature sheet with 6 x 1st class stamps with designs taken from banknotes, coins and similar to the Wilding stamp:

Many Thanks to Ian for the insight and the image, now jump over to his blog and read the whole account for yourselves.

PHQ Cards Continued

2011-11-11T01:28:00.007-12:00

I recently discussed the topic of PHQ Cards and wrongly informed you that these were relatively cheap to acquire.
Peter Bradly has sent me two images of of early cards with the actual stamps attached and cancelled with first day of issue postmarks. Peter informs me these are quite rare and now command a premium price from dealers.

The fist is the £1.00 issue from 22 August 1995 now selling at £14.00. The second which I found hard to believe until I checked it out myself is that of the Millennium Machin 23 May 2000, now selling at an incredible £27.50.

Sorry if I miss led you. In the previous post I was in fact referring to plain cards. But even the two shown above if you buy them in plain format which are catalogued at £3.00 and £5.00 respectively now sell for a whopping £10.00 each. A massive rise in a short space of time!!

I also had an email from Larry who informs me that Douglas Myall lists these in the Deegam Handbook. Douglas has published list of official cards with the Machin head on pages 35 to 42 of Appendix 13.

Mystery Machin Display Solved!

2011-11-08T19:48:00.003-12:00

I knew this blog has intelligent readers. Less than three hours after the display was posted, reader Phil came up with the correct answer, a Sudoku grid.

In a Sudoku grid, the numbers in each row, column, and sub-section add up to the same total. In this case of a 9x9 grid, the total is 45. The sub-sections are the nine 3x3 grids that make up the 9x9 grid.

No number can be repeated in a row, column or sub-section.

Sudoku is presented as a puzzle, with some of the numbers filled in. The solver must fill in the rest of the numbers.

A couple of readers (one who responded by email) said this was a magic square, but it is not. In a magic square, each cell has a different number. In a 9x9 magic square, the cells contain the numbers from 1 to 81. (You can only build up to a 4x4 magic square with Machins because there is no 21p Machin that would be needed for the 5x5 square.)

Thanks to all who replied and to my friend David who sent me the image. Phil, please email me (click the Contact Larry link above) your mailing address, and I will send you the Machin prize.

--Larry

PS I don't do Sudoku puzzles. In my few spare minutes, you'll find me playing Angry Birds.

PHQ Cards

2011-11-08T02:39:00.012-12:00

I hope you enjoy this post my second of the day. One theme of collecting which we have not covered on Machin Mania is that of PHQ cards. What are they and what do the initials PHQ stand for?

PHQ actually stands for Postal Headquarters and they are a quite a diverse subject so were to start?

All PHQ items are published by the Post Office and they are given a number which is prefixed by letters. The first card issued, was the 3p W.G Grace stamp from the set of stamps commemorating County Cricket, issued on 16 May 1973, this card was numbered PHQ 1.

These cards previously called Maxim Cards are still sold to the present day, the numbering sequence has continued, and the latest set to be issued is that of the A-Z of UK Landmarks.

I have to admit I have never been interested in this type of material, I find that the hobby is far to expensive as it is just collecting the bits and dabs that I now limit myself to. But then again saying this as a self confessed Machin Nutter, if it is Machin orientated I may just persuade myself to pick up the odd one here and there.

Most of these cards depict commemorative designs, but there are also quite a few that actually depict the Glorious Machin Head in one form or another. Get ready to be surprised.

Only four commemorative (or special issues) actually refer to the Machin or to the man Machin himself, one is shown above, but there are plenty of others that have been issued with images of the actual Machin definitive. In fact a grand total of 29 (as far as I know) to date. The first was issued in 1993 which was the experimental Machin self adhesive (horizontal) Flame 1st-class. The rest of the list is a long one but if you want to start a collection you can still pick them up at reasonable prices.

1993 1st class flame horizontal self adhesive
1995 £1
2000 Millennium 1st-class
2003 1st-class Gold machin
2003 Universal European 40 grams

Shown below are the 2008 National Definitives (a set of 24 values) 1p, 2p, 5p, 9p 10p,15p, 16p, 2nd class (blue), 1st class gold, 2nd class large, 48p, 50p, 1st class gold large, worldwide postcard, 56p, Europe 40 gr, 81p, £1 ruby, worldwide 40 gr, £1.50p, £2.00, £3.00 and £5,00 high values.

Roald Dahl Prestige Stamp Book

2011-11-07T23:24:00.005-12:00

I have just received images of the Roald Dahl Prestige Stamp Book to be issued on 10 January 2012. Although it is a bit early, I thought I might share them with you.

I am not sure if they are mock ups or the real McCoy, the Machin pane which clearly shows security slits consists of 4 x 68p, 2 x 10p and 2 x 2p.

Diamond Jubilee Celebrations

2011-11-07T04:12:00.005-12:00

An exhibition of The Queen at National Portrait Gallery will take place during 2012 as part of the national celebrations for the Queens Diamond Jubilee. Celebrating 60 years on the throne.

The gallery will mark the occasion with a collection of special portraits of the monarch, created during her lengthy reign.

From her profile on stamps and coins to full length commemorative portraits, the image of the Queen has been photographed, painted, and recorded in a number of different ways over the years. Capturing a number of different ages, sittings and formal occasions, the exhibition aims to explore the way in which the Queen has been represented since she came to the throne in 1952.

Works of art to be included in the exhibition about The Queen at National Portrait Gallery are 60 different works, one for each year of her reign. Formally painted portraits, official photos, press images and commissions by contemporary artists will all be on show, giving visitors the chance to witness not only changes to the Queen over the years, but changes to the styles of representation she receives.

Artists whose work is represented in show include the likes of pietro Annigoni, Cecil Beaton, Lord Lichfield, Andy Warhol, Lucian Freud and Gerhard Richter.

It has been said one of the most popular images on show throughout the exhibition is the portrait of the Queen, presented in 3D by the light artist Chris Levine. Entitled Lightness of Being, the work was created in 2004 and shows the Queen in a formal setting, wearing her crown and a fur trimmed robe, but with her eyes seemingly shut.

It will be interesting to see if the Machin portrait is included the line up. Alongside the portraits by various famous artists, The Queen at National Portrait Gallery also features archival material, postage stamps are said to be included so it is feasible some reference to Machin may be made.

Perhaps the the mould which is held as one of the Treasures of the Archives "The Machin Head", sculpted and cast by Arnold Machin will be shown.

Art and Image at National Portrait Gallery will take place from Thursday 17th May - Sunday 21st October 2012.

Mystery Machin Display

2011-11-03T18:01:00.003-12:00

There is a pattern to this Machin display. The first person who can tell me what it is by leaving a comment will win a Machin prize. You must include the name for this type of arrangement. The contest is open until November 10 unless someone supplies the correct answer, in which case I may close it sooner.

--Larry

A Convenient Image

2011-10-30T16:56:00.002-12:00

The image above is taken from a digital photography review site, dpreview.com. It is a series of images that compares the amount of noise in the photos taken by various cameras.

There is no real-world location specified on the site, but the spelling is American English.

--Larry

Franking And Forgeries

2011-10-29T00:02:00.010-12:00

What on earth is going on with Royal Mail? They spend a fortune on new security measures, overprints, codes, security slits and still the mail does not receive a cancel on a 40 - 50 % percentage the mail I receive here in Spain.

Perhaps it is because of the addition of the new self adhesive gum which is also a new security feature, after all said and done I ask myself they are difficult to remove from the envelopes (so RM think).

Take a look for your self all these shown above and below, they have actually been canceled with a wavy line and to are clearly forgeries. How come I ask myself, have these which have no phosphor bars been allowed to pass though the system?

These shown are just a small selection, I see several more Machin forgeries on eBay which have been delivered. In hindsight these should have been automatically rejected by ALF where as the genuine stamps should be canceled!!!

Judging by the price they fetch £1 or so there must be loads , perhaps hundreds and hundreds that get though the postal system. It Makes a mockery out of all that has been done by Royal Mail and the money spent. But then again looking at a brighter picture it gives collectors something else that is actually philatelic to look out for.

Machin News October 2011

2011-10-27T03:24:00.006-12:00

A few weeks ago Ian Billings informed us that he has heard that the first of the high values to be reprinted since the original issue in 2009 may soon appear.

We can now confirm that these are being sold on eBay. Here is a scan of the £1 Ruby with the new code M11L.

Charlie Jenson has reported on the Machin Forum that the latest Deegam Report (95) from Douglas Myall is now on-line.

As usual, Douglas does not disappoint, there is a lot of information, such as the latest prestige pane, with the George V Downey Head from the First UK Aerial Post booklet in the center spot. There is also a classic view of Windsor Castle stamps from the same booklet with the images blown-up to show the differences between the former French government version and the Dutch Miniature sheet which was printed by Enschede in 2005.

The much deliberated Arnold Machin centenary mini-sheet is mentioned and a report of a horizontally imperf 35p dark brown. Several new overseas stamps which bear the Machin Head are listed.

One thing that really impressed me is the fact that a recently departed collector (with Douglas,s help and advice) has donated a Machin cast as well as one of the Wyon head (Queen Victoria) to The Royal Philatelic Society. What a generous gift and a perfect new home for them!

Thank you Charlie (and Douglas) for the write up (which I have altered slightly). Charlie finishes off by saying , "But wait, there's more !!!", but you will have to get your own copy of the report".

For those of you who have never heard the name Douglas Myall (if there is anyone) he is listed on WIKIPEDIA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Myall

The Arnold Machin Centenary Miniature Sheet (yawn...)

2011-10-17T18:36:00.003-12:00

I have intended it write a short note about this sheet since it was issued, but every time I look at it, I get the uncontrollable urge to take a nap. So I've fortified myself with a strong espresso, and I'll try to get this finished before I doze off.

I suppose Royal Mail as a whole doesn't care any more, but this design is really an embarrassment. I can understand that they didn't want to pay a professional designer, but how hard would it have been to include a few other denominations and perhaps a label with Machin's portrait?

Royal Mail obviously creates stamps aimed solely at collectors; the stamp show souvenir sheets and the outrageously expensive prestige booklet panes come immediately to mind. But this is such a blatant grab of collectors' money, for an item that's barely worth mounting in an album, that even this cynic is disappointed and dismayed.

--Larry

A Dilemma, No Bull

2011-10-14T23:36:00.004-12:00

I have been married now for 35 years and it is also my wife's 70th birthday this year. My dilemma is what do you buy the woman who does not collect Machins but has most everything else?

Jewelery? Clothes? Something for the home? Try asking her and the only answer I get is "just surprise me".

Well as it is also my anniversary too I thought as I am not a selfish person I will purchase something just for her that we both can get pleasure from.

In my wisdom I remembered that Arnold Machin designed a piece of pottery for Wedgewood in the form of a bull, so I started surfing the net looking for a guide to prices for such a piece.

Here are some of the results.

'Taurus the Bull', a Wedgwood Queensware figure of a bull modelled by Arnold Machin, transfer-printed in colours with astrological symbols, printed and impressed factory marks -- 15½in. long Christies sold at £88.

3rd September eBay. The stylised bull stands on all four feet with its head lowered and its tail waving against its left hind quarter. The body is scattered with vignettes of the zodiac signs and symbols in pink and brown or yellow and brown with grey backgrounds, interspersed with brown and yellow stars. The details of the bull's head and tail are painted in dark brown enamel, and round each foot is a band with a row of groups of three short strokes above it. Widely-considered to be the first 'Contemporary' style ceramic to be produced in Britain. Sold £195.

8th October . Wedgwood china model of 'Ferdinand the Bull' which was designed by Arnold Machin. He measures 7.125 inches high and 12.5 inches in length and is hand painted with a blue & yellow floral pattern. There is possibly a printed factory mark to the bottom of the front left foot although this is not clear. There are no other factory marks but this is a well known Wedgwood model. A bargain at £85.00.

There were several others that sold from £100 to £295.

