Machin News - Issues in [2013]

Where you see the symbol Click for further information. Click on the symbol for the associated item(s) in our Price List.

2013 Summary

2013 General Notes

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) codes are allocated on a company by company basis. The four current printers hold the following FSC codes :-

International Security Printers is a group name that includes Cartor and Walsall. Thus, when this is quoted by Royal Mail, the FSC code needs to be referred to in order to determine the printer in the group that actually printed the product.

The De La Rue Dunstable printing facility was relocated north to Gateshead, Tyne and Wear at the beginning of 2013. As a result of this Walsall produced the initial supply of the new 78p, 88p and £1.88 values as a stopgap. These were subsequently printed by De La Rue Gateshead (the 88p and £1.88 appeared in April 2013). The initial printings produced at Gateshead (probably printed in March 2013) did not have sheets with inkjet print date and serial numbers due problems reinstalling this equipment. This was soon solved - 78p De La Rue printing has been found with a print date of 24/4/13.

---

Royal Mail was floated on the Stock Market on 15th October 2013 (first day of full trading). The 130,000 Royal Mail staff were given shares in the new company.

January 2013

The Diamond Blue colour used for the 1st class NVI and 1st class Large NVI Machin definitives during 2012 were replaced with a new colour - Royal Mail Red from 3rd January 2013. Additionally, the whole definitive range had been reviewed from an operational standpoint - some colours were producing similar readings when scanned in Mail Processing Centres - some colours were causing problems for the phosphor reading equipment. As a result, a number of the changes have been made including - the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p and 20p values were reprinted with the iridescent overprint and the 50p and £1 values were printed in revised colours. The initial batch of printings for all these values was made during September 2012 with the iridescent year codes of 'MI2L' or 'MAI2'.

De La Rue printings in Gravure - were printed at the Dunstable site.

£1 Wood Brown	1st NVI Royal Mail Red

Walsall printings in Gravure

6x1st Booklet pane

A FDC and an associated presentation pack (Pack No 96) accompanied this issue.

Stamp coils (rolls) will no longer be produced in rolls of 500 or 1000 stamps. However, jumbo rolls of 10,000 stamps will continue to be produced and these printings are now available through Tallents House in strip lengths of five.

Additionally, the Cartor Litho printed NVI Country Pictorial definitives for the England and Wales 2nd NVI and 1st NVI values were made available officially from 3rd January 2013. These values had been warehoused in August 2012 and had in fact been found in August / September 2012.

The first Custom Retail booklet for the year was issued on 9th January 2013. This is in association with the 150th anniversary of London Underground Special Issue and contains 4x1st Royal Mail Red Machin definitives and 2x1st London Underground Special Issue stamps. The iridescent codes are 'MCIL' and 'MI2L'. The colour of the cover remains Royal Mail Red which means only the side tab readily distinguishes these from normal retail booklets.

150th Anniversary of London Underground pane

February 2013

A generic sheet containing 20x1st firework Smilers was issued on 7th February 2013 to mark the Chinese New Year - Year of the Snake. The sheet was produced by Cartor and printed in Litho. This is the second of the Chinese New Year generic sheets - presumably these will become a regular annual issue.

On 20th February 2013, a cyan/bright blue coloured Machin Head Post and Go label with one phosphor band was issued for 2nd class NVI rates at the Spring Stampex exhibition. Two new tariff rates will be vended from these reels - 2nd NVI and 2nd Large NVI rates. At the end of 2013 these still had not been rolled out across the Post Office network. The wavyline design includes a year code MA12 (as with the Robin pictorial issued in November 2012) just in front of the Queens forehead.

Post & Go Machin Head version in cyan/bright blue

A FDC and an associated carrier card / presentation pack (Card No P&G 10) accompanied this issue.

Also on 20th February 2013, another special Post & Go overprint was produced for Spring Stampex 2013. This bears the additional text 'The Coronation 60th Anniversary'. Six NVI values were vended :-

The British Postal Museum and Archive RM Series I Post and Go machine had a Union Flag labels roll loaded from 21st February 2013 producing the 'The B.P.M.A.' overprint. This is vended in conjunction with the Machin Head Label.

---

A new series of pictorial Post & Go machine labels was issued on the 22nd February 2013. The series subject is Freshwater Life and the first six designs feature Pond Life (common species – Three-spined Stickleback, Emperor Dragonfly Larvae and Smooth Newt; threatened species – Lesser Silver Water Beetle, Fairy Shrimp and Glutinous Snail). The theme continues with Lakes and Rivers later in the year (June and September). A philatelic carrier card (code : P&G11) containing each design all with a 1st Class face value was produced ~ these had the text printed by thermal printer - Office Code : A2GB13 C2.

