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GB Stamp Collecting
I have discovered that the modern GB Queen Elizabeth decimal definitives, otherwise known as ‘Machins’ despite their every day familiarity are, in fact, quite challenging to collect. Also, they are relatively cheap, but not always easy, to obtain or spot subtle new varieties. There is a constant flow of new varieties produced by different printers, formats, perforation and phosphor types which makes this area of collecting both challenging and exciting.
Many of the machin variations are created by the series of special ‘prestige’ booklets and self adhesive retail booklets . These are worth studying and collecting in their own right. One of these prestige booklets produced the legendary 1/2p left side phosphor stamp which catalogues at about £55. That’s over 10,000% of face value and shows just how rare and valuable an apparently inexpensive stamp can be.
FEATURE 1 - START AN ATTRACTIVE NEW COUNTRY STAMP COLLECTION
In 1999, Royal Mail launched an attractive series of country stamps to replace the rather dated regional stamps. Scotland & Wales were first to receive the makeover with a set of four designs of familiar national emblems.
Scotland (2nd class: Scottish Flag, 1st class: Scottish Lion, ‘E’: Thistle, 64p: Tartan)
Wales (2nd class: Leek, 1st class: Welsh dragon, ‘E’: Daffodil, 64p: Prince of Wales Feathers)
These were followed in 2001 with Northern Ireland and England. This was the first time that England regional stamps had been produced.
Northern Ireland (2nd class: Giant’s Causeway, 1st class: Patchwork Fields, ‘E’: Linen Pattern, 65p: Belleck Vase)
England (2nd class: Three Lions, 1st class: Crowned Lion with Shield of St George, ‘E’: Oak Tree, 65p: Tudor Rose)
In 2003, the original series, which had designs printed all over including the perforations, were replaced with similar designs but surrounded by a white border.
Since their introduction, other varieties have evolved due to changes in postal rates affecting the ‘E’ rates (replaced by 40p and 42p values) and the highest rate which is now 68p. Scotland & Wales had sort lived 65p values.
Country stamps have featured in some of the prestige booklet issues (Queen Mother, Treasury of Trees, Unseen & Unheard, Across the Universe, Microcosmos, Letters by Night, Bronte Sisters) and in the Scottish Parliament miniature sheet.
In 2005, the increase in the basic letter rate to Europe from 40p to 42p required the issue of a replacement value for each country. The preferred printers, De La Rue, were unable to print in time so Walsall printed the initial stock which was replaced by a De La Rue printing very shortly afterwards. Although almost impossible to distinguish when looking at individual stamps, if collected in cylinder blocks (the corner block of sheets which includes printing information on the marginal selvedge) the difference becomes obvious. A collection of all the country stamp issues made from cylinder blocks makes an interesting collection. Add to this the country stamp panes from prestige booklets and the miniature sheet then your country stamp collection is both complete and impressive.
Although regional stamps have not been a popular area for collectors in the past, I think the country stamps will increase in popularity and value as the varieties increase and as it becomes harder to obtain older issues. My tip is to get them now and watch out for new variations. I would like to see some self adhesive booklets, for example (please Royal Mail!).
So far, I have collected 55 different
cylinder blocks, 7 different prestige booklet panes and 1 miniature sheet.
That’s amazing for a series that only stated 6 years ago.
FEATURE 2 - ARE YOU SMILING?
Largely ignored by collectors smilers sheets started with a issue for The Stamp Show 2000 closely followed by two sheets for Xmas 2000. To date we already have over 20 generic sheets issued by Royal Mail. Of special mention are LS2 and LS3 issued for Xmas 2000. These have current catalogue values of £200 each. Varieties of LS2 & LS3 endorsed ‘Consignia’ (rather than ‘Post Office’) are scarce and, although listed, are unpriced in SG Concise 2005.
In addition to the standard Royal Mail issues, companies and individuals can commission their own designs for the sheets and labels (but not the stamps themselves - Royal Mail limit the range of stamp designs). Several philatelic dealers have issued their own customised designs which have become collectable as well. Subject matter varies from Elvis Presley, Battle of Trafalgar, F1 racing, Dr Who and more. New private issues are coming out all the time. Value of these private issues is difficult to determine as Stanley Gibbons do not list them in their catalogue, although some other dealers have. A good price guide appears to be ‘how much did they cost to produce’ (easy - see Royal Mail web site) and ‘how much am I prepared to pay’. The latter seems to depend on the popularity of the subject matter and, if from a limited edition, how many copies exist.
