your advice ......

Hello, yes have been travelling. sorry not written for ages. have so much to write about. So much to say. Will be short though as am rather disturbed! Recently flew the inaugural Qantas A380 Sydney Singapore. great flight excellent cabin crew, and had my FFC carried on the Singapore London leg. Will show genuine first flight covers soon (am in KL right now with no access to covers or scanner)

BUT,

I have been looking at a well known auction site recently.... seen a few "envelopes" that have Qantas and A380 and London Singapore flight related references. What do I do? I wrote to the seller asking if the covers had been flown, how did the frankings get to be there, you know, some credential type information. Guess what reply I got. You guessed it. yet I see these envelopes being sold. I know it is all buyer beware but is there some code of ethics out there? seems not. Is it wrong for for me to care. To think that fraud and misrepresentation should be stopped? Is it wrong that I want honest and genuine material to be sold.

I am confused. I am annoyed. I am angry that this is happening and I feel helpless to stop it.

Your advice? Get over it? Live and let live? .... How do I (we) get a message out there to the people that these are nothing other than envelopes created to be sold at a profit when they have no real linkage to the actual event they pertain to represent? would value your thoughts.

Michael

and the wicked Queen said...

Hello everyone, well to start with how nice to get some useful feedback to my last post. Very informative comments and I thank Larry and Ian for that. I think the points I raised could be debated but I bow to their greater experience and knowledge. Although........... time will tell :-) If you have not read their comments please do. You will learn as I am.

I soaked this stamp off the envelope yesterday, from a letter I received from the UK. ( from a self adhesive, perfs give it away). Un-franked, for sale for 50p.. only joking, ha ha ha ha. no seriously.. new prize for the best caption to what the Queen is saying.. must be some philatelic reference :-) email me at cddstamps@gmail.com

Enjoy your stamps. ......... Michael

Machins, what next I wonder

I have been reading some stamp blogs today and thought I’d pass on the links for you. If you are interested in GB Machins in particular, and …….some thoughts.

To start with there is the excellent blog from Roy Simpson, with three other brilliant writers all with excellent knowledge of the Machin issues at Machin Mania

And second this link takes you to a page from Ian Billings
Norvic Philatelics site, where you can see some good scans and read the listings of new Machin issues in 2009.

One link you may not be aware of is this, it is Dave Arthurs Machin Forum A discussion board site for all topics and discussions on Machins.

If you collect Machins and want to continue to collect in 2009 it could be a very expensive year – as Roy so rightly says – as you will see from the price of the stamps and Prestige booklets packs that will be issued.


If you collect Machins now you might well be thinking, why bother? I quote from Royal Mail (italics) about the new Security Stamps due to be issued in February.

" The slits do not affect removal of the stamps from the backing sheet or from stamp books. ( I actually doubt this because have you ever peeled of a sticker that has a tear in it.. it tears further – thus for the stamp .. the stamp, many of them, could be damaged when it goes on the envelope – I wait for you to tell me I am wrong) - An additional iridescent print working repeats the words 'Royal Mail' in a wave design in the background. The text is designed to be prominent only when viewed at an angle. (You can this in the scans I am showing – very pretty!!)


The new features will affect collectors of used stamps, as the new self-adhesive laminate does not allow stamps to be soaked from substrate. Whilst this is unfortunate for collectors of used stamps, it does reflect the need for Royal Mail to ensure that postal revenues are protected and costs are controlled. "

If Royal Mail had technology that worked and franked the stamps this wouldn’t be the case: only today I received a letter from the UK. The stamp was unfranked. Now here is the next thing: I read this and it might not be as silly as it sounds… the die cut is going to become a pre frank; in other words, they (Royal Mail) can do away with the whole process of franking once they know all stamps will be these security featured stamps. (Don’t mock me. Think about it. Oh and just think what overseas postal workers will do….. scribble in biro on the stamps to cancel them ha ha )

Fanciful I think, but then again, as someone wrote it could be 2030 by the time there are no unused stamps. Now this is possibly silly because as I think we know, when there is a new constitutional monarch in Great Britain we will see a new issue of stamps showing (we assume) the Kings head and the stamps with the Queen’s head will be unusable (not valid) for postage. Will this happen? What period of time will elapse before this happens I wonder? In the same way that the stamps of George VI were replaced by new stamps (Wildings) bearing the likeness of the Queen), and these stamps became the postal usage currency of the day from 1952 onwards. So, will the Machins we know and mostly still love today have any postal currency when there is a new monarch? Precedent suggests not. I could continue my thinking and argument of this for quite some time but I feel that might bore you. And you all probably know where I will end up.

So dear readers, I am wondering, and seriously wondering, will I bother anymore with new Machin issues. To be honest I think not. And will there be new collectors? I think not. And will Royal Mail find the revenues decline or increase. For those of you who studied economics I am sure you will know the answer. For those who didn’t. You know the answer too I suspect. I’d suggest Royal Mail have neither the education nor the common sense to see where this is heading.

Enjoy your stamps ……… Michael

PS with thanks to Roy, Ian, John. Larry and Charlie for their writings that moved me to this and to the Royal Mail who have copyright and ownership of the images of course, and, I welcome your rebuttals and further thoughts.

More on Robert Burns

I wrote about the Royal Mail Robert Burns issue a few weeks ago and showed one of the new stamps that is being released in the Miniature Sheet.

Here is the MS. Yes I think it is rather nice.

What I am surprised about is the reuse of a previous stamp design for the “a Man’s a Man” Ist class stamp. I guess it fits, but to me there shows little to no originality when a previous design is reused. Maybe that is a compliment though. I guess it is. :-)

Anyway as you can see, the Miniature Sheet contains the four Scotland country definitives in a se-tenant block, and the two new 1st class stamps.

I read some good sites and one I recommend you have a look at if you don’t already, occasionally, at least, is Norvic Philatelics
Great site, and you can see more about this issue there and, taking Ian’s wise advice I add that the stamp image is copyright of the Royal Mail.

Now, for the punch line. :-) what was the issue that the “a Man’s a Man” design is copied from? First correct answer will receive some free stamps which I will mail from Korea before I leave here next week. And please… for all you very very very smart people out there.. yes I am having fun. :-) A good way to start 2009 don’t you think.

Enjoy. …….. Michael