Eventually I tracked one down at local Spanish market (fate) in Alicante, the asking price was 110 Euros (approx £100 at today's exchange rate) With a bit of haggling I picked it up for 95 Euros. Not bad eh? On presenting the bull to my wife I said hope you like it, you are now the proud owner of a Machin, please do not start collecting them.

Now for the short story of Ferdinand. I am not sure how true this is, but it fits in nicely from what we know about the young Arnold Machin.

Ferdinand was created for Wedgwood by designer, modeller and conscientious objector Arnold Machin. Ferdinand bears a striking resemblance to a bull in a children's story of the same name - a bull who didn't want to fight in the bullring - but wanted to sit in the field and smell the flowers! 'The Story of Ferdinand' books".

Ferdinand is suitable across the key stages and can be used to explore issues surrounding diversity, citizenship and anti-bullying".

Centenary Codes

2011-10-11T01:35:00.010-12:00

This is a nice clear image showing one line of code on the Royal Mail overprint.

AL-AM11- ROYAL- MMIL

From a single Machin definitive 1st class extracted from the Arnold Machin Centenary souvenir sheet .

Brian is correct in his comment. Sorry I made a typo, this has now been corrected.

Machin Forgery

2011-10-10T02:14:00.003-12:00

Richard Parsons has sent me a picture to share with you. Thanks Richard.

It comprises of one of the latest first class forgeries.

Although I have seen this reported elsewhere I do not think we covered it on this blog. From first glance this looks just like any other security stamp. It just goes to show that forgers are getting very clever.

The stamps are printed in litho, it appears to have security slits and overprint identifying that it comes from a booklet of six. Has anyone seen a booklet of six?

The letters MSIL can be seen clearly in the top right . I do not see a year code on Richards image.

From what I can gather it has no phosphor but varnished strips imitating the phosphor bars.

Hi Value Reprint M11L

2011-10-09T03:28:00.003-12:00

Just a quick short post today. More Machins to look out for.

Ian Billings reports on http://norphil.blogspot.com/ that he has heard that the first of the high values to be reprinted since the original issue in 2009 may soon appear.

The first is expected to be the £1 ruby, with the security code M11L:

Diamond Jubilee

Although details of the definitive have not been announced an article in Stamp Magazine indicates that The Diamond Jubilee Anniversary Machin definitive could be a colour similar to the current £5 azure, with an iridescent overlay with a reference to the Jubilee.

Post And Go Errors

2011-10-06T23:35:00.010-12:00

I have amended the text to this post, I apologise for any offence that I caused the seller. No offence to the seller was meant. I just wanted to report these errors tongue in cheek, no pun intended with the cheek word.

Manufacture your own errors and earn a nice tidy sum!

This story reminds me of the crafty little cockney Del Boy Trotter from Only Fools & Horses. Where there is a scam (If I can call it that) someone will find a way to exploit it.

It appears that several shrewd so and so,s visited Stampex and found a way to manufacture their own LEGAL unique errors on the Hytech machines. "A nice little earner Rodney".

The story goes that a new fad has emerged called "Yanking". As the strip of stamps was being printed in the machine the buyer gives a few sharp tugs on the strip which produces errors.

Several nice errors from the same strip of labels can found including normal, others can be completely blank, or in some cases some of the text is removed.

As well as strips of 6 some eBay sellers are also offering strips of 10. We now know that longer strips were available up to 99 labels in length. These were not manufactured as the Hytech postal vision Machines were operated via a debit or credit card to whatever amount the purchaser wanted.

On another note, will we now add this word "yanking" to the Machin dictionary?

French Government Print GB Stamps?

2011-10-04T02:41:00.006-12:00

This report does not concern the Machin definitive. As I have not posted for a while I thought you readers might like some "new" information which I stumbled across.

Now I do not know how true this is, but I have read a couple of reports that The French Government have printed certain GB stamps.

The report in question concerns the Windsor Castles Recess pane from the Centenary of Aerial Post prestige booklet which was issued on 9th September 2011. This pane was reportedly subcontracted out to the French Government Printer who operate under the Phil@Poste title (previously ITVF)

It seems that Cartor have entered into a relationship with the French Government Printer to fulfil their intaglio/recess requirements. If this information is as I say correct then this is the first time the French Government Printer has printed postage stamps for Royal Mail.

Looking forward to all your replies.

Arnold Machin Overprints / Post & Go

2011-09-26T02:33:00.005-12:00

It did not take long for these to be offered on eBay.

For those of you who have not as yet heard of or seen these. It is a strip of six new stamps which can be added to the the Machin List. Details from the seller are below.

Royal Mail have issued an unannounced STAMPEX ONLY tribute to ‘Arnold Machin’ in the form of an overprinted set of Post & Go stamps

This overprint was only available during Autumn Stampex 2011, and were applied on the existing ‘Machin’ Post & Go stock on the Hytech Stamp Machines.

The auction was for a strip of six and comprises of values of 1st Class , 1st Class Large, Europe 20g, Worldwide upto 10g, 20g and for the first time worldwide up to 40g

The set were Selling at £7.99 with a face value of £5.40. If you could not get to Stampex this is not a bad price for six new Machins.

Japex Publicy Continued

2011-09-16T01:02:00.007-12:00

Robert Bostock sent me a note informing me that the Bookmark Journal dealt with this same subject. So I had seen it before. It just got lost in the grey matter. Thanks to Robert and the Modern British Philatelic Circle I can produce the article from February 2008 Volume 37 No. 4 of ‘The Bookmark’ Journal entitled Members News JAPEX ‘07

The Circle has a thriving membership in Japan. While few in number, they help to promote GB philately within the Japan Philatelic Society in a big way. Member Ikuo Ikehara was member of the organising committee of JAPEX ‘07 and he and other members of the British Stamp Study Group of JPS mounted a special 40 frame exhibit of Machins to celebrate 40 years of Machins.

The Group also arranged a special overprint of a Boots label and produced a special cover to mark the occasion. The label is that issued by The Post Office in 1995 which includes a 1st-class fame defnitive with phosphor bars reacting blue under UV.

The label (above) and two variants of the special cover are illustrated here. The one with the three different 1st-class Machins tied with three different hand stamps is particularly attractive.
Many thanks to Ikuo who keeps us in the picture and who sent the label and covers.

What Do You Know Joe?

2011-09-14T08:17:00.004-12:00

Joe is a pal of mine who lives a few doors away. We were discussing Machins last night (as well as other things).

The topic got round to overprinted Boots miniature sheets and Joe informed me that he has one of the unbranded sheets (without the Boots logo) with blue phosphor that was issued to mark the 40th Machin anniversary.I had not heard or seen this variety so I asked Joe to dig it out for to look at.

It turns out that it was issued in 2007 at JAPEX - TOKIO as a Publicity Overprint which also commemorated 40 years of Machins 1967-2007. A limited edition of 500 were prepared as a special exhibit by the British Stamp Study Group of JPS. Well I live and learn.

Today I actually found one on the net for sale at £9.99, I'm not sure I admire it that much to pay this price, but have copied the image for you to look at.

News is also out with the codes on the Arnold Machin Centenary Souvenir Sheet. It has been confirmed that this has the year code AM11 and the source code MMIL.

Stampex Continued

2011-09-10T05:26:00.004-12:00

Last week I wrote a little about some of the GB stamps and products that would be available at the show. Today I would like to coninue on the Stampex theme.

Most will know this year’s Autumn Stampex will be held at Islington Business Design Centre from 14–17 September. As well as Royal Mail many dealers and stamp distributors will attend the show.

However Stampex is not just about dealers and new issues . I have been informed that The Friends of the BPMA will be manning Stand 20 throughout the event. Here on sale you can get their new postcard packs plus a selection of other products.

The BPMA, have stated

"This year’s stand will look better than ever – decorated with a range of memorable images from their own collection."

They continue with a statement informing us that "it is important to us to work with philatelists, philatelic traders and postal history enthusiasts to ensure we develop our services in line with what you want, and to enable us to keep caring for these collections for generations to come – and we need your help! We know Stampex is a date which will be in many of our followers’ diaries and we’d like to meet as many of you as can we while we’re there this September."

If you are one of the ones who are attending this event why not join them a drink at Stampex and tell them what you think!

Whether you’d like to find out more about what’s in their philatelic vault, how you can see it, or other services – or simply wish to tell them what you like about them, or what they could do better, then they would love to speak to you – please drop by for a drink and say hello!

A Machin collectors bonus.

You can have A chance to win a signed copy of A Timeless Classic: The Evolution of Machin’s Icon by The BPMA’s Philatelic Curator Douglas N. Muir.

Staff from the BPMA will be at Stampex across the 4 day event so please do come and find them.

Any visitors to the Friends’ stand also have the opportunity to win a copy of one of their most popular books, A Timeless Classic: The Evolution of Machin’s Icon, signed by the author! Just drop a business card in the pot to enter the prize draw.

We have covered this book before, but for those who have not heard of it here is a brief rundown.

The evolution of Machin’s icon include a foreword by Tony Benn (Postmaster General 1964–66), who instigated the revolution in British stamp design in the mid 1960s. There is an introduction by David Gentleman, the foremost stamp designer of the period and collaborator with Benn in the design revolution; and finally a personal note from a memoir by Francis Machin, Arnold Machin’s son.

This book is well-researched and its examination of the development of a British icon makes for riveting reading.

Dont You Just Love Stampex

2011-09-04T05:19:00.008-12:00

Why do we all look forward to Stampex? The next one AUTUMN will be held between 14th and 17th September 2011.

As well as the Arnold Machin centenary mini sheet £4.60 various other issues will come out during the event. It could again turn out to be another very expensive day for visitors who like to pick up all the GB goodies.

Other issues include - A Generic Sheet celebrating the 350th anniversary of the first Postmark £9.50 and special facsimile block of 4 Penny Red stamps in a special pack £5.95, both will be issued 15th on September 2011.

The fourth and last of the Post and Go 'Bird set' machine labels £2.76 will be issued on 16th September 2011 and will feature Seabirds. Oh not to forget the Olympic & Paralympic Games retail book 6 also to be issued on the 15th, ANOTHER £2.76.

Special issues are also in the pipe line with a set of Kings & Queens 5: House of Hanover. £4.64 A miniature sheet will accompany this at a cost of £2.90.

GOOD JOB I TOLD YOU TO KEEP THOSE PIGGY BANKS TOPPED UP EH?

Machin News August 2011

2011-08-18T02:30:00.007-12:00

Deegam report number 94 has now been published online. The content which is always of interest to Machin collectors ranges from his occasional series of questions and answers to iridescent overprint shifts.

It also gives some new information on the latest Machin 1st class forgery, first brought to our attention by Ian Billings. This new forgery is printed on bright paper, with no phosphor and appears to be printed in Litho. It also appears to have varnished 'phosphor bands'.

The new Arnold Machin miniature sheet is also mentioned.The sheet will be printed by Walsall using Gravure. Douglas also mentions the new booklets which we disclosed to you a few weeks ago.

To receive online Deegam Reports,you must purchase the Deegam Handbook on CD. Full details are available on Douglas,s website. The next Deegam Report is due for publication on 20th October 2011

The 1st class MA10 coil code MRIL is now available on eBay, A report by Ian Billings informs us that he has limited numbers of these for sale to regular customers.

Adrian Bradbury has produced A first day cover commemorating the centenary of Arnold Machin . This cover will be issued on 14.09.2011 and will have a Centenary Special Hand stamp and will be printed on textured linen paper. It will then be hand made into envelopes. A limited edition of just 150 numbered copies will be made available Worldwide.

It has been reported that De La Rue have printed more of the gummed 20p bright green stamps. These are from a new D5 cylinder, printed before the self-adhesive versions and have a date code of 16/09/10. Ian Rose also reports a date block dated 15/09/10.

The Future Of Machin Printing

2011-08-07T03:14:00.003-12:00

I had an interesting email from Ian Rose today in which he pointed out that the world's largest banknote printer has announced plans to shut two of its UK sites, in Dunstable and Basingstoke.

