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Royal Mail announce new Andy Murray Stamps
Just 11 days after Andy Murray raised the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Trophy at the all England Club, Royal Mail has announced that it is issuing a set of 4 stamps to celebrate the first British Wimbledon Champion in 77 years.
Royal Mail’s new Andy Murray Stamps – issued on 8 August
Andy Murray Stamps: An Impossible Issue?
A few years ago, this would have seemed an impossible issue for Royal Mail. Firstly, living people (other than the Royal Family) were simply banned from British stamps. Secondly, the Royal Mail of old would not have been nimble enough to deal with the complexities of such an issue in a short period of time.
But much has changed. In 2003 Royal Mail rushed through a Rugby World Cup Winners Miniature Sheet and two years later an Ashes Victory Miniature Sheet (could we see another this year?). But these, they argued did not feature individual players but instead celebrated the whole team’s achievement.
All Change for the Olympics
But everything changed for the Olympics as Royal Mail issued 63 Olympic and Paralympic Gold Medal Winner Stamps, taking the nation by storm. The result was the the greatest interest in stamps for 20 odd years and a final death knell in the living person taboo.
Andy Murray – the most celebrated living person on stamps
Andy Murray has already featured on British Stamps
Of course, Andy Murray featured amongst those stamps – so with his 4 new stamps announced today, he holds a new title, alongside Wimbledon Champion. He is now the most celebrated non-Royal on British stamps.
So well done Andy and well done Royal Mail – we need you there to capture the mood of the nation.
Antarctica issues new Queen Elizabeth Land Stamps – just in the nick of time!
When William Hague announced that part of British Antarctica would be renamed ‘Queen Elizabeth Land’ in honour of Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, little did he know it would be the start of a race against time for one of the world’s smallest and most remote postal administrations!
Against the odds
The gesture put this tiny island in the South Pole – one of the UK’s 14 British overseas territories – back on the map. For the British Antarctic Post Office, the opportunity to issue new commemorative stamps was not to be missed even though it presented some very big challenges!
With no telephone, internet, running water or electricity, daily life in this inhospitable region can be difficult at the best of times. And as the island can only be accessed during its summer months of October to March, there was also a deadline to beat …
79 days and counting
Following the Foreign Secretary’s announcement on 18th December 2012, in order to issue the new Queen Elizabeth Land stamps before October 2013, they had to be designed, approved, printed and on board the last ship from the Falklands to Antarctica by 7th March. That gave them just 79 days!
It was going to be tight, but soon enough, stamp designs were submitted and approved by the relevant authorities, including the Queen herself, and the presses started rolling. Hot off the press, the first stamps were quickly taken to RAF Northolt to be airlifted to Port Stanley on the Falklands where the ship was waiting.
The finished cover featuring the new Queen Elizabeth Land Stamp
It had been a close shave but on 18th March, the new stamps arrived on Antarctica, ready to be affixed and postmarked, along with 495 exclusive First Day Covers which had also made the long journey south.
The Queen Elizabeth Land Commemorative Silver Coin Cover was later completed with a new silver proof crown, issued by the island’s Government also in celebration of the new name.
Now sold out.
Inverted Stamp expected to sell for £70,000 today
One of the world’s rarest stamps featuring Queen Victoria’s upside down head goes under the hammer later today at London auctioneers, Spink.
One of only a tiny number now available, the ‘inverted’ Queen Victoria Stamp is likely to fetch in the region of £70,000
Out of over 200,000 stamps printed in Calcutta in 1854, it’s thought that less than 30 of the ‘inverted’ Queen Victoria stamps – caused by a printing error which nobody noticed – now exist anywhere in the world.
Whoops!
Of course, the philatelic world’s most famous printing error is probably the ‘Inverted’ Jenny Stamp, so-called because the Curtiss JN-4 bi-plane at its centre was mistakenly printed upside down. It’s thought there are just 100 in existence today – one of which sold for a staggering $977,500 in November 2007.
The ‘Inverted’ Jenny Stamp – probably the most famous print job to go badly wrong
Who wouldn’t want one?
Inverted stamps are incredibly rare and highly sought-after among private collectors.
Sadly, most of us won’t ever get to hold an inverted stamp, be it Jenny or Victoria, let alone have the chance to own one.
The closest most of us will ever get…
Little consolation, I know, but here’s the next best thing to owning the legendary Jenny stamp – The 1918 US Curtiss Jenny Airmail Stamps – Click here.