FEATURE 3 - DIE CUT BOOKLET STAMPS
A feature of
stamp development over the recent past includes the introduction of self
adhesive stamps in booklets. These include definitives, commemorative,
Christmas and special stamps. During the production, the dividing of the stamps
on the sheet is performed by stamping out a cut around the whole outline of the
stamp using a die rather that the traditional partial separation using
perforated holes. The stamps then peal off from the backing sheet rather than
having to tear one stamp from its neighbours. Thus, these die cut stamps have
neatly shaped cut edges similar to perforated stamps but, under close
inspection, do not have the ragged edges of separated sheet stamps. Where stamps of the same design are available both
in sheet (gummed) form and in booklet (self adhesive form) cataloguers and
collectors have marked these out as separate varieties. The die cut varieties
are becoming quite collectable in their own right and can make an interesting
and relatively easy specialist collection to assemble. Below is a list of self
adhesive stamps (excluding definitives) that you might like to try to collect
yourself. The Submarine and Punch & Judy varieties are becoming harder to
find you may be lucky enough to find them in a bag of unsorted kiloware.
Xmas 2001
Xmas 2002
Xmas 2003
Xmas 2004
Cats & Dogs
Kipling
Fruit & Veg
Submarines
Punch & Judy
Flags
Airliners
World Cup
Bridges
Occasions - Hello
Endeavours
Toys
Scotland
Northern Ireland
Ocean Liners
Wales
FEATURE 4 - BIG ERRORS CAN MAKE BIG MONEY
Nobody is perfect, including Royal Mail it seems. Stamp errors can be quite difficult to spot. For example, you may need check watermarks or phosphor bands but the following errors are so easy to spot one wonders how they ever got missed.
Collectors may have missed the discovery of a perforation variety detected on the Walsall 22 June 1998 self adhesive 1st & 2nd class. These are die cut perforated 14½ x 14 resulting in an easily recognised “dagger” shaped corner. Apparently, these were issued direct to Philatelic Bureau account holders with standing orders for single stamps and the mistake was rectified before the issue went on general release so there aren’t many of these about. (If you are a Philatelic account holder – check what you were sent now!). These are listed in Stanley Gibbons GB Concise Catalogue 2005 (2039b & 2040b) at £150 each!
The 2003 De La Rue high value machin issue led to a magnificent printing error on the £2.00 sheet affecting one stamp out of 400. On row 18, position 1 - beside the cylinder number D1, the stamp has the “£” sign missing. This was reported in The Times newspaper on 30 July 2003 and the faulty sheets were withdrawn. There has been a frenzied scramble by collectors and if you haven’t sourced one for your collection by now, the market price has quickly risen to over £100 each or nearer £200 for a cylinder block of 6 which coincidentally includes the erroneous stamp. The error is listed in Stanley Gibbons GB Concise Catalogue 2005 (Y1709a) but is unpriced.
FEATURE 5 - SELF ADHESIVE RETAIL BOOKLETS
The prelude to this series was the Cats & Dogs booklet in February 2001 containing 12 first class stamps and including 2 machin definitives. This was followed by the submarine issue which has set the basic format for all subsequent issues being a booklet of 6 first class stamps comprising of 4 definitives and 2 commemoratives. The submarine retail booklet is now catalogued at £75 in Stanley Gibbons GB Concise 2005. That is rapidly catching up the 1972 £1 Wedgwood prestige booklet, the source of the 1/2p left side band referred to in my introduction above. Several more similar booklets have followed mostly coinciding with new commemorative issues. This series is now discontinued.
FEATURE 6 - GOLDEN JUBILEE FIRST CLASS MACHINS
First issued in 1997 for the Queen’s golden wedding and recently reintroduced to commemorate the Queen’s golden jubilee, the gold machin has been produced in many interesting new varieties to collect. So far I have spotted eleven varieties issued since 2002 but I cannot promise that I have spotted them all.
Walsall
1.
2.
3.
Questa
4.
5.
Enchedé
6.
7.
8.
De La Rue
9.
10.
11. 
Compare the shape and crispness of
the perforations as well as the size & thickness of the “ST” in 1ST .