Apparently De La Rue has announced plans to move its Security Print production in Dunstable to Gateshead. A question that is not answered in the press release, will this also affect the printing of stamps?

De La Rue have stated "it was too early to say how many jobs would be lost and it hoped many staff could be relocated."

A spokesman for De La Rue, which prints notes for the Bank of England and 150 other countries, said: "It is envisaged that this relocation will be completed within 18 months."

An update will be given with De La Rue's half year results at the end of November. You can read the full report here

Snippets And Speculation

2011-07-22T05:28:00.007-12:00

With a multitude of summer visitors I have been a little busy of late and have been unable to keep this blog up to date (sorry about that). August looks to be another busy month for me as it is the main holiday month for my family, and I have been told that several members of this massive family are due arrive over the month in a steady stream. Not that I am not looking forward to seeing them, but hopefully September will be a little quieter and I may be able to post here on a more regular basis.

Today I start with a picture of the cover for Prestige booklet Centenary of UK Aerial Post. Issue date is 9th September 2011. As far as I know no one else has shown an image of this cover as yet.

Rumours (again) that the Machin Definitive Centenary Mini sheet could be the last time we see a new issue of Gold 1st class before the "new" diamond jubilee definitive makes its entrance on February 6th 2012.

Not so!

On 25th October 2011 several (in fact 5) 'New' Self adhesive Retail Stamp Books will make an entrance . At this time no one knows what sort of code the stamps will have. After the revelation that The Machin Centenary Mini sheet will possibly have a new code its anyone's guess.

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON ANY NEW CODES WE WOULD LOVE TO KNOW.

The new booklets will be listed as

6 x 1st-class gold retail Book (with FSC logo & 2012 special stamp programme): £2.76 (see image below)

The other booklets are described as

12 x 1st-class gold retail Book (with FSC logo): £5.52

12 x 2nd-class Retail Book (with FSC logo): £4.32

4 x 1st-class gold Large Retail Book (with FSC logo): £3.00

4 x 2nd-class large Retail Book (with FSC logo): £2.32

Rumours of Secret Codes

2011-07-14T04:09:00.005-12:00

If you are a regular reader you will recall that sometime in May we had a short debate about a possible future change in the background codes.

I wrote "I was intrigued to read a note from Brian Sinnott who implied that there may be a change of code for Machins appearing in custom retail booklets in the near future. I had heard a whisper of this sometime ago, but dismissed it.

This debate is still going on today. Rumours are around that the change of code will still happen in the near future. The first to appear with a noticeable affect is reported to be on the miniature sheet of Machin definitives celebrating the centenary of the birth of Arnold Machin O.B.E, R.A. Issue date is expected to be the opening day of Stampex, 14 September. Machin birth date was September 30th 1911.

We were correct in the assumption that the sheet will consist of 10 stamps,and speculation was also correct is they may be 10 x 1st class gold. Once again thanks go to Ian Billings for the image above.

I stated that they will not have security slits but will have a security code. The code however will not be as thought (MA11 or M11L). Thoughts are, that as it is an Arnold Machin sheet there is a distinct possibility that a new special code "AM" could be used.

Your thought are welcome.

NO BETS ARE BEING TAKEN on this but I have been given odds on if I wish to lay one off :-)

10% Above Face

2011-07-11T22:24:00.006-12:00

It has been suggested that the reason Royal Mail now charge 10% above face value for Prestige Stamp Books could be due to the complexity of the cylinders used for to apply security features.

I personally think that it is much simpler than this, and put it down to just plain old fashioned greed.

Royal Mail know that these booklets are only purchased by collectors , they know exactly how many are purchased and exactly how much extra with these sales they will bung into their coffers.

If it was anything to do with security features, all custom booklets would have a premium attached to the price. I also tend to think it is a disgrace that they have been allowed to get away with this price hike.

Ian Billings ON HIS BLOG has now made some more information available regarding the next Prestige booklet to be issued. It seems the thoughts are that the Machin pane will be pane 1 and it WILL be printed in gravure. Ian also has an image which I have reproduced here.

Whilst you are visiting Ians site you can also read up (and see an image) on his thoughts about the Arnold Machin Centenary issue! I tend agree with him what a boring way to commemorate such a important anniversary. I wander if the advisers who decide what issues to release actually collect stamps. I doubt it very much!

Mind the Gap

2011-07-10T17:58:00.009-12:00

Do you remember when the new self-adhesive security Machins first appeared in February, 2009? In retrospect, we can look back fondly on those days. We were preoccupied with whether the stamps really could be soaked off paper.

We looked at the die-cut slits in those first De La Rue issues. There were four U-shaped slits, two at lower left and two at lower right. On each side, one was inverted over the other to form an oval with a large gap between the top and bottom halves. Life was simple.

But simple is not the way of the Machins. Less than a month later, gaps started appearing at the top and bottom of the slits. These stamps became known as Type 2, with Type 1 referring to the original stamps without top and bottom gaps.

Then the top and bottom gaps became very small, and those stamps were labeled Type 2a (shown above). And then we got stamps with a gap in the bottom slit but none in the top, and these were called Type 3.

And recently it has gotten worse, with more variations in the size of the top and bottom gaps.

So Douglas Myall, who started the nomenclature and put it in the public domain for everyone to use, has decided to simplify the system. In his Deegam Handbook, there will be three Types:

Type 1 with no gaps at top and bottom
Type 2 with gaps of any size at both top and bottom
Type 3 with a gap of any size at either top or bottom but not both

Here's a diagram of the various types, with a line through Type 2a, requiescat in pace.

(Type 3 with a gap at top has not appeared yet, but it may.)

It remains to be seen whether others who use the Type notation follow suit. I should point out that Stanley Gibbons does not list slit types in the Specialised Catalogue.

For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of examining the gaps closely, there are some nice images on the Norphil blog here and here.

Meanwhile, for those of us who use the Deegam system, the security slits are now as simple as 1,2,3.

--Larry

Doctor Blade Flaws

2011-07-08T01:37:00.007-12:00

Most specialised catalogues do not list doctor blade flaws, I do not know why.

To my mind some of these flaws are as good as or near to an error as they can get. Pricing them on the other hand can be a bit of hit & miss. Stamps with flaws are only worth what someone is prepared to pay to acquire them. I priced mine up at around £25.00 each. Sorry about the poor quality of the scan (left).

I recently sent an example of this 10p booklet with a nice horizontal flaw to Larry as a thank you for a certificate he sent to me me.

I still have several different types of this particular booklet in my collection all with various degrees of a green over inked doctor blade flaw. I wrote something about my extras way back in 2007.

This pressed me into looking for more examples on the net. I could not find any of this type listed. Perhaps the bundle I purched had the only ones. (about 20 diffrent)

I did sell a few examples a few years back so I know for sure that someone else now has copies in their collection.

Whist I was on the net I did find a booklet with a doctor blade flaw catalogued at £35.00 and priced at £21.00. Not sure where the catalogued price was obtained.

This is described below.

SG Booklet FH15 with pane UMFB46. Charles Dickens No 3. David Copperfield. Error with white line through Queens face on second row, doctor blade fault. Imperf sides, new phosphor.

Your Comments

2011-06-30T00:08:00.014-12:00

Please note, when leaving comments to posts slanging matches will not be tolerated.

Anonymous is out of order with his / her views on the MCC in general ,which has one of best reference books available to Machin specialists. The price is very good and in my opinion it is excellent value for money.

Comment moderation has been not been enabled on this site (as yet). Unless you wish for all comments to be approved by the blog owners before publication moderate to constructive opinions. These are always welcome but PLEASE no slagging. Anonymous,s comment has now been deleted from the post in question.

This site can now boast that we now have the grand total 500 posts and are still counting.

Several comments over the years have also been added to these posts by interested parties. This is a lot of information for Machin buffs to read up on and digest.

Sometimes the site goes quiet for a time, as myself and Larry have busy periods when other things take up our time. Comments also tend to dry up at these intervals.

It is nice to see that our posts are once again attracting constructive comments from readers. This (allowing Machin buffs to communicate) was the main reason this blog was created. Seeing comments also proves to us that the site is appreciated by readers and has a small following.

Regarding the next Prestige Booklet discussed recently. Ian has threw another spanner in the works with this information.

"I don't believe they will be litho, I think they will be self-adhesive gravure by Walsall. I may be misguided by the presence of the MacKennal portrait on the centre label which is exactly the same as the one in the London Festival of Stamps booklet -which was self-adhesive."

Another comment re: this booklet states

."Royal Mails publicity department tend to get a lot wrong these days. Not only are the images often mock ups, but the information supplied is flawed and inaccurate. It Looks like we will have to wait for more information

When reading comments, please remember that they are the thoughts of individuals and not necessarily the complete facts. Corrections are normally added when actual stamps and booklets have been issued and studied by various specialists.

If you have any questions or ideas for future posts, please do leave a comment or get in touch with myself or Larry.

Some News you may not have seen yet.

Royal Mail are said to be issuing a miniature sheet of Machin definitives later this year. The sheet will be celebrating the centenary of the birth of Arnold Machin O.B.E, R.A. Machin was Born September 30th 1911.

It is thought that the sheet will consist of 10 stamps, it is not known which values will be used at this time. Speculation is they may be 10 x 1st class.

What we do know for sure is they will be new stamps. They will not have security slits but will have a security code. The code will be MA11 or M11L. The sheet will also have conventional PVAL gum.

More on MCC

2011-06-28T17:28:00.001-12:00

Melvyn Philpott, founder of the Machin Collectors Club, replied to my previous post about the online version of the MCC QEII Specialized Definitive Catalogue.

He provides further information about the catalogue, the online version, and other club services. It is well worth reading to get a better perspective on the club than I was able to offer.

--Larry

(Note: Pursuant to his request made privately to me, I removed the MCC logo from my original post.)

Machin News Update

2011-06-12T02:17:00.012-12:00

UPDATED

In the previous Machin News we mentioned that the 23 Aug 2011 was the date for release of a self adhesive customised booklet entitled Classic Locomotives of England.

I can now show a mock up of this booklet.

Douglas Myall, in his latest Deegam Report has also revealed some information on the Machin pane (pane 1) which will accompany the Centenary of Aerial Post Prestige Stamp Book - issue date 9 September 2011. The make up of the pane is thought to be as follows
top: 1st class - 2p - 68p , middle: 5p - label - 5p, bottom: 68p - 2p - 1st class.

Pane 4: Although these are not Machins they are worth a mention. The pane will be printed in intaglio. It is described as a Block of 4 x 50p Windsor Castle definitive stamps.

For those of us that obtained the Castles miniature sheet back in March 2005 which was printed by Joh Enschedé Security Print ,these may be of importance to you as this 2011 reprint may be printed by Cartor.

There is a very interesting comment attached to this post, so I decided to investigate a little more to determine if there was any more information on the web. Ian Billings has wrote something on his website which I repeat here. I hope Ian will not mind.

The Prestige Stamp Book is also designed by Robert Maude and Sarah Davies. Preliminary information has a note against pane 4 "(intaglio)", but the printing process is described as "Lithography, except pane 1 which is gravure", and the printer is identified as Cartor Security Printing.

However, we know that Cartor do not have gravure capability, so pane 1 will probably be printed by Walsall, especially if self-adhesive. Pane 4 will be intaglio, as was the 2005 Castles miniature sheet, which was printed by Enschede. We await the final product with interest to see who printed which panes!

Thanks Ian.

Royal Mails pre publicity pictures of this booklet show pane one as the Machin pane with the stamps described above, but a comment from Robert which is attached to this post informs us it IT will be the fourth pane which will contain mixed Machins with conventional PVAl gum.

This comprises of eight stamps printed by lithography:

Four 5p + two 1st class (top left and bottom right), two 76p (bottom left and top right), with the three-quarter portrait of George V by Bertram Mackennal in the middle.

The price is given as £9.97 for a total face value of £9.02.

Thanks Robert.

Rumours were Wrong

2011-06-05T04:59:00.004-12:00

We recently wrote a report that the Thomas The Tank - custom booklet should have a change of background code.

