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FIRST LOOK: World’s first ever Game of Thrones Stamps just revealed
Update 23/01:
Royal Mail’s Game of Thrones Stamps
officially released today.
Secure yours now by clicking here >>
Revealed for the first time today, Royal Mail are set to release 15 new Game of Thrones stamps celebrating the global-success of the hit fantasy TV show, filmed primarily in the British Isles and featuring a star studded cast brimming with home-grown talent.
Scheduled for release on 23 January 2018, the new stamps will feature 10 of the best loved characters from all seven series’, including Tyrion Lannister, Arya Stark, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and Ned Stark, as well as an exclusive Miniature Sheet, comprising the Iron Throne, the Night King, Drogon and Ghost.
Royal Mail’s Game of Thrones Stamps
The stamps are Royal Mail’s first ever Game of Thrones stamp issue, and the first Postage Stamps to feature Game of Thrones, the world over.
Here’s your first look at the new stamps alongside a bit of info about each one…
Sansa Stark
SANSA STARK
Eddard Stark’s oldest daughter, Sansa, was held in King’s Landing by the Lannister’s after her father’s murder. Initially naive and trusting, she learned how to play the Game of Thrones by observing the devious Petyr Baelish. Following a battle to reclaim her ancestral home, she became the Lady of Winterfell.
Jon Snow
JON SNOW
The King in the North is a loyal and honourable man. After joining the Night’s Watch, he rose to become the Lord Commander, but his insistence on making common cause with the wildlings led to mutiny and his demise. Resurrected, he returned to Winterfell and defeated Ramsay Bolton.
Eddard Stark
EDDARD STARK
The head of the Stark family was an honourable, upright and decent man in a dark world. Asked by his oldest friend Robert Baratheon to govern as Hand of the King, he found himself out-manoeuvred at every turn. His execution on trumped-up charges fuelled the War of the Five Kings.
Olenna Tyrell
OLENNA TYRELL
Sharp of tongue and fierce of wit, Olenna Tyrell was the matriarch of the Tyrell family. After losing almost all her family in an explosion orchestrated by Cersei Lannister, Olenna vowed revenge and joined forces with Daenerys Targaryen hoping to bring the Lannister lions to their knees.
Tywin Lannister
TYWIN LANNISTER
The head of the Lannister family was a consummate tactician who ruled his adult children with an iron will. Having engineered victory in the War of the Five Kings thanks to his astute military tactics, Tywin was later undone by his refusal to respect and appreciate Tyrion Lannister.
Tyrion Lannister
TYRION LANNISTER
The youngest Lannister, Tyrion spent most of his life shunned by his family, who failed to appreciate his sharp political mind. Falsely accused of poisoning Joffrey, he was freed by his brother Jaime only to then murder their father. He has pledged his allegiance to Daenerys Targaryen.
Cersei Lannister
CERSEI LANNISTER
Robert Baratheon’s widow spent years hiding a dark secret: her three children were not Robert’s but the product of a long-standing relationship with her twin brother Jaime. Now all three children are dead, and Cersei sits on the Iron Throne in King’s Landing. She is determined to see off all other contenders.
Arya Stark
ARYA STARK
Eddard and Catelyn Stark’s youngest daughter was more interested in learning to fight than becoming a lady. After her father’s death, she survived on her wits, eventually training with the Faceless Men in the Free City of Braavos. She subsequently returned home to Winterfell and reunited with her siblings.
Jaime Lannister
JAIME LANNISTER
Cersei’s cynical twin brother has a major flaw – his love for his sister. Captured early on in the War of the Five Kings by Robb and Catelyn Stark, he was freed by the latter against her son’s wishes. Increasingly troubled by Cersei’s behaviour, he was last seen leaving King’s Landing.
Daenerys Targaryen
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Revered by her followers as the mother of dragons, Daenerys Targaryen recently landed in Westeros to claim the Iron Throne. Shortly after her arrival, Jon Snow, hoping to convince her to help him fight the forces beyond the Wall, offers the support of the north.
Winter is here with Royal Mail’s official Game of Thrones stamps
The issue consists of independently custom-designed stamps, with unprecedented detail to showcase 10 central Game of Thrones personalities, 4 non-human characters and the Iron Throne itself.
