Search This Blog

Monday 28 June 2010

Spitfire Booklet

Amended 29/06/10

January 13th 2009 seems as though it was a long time ago, in fact it was the date Royal Mail introduced the British Design Classics set.

Over the later months we had some special Customised Machin/Special issue booklets, (01) Double decker bus / phone box, (02), 2 x Mini car, (03), 2 x Concorde (04), Mini skirts designed by Mary Quant.

These customised booklets (Machins only) had a code letter C incorporated into the lettering of the background print. It you troll back through the archives on site from 2009 you will find reports on all these customised booklet issues.












The latest customised booklet to be announced from this 2009 set (Special design Classics) is number (05), The Spitfire, it is due to be released on 15th September 2010. Over a year later than it was initially announced. It is thought this was canceled and replaced by the Concorde booklet (3). The Spitfire booklet will be slotted in this year to correspond with and mark the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

The booklet will be printed by Walsall Security Printers Ltd and the definitive stamps will continue to have MCIL and as with all booklets introduced in 2010 will also have MA10 background codes.

4 comments:

savva0122 said...

Hi, just a quickie you forget the Concorde booklet (the fourth I think?)

Robert said...

Your readers will no doubt be aware that the booklets containing 2 special stamps and 4 gold 1st class definitives have the 'hidden' source code 'C' on the latter.

There have been 6 books with 'C' before the MA10 year code was introduced, ie Design Classics 1 - 4, Olympics 1 and the book issued on 21 May 2009 for the National Association of Flower Arrangers (NAFAS).

I discovered quite by chance yesterday that the gold stamps in this last booklet can be distinguished from those in the other five because of a difference in the iridescent overprint. In the word (M)AIL situated just above the left-hand security slit, the letter 'A' is missing.

If your readers wish to be sure of having a copy of this 'variety' they still have a chance but they'll have to hurry as the booklet goes off sale at Tallents House on 2 July.

By the way, in answer to savva0122's remark, the Concorde book was the third in the Design Classics series, Mary Quant was the fourth.

savva0122 said...

Yes sorry, should've looked it up

Ian - Norvic said...

Excellent timing, Robert.

I've had the missing 'A' scanned and I've repeated the report on my blog, and on a couple of non-Machin forums I contribute to.