I am sorry to inform that this is not the case. Douglas Myall recently wrote to me with the news that Brian (who brought it to our attention) has got it wrong.

His e mail is reproduced below.

I have a copy of this book in front of me. The security definitives are MCIL M11L. They are identical to the Machins in the two previous custom books. I cannot see any sign of Brian's prediction that they "would break all the rules". Have I overlooked something?

MCC Catalogue Online

2011-06-04T19:02:00.004-12:00

I was excited a few months ago when I read that the Machin Collectors Club Specialised Definitive Catalogue was to be placed online. Now that it has actually happened, my enthusiasm has waned.

The MCC Catalogue has its share of faults, but it is a comprehensive reference work, and I thought that having online access could only be good. However, the actual implementation leaves a lot to be desired.

The online catalogue is simply a set of PDF files duplicating the printed catalogue. The pages are low resolution - a colleague who has purchased access says that the images are blurry. In addition, printing is not allowed. The usability of this online version is questionable.

The only apparent advantage to the online version is that the club promises to update the pages on a timely basis.

Finally, access to the online catalogue costs extra, even for MCC members. The cost is £10 annually for members and £20 for non-members.

You can download some sample pages here, but these are high quality and not representative of the online version. (They should really offer actual samples, so that prospective purchasers see what they are really going to get. If you are considering buying access, I suggest you write to them and ask for an actual sample page.)

Compare this to the online presence of the Modern British Philatelic Circle (MBPC). Their custom web site covers all decimal definitives, complete with sharp images. The booklet and self-adhesive product listings are derived from their own catalogue, with other listings based on The Complete Deegam Machin Handbook.*

In other words, it is a true web site, not a copy of a paper catalogue.

It is available to members only, but there is no additional cost beyond the basic membership fee, which is less than that of the MCC. So when considering the MCC's extra fee for online access, the total cost of MBPC is one-third to one-half of the MCC.

I have not been a member of the MCC for several years, so I cannot comment on their current monthly newsletter, but I can say that the MBPC's journal, The Bookmark, is excellent.

So all in all, I believe the MBPC offers much better value. And as far as the MCC catalogue online, I'm afraid it doesn't add much to the hobby.

--Larry

*Corrected an error in the original post.

Machins 101

2011-06-04T05:26:00.004-12:00

I really need to visit Robin Harris' excellent Great Britain Machins web site more often. I have recommended it previously, as has Roy, and Robin keeps adding new features as well as keeping it up to date.

Recently he added a booklet called Simplifying the Machins (aka Machins 101). It is available at no cost, but donations are welcome. He offers it as a guide to sorting an accumulation of Machins, but it really is a guide to the series as a whole.

It is excellent for a collector new to Machins, or just as a concise and well-designed reference for us old-timers.

So, hurry on over and download a copy for yourself. And when you meet someone who is new to Machins or struggling a bit with some of the subtleties, pass it along.

--Larry

PS While we are speaking of Machins for beginners, Adrian has a very nice post on his AKPhilately blog.

Reader's Digest Coil Arrangement

2011-06-04T04:43:00.002-12:00

The early Reader's Digest multi-value coils have three stamps of one denomination and the fourth stamp with a different denomination. There's an example on my earlier post about these coils.

When these are seen on the cards used by Reader's Digest, or on the covers that have made their way into the collecting community, the odd value is on the left. However, I have a cover, shown above, with the 2 1/2p value in the second position from the left.

Does anyone know how common those are, either on cover or on the original card?

Incidentally, covers sent back to Reader's Digest are only available with the first multi-value coil, as above, and a few with the second (three 4p and one 1/2p). Writing in the January, 2011 issue of The GBCC Chronicle, the late Jerone Hart notes that a Reader's Digest employee smuggled out some 'NO' covers with the first multi-value coil from the processing center. The quantity is unknown.

When Reader's Digest found out about this, they tightened their controls. Apparently a few covers with the second coil got out, but no others.

You can, of course, find the coils that were purchased from Royal Mail by collectors and used on a cover, but Jerone notes these are rare.

--Larry

PS I've had several posts in process. Tomorrow I leave on a business trip, so I will post them today.

Litho v Gravure Part 11

2011-05-23T02:15:00.004-12:00

A note from Glenn Morgan.

A fellow collector had saved my previous contribution to the debate which the blog company had deleted in error, so I can now re-upload in case it is of interest....

Sheet-fed litho production is centred on Cartor, with gravure and litho reel-fed production at Walsall. This was a conscious business decision according to Paul White, MD at WSP, when I interviewed him 18 months back.

He told me: "Until recently, work was allocated between plants on the basis of capacity, whereas now Cartor will undertake sheet-fed litho work (the smaller print runs), and WSP the web-fed gravure and web litho orders. A reallocation of presses reflects this strategic change within the Group."

So, unless Cartor / Walsall has re-allocated presses between factories again in the past few months*, which seems highly unlikely, Cartor does not have any gravure printing capability on-site. It could not, therefore, have printed the PSB panes, unless by litho.

The uncertainty as to the process used goes to prove how superb litho printing has become, for only a short while back the difference would have been visually obvious.

*Cartor's plant list as of last October comprised only litho presses according to Ian Brigham, MD at Cartor, when asked the question at a stamp printing seminar held by RPSL in London.

Douglas Myall has confirmed that the DOP on the SA pane stamps is as given in his earlier email." The stamps in the book have inverted direction of print, as do any on privately produced FDCs. The stamps on the official FDCs are from coils and have sideways right direction. They were printed without the stubs."

Many thanks to both Glenn and Douglas for taking the time to write to us.

Self Adhesives / Grid Positions

2011-05-17T04:43:00.003-12:00

The Make up values and new rate values listed in the last post ALL have Cylinder numbers D1

1p and 10p values occupy 12 cylinder grid positions.

The 2p, 5p and 20p were printed on on the same primary sheet which means only 4 cylinder grid positions will occur for these values. In turn (Although I have not seen them ) they should have the same printing date.

The 2p occupies the left grid positions, the 5p occupies the central grid positions and the 20p occupies the right grid positions.
Of the 4 new values issued for the rate rise. The 76p, £1.10 and £1.65 were laid down on the same primary sheet which means they also occupy only 4 cylinder grid positions on the same primary sheet. The same printing date should also apply for these values.

I have been informed the 76p occupies left grid positions, the £1.10 occupies the central grid positions and the £1.65 occupies the right grid positions.

The 68p value (Sea Green) occupies 12 grid positions on a single primary sheet.

Some Recent Printing Dates

2011-05-16T04:34:00.007-12:00

01p 05/01/11
02p 04/01/11
05p 04/01/11
10p 04/01/11
20p 04/01/11
68p 11/01/11
76p 10/01/11
1.10 10/01/11
1.65 10/01/11

2nd

10/03/10: Code : MAIO
26/04/10 Code : MAIO
14/09/10 Code : MAIO
11/10/10 Code : MAIO
19/11/10 Code : MAIO
22/11/10 Code : MIIL

1st

10/03/10 Code : MAIO
25/04/10 Code : MAIO
16/09/10 Code : MAIO
08/11/10 Code : MAIO
22/11/10 Code : MIIL

2nd Large

17/09/10 Code : MAIO

1st Large

15/03/10 Code : MAIO
16/03/10 Code : MAIO
25/04/10 Code : MAIO
23/11/10 Code : MIIL

SD to 100g 14/08/10
SD to 500g 16/08/10

Machin News

2011-05-15T01:21:00.007-12:00

Basically I have already given most of the Machin news in previous posts. Machins are never boring are they? There is always something to write about.

The latest information not yet announced on these pages concerns future booklets which will be available through the summer months.

First to appear will be on the 23rd August 2011, this is a mixed retail booklet which will be entitled Classic Locomotives of England. It has been reported to be printed by Walsall security printers. Contents are expected to be - 6 x 1st-class (4 gold Machins and 2 x 1st class Classic Locomotives of England special issues). The price will be £2.76. Background hidden codes may change if the speculation about previous booklets is correct. We will have to wait and see.

On the 9th September you can look forward to another overpriced Prestige booklet - Centenary of Aerial Post. Printers are expected to Cartor. The price (as with the previous Prestige Booklet) is expected be 10% over face: £10.07.

A few questions arise. Will this booklet contain another self adhesive pane of Machins? Will the SA pane be printed by Walsall in gravure? Will ALL stamps on this pane contain some sort of background hidden code? If so, what sort of code? It will be interesting to find out.

The 15th Sepember will be a date in which the last (for this year) Olympic & Paralympic Games booklet of 6 will be issued. Printers are again expected to be Walsall Security Print. Contents are described as : (six x 1st class, 4 x gold Machin / topics for the special issues are: 1 x Gymnastics / 1 x Fencing). Again these will be priced at £2.76 . It is not known what sort of code will appear. Royal Mail tend to keep this information quiet as Ian explained, this is supposed to be a security code.

Morris Pane Confirmed / Walsall in Gravure

2011-05-12T01:00:00.002-12:00

All blogs have been experiencing a few problems over the past day or two. If you posted a comment, to this or the previous post it may have been deleted by blogger.com. If you still have a copy of the original comment can you please re post it to these pages. Apologies go out to Glenn and Robert as I know for sure these messages were deleted.

A message from Douglas: I tried to post the following on your blog re the Morris book but I don't think I managed it.-----------

Douglas continues "Royal Mail announced in its March Key News that the printer was Walsall and in gravure. I can confirm this. As far as I know, Cartor do not have a gravure press.

The stamps in the book have the usual Walsall inverted direction of print, as do any on privately produced FDCs. The stamps on the official FDCs are from coils and have sideways right direction. They were printed without the stubs."

Thanks Douglas, this is very informative. Please re check the direction of print for the booklet pane on this issue. According to Deegam Report 88 -6 these self adhesive panes are described as Pane SAP 105 (DP 442) with a direction of print to the left from booklets or right for the panes produced on first day covers.

Another question: From Douglas. "Look at the security cuts and compare the top curve with the bottom one. What type shall we call this?

My thoughts:

It appears that the top cut is wider than the bottom cut.

Is this a third type of security cut? Or just a variation of the previous types that have been classified? It has been suggested that these are type 2. If they are new I guess it must be type 4 or type 2C.

I now await my copy the June Deegam Report with anticipation.

Once again I thank Richard and Ian Billings for the image.

Litho Verses Gravure

2011-05-11T01:33:00.011-12:00

Reports are circulating that the Machin pane from the William Morris Prestige booklet was printed in Gravure by Walsall Security Printers (not litho, Cartor) as first reported on these pages. Has anyone confirmed this? Many thanks to Cathy (see comments) this pane is printed in gravure, but Cartor remain the printers. The previous prestige self adhesive pane (King George) was printed by Walsall, so this is where the confusion arises from. Once again thanks go to Ian Billings for putting the story right.

The second thing on my agenda today is a little light reading and my give you a giggle.

Did you know that my Sir Name was Simpson? I have been given several nick names in the past, but the latest from my close friends is that of Homer, surely it must be something to do with my Sir Name.

I do not resemble him one bit!!

A Change In the Wind?

2011-05-10T04:01:00.007-12:00

Most of the forums and blogs have been a little quiet of late, not that there is no news to report, I guess people are busy doing other chores, the wife has had me at it non stop spring cleaning for one! I have managed to get a little respite today, she has gone to the hairdressers.

I was intrigued to read a note from Brian Sinnott who implied that there may be a change of code for Machins appearing in custom retail booklets in the near future. I had heard a whisper of this sometime ago, but dismissed it.

Brian says "Wait until you see the one in the Thomas retail booklet! They will break all the rules so far... And the '11' is nothing to do with the year of printing as you will see some '12's before too much longer."

I am not so sure about the year code, but we could see a change in the wording of the overprint.

Ian Billings on his blog gives a little more insight into what may or may not be forth coming.

