Machin News - Issues in [2023]

   

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2023 Summary

Date Issue Source Value Printer
12th Jan Music Giants - Iron Maiden (Special Issue only)      
16th Feb X-Men PSB £19.95 Cartor
9th Mar The Flying Scotsman Centenary PSB £21.05 Cartor
23rd Mar Flowers      
4th Apr King Charles III NVI definitives   2nd,
1st,
2nd Large,
1st Large
 
4th Apr King Charles III definitive   £2.20  
13th Apr The Legend of Robin Hood      
6th May King Charles III - Coronation      
2nd Nov Christmas 2023      

 



2023 General Notes

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

 
Company
FSC Code
 
Cartor (France)
C100572
 
Cartor (the old Walsall, Wolverhampton)
C023216
 
De La Rue
C020244
 
Enschedé
C017480

Cartor Security Printers (formerly International Security Printers including the names Cartor and Walsall) has two sites - one in Wolverhampton (the old Walsall) and one in France. Cylinder and Plate numbers will now all have a 'C' prefix. When a product provides an FSC code, it indicates which one of Cartor's two sites it came from (FSC codes are assigned by country).

Cartor Security Printers
  Wolverhampton - Web fed Printing La Loupe , France - Sheet fed Printing
     
  Gravure -10 Unit web fed Cerutti R981 press Litho - Heidelberg Speedmaster XL75
  Litho - 10 Unit web fed Goebel press Litho - Heidelberg Speedmaster 72
     
  Domino Ink Jet printing for the QR - 2D Barcode - A.B Graphics systems Comb Perforators
     
  Self Adhesive Retail Booklet systems Prestige Booklet making machine
     
Note : Stamps with individual 2D Barcodes will be web printed and hence come out of Wolverhampton. This will basically apply for all definitives from now on.


QR Code / 2D Barcode data can be obtained by scanning the code (for mobile phone/tablet users 'Apps' are available to download). The QR Code / 2D Barcode is unique for each individual stamp giving a datastring, the first 37 characters of which is broken down into the following fields:-

Characters Field Name Value
1-4 UPU Id JGB
5 Product type S
6 Version 1
7 Stamp Type  
8 Stamp Class  
9 Container  
10-16 Supply Chain Id 1017031
17-24 Item Id unique stamp number
25-29 Postage Tariff 999.99
30-35 Date ddmmyy
36-37 Campaign  

Various fields will apply to / be unique to various issues, with new ones being added over time. The following three field code(s) identify :-

Stamp Class (fields 7&8)
Container (field 9)
Campaign (fields 36&37)
11 1st Class NVI 1 Booklets of four 01 Machin definitives
12 2nd Class NVI 2 Booklets of eight 02 Special Issue
21 1st Class Large NVI 3 Business sheets 03 Country Pictorial - England
22 2nd Class Large NVI 4 Counter sheets of 25 04 Country Pictorial - Wales
    5 Counter sheets of 50 05 Country Pictorial - Scotland
    6   06 Country Pictorial - N. Ireland
    7      
    8 Prestige Booklets    
99 Denominated        



January 2023

As part of the Music Giants series a Special Issue featuring the rock band Iron Maiden was issued on 12th January 2023. The stamps still carried the silhouette of the late Queen.


February 2023

X-Men was the theme of a special issued on 16th February 2023. The now obligatory prestige booklet accompanied the issue; produced by Cartor and priced at £19.95. The special issue stamps still carried the silhouette of the late Queen. The Machin pane (pane 5) was printed in Litho on self adhesive paper as a block of six (four stamps plus two labels) to accommodate the larger sized QR Code / 2D Barcoded Machin stamps. The matrix was not stripped away during manufacture. The stamps themselves are the £1 'Cameo Head' Machin on rows 1 and 3; and the 2nd NVI Classic Head Machin on rows 1 and 3 also; all with the iridescent source codes 'MPIL' and year code 'M22L'.

'Cameo' / Classic Head Machin pane from X-Men PSB

March 2023

The Centenary of the Flying Scotsman was the theme of a Special Issue on 9th March 2023. The special issue stamps were the last printings to carry the silhouette of the late Queen. A prestige booklet accompanied the issue; produced by Cartor and priced at £21.05. The Machin pane (pane 4) was printed in Litho on self adhesive paper as a block of six (four stamps plus two labels) to accommodate the larger sized QR Code / 2D Barcoded Machin stamps. The matrix was not stripped away during manufacture. The stamps themselves are the 'Cameo Head' Machin's one £2 on row 1 and three 20p - one on row 1 and the other two on row 3; all with the iridescent source codes 'MPIL' and year code 'M22L'.

'Cameo' Head Machin pane from Flying Scotsman PSB


A Special Issue set featuring popular flowers will be issued on 23rd March 2023. These will be the first Special Stamps to feature the silhouette of His Majesty King Charles III.


April 2023

New Tariff Rates came into effect on 3rd April 2023. The 2nd class rate rose from 68p to 75p, while the 1st class rate rose from 95p to £1.10. Some of the other NVI rate changes included :-

Rate Old Price Prices from 4th Apr 2022
Second class
68p
75p
First class
95p
£1.10
Large Second class
£1.05
£1.15
Large First class
£1.45
£1.60
Europe (20 gms) World (10 gms)
£1.85
£2.20
Europe (100 gms)
£1.85
£2.20
Worldwide (20 gms)
£1.85
£2.20
Worldwide (100 gms)
£2.55
£2.20
Royal Mail Signed For First
£2.35
£2.60
Royal Mail Signed For First Large
£2.85
£3.10
Special Delivery (to 100g)
£6.85
£6.85
Special Delivery (to 500g)
£7.65
£7.65
Post & Go Collectors Strips : Second Class rises from £1.73 to £1.90 and First Class from £14.25 to £14.55.

To view the Royal Mail Price card effective from 3rd Apr 2023 - Click Royal Mail Apr 2023 Price List here



The roll out of new King Charles III definitives started on 4th April 2023. This doesn't cover the complete product range on this date, as it is anticipated that the new King Charles issues will only occur as and when the current Machin stocks run down. The first issues will include the four basic NVI values - 2nd, 1st, 2nd Large and 1st Large. These will be issued in counter sheets, booklets and business sheets.

A new international rate £2.20 in respect of the tariff rate changes was issued on the 4th April 2023 also. Again, this featured King Charles III.

King Charles III 1st Class NVI - note cyl is 'C1'
Value Colour
Cyl
Year Code
Barcode
Comments
£2.20 Dark Green
C1
M23L
159164
 
           
2nd Holly Green
C1
M23L
154862
Barcode same as Machin
1st Plum Purple
C1
M23L
154855
Barcode same as Machin
   
 
 
2nd Large Dark Pine Green
C1
M23L
154886
Barcode same as Machin
1st Large Marine Turquoise
C1
M23L
154879
Barcode same as Machin


Due to ongoing health issues we have reluctantly removed the on-line buying options from our web pages. This will be kept under review and the facility will be restored when its practicable to do so.


 
© Delta Stamps 2023