The set of ten best-loved character stamps show exclusive photographic representations of central characters from across all seven seasons in the Game of Thrones’ series. Each stamp is centred on an individual character and is a complex montage of multiple images from the series; creating ten bespoke images that embody the crux of each character’s story. Each individual design is assigned a ‘colour identity’, aligned with the character and their environment, as well as being a reflection of the production values and themes of the series.
Game of Thrones Miniature Sheet
The Miniature Sheet centres on the non-human characters in the Game of Thrones series with a very different emphasis to the mint stamps. Despite this, they adhere to a similar design concept; creating distinctive backgrounds through an overlay of imagery to provide insight into the character’s stories. All 4 stamps are carefully constructed in a way that reflects the characters’ environments; however, they are all united by the Iron Throne Definitive at the centre of the sheet, mirroring what lies at the heart of the season as winter comes.
Game of Thrones Framed Collector Card
If you’re interested…
You can own all of the new Game of Thrones stamps right now on a limited edition Collector Card – professionally framed and ready to hang.
As Royal Mail’s new Songbird stamps hit the right note with collectors, BBC’s Chris Packham signs for Westminster…
4th May sees the release of Royal Mail’s stunning new Songbird stamps. As soon as we heard about the release of the stamps, we discussed who we could work with to create the ultimate presentation for collectors.
Chris Packham signing the limited edition Songbird Stamps Collector Card
It didn’t take long for us to unanimously agree that Chris Packham was our man!
Chris is one of today’s most highly respected television naturalists presenting BBC’s Springwatch, Autumnwatch & Winterwatch. And adding further to his CV, he proudly serves as Vice President of the RSPB.
Shortly after contacting him, we were delighted to hear Chris had agreed to sign 500 framed Songbirds stamp sets for us. Here he is at home signing the first of the collector cards.
Once these arrive back with us, they’ll be sent off to Royal Mail to have the stamps specially postmarked with the first day of issue postmark and then returned to us once again to have them professionally framed.
The full set of stamps features the Nightingale, Wren, Blackcap, Cuckoo, Yellowhammer, Great Tit, Goldcrest, Willow Warbler, Song Thrush and Skylark.
If you’re interested…
We’re now taking pre-orders for the special Chris Packham Signed Edition. Just 500 will be made featuring all the Songbirds stamps on a Framed Collector Card, postmarked with their first day of issue…
So if you want one, click here for details before they sell out.
The medal 30 years in the making…
With the Battle of Waterloo reaching its 200th Anniversary this year, I have come across some fascinating commemoratives which have been issued to mark the historic event. However, there was one in particular that really caught my eye and has an intriguing story behind it…
Benedetto Pistucci was commissioned to design The Battle of Waterloo medal..
It all started in 1815 when The Royal Mint was commissioned by the Duke of Wellington to strike a medal honouring the leaders of the allied nations following the Battle of Waterloo.
The medal was to be of the grandest scale, finished with outstanding detail – a task perfectly suited to Royal Mint Chief Medalist Bendetto Pistrucci – whose proposed design was chosen from a shortlist.
Pistrucci was a masterful engraver with a mercurial personality. He had already completed a stunning design of St George and the Dragon (which famously still graces the Sovereign today). His design for the medal looked set to be one of the greatest ever undertaken…
But, there was a problem
Pistrucci was under the impression that Master of the Mint, William Wellsley-Pole, had promised him the position of Chief Engraver at the Royal Mint. However, as a result of politics and infighting at the Mint, it became apparent his ambitions would never be fulfilled.
In fact he soon recognised that once he had completed the Waterloo medal, The Royal Mint was sure to cut all ties with him. Determined not to let this happen, Pistrucci took his time, and prolonged the project – by 30 years.
By the time the dies were completed, all the intended recipients were dead, except for Wellington himself.
The end result was one of the most magnificent pieces of medallic art ever seen, but this wasn’t the end of the story. Pistrucci’s dies were so large and complicated that they proved impossible to harden and the medal that had taken three decades to complete was never even struck.
So the ill-fated Waterloo medal remains one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of The Royal Mint, and is still talked about to this day – despite the fact it never even made it to production!
Now the medal has been made…
Using the latest minting technology, a small batch of just 495 replica medals have been made for the anniversary year of The Battle of Waterloo. We still have some available if you’re interested, click here for details.