Sunday 1 January 2017

890. Royal Mail 2017 Programme - Machin Commemoration, Royal Issues, Horses And Songbirds



🇬🇧The Norvic Philatelics Blog has drawn attention to the latest Philatelic Bulletin which reveals that Royal Mail's 2017 programme of new issues will be made up of the following:-

17 January 2017 - Ancient Britain 8 stamps (4 se-tenant pairs at 1st class rate, £1.05p, £1.33p and £1.52p) For more details and illustrations see Blog 860.


6 February 2017 - 65th anniversary of the Accession of Queen Elizabeth II - 1 single £5 "Machin Head" definitive stamp.


15 February 2017 - Windsor Castle and Europa - 6 stamps, 1 miniature sheet, 1 Prestige booklet and 1 counter booklet of 6 stamps.



15 February 2017 - Post and Go labels - "Mail by Rail"


14 March 2017 - "Music giants"

20 March 2017 - Opening of the Postal Museum stamp sheet

6 April 2017 - "Racehorse Legends"

4 May 2017 - Songbirds

24 May 2017 - Finlandia Philatelic Exhibition sheet

5 June 2017 - 50th anniversary of the first "Machin Head" definitive stamps. The issue includes a Prestige stamp booklet.

5 June 2017 - Post and Go labels - 50th anniversary of the "Machin Head" definitive stamps

20 June 2017 - Windmills and watermills

13 July 2017 - "Landmark buildings"

31 July 2017 - Centenary of the First World War - the issue includes another Prestige stamp booklet

22 August 2017 - "Classic toys"

13 September 2017 - Ladybird books 

14 September 2017 - Post and Go labels - Royal Mail heritage, "Airmail"

20 October 2017 - to be announced

7 November 2017 - Christmas.

16 November 2017 - Lunar new year - the Year of the Dog

20 November 2017 - Platinum wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke Of Edinburgh.

  According to my reckoning there appear to be 15 new basic commemorative issues - though some seem to commemorate very little - and again there is another one of those dreadful "Music giants" sets which will no doubt be on the subject of a group of what is now old men which will be an excuse to add in lots of sheetlets and miniature sheets and so on.
  However I like the earliest issues of 2017 and hopefully things will not turn out to be as bad as this new issue programme seems to predict. There are 2 important Royal anniversaries both of which will be commemorated in different ways and the "Songbirds" issue will no doubt be popular. For collectors of "Machin Head" stamps it seems as though there will be a bonanza of issues during 2017 to commemorate the design's first usage on stamps 50 years ago.
  This programme however looks excessive for collectors to bear but where there is money to be made Royal Mail, like most postal services, will do whatever it has to including the financial exsaguination of its loyal stamp collectors.

Happy new year!

No comments:

Post a Comment