New issue programmes for 2026.
🇬🇧 Royal Mail -
🇬🇬 Guernsey Post
The full new issue programme for stamps inscribed Guernsey, Alderney and Sark has now been published by Guernsey Post. I hope those who feel they must have a complete collection of 2026 stamp issues from this business also have deep pockets.
Thanks to Anonymous for drawing my attention to the newly posted RM programme,
At least most of the Royal Mail program is celebrating Britishness. Though honestly it looks like they went through what would be the big sellers. We’ve had lots of Roses and Castles before. And I don’t see any specific anniversaries for the Hornby, LOTRs, Roses or Waterfalls issues. Hopefully there’ll be a fair share of Scottish and Welsh waterfalls in the issue.
ReplyDeleteThe anniversary which seems to matter to Royal Mail these days is that relating to their previous 'cash cow' issue.
ReplyDeleteAnd, given recent experience, I'm also not entirely sure that you are justified in believing that the generic issues (esp. waterfalls and castles) will feature ANY British entries.
WK replying - ‘British’ stamps should be a showcase for Britain. You are right, in many cases they no longer are. Personally I’m now very selective about what I buy and as a result I save a large amount of money every year & my collection doesn’t look any the worse for it.
DeleteSo, in both January and February, two issues in successive weeks? (And with new tariff definitive stamp(s) towards the end of March and - per the Billings' Norvic Philatelics blog - a placeholder for an undisclosed issue shortly after April's QE2 issue, the first third of the year is going to be congested and expensive for the few remaining completist collectors.)
DeleteThere was a time when Royal Mail considered its core business to be the handling of mail, with philatelic interests borne as a sideline given that the service essentially funded itself while providing an acceptable return, but now there seems to be an aggressive/avaricious pursuit of the greatest possible revenue at all costs: 26 [1st class] stamps within the first three weeks of 2026 - more than some/many issuing nations put out in an entire year - with the full knowledge and intention that a sizeable proportion will never be used as payment for postage is just ridiculous.
WK - RoyalMail has long lost me as a regular purchaser of its philatelic products. I agree with everything you write. There is nothing pleasing about a collection of ‘one of everything’ British stamps from the mid 20 teens onwards - they are expensive but of very little value and now, just tiresome & repetitive & irrelevant. I have said it before, but Royal Mail might as well allow Stamperija to take over its stamp issuing - things could hardly be worse. I presume that this latest list of tat is the product of the mind of a very senior manager more interested in his career than in appreciating that stamps should be ambassadors for Britain not promoters of American culture. There are thousands of subjects on all aspects of Britain that deserve to be depicted on British stamps but those mysterious individuals who decide which subjects should be depicted on our stamps seem to neither know about them nor be interested in celebrating them. Thank you for your comment.
DeleteI shall not buy the Stranger Things stamps either. It is surprizing that they limit celebrations of foreign culture to the USA. Perhaps they will issue some Emmanuelle stamps in the second half of 2026...
DeleteWell that would cheer everyone up, I’m sure.
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