Key to gold machin images:-
1. Walsall (5 June 2002) from self adhesive barcode booklet MB4 & MF3
2. Walsall (18 March 2003) from self adhesive business sheet of 100. Matrix stripped.
3. Walsall (2 June 2003) from A Perfect Coronation prestige booklet DX31
4. Questa (5 June 2002) from self adhesive barcode booklet MB3
5. Questa (24 Sep 2002) from Across The Universe prestige booklet DX29
6. Enchedé (5 June 2002) from self adhesive business sheet
7. Enchedé (25 Feb 2003) from Microcosmos prestige
booklet DX30
8. Enchedé
(21 January 2003) from coils of 500
9. De La Rue (29 April 2003) from self adhesive barcode booklet PM9
10. De La Rue (28 May 2003) from coils of 500
11. De La Rue (1 July 2003) gummed sheets of 100
Spotting the difference!
Firstly, look carefully at the perforations. Nice clean die cut edges will tell you that it is self adhesive. Ragged edges will result from separation from adjoining stamps or selvedge which will mean that it is from a prestige booklet or gummed sheet. Coil stamps have cut perforations only on the left and right perforations and rough edges top & bottom (6). For the die cut varieties, look at the shape of the perforations. Some are rounded at the end whilst others are blunted at the end. Illustration 3 is easy to identify from the straight ends to the perforations. Enchedé varieties have slightly smaller and thinner “ST”. All other printers have larger “ST” but Walsall’s are still thin. The most difficult ones to tell apart are Questa and De La Rue self adhesives. However, De La Rue has a mellow colour, similar to caramel, and is not so dark as Questa. All varieties have 2 phosphor bands and are perforated 15 x 14 with 1 elliptical hole on each vertical side. Of course, the best way to tell for sure is to take the stamps from the booklet or sheet yourself ! Last updated: 6 June 2003
MACHIN DIARY
Last updated: 14
December 2003
2004 dates tba – Definitive stamps Four special retail booklets for Northern Ireland, Ocean Liners, Wales, Woodland Animals. Also, miniature sheet for opening of the Scottish Parliament.
2 November 2004 – Christmas including miniature sheet
12 October 2004 – The Crimean War -
16 September 2004 – Woodland Animals -
10 August 2004 – Royal Society of Arts Six stamps
Postponed - London -
15 June 2004 – Wales -
25 May 2004 – Royal Horticultural Society - including miniature sheet & prestige booklet
13 April 2004 – Ocean Liners - including miniature sheet
6 April 2004 – Entente Cordiale - also dual first day cover combining GB & French stamps
16 March 2004 – Northern Ireland Six stamps featuring landscapes of Northern Ireland. Also, prestige booklet “Letters by Night” in tribute to the discontinued mail train service and complimenting the Classic Locomotive issue. The booklet will be printed by De La Rue and will feature some of the Classic Locomotive stamps, The Station Pub Signs stamp, machin definitives and Scottish country stamps.
26 February 2004 – The Lord of the Rings Ten first class printed in Litho by Walsall. Printed in blocks of 10.
3 February 2004 – Occasions - Five first class designs printed in a horizontal strip to illustrate
that sending letters is fun. Printed in Litho by De La Rue.
13 January 2004 – Classic Locomotives Six stamps printed by De La Rue.
Also available in miniature sheet. Available in sheets of 24 (or 48 from
Philatelic Bureau only so that gutter pairs are available to collectors).
19 December 2003 – England Winners, Rugby World Cup Miniature sheet on 2 x 1st and 2 x 68p
Not known – Machin reprint 37p definitive reprint with different phosphor characteristics and
larger and higher impression of the value.
4 November 2003 – Christmas Self adhesive sheets of 50. First class retail booklets of 12 and second
class booklets of 24. Smilers sheets of 20 first class and 20 second class.
14 October 2003 – Country Stamps - Reprints of all current country (regional) stamps to include a framed white border to allow easier reading by Royal Mail’s sorting machines. These are visibly new stamps so are available on Fist Day Cover. PHQ cards and presentation packs for each of the four countries (England, N Ireland, Scotland & Wales) are also available.
7 October 2003 – British Museum - Six values in this new commemorative issue.
18 September 2003 – Transport/Toys - This issue of 5 commemorative stamps featuring toy vehicles includes a further retail booklet printed in gravure by Enchedé containing 6 NVI 1st class values including two of the 1st class Meccano Byplane stamps from the new issue. Miniature sheet of the 5 new values also available.
15 July 2003 – Beauty of Scotland - Retail booklet containing 6 NVI 1st class values including two commemoratives.
1 July 2003 – High value definitives - £1.50, £2, £3 & £5 re-issues in gravure printing. See News section below for exciting printing error.