"It is quite possible that 2010 or 2011 versions of the 50p & £1 workhorses will appear, and if usage of the Special Delivery stamps has been better than anticipated they may need a reprint as well before the end of this year.

And then there is innovation. There have been suggestions that forthcoming mixed retail booklets may have an innovation in the security overprint, possibly to indicate from which edition they come. So will we see 'THOMAS' or 'OLYMPIC' in the overprint? Remember the original purpose of the source code was to assist Royal Mail Production should there be any operational problems when the stamps were used."

Post & Go Machines

2011-05-05T01:04:00.004-12:00

Not a Machin related post I know.

I found this list on the Stamp Magazine web site and thought it may be useful for those of us who collect labels. All machines have been converted to take pictorial stamps, beginning April 1.

Location / Number of Kiosks / Address and Post Code

Ashford 2 Tufton Street TN23 1AA
Banbury 1 57 - 58 High Street OX16 5LB
Barnet 2 63/65 High Street EN5 5UU
Barnsley 1 4 Pitt Street S70 1AA
Barnstaple 1 39 - 40 Boutport Street EX31 1SB
Basildon 1 25 East Square SS14 1AA
Basingstoke 2 5-7 London Street RG21 7AB
Bath 2 27 Northgate Street BA1 1AJ
Birmingham 2 1 Pinfold Street B2 4AA
Bognor Regis 1 High Street PO21 1RG
Bolton 1 124 Deansgate BL1 1AD
Boston 1 18 Wide Bargate PE21 6AE
Bradford 1 38-40 Darley Street BD1 3HN
Bristol 3 Castle Gallery, Broadmead BS1 3XX
Bury St Edmunds 1 17-18 Cornhill IP33 1AA
Camberley 1 15 Princess Way GU15 3SP
Cambridge 2 57 - 58 St Andrews Street CB2 3BZ
Chester 1 2 St John Street CH1 1AA
Chester Le Street 1 137 Front Street DH3 3AA
Chesterfield 2 1 Market Place S40 1TL
Chichester 2 10 West Street PO19 1AB
Colchester 2 68-70 North Hill CO1 1PX
Crawley 2 7 The Boulevard RH10 1AA
Crewe 1 15 Delamere Street CW1 2HP
Croydon 3 10 High Street CR9 1HT
Darlington 2 Crown Street DL1 1AB
Dartford 2 19 Hythe Street DA1 1AB
Derby 2 Victoria Street DE1 1DD
Doncaster 2 24 Priory Place DN1 1AA
Durham 2 33 Silver Street DH1 3RE
Eastbourne 2 143-145 Terminus Road BN21 3NS
Exeter 3 28 Bedford Street EX1 1GJ
Exmouth 1 4-6 Chapel Street EX8 1LU
Fareham 2 117 West Street PO16 0AU
Farnham 2 107 West Street GU9 7PJ
Faversham 1 East Street ME13 8AA
Gloucester 2 Kings Square GL1 1AD
Grimsby 2 67-71 Victoria Street DN31 1AA
Guildford 2 171-173 High Street GU1 3AJ
Halifax 2 Commercial Street HX1 1AD
Harlow 1 1 Stone Cross CM20 1AA
Harrogate 2 11 Cambridge Road HG1 1AA
Harrow 2 14 College Road HA1 1BE
Harrow 1 4 - 12 Headstone Drive HA3 5QL
Hastings 2 16 Cambridge Road TN34 1AA
Haywards Heath 2 5-6 The Orchards RH16 3XX
Hereford 2 14-15 St Peters Street HR1 2LE
Horsham 2 15 Carfax RH12 1ER
Hyde 1 30 - 32 Market Place SK14 2QU
Ipswich 1 29 Tower Ramparts Centre, Tavern Street IP1 3DN
Keighley 1 44 Towngate BD21 3NL
Kidderminster 1 Crown House, Bull Ring DY10 2DS
Leeds 2 116 Albion Street LS2 8LP
Leeds 2 6 - 16 New York Street LS2 7DZ
Liverpool 1 India Building, Water Street L2 0RR
London
Ludgate Circus (Old) 3 16-18 New Bridge Street EC4V 6HX
Houndsditch 2 11 White Kennet Street E1 7BS
Farringdon Rd 1 39-41 Farringdon Road EC1M 3JB
Old Street 2 205 Old Street EC1V 9QN
Broadgate 2 35 Broadgate Circle EC2M 2BY
The City of London 2 12 Eastcheap EC3M 1AJ
Great Portland 1 54-56 Great Portland Street W1W 7NE
North Finchley 1 751 High Road N12 8LF
Wood Green 1 191 High Road N22 6DZ
Upper Holloway 1 14 Junction Road N19 5TA
Holloway 1 482 Holloway Road N7 6HY
Camden High Street 2 112-114 Camden High Street NW1 0RR
High Holborn 2 181 High Holborn WC1V 7RL
Baker Street 2 111 Baker Street W1U 6SG
Paddington Quay 2 Unit 6, West End Quay, 4 Praed Street W2 1JE
Kensington High Street 1 208 - 210 Kensington High St W8 7RG
Golders Green 1 879 Finchley Road NW11 8RT
Hampstead 1 79/81a Hampstead High Street NW3 1QL
Swiss Cottage 1 18, Harben Parade, Finchley Road NW3 6JU
St Johns Wood 1 28-32 Circus Road NW8 6PE
Blackfriars Road 1 52 Blackfriars Road SE1 8NN
London Bridge 2 19a Borough High Street SE1 9SF
Battersea 1 202 Lavender Hill SW11 1AB
Balham 1 92a Balham High Road SW12 9AF
Wandsworth 1 1 Arndale Walk SW18 4BL
Broadway 2 1 Broadway SW1H 0AX
Kings Walk 1 Unit G11 Kings Walk Shopping Centre SW3 4TR
Clapham common 2 161-163 Clapham High St SW4 7ST
Knightsbridge 1 6 Raphael Street SW7 1DL
Shepherds Bush 1 65/69 The Green W12 8QF
Albemarle Street 1 43-44 Albemarle Street W1S 4DS
Acton 1 23/29 King Street W3 9LD
Trafalgar Square 4 24-28 William IV Street WC2N 4DL
Aldwych Crown Office 2 95 Aldwych WC2B 4JN
Luton 2 The Arndale Centre, 42-44 Smith Lane LU1 2LP
Macclesfield 1 23 Castle Street SK11 6AW
Maidenhead 2 114 High Street SL6 1PT
Maidstone 2 89 Bank Street ME14 1SD
Manchester 2 Brazennose House, 21 Brazenose Street M2 5BS
Manchester 3 26 Spring Gardens M2 1BB
Milton Keynes 2 17-19 Crown Walk MK9 3AH
Nailsea 1 Crown Glass Place BS48 1RA
New Malden 1 150 High Street KT3 4ER
Newbury 1 39 Cheap Street RG14 5BS
Newport 1 9 Bridge Street NP20 1AZ
Norwich 2 84-85 Castle Meadow Walk, Castle Mall NR1 3DD
Nottingham 2 Queen Street NG1 2BN
Oldham 1 3-5 Lord Street OL1 3HP
Orpington 1 214 High Street BR6 0PT
Oxford 2 102-104 St Aldates OX1 1ZZ
Paignton 1 34 Torquay Road TQ3 3EX
Penzance 1 113 Market Jew Street TR18 2LB
Peterborough 1 28 - 30 Cowgate PE1 1NA
Plymouth 2 5 St Andrews Cross PL1 1AB
Portsmouth 1 Slindon Street PO1 1AB
Portsmouth 1 13 High Street, Cosham PO6 3EH
Reading 2 21-22 Market Place RG1 2DQ
Redditch 1 Thread Needle House, Alcester Street B98 8AB
Sevenoaks 2 South Park TN13 1AA
Sittingbourne 1 Central Avenue ME10 4AA
Solihull 2 44c Drury Lane B91 3AA
South Sheilds 2 Kepple Street NE33 1AA
Southend-on-Sea 2 199-201 High Street SS1 1LL
Southport 1 130c Lord Street PR9 0AA
St Albans 1 14 St Peters Street AL1 3AA
Stevenage 1 22-23 Westgate SG1 1QR
Stockport 1 36-40 Great Underbank SK1 1QF
Sunderland 2 45-47 Fawcett Street SR1 1RR,
Sutton 1 107 St Nicholas Centre, High Street SM1 1AX
Tonbridge 2 5 Angel Walk TN9 1TJ
Trowbridge 1 1a Roundstone Street BA14 8DA
Truro 3 High Cross TR1 2AP
Tunbridge Wells 2 18 Grosvenor Road, Five Ways TN1 2AD
Walsall 1 Darwall Street WS1 1AA
Warrington 2 Golden Square WA1 1QB
Windsor 2 38-39 Peascod Street SL4 1AA
Yeovil 2 King George Street BA20 1PZ
York 2 22 Lendal YO1 8DA
Northern Ireland
Belfast 2 12 - 16 Bridge Street BT1 1LT
Scotland
Aberdeen 1 489 Union Street AB11 6AZ
Dundee 1 4 Meadowside DD1 1AA
Dunfermline 1 42 - 44 Queen Anne Street KY12 7AA
Edinburgh 1 40 Frederick Street EH2 1EY
Edinburgh 2 8-10 St James Centre EH1 3SR
Glasgow 3 47 St Vincent Street G2 5QX
Inverness 1 14-16 Queensgate IV1 1AX
Paisley 1 Piazza Shopping Centre, 34-36 Central Way PA1 1AA
Perth 1 109 South Street PH2 8AF
Wales
Aberystwyth 1 8 Great Darkgate Street SY23 1DE
Cardiff 2 45-46 Queens Arcade, Queen Street CF10 2BY
Carmarthen 1 9 - 10 King Street SA31 1AA

Olympic & Paralympic Games III

2011-05-03T03:19:00.005-12:00

I now have a mock up image of the 3rd Olympic & Paralympic Games - retail stamp book which will contain (4 x 1st-class Gold Machins (code C) and 1 x 1st-class Wheelchair Rugby stamp along with 1 x 1st-class Paralympic Sailing stamp. I have been informed that the issue date is 27 Jul 2011.

Face Value £2.76. Another booklet (number IV) is planned for September.

Several readers have requested the free copy of The Royal Wedding invitation, which has now been forwarded on to them by email. If anyone else is interested please let my have your details by the end of this week when the offer will be withdrawn.

R for Roll or Royal Wedding?

2011-05-01T04:11:00.011-12:00

A few reports have materialised that Royal Mail have sent a written invitation to many of their customers offering them the opportunity to purchase The Royal Wedding collection of stamps

If you have received one, I have been advised to inform you not to bin it, but inspect the stamp first. Reliable reports advise me that they (R.M) have used a 1st class gold Machin code MRIL from the coil of 10,000 on the envelope. These have arrived to the majority of those customers with a UK delivery address.

Although the cancellation is not what I would call the best (that of several wavy lines) it is a good opportunity to get a genuine copy for a used collection.

A have already seen one advertised for sale on eBay, no bids up to today and a starting price 46p with 99p postage.

If you wish to place an advance order for one (first come) our regular contributor Ian is offering to supply our readers with a copy on cover if you need one.

Anyone who lives overseas may also have had an invitation, but I have heard that it is very unfortunate for some as customers across the pond in the USA didn't get the R coded Machin on their invitations. It was the standard pre-printed postage label.

Something Extra

I can also send to anyone that wants one, a copy of the actual invitation sent to the rich and famous from Her Majesty, (sadly I could not attend :-) . These will be sent to you with your own name on, or your wifes if you wish.

No charge for these just send me an email with your requirements. Title your email invitation. My address is gbmachins@lineone.net

1p Used Machin -Debt Paid

2011-04-29T02:48:00.008-12:00

I am not so unlucky after all, Larry sent me this certificate along with a very nice used 1p Machin with a Birmingham cancellation. I must have mentioned that I collect Birmingham postmarks!

Yes he pays his debts

It cost Larry a lot more than 1p, as the postage from Sunnyvale, CA .USA. was whopping $4.33

Thanks Larry, I will treasure it. You can expect a little thank you from me in return. (something you will also treasure) so watch your mailbox.

