New Issues -
🇬🇧 Royal Mail -
30 November 2024 - 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Winston Churchill - 8 stamps and 1 Prestige booklet containing 4 panes including one which includes 4 King Charles III self-adhesive stamps (2 x 50p and 2 x £1) and another a block of 4 x King Charles III Union Flag stamps. Lithographed. Further details awaited. The designs of the stamps are revealed in Buckingham Covers promotional magazine which depicts the stamps as they appear on their various first day covers. Rating:- *****.
🇮🇳 India Post -
15 November 2024 - 150th anniversary of the birth of Birsa Munda, anti-British rebel and opponent of Christianity. Printed by Security Printing Press Hyderabad. Rating:- **.
🇨🇦 Canada Post -
15 November 2024 - Trade Union members working for Canada Post began strike action and as a result Canada Post’s philatelic internet site was suspended.
🇴🇲 Oman Post -
4 November 2024 - 16th annual meeting of the International Forum for Sovereign Wealth Funds hosted by Oman - 1 miniature sheet containing 9 different stamps. Lithographed. Rating:- ****.
Am I the only one who is growing suspicious of Royal Mail's reasons for including £1 and £2 stamps. I initially liked the idea of more variety, but every set now has them. What about more variety for other rates?
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am notionally losing value* every time, I currently use £2 (or a pair of £1) stamps in combination with one of the thousands of 2nd class NVIs I received via the Swap Out invalidation of old Machins (£2.85 to pay for a service costing £2.80). [* In fact, it is not so much a loss as a reduced 'gain' following intervening upratings of the price of a 2nd class stamp.]
ReplyDeleteMy long-held view is that all commemorative stamps should be Non-Value Indicator (NVI) stamps - denominated according to the service/rate for which they constitute full payment: 1st & 2nd are well-served examples, but there is no logical reason not to have a [first tier] Airmail stamp (currently £2.80) just as there was the "E" stamp for EU destinations, nor to restrict pictorial 1st Large & 2nd Large stamps exclusively to the Christmas issue.