1 July 2003 – Machin sheet - Gold 1st class gummed sheets by De La Rue.
2 June 2003 – Coronation - Includes prestige booklet ‘A Perfect Coronation’ with four stamp panes.
Pane 1 = 2 x 47p and 2 x 68p ‘decimal wildings’ plus £1 commemorative stamp based on the 1953 original 1s 6d coronation commemorative
Pane 2 = 4 x 1st class gold machin plus 4 x 2nd class machin national definitives and central commemorative label
Pane 3 = 4 x 1st class coronation stamps
Pane 4 = 4 x 1st class coronation stamps (different designs)
Printed by Walsall in gravure.
28 May 2003 – International retail booklets - Cover changes for 6 x “E”, 6 x 42p & 6 x 68p barcode booklets. Also change in the printers in the 1st class gold coils of 500 to De La Rue.
6 May 2003 – Changes to postal rates. Standard UK 2nd class increases by 1p to 20p and standard 1st class increases by the same amount to 28p. Basic Europe rate also increases by 1p to 38p. These three rate changes covered by existing NVI values. There is a new 34p machin printed in gravure by De La Rue.
29 April 2003 – Extreme Endeavours New retail booklet printed by De La Rue containing 6 NVI 1st class values including two Everest stamps from this commemorative issue. The commemoratives are 60mm wide by 21mm high (letterbox style) so there is a slight change in format with the 2 commemoratives being positioned one above the other on the right hand pane while the four definitives are in a square on the left and pane. The latest in this popular self adhesive series which combines commemoratives and definitives in the same booklet
27 March 2003 – Universal International Stamps plus new retail booklets. Two new retail booklets, each containing 4 of the 2 new universal international stamps. Printed in gravure by Walsall with 2 phosphor bands. Also 3 redesigned UK retail booklets printed by Walsall incorporating new ‘The Real Network’ strap line on the cover go on sale (6 x 1st , 12 x 1st and 12 x 2nd). PHQ cards issued for 1st class gold machin and new universal European stamp.
25 March 2003 – Fun Fruit & Veg Not normally of interest for the machin collector but a special retail ‘fun’ pack has been announced for this issue which will also be available from 440 selected branches of the supermarket chain Sainsbury’s. Fight your way through via the deli counter for this one! May be a good tip for instant rarity.
18 March 2003 – New Self Adhesive Business Sheets New sheets of 100 self adhesive 1st class gold printed by Walsall and 2nd class blue also printed by Walsall. These sheets have the surrounding matrix stripped.
4 March 2003 – Occasions “Hello” retail booklet Contains self adhesive stamps in this popular retail format of 4 x 1st gold machins plus 2 x Hello stamps from the Occasions 2002 range. I haven’t seen any of these in circulation so they may be scarce.
25 February 2003 – Microcosmos - Includes prestige booklet ‘A Guide to Inner Space’. Includes four stamp panes.
Pane 1 = 5 x 2nd class and 4 x 1st class Ireland country definitives
Pane 2 = 4 x 1st class gold machin and 4 x ‘E’ NVI machin national definitives plus central label of DNA sequences
Pane 3 = 2 x 2nd and 2 x 1st Secret of Life stamps
Pane 4 = 4 x E Secret of Life stamps
Printed by Enchedé, the popular series of prestige booklets continues to provide more interesting machin variations to collect. See GB 2003 New Machin Issues below.
21 January 2003 – 2nd and 1st class (gold) stamps in rolls of
500 printed by Enchedé.
24 Sep 2002 – Astronomy (4 x 1st class) – Includes prestige booklet ‘Across The Universe’. Includes four stamp panes included in the booklet with something of collectable interest in each pane.
Pane 1 = The four 1st class commemorative stamps from the new issue depicting different nebulae & constellations.
Pane 2 = 4 x 1st class Night Sky design stamps from the millennium “Above & Beyond” January 2000 issue.
Pane 3 = 9 regional country stamps (4 x England 1st, 4 x England 2nd, 1 x Scotland 1st ).
Pane 4 = 8 machin NVIs ( 4 x 1st gold plus 4 x E ) plus a central label depicting Jodrell Bank radio telescope.
Printed in gravure by Questa. This booklet is of particular interest to machin collectors, country stamp collectors and those who thought they already had all the millennium issues…. Until now!
10 Sep 2002 – London & Its Thames Bridges (2nd, 1st, E, 47p, 68p). Of interest to machin collectors is the self adhesive NVI retail booklet of 4 x machin 1st class stamps plus 2 x 1st class commemorative stamps depicting Tower Bridge. Printed in lithography by Questa.