I Could Not Win a Sausage, But I Have Found Love

2011-04-26T06:33:00.009-12:00

Typical me, I have a bet and the very next day I get an email with this information.

"We may yet get high-value stamps with 2010 or 2011 dates, and Special Delivery stamps with 2011 dates later in the year." Oh well its only 2p !!

The weather has been great here in Spain. So much so, we had residential BBQ. A great day.

Afterwards in the cool evening air, my self and my wife retired to the porch in front of the house.
I consumed a few more beers and spent a little time going through some of my Machin booklets. My wife sat with her tonic water quietly knitting.

Out of the blue, I remarked "I Love You."
"Is that the beer talking" she quipped."
"No" I said "its me talking to my beer and stamp booklets"

CHEERS !! I hope you all had a nice Easter

2011-04-25T01:50:00.007-12:00

Ian Billings informs us that "two more 2010 coded stamps have been reported on the Recorded Signed For Letter and Large Letter stamps, printed on 11/03/10 and 12/03/10 respectively"

He has now posted pictures of the stamps on his blog.

This got me thinking about the two NVIs issued for the weight steps on the Special Delivery service stamps which were issued on 26th October last year. These also carry the year date MA10, but as they are sheet stamps there is no source code.

Images below are courtesy of Norvic Philatelics
The stamps were printed by De La rue in gravure. With a initial high value of £5.05 and £5.50 respectively. After the price increase on 4th April 2011 the new rates are now £5.45 and £5.90.

Due to the high cost of these stamps I do not think stocks will dwindle in a hurry so I personally do not envisage a new code of MA11, or perhaps MA12 will materialise. I could be wrong so I will give Larry the chance to recover his losses, my bet is a 2p used Machin.

Larry wrote about these two stamps whilst I was away, I do not think he mentioned the codes in his report.

I always pay my debts

2011-04-21T17:14:00.002-12:00

Watch your mailbox, Roy!

--Larry

Imperf 40p With Short Bars Top (S16)

2011-04-16T03:49:00.008-12:00

During September of last year a member of the Machin Forum posted a note advising that he had acquired a left imperforate marginal pair of SG Y1705a/Deegam 400.3.1 with dramatic S16 short bands at top. Described on site "The bands are 5mm short from the top of the stamp design. Has anyone else seen one of these? CC and Deegam do not list an S16 for this issue" Some months have now passed since the original report and the owner has posted an image (see image left). A second single stamp which appears to have short bands bottom (S17) has also been reported in an imperforate vertical pair. To read the complete thread please click here

More On The Unicorn Head Type 2

2011-04-13T02:45:00.015-12:00

Further to my comment to Douglas, I do not actually own this type 2 pack, my scan was taken from another pack: (amended) Cathedrals which also has the 2 types of unicorn head.

However after doing some research I have only found one other pack (26) listed. This is the Scandinavian pack 26 , which was, quote "A special pack produced for sale during a visit to six cities in Denmark, Sweden and Norway by a mobile display unit between 15th April and 20th May 1971. The pack gives details of this tour and also lists the the stamps which were due to be issued in 1971, the text being in English. A separate insert gives translations in Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. The pack was also available at the Philatelic Bureau, Edinburgh."

The Scandinavian Pack is catalogued at £30.00. Normal pack : £5.00

Sorry Douglas I am still no wiser to answer your question "Are there two types of English packs?" It certainly looks that way. Pehaps someone else could enlighten us further?

Canceled To Order ? ?

2011-04-12T21:48:00.004-12:00

I used to collect first day covers (a long time ago) but as stamp collecting got more expensive I then decided to give them up along with overpriced gutter pairs, special issue cylinder blocks, special issue traffic light blocks etc. I felt that I was being ripped off by Royal Mail to a degree, as more and more issues were appearing month after month..

Do not get me wrong, I am not one to dictate to others on what to collect, (each to his own) if you can afford it and you enjoy what you have go for it.

Just one example of a modern issue.

I was intrigued to see (above) this for sale at £20 on the Internet, described as a first day cover. On inspection the cancels look to be OK , it is the self adhesive issue cancelled with a Birmingham post mark on 08/03/11.

To my mind a Windsor cover cover with a Birmingham cancel does not look right. This is also 3p short of the current 1st class rate. I doubt very much that it travelled through the postage system.

So is it a first day cover, or just another overpriced envelope cancelled to order? I guess it could have been sent 2nd class at a cost of 37p but (again) I doubt it.

What do you think of modern day collecting and philately today in general?

2011 Self Adhesives / A list Of Issues

2011-04-10T01:13:00.013-12:00

It has been a busy start to the year (again) for people who collect every new Machin issue with self adhesive gum . In What ever formats you collect it will be costly, just saving one mint single from each issue will make your piggy bank quite a bit lighter, or in some cases empty it completely.

2011 check list. This is a list of all known self adhesive Machin stamps (to date) known for this year .

1st class from mixed booklets (Thunderbirds) - M11L - MCIL

1st class from Business Sheets - M11L - MBIL

2nd class from Business Sheets - M11L - MBIL

2nd class from Counter Sheets - M11L - MAIL

1st class from Counter Sheets - M11L - MAIL

1st class Large Counter Sheet - MA11 - MAIL

1st class mixed booklets (Heart Foundation - M11L - MCIL (this is the same stamp as the one from the Thunderbirds booklet

2nd class Large retail booklet - MA11 - MFIL

1st class Large retail booklet - MA11 - MFIL

2nd class retail booklet of 12 - M11L - MTIL

1st class retail booklet of 6 - M11L - MSIL

2nd class Large Counter Sheet - MA11 - MAIL

1p, 2p, 5p, 10p & 20p counter sheets (no overprints) 68p, 76p, £1.10 & £1.65. new tariff rate stamps M11L and MAIL. These stamps are known guillotined and torn from from sheets

1st class retail booklet of 12 - M11L - MTIL

To be issued in May, W Morris PP (Confirmed) 5p, 10p no overprint and 50p M11L - MPIL

One to look out for: I did say a couple of years ago, that we may have some diverse subjects coming to the fold. Here is the latest promised June 14th . Another Retail stamp book (4 x 1st-class-2 x 1st-class Thomas the Tank Engine) : The price will be £2.76

William Morris Prestige Pane

2011-04-08T23:58:00.006-12:00

Above the cover of the William Morris Prestige Booklet

Ian Billings has posted actual images of the stamps and some more information regarding the William Morris Machin Pane. It was expected that these stamps would be of the self adhesive type, and they are. What we were all wondering was will they all have the security overprint? Ian shows the scans of all values and the conclusion is, the 5p & 10p are without the security overprint, but the 50p shows the M11L and MPIL year and source codes. The printers are Walsall security Print so all values are new at DG level 1. See the images here and read about other aspects of this this issue.

Presentation Packs / Unicorn Head 2 Types

2011-04-08T01:05:00.011-12:00

Pack 26 issued in 1971

I have known about this for some time, and have been keen to mention them on the blog. Due to my absence over the last few months it was put on the back burner until today.

A certain Machin definitive presentation pack has been discovered as having two types, this is not widely known as it is not mentioned (to my knowledge) in specialist catalogues.

The pack in question is the low value P/P number 26, issue date 15/02/1971. The differences may be small but the type 2 pack has a higher value and is quite scarce compared to its sibling (type 1.

So what is the difference between these two packs? It is in fact a minor one but one that should be mentioned (and in my opinion should be listed by several Machin specialised catalogues).

If you look at the image above you will notice on the top of the pack at the left there is a printed image of a lion and a unicorn head. The unicorn on the right side is the one to study. Type one has just one tuft in the mane behind the horn and type two has two tufts. See below.

My scanner is not the best I'm afraid but you You can see a better example of the image here

where is is listed.

The New Value Self Adhesives

2011-04-07T04:56:00.009-12:00

I have still not managed to get supplies of the new rate values or make up values, they are expected to arrive at my UK address sometime in the near future, and will be brought out to me in Spain early June.

I have however been trolling the web for information and have come across some interesting stuff.

The Presentation packs (pack 90) for instance have been issued with just the 4 new rates selling at £4.19 . Stamp face values £4.19. I know RM add a premium to packs so is this correct

Packs have also been issued by some offices with 9 stamps, these have a price tag of £5.10, the make up values only add up to 38p. So these should have a face value of £4.42 add the premium of 68p for the P Pack to this and I get a total of £5.10. Sorry to confuse everyone but what price should these packs be sold at?

The 5 make up values (38p) were also supplied by one Post Office on a stock card to be added to the pack. How much was the buyer charged for this stock card? A gigantic an error by Royal Mail.

I know its being picky but are they supplying guillotined stamps with these cards or stamps torn from the counter sheets? The stamps from both these packs are guillotined from either coils or sheets of 25. Has anyone determined the direction of print from these packs and compared it to the sheets? Are they the same?

If you have any comments or answers to these questions please get in touch.

Thanks Roy

Online Machin Catalogues

2011-04-05T23:48:00.010-12:00

With the age of the Internet, collecting Machins (or any stamps for that matter) has become so much more diverse. There are thousands of web sites available for collectors to research. Top of the pile, online SPECIALIST Machin catalogues have become the norm for most who deal or collect these definitives. At the apex of my list of sites, we have the brilliant Deegam Reports, these the most detailed I have read. Published every 2 - 3 months they keep the avid Machin Maniac up to speed with information on new releases, new finds and all background news, in brief they are a prelude to new chapters which are added in conjunction with the Deegam CD. My findings , superb in depth reporting. The Connoisseur catalogue of Machin Stamps published by James Skinnner is another we have mentioned in the past. The Latest to join the online fold is The MCC QEII Specialised Definitives Catalogue, this will be made available in conjunction with Sutton Stamps on line from Sunday April 17th. For a sneak preview click here

Prince William and Kate Middleton

2011-03-30T23:55:00.004-12:00

Here's the 'philatelist' portrait of Prince William and Kate Middleton - made entirely of stamps, mostly Machins!

Peter Mason, or the 'Post Pop Art Man,' as he is known, created the portrait of the royal couple by recycling British postage stamps into a pixilated image of the pair.

See and read the whole story here.

For the tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, on the 10th anniversary of her death, seen left, more than 100 stamps of a set of five featuring Diana’s portrait were used on the candle alone, symbolizing Elton John’s memorial song “Candle in the Wind.” A huge amount of thought went into the creation of the portrait and its use of symbolism.

You can see more pictures of Peters work and read how he makes up the designs on this website.

New Definitive Rates & Values.

2011-03-29T23:31:00.008-12:00

I have had a couple of emails from collectors who are concerned that they are having difficlty finding stocks of the new 2011 Self Adhesive Machin Definitives. Most Post Offices at this time do not have stocks of these values which are if you did not know 1p 2p 5p 10p 20p.

The new specification is being introduced to the five make-up values above and the date for 3rd April was given for release. They were actually released in March 2011. The stamps include, security slits but no iridescent overprint. They will have 2 Phosphor Bars. Just a thought, perhaps they have something planned to impliment the overprint at a later date.

The current PVA gummed Machin Definitive sheet stamps of 200, are still sold at Post Offices in 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p and 20p values, and from what I have seen and told they will be available for quite a while untill stocks are exhausted. Eventually being converted to this uniform self-adhesive format, in sheets of 25.

These new designs incorporate the new revised slit features. As with previous self adhesive security stamps the slits do not affect the removal of the stamps from the backing sheets, but are designed (together with the new gum) to prevent the removal of used stamps from envelopes for misuse. The new features will (as with previous security stamps) impact on collectors of used stamps as the new laminate and slits do not allow stamps to be removed from the envelope without a great deal of difficulty.

Royal Mail have said " whilst this is unfortunate for collectors of used stamps, it does reflect the need for them (Royal Mail) to ensure that postal revenues are protected."

As these definitives are not being classed as a new issue there is no First Day of Availability so there will be no First Day Envelope, First, Day Cover or Presentation Pack.

