| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | |||||
Union flag
which represents England, Scotland and Northern Ireland |
England
Cross of St. George |
Wales - Cymru
Welsh Dragon |
Scotland
Cross of St. Andrew (called saltire) |
Northern Ireland
Tuaisceart Éireann Norlin Airlann Cross of St. Patrick |
Northern Ireland
Ulster banner Meirge Uladh (unofficially) |
| Please click on flags to learn more ... | |||||
New GB stamp issues
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Latest news on GB stamps
from Norvic Philatelics |
Postmark bulletins
from Royal Mail |
GB Stamps 1840 to Date
from Ian Gill |
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Royal Mail
Prestige Stamp Books
Introduction and Index
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The first Prestige Stamp Book (PSB) appeared in December 1969 with the »Stamps for Cooks« book, sponsored by the Milk Marketing Board. The PSBs contain text and illustrations on labels attached to the stamp panes and on interleaving pages. Initially they were just occasional issues - one or two a year - but now three or four issues seems to have become the norm to line the pockets of Royal Mail. For collectors the PSBs are often the source of new postage stamps not issued elsewhere. Some of the PSBs, especially from the 1980s, have a stamp exhibition
overprint
on the front cover of the booklet. Such scarced and high-priced variations are hard to find.
The earlier PSBs solely contained Machin and/or Regional definitive stamps. Starting in February 1992
(DX12) the PSBs contain a combination of definitive stamps and special stamps on the subject of the book. All PSBs were sold by Royal Mail at the total face value of the stamps contained in the book until 2011. Beginning with the issue of the »Morris & Co.« stamp book, Royal Mail introduced an additional cost, over and above the face value of the stamps contained within these booklets. The surcharge averages 95p. The booklets are seperately numbered in a new series, commencing DY1.
At the end of 2018 a complete collection of 79 PSBs (excluding ZP1a [stapled] and overprints, but including DX1
[good perfs] and DX50a [type 2 paper clips]) had an average market value of 1,436 £/1.652 €.
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to display corresponding section
| Summary | |||
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Show PSB Covers |
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Quickfinder - PSB Covers overview |
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Show PSB Stamps |
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Quickfinder - PSB Machin panes overview |
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Show Country definitives |
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Quickfinder - PSB comprising pictorial Country definitives |
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Display Machin technical details |
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Display and print PSB list |
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Display and print PSB-RB/MS list |
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Display and print NVI postage rates |
to display corresponding chapter
| Stampbooks (1969, 1972, 1980 - 1989) | |||||||
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ZP1 |
Stamps for Cooks (PSB »prototype«)
December 01, 1969
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DX1 |
The Story of Wedgwood (Volume I)
May 24, 1972
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DX2 |
The Story Wedgwood (Volume II)
April 16, 1980
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DX3 |
The Story of Stanley Gibbons
May 19, 1982
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DX4 |
The Story of the Royal Mint
September 14, 1983
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DX5 |
The Story of our Christian Heritage
September 04, 1984
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DX6 |
The Story of »The Times«
January 08, 1985
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DX7 |
The Story of British Rail
March 18, 1986
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DX8 |
The Story of »P&O«
March 03, 1987
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DX9 |
The Story of the »Financial Times«
February 09, 1988
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DX10 |
The Scots Connection
March 21, 1989
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| Stampbooks (1990 - 1999) | |||||||
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DX11 |
London Life
»Stamp World London 90« March 20, 1990
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DX12 |
Alias Agatha Christie
March 19, 1991
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DX13 |
Wales
February 25, 1992
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DX14 |
Birth Centenary of J. R. R. Tolkien
October 27, 1992
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DX15 |
The Story of Beatrix Potter
August 10, 1993
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DX16 |
Northern Ireland
July 26, 1994
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DX17 |
The National Trust
April 25, 1995
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DX18 |
European Football Championship
May 14, 1996
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DX19 |
Celebrating 75 Years of BBC
September 23, 1997
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DX20 |
The Wilding Definitives
»London Stamp Show 2000« (Volume I) March 10, 1998
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DX21 |
Breaking Barriers
British Speed Record Holders October 13, 1998
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DX22 |
Profile on Print
»London Stamp Show 2000« (Volume II) February 16, 1999
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DX23 |