March 2013

The first Prestige booklet of 2013 was issued on 26th March 2013. The theme was Classic TV featuring the Science Fiction series Dr Who and was priced at £13.77 (including 95p premium). The Machin pane contained 4x1st Tardis definitive sized designs and 5p, 10p, 20p and 87p Machins which have the hidden codes 'MPIL' and 'MI2L'. The third, fourth and fifth panes in the booklet were inverted in relation to panes 1 and 2. The Machin pane (pane 5) was printed in Litho (not gravure as previously reported) on normal gummed paper and the booklet itself was produced by Cartor.

Also, a custom retail booklet in respect of the Dr Who issue was issued and was a change from the normal convention in that the positions that would normally provide 4x1st Machins were taken by 4x1st definitive sized Tardis designs.

---

New Machin definitives in respect of the tariff rate change in April were issued on 27th March 2013. They included :-

The 'Recorded Signed For' service has been renamed 'Royal Mail Signed For' and in respect of this, revised stamps have been printed to reflect the text change.

Recorded Signed For (old) 2009-2012	Royal Mail Signed For (new) 2013

An associated Presentation Pack (Pack No 97) was issued containing the five values detailed above. Interestingly, the 78p 88p and £1.88 values have the year codes MAI3. Similarly, an official FDC was produced with the five new values, again all with the year codes MAI3, however, these were sideways printing.

Also, 88p values were issued for the four Country Pictorial designs replacing the 87p values - the £1.28 values issued last year remain current. The new printings are in Litho and produced by Cartor on normal gummed paper.

April 2013

New Tariff Rates came into effect on 2nd April 2013. After last years hefty hikes this years appear more modest with the lower rates mainly unchanged. The 'Recorded Signed For' service has been rebranded 'Royal Mail Signed For'. The parcels service has been classified into three new categories - Small Parcel, Medium Parcel and Large Parcel rates.

May 2013

A Football Heroes Special Issue marking the 150th Anniversary of the Football Association was issued on 9th May 2013. Associated with this issue was a Prestige booklet priced at £11.11 (including a premium) and a Custom booklet priced at £3.60. The Prestige booklet contains two panes with Machin stamps; pane 1 contains 2x1p, 2x1st Royal Mail Red and 4x1st Country Pictorials, pane 4 contains 2x5p, 2x10p and 2x2p. The panes are printed on normal gummed paper in Litho and the booklet itself is produced by Cartor. The other two panes with the special issue stamps are printed on self adhesive paper. The iridescent codes are 'MPIL' and 'MI3L'.

Also, a Football Heroes Custom retail booklet feature George Best (Northern Ireland) and Bobby Moore (England) special issue stamps was issued. The booklet was produced by Walsall in gravure on self adhesive paper. The iridescent codes are 'MCIL' and 'MI3L'. Another custom booklet featuring John Charles (Wales) and Dave Mackay (Scotland) will be issued at a later date.

---

Australia 2013 international exhibition opened in Melbourne on 10th May 2013. Royal Mail issued an exhibition generic sheet entitled "G'day from Royal Mail". The sheet was produced by Cartor in Litho on self adhesive paper with 20 x 1st Hello Smiler stamps. Additionally, a special Post & Go overprint for the event was produced using the Machin and Union Flag designs. Two versions were available, one at the exhibition in Australia with a RM Series I machine code A5AU13 and the other with the code A5GB13 and slightly different text from Tallents House. The two overprint types are:-

Australia 2013 World Stamp Expo
'Australia 2013 Stamp Expo' A5AU13 (Melbourne)	'Australia 2013 World Stamp Expo' A5GB13 (Tallents House)

June 2013

Classic Locomotives of Northern Ireland special issue were issued on 18th June 2013. In conjunction with this issue, a custom retail booklet (third in the series) was issued. It was produced by Walsall in gravure on self adhesive paper. The contents include 2x1st Special Issue - UTA W No 103 locomotive and 4x1st Machin with iridescent codes 'MCIL' and 'MI3L'.

The second in the series of Freshwater Life Post & Go machine labels were issued on the 25th June 2013. These featured six Lake Life designs - Perch, European Eel, Carp, Caddis Fly Larvae, Arctic Char and Toad. These were available for the following tariff rates - 1st, 1st Large, Europe, Worldwide 10g, Worldwide 20g and Worldwide 40g. A philatelic carrier card (code : P&G12) containing each design all with a 1st Class face value was produced ~ these had the text printed by thermal printer - Office Code : A6GB13 C2.

July 2013

Butterflies special issue stamps were issued on 11th July 2013. In association with this, a custom retail booklet was also issued. It was produced by Walsall in gravure on self adhesive paper. The contents include 2x1st Special Issue stamps - Chalkhill Blue and Comma butterflies and 4x1st Machin Royal Mail Red with iridescent year codes 'MCIL' and 'MI3L'.