I have been informed these 5 values values will however be added to the Tariff pack planned for 06 April 2011. Is a tarif pack not a Presentation Pack?

The 2011 New Tariff Change Values issue date was 29.03.2011, they are all Self Adhesive Machin Definitives, values are 68p, 76p, £1.10 & £1.65. These are all printed by DLR in gravure with the iridescent overprint. They will have 2 Phosphor Bars, and incorporate the iridescent M11L year coding.

Roy

Stanley Gibbons Specialised Volume 4 Part 2

2011-03-24T17:08:00.005-12:00

The SG Great Britain Specialised Catalogue is a comprehensive reference for British stamps. It comes in five volumes, with Volume 4 - Queen Elizabeth II Decimal Definitive Issues split into two parts. Historically, Gibbons has updated each volume every few years.

The decimal definitives, however, have gotten to the point where Gibbons can't seem to handle them. After updating Volume 4 roughly every three years since 1976, progress came to a halt after the 2000 edition.

Because of the number of stamps, Gibbons split Volume 4 into two parts. A new edition of Part 1 appears in 2008 but part 2 didn't show up until late 2010, a full ten years after the previous edition.

Part 1 contains the denominated Machins with water-activated gum. Part 2 contains non-denominated Machins, Machin and pictorial regionals, all self-adhesive Machins, castle high values, greetings stamps, Faststamps, and more.

You may have heard or read about this recent Part 2. I just finished writing a review of it that will be published in The Great Britain Collectors Club Chronicle. Here's the summary:

The new two-column layout with color accent is not well thought out in some respects. The organization is a mess. The volume is riddled with errors. (Gibbons posted a partial list of corrections on their web site.) And, most insulting, no one did even cursory proofreading to catch obvious errors and inconsistencies. It is really sloppy work.

A member of the Machin Forum posted a letter he received from Hugh Jeffries, Catalogue Editor, who said the problems resulted from the unexpected departure of the volume's editor during its production. That doesn't explain why mistakes that would be noticed by any literate high school student weren't fixed before publication.

I can't recommend this volume, and I can only hope this represents Gibbons' nadir, and things will improve from here.

--Larry

Adding Insult to Injury

2011-03-19T17:48:00.004-12:00

The Royal Mail announcement for the William Morris & Co issue on May 5 was recently published. That issue will include the second prestige booklet of the year. For the first time, Royal Mail will charge a premium over the face value of the stamps. The booklet will sell for £9.99 compared to face value of £9.04.

The history of prestige booklets is well-known to regular readers and experienced Machin collectors, but I'll provide a simplified review here. A prestige booklet is a large, colorful booklet, generally with four panes of stamps and several pictorial interleaves. Today, it generally accompanies an issue of commemorative (or special) stamps.

The booklet is primarily aimed at people who are buying the postal products because of their interest in the subject. It is not generally (or perhaps ever) purchased by someone who is just looking for stamps to frank a letter or parcel.

The booklet generally contains stamps that are in some way different from other issues, which means that anyone who wants a complete collection of British stamps needs at least some stamps from the booklet.

At least one pane in each booklet contains Machins, so many Machin collectors will require stamps from the booklet. The Machin pane from the Morris and Co booklet is shown above. It contains a three different Machins and a total of eight.

Collectors of Machin singles will need one each of the 5p, 10p and 50p, so if they buy the booklet, they will pay nearly £10 for 65p worth of stamps.

Collectors in the UK can, of course, use the other stamps on mail. Some of us outside the UK can also find uses for the stamps. However, these booklets are a costly inconvenience at a minimum.

Collectors can, of course, buy the stamps from a dealer. Dealers, however, have to cover their costs so generally the price of these individual stamps is relatively high.

To get back to the title of this post, the "insult" has gotten worse recently as Royal Mail has been issuing four of these overpriced booklets each year. And now they are adding "injury" by charging a premium over the value of the stamps.

On his page describing these stamps, Ian Billings of Norvick Philatelics valiantly mixes his metaphors and says that this premium price reminds him of the sound of a golden goose being shot in the foot.

But I wonder. We Machin collectors are a dedicated lot, and this premium, though annoying and insulting, probably won't be enough to deter too many of us. Others who buy the stamps, booklet, presentation pack, first day cover, stamp cards, etc. etc. because they are interested in Morris and Co and/or the thematic subjects of textiles and crafts are probably not going to be deterred by an extra pound. So I think Royal Mail will get away with this crime.

There is, however, one ray of hope. In 1993, Royal Mail announced that the Beatrix Potter prestige booklet would be sold at a premium over face value and even put the inflated price of £6.00 on the cover of the booklet. There were so many complaints that Royal Mail revised their plans and sold the booklet at the value of the stamps inside, £5.64.

But times change, and Royal Mail is desperate for revenue (even after the huge rate increase this year). I think this premium price will remain.

Royal Mail's issuing and pricing policies aside, there is one very noteworthy aspect to the stamps. From the image above, it appears that they will be self-adhesive. (Royal Mail didn't say whether they will be or not, but it certainly looks that way.)

This probably results from the fact that all other Machins are now self-adhesive - regular (non-prestige) booklets have been that way for a decade, and sheet stamps have been converted over the last couple of years. Only some water-activated gum coil stamps remain, presumably to be used in automated vending machines.

This year's first prestige booklet, the World Wildlife Fund issued on March 22, had Machins with water-activated gum. However, my guess is that all future prestige booklets will have self-adhesives. We will see.

--Larry

Incidentally, Royal Mail's image shows no security slits and no security overprint. (It also shows colors that are not likely to be accurate.) Assuming the stamps are self-adhesive, they will almost certainly have the security slits.

The sheet version of the 50p stamps has the security overprint, but the 5p and 10p do not. Will Royal Mail do the same in this booklet?

Not Even Close

2011-03-09T18:57:00.003-12:00

You are probably wondering why there are two Norwegian stamps at the top of this post. (If you aren't wondering, you are probably reading the wrong blog!)

They are here to set the record straight.

Not my record. That's always straight.

It's the record of some lazy philatelic writers who look at the Machins' 40+ years of existence and assume that they are the longest-running series of stamps.

Not even close.

As Linn's Stamp News pointed out recently, Norway's post horn stamps hold that record. The first post horn stamp was issued in January, 1872, and the series is still going strong. It was modernized in 2001, but the basic design remains the same.

The left stamp above is from 1886, and the right stamp is one of the newest stamps, issued on November 15, 2010.

Now, there is one aspect where the Machins may have the advantage. One of the sites I read said that there were 135 major varieties of the post horns as of 2002. At that time, the Machins had about 350. This results from the fact that the post horns are not the only design used for Norway definitives, whereas the Machins are used for all regular values (low values since they were introduced and high values for part of that time).

Notwithstanding the uncertain future of postage stamps, the Queen would have to live a very long time for the Machins to catch up with the post horns' longevity, assuming Norway stops issuing them. Neither event is likely.

The Machins have rightfully earned many distinctions, but longest-running series of stamps is not one of them.

--Larry

(Back to Machins next time.)

Dummy Machins

2011-03-01T20:17:00.003-12:00

Glenn Morgan is a collector, exhibitor, author, volunteer - a philatelist par excellence. He maintains a web site at www.stampprinters.info which is primarily about stamp printing and printers, but he has other topics as well.

A related topic that he is interested in is Dummy Stamps. He defines them as "items that have the general appearance of being real, but which lack the capacity to function in the postal system." Dummy stamps are a subset of labels known as cinderellas.

Cinderellas are any label that looks like a postage stamp, while a dummy stamp is a cinderella that has a purpose relating to the post office, its printers or its customers.

Glenn publishes a periodic (roughly quarterly) Dummy Stamps Newsletter. All issues are available for download on a page on his web site, and it is free.

Now, that I've explained all that, the reason that I mention it here is that Machins show up fairly frequently in the newsletter.

In the most recent issue, number 20, Glenn pictures all 34 known varieties of the 00p Machins. Glenn also gives some background on these dummies, including his educated guess (no dummy he!) that they were printed in miniature sheets of nine.

In the prior issue, he discusses a test printing of linerless self-adhesive coil format stamps. A ilnerless coil is one that has no backing paper. The roll sticks to itself, like Sellotape (cellophane tape to us Americans).

The dummy linerless stamps do not have the Machin portrait, but a sample hang-sell package (pictured here) produced by the House of Questa (in cooperation with American/Canadian printer Ashton Potter) features a Machin stamp. The pictured stamp is imperforate at top and bottom - presumably the way the linerless coil would be produced, but not a format that has ever been issued.

Though Royal Mail has never issued a linerless self-adhesive coil, the US Postal Service did some years ago. Apparently it was not considered successful because it was never repeated.

So go on over to Glenn's site and download all of his newsletters. After you've read them, you'll be so smart that no one would dare call you a dummy.

--Larry

PS Also on the web page is a flyer for the latest edition of Glenn's catalog of the sheets, cards, labels and packs distributed at British stamp exhibitions. If you are at all interested in these items, his book (available on CD) is worthwhile.

The Case of the Missing Pink

2011-02-21T16:30:00.003-12:00

My friend and colleague, whom I'll refer to as TLB, is a GB expertizer for the American Philatelic Society. Naturally, most of the material he gets is from the Victorian era, which matches his area of expertise. Once in a while, however, he gets some modern items, and he asks me for help.

One such item was the pair of covers pictured above. The submitter wanted to know if the £5 stamp in the top cover was missing the pink color on the portrait. The normal stamp is on the lower cover.

The cover was sold as a changeling, that is, a stamp that was printed normally but was subjected to some influence - generally either light or a chemical - that causes a change in color. In spite of the fact that the cover was purchased from a well-established UK dealer who would not have let a missing color slip through his fingers, the seller was hoping he had a missing color error.

The dealer had already pointed out that the colored block at lower left had changed from gray to green and suggested that the changes to the stamp and cachet were the result of excessive exposure to sunlight.

In response to TLB's request, I checked the various reference works such as Deegam and Gibbons Specialised. I confirmed that no missing color error was listed for this stamp. I also noted that red shades are notorious for fading after prolonged exposure to light. As a result we concluded that the dealer was correct. The stamp was a changeling, not a missing color error.

And probably not worth what the submitter had paid for it.

An enlargement of the stamp is below.

--Larry

Up to 60g

2011-02-13T20:25:00.003-12:00

In the Autumn 2010 issue of Cross Post, the journal of the Friends of the BPMA (the British Postal Museum and Archive), Don Staddon shows some essays for stamps similar to the NVI's shown above.

The ones above are the actual issued stamps. The one on the left is one of two issued in March, 2003. This one paid for overseas airmail outside Europe for letters up to 40g; a second similar stamp paid for letters to Europe. A third stamp was issued a year later for worldwide postcards.

Although introduced with great fanfare, these stamps underwent a name change, from "universal" to "international one-stop," and then slipped under the radar. They remained on sale, but there was little publicity about them and, at least for a while, they could not be found on Royal Mail's web site.

Last year, the two 40g stamps were replaced with 20g stamps using the same design but different colors. One of the 20g stamps is shown above.

There was no official explanation for this switch, but my theory is that Royal Mail switched to the less-expensive stamps in the hopes of increasing the volume of overseas mail. The 40g stamps probably overpaid postage for most letters (since there are lower rates for 20g letters going outside the UK and for 10g worldwide letters), but this may not have been known by postal customers who simply bought the convenient NVIs.

I think Royal Mail would rather accept the risk of a few 20 to 40 gram letters being underfranked in return for the higher volume.

Anyway, back to the essays shown by Don Staddon. He says they were printed by Walsall and date from the early 2000's, so probably from a time before the stamps were actually issued. They have three unusual characteristics:

- They are inscribed "up to 60 grams"
- The lettering is in italic style
- The worldwide stamp is in a pink color that has never been used for these NVIs

The first point is the most interesting. Royal Mail apparently considered issuing these stamps at an even higher rate than the actual ones. The 60g weight would have been equivalent to the first weight step for domestic mail at that time. Instead, they settled on 40g and ultimately lowered it to 20g.