World Changers
September 21, 1999
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| Stampbooks (2000 - 2009) | |||||||
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DX24 |
Special by Design
»London Stamp Show 2000« (Volume III) February 15, 2000
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DX25 |
The Queen Mother's 100th Birthday
August 04, 2000
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DX26 |
A Treasury of Trees
September 18, 2000
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DX27 |
Unseen and Unheard - Centenary of
Royal Navy Submarine Service October 21, 2001
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DX28 |
A Gracious Accession
Golden Jubilee of QE II (Volume I) February 06, 2002
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DX29 |
Across the Universe
A Guide to Outer Space September 24, 2002
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DX30 |
Microcosmos
A Guide to Inner Space February 25, 2003
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DX31 |
A Perfect Coronation
Golden Jubilee of QE II (Volume II) June 02, 2003
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DX32 |
Letters by Night
A Tribute to the Travelling PO March 16, 2004
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DX33 |
The Glory of the Garden
Bicentennial of Royal Horticultural Society May 25, 2004
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DX34 |
The Brontë Sisters
150th Anniversary of the Death of Charlotte Brontë's February 24, 2005
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DX35 |
Bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar and
the Death of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson
October 18, 2005
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DX36 |
Birth Centenary of Isambard Brunel
February 23, 2006
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DX37 |
150th Anniversary of the Victoria Cross
February 24, 2006
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DX38 |
World of Invention
March 01, 2007
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DX39 |
The Making of a Masterpiece
The Machin Definitives »London Stamp Show 2010« (Volume I) June 05, 2007
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DX40 |
British Army Uniforms
September 20, 2007
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DX41 |
James Bond
Birth Centenary of Ian Lancaster Fleming January 08, 2008
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DX42 |
Royal Air Force (RAF) Uniforms
September 18, 2008
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DX43 |
50th Anniversary of Regional Definitives
»London Stamp Show 2010« (Volume II) September 29, 2008
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DX44 |
Design Classics
January 13, 2009
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DX45 |
Birth Bicentenary of Charles Darwin
February 12, 2009
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DX46 |
Treasures of the Archive - Postboxes
»London Stamp Show 2010« (Volume III) August 18, 2009
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DX47 |
Royal Navy Uniforms
September 17, 2009
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| Stampbooks (2010 - 2019) | |||||||
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DX48 |
Classic Album Covers
January 07, 2010
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DX49 |
The Royal Society
January 07, 2010
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DX50 |
King George V - The King's Stamps
»London Stamp Show 2010« (Volume III) May 08, 2010
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DX51 |
Britain Alone - World War II
May 13, 2010
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DX52 |
WWF - For a Living Planet
Mar 22, 2011
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DY1 |
Morris & Co.
A Definitive Claim to Beauty May 05, 2011
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DY2 |
Centennial of First UK Aerial Post
September 09, 2011
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DY3 |
Roald Dahl
January 10, 2012
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DY4 |
The Queen's Diamond Jubilee
May 31, 2012
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DY5 |
Keeping the Flame Alive
British Achievment of the Olympic and Paralympic Games July 27, 2012
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DY6 |
Classic TV - 50 Years of Doctor Who
March 26, 2013
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DY7 |
Football Hereos
May 09, 2013
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DY8 |
Merchant Navy
September 19, 2013
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DY9 |
Classic Locomotives of the UK
February 20, 2014
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DY10 |
The Buckingham Palace
April 15, 2014
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DY11 |
The Great War - 1914 (World War I)
(First in a series of five) July 28, 2014
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DY12 |
Inventive Britain
February 19, 2015
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DY13 |
The Great War - 1915 (World War I)
(Second in a series of five) May 14, 2015
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DY14 |
Bicentennial of the Battle of Waterloo
June 18, 2015
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DY15 |
Star Wars (Volume I of II)
December 17, 2015
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DY16 |
500 Years of Royal Mail
February 18, 2016
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DY17 |
HM The Queen's 90th Birthday[*]
April 21, 2016
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DY18 |
The Great War - 1916 (World War I)
(Third in a series of five) June 21, 2016
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DY19 |
Beatrix Potter[*]
July 28, 2016