GB 2003 MACHIN NEW ISSUES
Booklet
Stamps
2295 variety De La Rue 1st
Gold (29 April 2003) from self adhesive retail booklet of 6
2295 variety Walsall 1st Gold (18 March 2003) from self adhesive sheet of 100. Matrix stripped.
2039 variety Walsall 2nd Brt Blue (18 March 2003) from self adhesive sheet of 100. Matrix stripped.
1664b variety Enchedé 1st Gold (25 Feb 2003) from Microcosmos booklet
1664c variety Enchedé ‘E’ Deep Blue (25 Feb 2003) from Microcosmos booklet
Provisional 2358 ‘Universal’ Europe (27 March
2003) from retail booklet of 4
Provisional 2359 ‘Universal’ Rest of World (27
March 2003) from retail booklet of 4
Sheet Stamps
tba De La Rue 34p (6 May 2003)
De La Rue 20p (4 March 2003)
De La Rue 33p, 41p (reprint)
GB 2002 MACHIN NEW ISSUES
Booklet Stamps
2039 variety Walsall 2nd Brt Blue (4 July 2002) from self adhesive retail booklet of 12
2040 variety Questa 1st Flame (4 July 2002) from self adhesive retail booklet of 6
2296 Walsall ‘E’ Deep Blue (4 July 2002) from self adhesive retail booklet of 6
2297 Walsall 42p Olive-Grey (4 July 2002) from self adhesive retail booklet of 6
2298 Walsall 68p Grey-Brown (4 July 2002) from self adhesive retail booklet of 6
2295 Walsall 1st Gold (5 June 2002) from self adhesive retail booklet of 6 or 12
2295 Questa 1st Gold (5 June 2002) from self adhesive retail booklet of 6
1663a variety Enchedé 2nd Brt Blue (6 Feb 2002) from A Gracious Accession booklet
1664c variety Enchedé ‘E’ Deep Blue (6 Feb 2002) from A Gracious Accession booklet
1664b variety Questa 1st Gold (24 Sep 2002) from Across The Universe booklet
1664c variety Questa ‘E’ Deep Blue (24 Sep 2002) from Across The Universe booklet
Sheet Stamps
2295 variety Enchedé 1st Gold (5 June 2002) from self adhesive sheet of 100
2039 variety Enchedé 2nd Brt Blue (9 May 2002) from self adhesive sheet of 100
2040 variety Enchedé 1st Brt Orange-Red (9 May 2002) from self adhesive sheet of 100
Y1691a De La Rue 37p Grey-Black (4 July 2002)
Y1698a De La Rue 42p Olive-Grey (4 July 2002)
Y1702a De La Rue 47p Turquoise-Green (4 July 2002)
Y1706a De La Rue 68p Grey-Brown (4 July 2002)
Notes to SG Catalogue numbers. I have listed these as a guide only. I cannot guarantee these to be
correct and the reader must check with the next issue of SG Concise Catalogue
for the correct numbers. Some issues will be listed by Stanley Gibbons as
varieties to existing catalogue numbers. Others have been given new numbers,
such as the “Y” numbers which are completely new values. I have shown the
catalogue numbers allocated by SG to the best of my ability using information
from Gibbons Stamp Monthly magazine. Details last updated 29 April 2003.
PHILATELIC LINKS
Norvic Philatelics - nice site for sales and information on new & forthcoming GB issues.
Rush Stamps (Retail) Ltd - dealer with extensive stock and friendly service. Regularly updated Rush Express catalogue. Excellent quality & value.
Mike Holt - for the specialist collector of cylinder numbers, booklets, errors etc. and with a few spare pennies to spend.
Adminware Corporation - a must for machin researchers. Good reference material to spot those illusive varieties
Hampstead Castle - easy navigation and comprehensive listing of machins in logical categories including booklets. Easy on-line ordering and fast efficient service.
Denis Stevens - specialist QEII definitive issues. Nice informative site. Friendly service.
Court Philatelics - good supplier of GB, Commonwealth and World mixtures on and off paper. (Link is email address).
Stanley Gibbons UK Search - find that illusive quality stamp from the World’s most famous stamp dealer. Quality assured.
Ebay.co.uk - good fun whether you are trimming your surplus collection or looking for a bargain. Always check that you can’t get it cheaper from a dealer before you bid.
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