The change from italic to regular type style was probably simply an artistic judgment, as was the choice of colors. Probably there were other color trials done around the same time.

So thanks to Don, we have a brief glimpse at part of the development of these NVIs.

--Larry

While we're on the subject, if you are not a member of the Friends of the BPMA, you should consider joining. Besides the semi-annual excellent journal, Cross Post, you get a discount at the BPMA shop and invitation to events available exclusively to Friends. And most importantly, you keep informed of and lend your support to the upcoming new postal museum.

Cambridge University Machin Colour Trials of 1969 - Part 3

2011-02-05T18:27:00.003-12:00

Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here.

Arnold Machin maintained a close interest in any changes in his design, so he was consulted by Don Beaumont about the 14 proposed colours for the decimal series. Machin was not satisfied with them on aesthetic grounds.

Machin created a new range of colors which was referred to as the 'Machin' set of stamps.

In their subsequent second report, the researchers noted in response that their selection criteria had not taken aesthetics into account.

Another range was produced by one of the researchers named Brown. Brown's set was based on the argument that the recognition of a color visually was retained in the brain for only two seconds. After that, the brain stores the memory by name. Therefore, a stamp that can be identified by a simple name such as 'red' is remembered better than one that is 'pinkish head on a dark green background.'

Both new sets contained colours that were not part of the original selection.

The researchers stated that it was impossible to construct a range of 14 colours that can be identified and described as a single word, especially when considering the other constraints such as compatibility with automated sorting.

It would, however, be possible to use different hues of the same color. 'Bright blue' and 'dark blue' are easily remembered, though the previous investigation showed that dark colours are difficult to identify quickly.

The researchers did comparison exercises (see Part 2) with the 'Machin' and 'Brown' sets. Those two sets gave similar results, but both produced more errors than the original set, and 80% of those errors came from the newly-introduced colours.

They came to several conclusions, including that it was probably impossible to design a range of stamps this size that is both maximally pleasing aesthetically and minimally confusing.

After the second report was submitted in September, 1969, a decision had to be made. Don Beaumont selected 12 colors and had trials produced showing the colours with their proposed values. He then consulted with others in the Post Office, and as a result he switched the colours on some of the values.

On the four colours shown above, the 1 1/2p, 2p and 3p were retained, but the gradated pink colour used for the trial of the 7 1/2p was now proposed for the 2 1/2p.

The full set of 12 is shown here. On this full sheet, note that the 7 1/2p is printed in two colours, gradated pale blue and gradated pink. This implies that in this late 1969 effort, several colours were trialled for at least some of the values.

The 12 decimal definitives were issued on February 15, 1971.

As we know, the 12 colours didn't last long. The 10p was changed from a large stamp to a small one and issued as a bi-coloured stamp (terracotta and orange-brown) in August, 1971.

Three new values, the 4 1/2p bluish grey, 5 1/2p deep violet and 8p red were issued in October, 1973.

To see the progression of colours throughout Machin history, see the timeline on Robin Harris' superb web site here.

--Larry

That was then, this is now

2011-02-02T17:49:00.003-12:00

While going through some old files, I came across a clipping that someone sent me from a 1997 issue of Despatch Manager, a UK magazine for mailers. The small article notes the continuation of trials of self-adhesive coils in a box.

In the article, Royal Mail Product Manager Julia Brooksbank is quoted as saying, "Royal Mail has developed self-adhesive stamps for small businesses, but they will in no way replace traditional stamps, which will be as widely available as ever."

Times change.

--Larry

Machin for Christmas

2011-01-20T17:27:00.004-12:00

I was going to post this during the holiday period, but, well, tempus fugit.

Arnold Machin is known as the designer of his iconic stamp who never designed another. I didn't know until recently that it wasn't for lack of trying.

Last month the BPMA posted rejected art work by Arnold Machin for the 1968 Christmas issue. Not surprisingly, it's an image of a sculpture - in this case, the Virgin and Child.

A slightly larger image is here.

I do not recall Machin mentioning this in his autobiography, but I don't have my copy at hand, so if anyone knows otherwise, please let me know in the comments.

--Larry

PS About the booklet pane…well, it is mostly red and green…in fact, this is one of the booklet panes that got me started collecting Machins. But that's a story for another time.

The Portable Deegam

2011-01-11T20:51:00.005-12:00

How would you like to take the Complete Deegam Machin Handbook with you to a show or club meeting? With the deluge of eReaders and tablets now hitting the market, you can.

Nearly all of these portable devices can display PDF files, which is the format of the Deegam. So you simply load the Deegam on the device, and you are ready to go.

Well, perhaps not so simply. The links that allow you to go easily from one part of the Handbook to another do not work on these devices, so you have to know your way around the file structure a little bit. Still, the file names are pretty simple, so it won't take long to master it.

You can, of course, also load the Deegam reports on the devices.

Santa was good to us this year in the electronic gadget department. He brought me the new Barnes and Noble NOOKcolor (shown above), and my daughter got an Amazon Kindle (shown here).

(With some help from my employer, Santa brought me an iPad, which I in turn gave to my wife. However, she frowns on me playing with her stuff, so there's no photo.)

So hie thee to thy nearest eRetailer (or thy nearest web site) and bring thy Deegam wherever you go.

--Larry

By the way, the Connoisseur Catalogue is also in PDF format. You can take them both with you!

Off With Her Head?

2011-01-01T03:15:00.008-12:00

As a collector of postage stamps I have always liked subjects like history and geography, but not normally interested or too bothered by politics. I usually switch off the TV (or over) when these little kids we call MPs are supposedly earning their ill gotten inflated expenses by having a debate in the commons. I am getting off the point with this (do not get me started), I hate politics), lets get back to the main subject.

By switching off or over the TV (or going to the pub) I missed this little gem of an argument entitled Should the Queen Lose Her Head.

Lately I have I have been hearing and reading all sorts of rumours that if (when) Royal Mail sell off part of its Postal business, GB stamps may lose the profile of the Queens Head. My initial thought was "What no more Machins?? My second thought, I doubt it very much .

In 2011, as I have already informed you, there are at least 10 Machins to look forward to over the next 3 months or so. However what will happen in the distant future has been much debated . Here are some of the reports that I have come across.

One such extract reads "No explicit guarantee that tradition of showing monarch’s head in profile would remain if Royal Mail sold." Another that I have read says "The coalition is looking for a way to ensure that the Queen’s head is not removed from stamps if the Royal Mail is sold to a foreign buyer."

Left is an image one such Queen that actually did lose her head by interfering politicians and Royal warrant, I can just about see the tattoo under her pearls ---- cut here----. In case you do not recognise her it is the second wife of Henry VIII - Anne Boleyn.

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots suffered the same fate in Elizabethan times.

Back to the serious stuff : (Not that by having your head chopped off is not serious :-)

Business secretary Vince Cable before he dropped his rick over the Rupert Murdoch caper is reported as saying .

"Since the “penny black” went on sale in 1840, every British stamp has borne the profile of the reigning monarch. However, the government is now in talks with Buckingham palace after it was pointed out that there is no explicit guarantee that the tradition would continue if the Royal Mail is sold."

Speaking on BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show, Cable said: “We have thought very hard about how we protect the brand – the Royal Family. There is provision within the legislation to stop the abuse of it,” he said. “But now it has been pointed out that there’s nothing specifically to stop whoever runs the Royal Mail in future dropping the Royal Head. “I think it is unlikely they would, because it is a very powerful brand, but we will talk to the palace about whether any further changes need to be made.”

The shadow business secretary, John Denham, has accused the coalition of deliberately leaving a “glaring loophole” over Queen Elizabeth’s famous profile. The Labour MP said: “The fact that they haven’t bothered to protect the monarch’s head on our stamps just shows how desperate they are to sell Royal Mail off as quickly and for as much cash as possible.”

Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat minister in charge of postal services, said "he had asked why there was no explicit protection for the image" but was told that dropping it would be “commercial suicide”.

In one paper Davey is reported as saying “I was told we did not need it but I said several months ago I was not happy with that,” . The minister indicated that he had raised the question with Buckingham palace and was discussing how the terms of the sale could be tightened. “I’m extremely confident that the Queen’s head will remain on our stamps.”

It has been reported that Davey has also said “Quite apart from the law, any company would be absolutely stark staring mad to remove it.”

Graham Smith (obviously not a stamp collector and seemingly against anything Royal) said: “They shouldn't be running off to consult the palace about this, in our democratic country. The post is a nationalised business which belongs to us. It shouldn't’ be called the Royal Mail. Australia has taken the Queen’s head off its stamps and such things all go to create a more civic and republican outlook.”

If this topic is of interest to you Read what Martin Wainwright reported in the Gardian on 19th December 2010

Happy New Year

2010-12-29T03:06:00.003-12:00

The year 2011 is almost upon us, so what better time to wish all our readers A Happy and peaceful New Year. Lets hope it is a prosperous one.

It could also be another expensive year for stamp collectors . At this time we already know that the new year will bring heartache to some and joy to others, depending on your views about new issues! I will not go into the bulging programme set out by Royal Mail but will stick to Machin issues.

Already we can expect at least 10 new Machins to add to our collections. You can look forward to a few more from Prestige booklets, and new style retail booklets.

Be sure that with the help of other blogs, Machin Forums and Royal Mail publications ANY NEWS of Machin material or observations to them will be posted here in 2011 so please do continue to visit us and just as important please do continue to leave your comments.

It is also nice to be mentioned on other websites and blogs. Ian Billings who supplies a terrific amount of news to us is correct when he says " Cross-exchange of information is vital to keep these publications flowing with news."

Douglas Myall also deserves a mention for his dedication to the cause. As does the Modern British Philatelic Circle.

Another such site is The British Postal Museum & Archive which relates its history through the post. Machin Mania received a mention recently from this site in the post We Love your Blog . They go on to say "Machin Mania is an interesting and well-researched blog with Machin enthusiasts (and newcomers) in mind."

YOU can help to spread the word about Machin Mania with a mention or link from your web sites, a mention to your groups, in your publications and forums would also help.

Once again from myself and Larry and all those who post replies, thank you for your support.

Nine New Machins

2010-12-20T02:32:00.003-12:00

Thanks to Robert

The RM tariff guide for 2011 reveals that the new Machin values to be issued for the increase are 68p, 76p, £1.10 & £1.65. These will be issued in self-adhesive sheets of 25.

When stocks run down the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p & 20p Machins will also be reissued in self-adhesive sheets of 25 but these will not have the iridescent Royal Mail overlay, unlike the tariff definitives mentioned above.

2011 Price Rises

2010-12-17T02:27:00.005-12:00

We were warned in advance that Royal Mail were to increase there tariffs in April 2011 by a whopping 10%. it has now been confirmed that price rises will go across the board on all RM services by up to 13%.

There should be 3 or 4 new values added to the list of counter sheets come April. Just a quick look at how it will affect some of the stamp prices.

1st class up 5p to 46p
2nd class up 4p to 36p
Large 1st up 9p to 75p
Large 2nd up 7p to 58p
SD up to 100g up 40p to £5.45

Does this mean that your collection of mint NVIs have risen in value? With interest rates still set at 0.5% it could be better to save stamps rather than cash !!

Image Of the M11L Code

2010-12-16T09:26:00.007-12:00

Copied from the Norvic Philatelics Blog

"As promised, and thanks to Richard's skills with his scanner, we can now show the first 2011 Machin security code."

This new variety will be found on Machin definitives from the Thunderbirds mixed booklet, due for release in January 2011. The code shown above (M11L) will be found at top left. The code MCIL (custom booklets) at top right.

Happy sorting in the new year. Ian writes "Like all booklets of 6 these should see early and widespread use and should be found on mail and in kilo ware by the end of January.

Another new find

Ians latest report concerns a new Machin find, Security Machins with no overprint - source unknown.

Rather than rewrite his work I pass you over to his blog via this link.