---

York Stamp & Coin fair (19th-20th July) had RM Series I Post & Go machines in operation. The Post & Go base label stock of the Machin (coloured olive brown) was a new version with the wavyline text including the year code MA13 (similar to the cyan blue versions issued in February 2013) just in front of the Queens forehead. The Union Flag base label stock also had the year code MA13 just to the right of the printed 'g' of the gram weight.

with Year Code MA13	with Year Code MA13

August 2013

The 2nd August 2013 was the official issue date (Tallents House) for the De La Rue printed 78p, 88p and £1.88 values. These were all found in Post Offices well before this date - 88p and £1.88 in April and 78p in July.

---

Also, 2nd August 2013 saw the issue of an exhibition generic sheet for the Thailand 2013 World Stamp Exhibition in Bangkok. The sheet was produced by Cartor in Litho on self adhesive paper with 20x1st Hello Smiler stamps.

September 2013

Autumn Stampex was between 18th and 21st September 2013. The RM Series I Post & Go machines at the exhibition vended the Machin head label with MA13 year code (first available at York in July 2013 - see above) and the Union Flag label with MA13 year code with 'The Coronation 60th Anniversary' overprint.

The third Prestige stamp booklet of 2013 was issued on 19th September 2013. The booklets theme was the Merchant Navy and was priced at £11.19. The Machin pane (pane 1) contained 4x5p and 4x50p stamps on normal gummed paper, both having the iridescent codes of 'MPIL' and 'MI3L'. The Machin pane introduced a new perforation variation namely, the ellipse perforation holes are located near the top of the vertical sides i.e the reverse on the normal position. All booklets exhibit this variation. The booklet was produced by Joh Enschedé with all panes printed in Litho.

Another Custom Retail Booklet was issued on 19th September 2013 entitled Royal Mail Transport by Land and Sea. It contains 4x1st Machin Royal Mail Red with iridescent year codes 'MCIL' and 'MI3L' and 1st Royal Mail Morris Minor van (Auto Legends) and Royal Mail Ship Britannia (Merchant Navy) special issue stamps.

The 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Bertram MacKennal - the designer of the high value 1913 Seahorses stamps, was marked with a facsimile pack containing reproductions of the four Seahorses, again on 19th September 2013. Joh Enschedé printed the reproductions in intaglio and litho. These were printed on ungummed paper as they are not valid for postage. In conjunction with this, a limited edition press sheet containing 12 blocks of the four Seahorses was available.

---

The third set of Post & Go Labels covering Freshwater Life was issued on 20th September 2013. This set features River Life with six designs - Minnow, River Lamprey, Atlantic Salmon. Mayfly Larva, Crayfish and Brown Trout. A philatelic carrier card (code : P&G13) containing each design all with a 1st Class face value was produced ~ these had the text printed by thermal printer.

November 2013

Two Christmas Retail Booklets were issued on 5th November 2013. These contain 12x2nd NVI (£6.00) and 12x1st NVI (£7.20) Christmas stamps respectively. These booklets were produced by Walsall and printed on self adhesive paper.

Value	Stamp Design	Printer	Method
12x2nd NVI	Madonna and Child	Walsall	Gravure
12x1st NVI	Madonna (red dress) and Child

---

In conjunction with the Christmas sheet Special Issue stamps (Madonna and Child) two further stamps were issued on 5th November 2013 featuring two designs won in a children's competition. Interestingly, these were produced in 25's (5x5) in a 'Business Sheet' type configuration (not dissimilar to the Christmas 'Booklets' issued between 2001 and 2005). They have a top panel with Barcode and FSC logo, the stamps are large format and are printed sideways in relation to the top panel and the whole sheet was in a concertina folded style, however, stamps could be bought singly.

---

As last year, a Robin Post & Go Label (this design was used in the Birds I series - issued in Sep 2010) will be available during the Christmas period. These were available from 5th November 2012, although this might not have been the case for all offices. The wavyline 'ROYAL MAIL' text includes a year code - 'MAI3' (some offices may still have last years stock with the year code 'MAI2'). This occurs roughly between the tariff rate (line 1) and weight (line 2) and towards the frame of the Robin image.

Christmas 2013 Travelling Post Office. A travelling Post Office has been moving south during November and December - location stops are listed below :-

The travelling Post Office had RM Series I Post & Go machines on board vending the Christmas Robin and the bright blue Machin Head (second class). Both the year code MA12 and year code MA13 were available in the case of the bright blue Machin Head. Note, the year code MA13 was a new printing of the bright blue Machin Head Post & Go label. At the end of 2013, the vending of the second class Post & Go labels had still not been rolled out across the Post Office network.

December 2013

A second generic sheet (this year) containing 20x1st firework Smilers was issued on 10th December 2013 to mark next years Chinese New Year - Year of the Horse. The seems a bit premature as the lunar new year is 31st January 1914. The sheet was produced by Cartor and printed in Litho. This is the third of the Chinese New Year generic sheet .

Please contact us with your 'wants lists' for new material

© Delta Stamps 2012