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DY20 |
Windsor Castle
February 15, 2017
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DY21 |
The Machin Definitives -
50th Anniversary[*] June 05, 2017
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DY22 |
The Great War - 1917 (World War I)
(Fourth in a series of five) July 31, 2017
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DY23 |
Star Wars (Volume II of II)[*]
December 14, 2017
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DY24 |
Game of Thrones[*]
January 23, 2018
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DY25 |
R.A.F. Centenary[*]
March 20, 2018
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DY26 |
The Great War - 1918 (World War I)
(Fifth in a series of five) September 13, 2018
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DY27 |
Harry Potter[*]
December 04, 2018
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DY28 |
Leonardo da Vinci
February 13, 2019
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DY29 |
Marvel comics[*]
March 14, 2019
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DY30 |
Queen Victoria Bicentennary
May 24, 2019
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DY31 |
Star Wars (Volume III of III)[*]
November 26, 2019
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| Stampbooks (2020 - 2023) | |||||||
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DY32 |
Visions of the Universe
Royal Astronomical Society Bicentennial February 11, 2020
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DY33 |
James Bond Films[*]
March 17, 2020
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DY34 |
End of Second World War -
75th Anniversary May 08, 2020
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DY35 |
Queen (Music Giants IV)
July 09, 2020
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DY36 |
Star Trek (Starship USS Enterprise)[*]
November 13, 2020
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DY37 |
»Only Fools and Horses« -
40th Anniversary February 16, 2021
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DY38 |
Paul Mc Cartney[*] (Music Giants V)
May 28, 2021
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DY39 |
Industrial Revolutions
August 12, 2021
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DY40 |
DC Collection[*]
(Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman) September 17, 2021
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DY41 |
Rolling Stones[*] (Music Giants VI)
January 22, 2022
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DY42 |
HMQ Elizabeth II. Platinum Jubilee[*]
February 04, 2022
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DY43 |
Unsung Hereos: Women of World War II
May 22, 2022
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DY44 |
Transformer TV Series[*]
September 01, 2022
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DY45 |
Tutankhamun - Finding a Pharaoh
December 12, 2022
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DY46 |
X-MEN - Celebrating 60 years[*]
February 16, 2023
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DY47 |
The Flying Scotsman Locomotive -
Celebrating its 100th anniversary March 09, 2023
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DY47 is the final Prestige Stamp Book including Machin definitive stamps and featureing the silhouette of HM Queen Elizabeth II. on commemorative stamps. The Queen died on 8 September 2022, at the age of 96,
at Balmoral Castle , Aberdeenshire, Scotland. |
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[*] In addition to the regular PSBs, Royal Mail has published high-priced
limited editions.
There is absolutely no postal or philatelic necessity for such issues.
The only purpose for such a line of action is, that Royal Mail wants to squeeze money out of the stamp collectors as much as possible on an outrageous way!
British press and private comments on the same topic:
Press: There is a once-notable aspect of our culture that has reached a dead end, apparently for reasons of naked cynicism. I refer to the subjects of what are now called by Royal Mail, without humour, our special stamp issues. This absurd programme presents second-rate designs highlighting populist trash in the interests of relieving children of their pocket money, all while devaluing philately as an art form. It shreds an opportunity to put intelligence, beauty and history in the hands of anyone who sticks stamps on a letter.
Private:
It draws attention to the inappropriateness of many of the subjects, the generally poor designs and expresses amusement that Shirley Bassey should be thought worthy of philatelic commemoration when the 150th anniversary of the death of Vaughan Williams, last year, was not. And he notes that the BBC centenary was overlooked and states, "But then Royal Mail now churns out Mickey Mouse stamps as if it is the postal service of some banana republic, not of a supposedly serious country." He concludes that he hopes the new king "will put a stop to this nonsense once and for all". |
| Explanation of Abbreviations: | |||
| RM | Royal Mail Group Ltd. | TH | Tallents House, Edinburgh |
| SG# | Stanley Gibbons catalogue number | AMV | Average Market Value |
| FV | Face Value | FDC | First Day Cover |
| PSB | Prestige Stamp Book | FDI | First Day of Issue |
| MD | Machin Definitives | MAD | Machin Anniversary Definitives (Double Head) |
| MRD | Machin Regional Definitives | CD | Country Definitives |
| WD | Wilding Definitives | SD | Special Definitives |
| SS | Special Stamps | NVI | Non Value Indicator |
| PO | Post Office | E W S N | England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland |
| POP | Post Office Sales Pprice | ++ | Display PSB's back cover |
| // Elmar R. Göller // All rights reserved // Contact // Publishing Information |
| modified |
