Royal Mail has entered a ‘new digital era’ with the introduction of barcodes to ‘everyday’ definitive stamps.
Customers can now scan a barcode that sits beside the portrait of HM The Queen using the Royal Mail app. Currently, it shows you a video of Shaun the Sheep that Aardman have created especially for Royal Mail, but the capabilities of this feature are endless.
The barcodes will eventually provide information about services, further exclusive videos and even greetings for occasions such as birthdays. When sending mail, you will be able to choose what the recipient of the stamped item can see from these options.
But don’t worry, the barcode won’t stick out like a sore thumb on your letter, as it will remain the same colour as the rest of your stamp.
However, you’ll need to bear in mind that the barcode must not be removed. Like previous definitive stamps, a mail item may be liable to a surcharge if not all of the stamp is intact.
For those of us who still have non-barcoded or Christmas stamps, Royal Mail have created a ‘Swap Out’ scheme that will come into play from the 31st March 2022. Otherwise, they will be valid until January 2023.
This new feature hasn’t quite made it to Special Stamps yet, but it seems as though it will only be a matter of time before more of Royal Mail’s services will follow this digital step.
Are you excited for this new upgrade to our stamps? Let us know in the comments below!
The Land of Hope and Glory Collection tells the story of Britain through the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Britain goes Decimal…
On the morning of the 15th February 1971, Britons woke up with a brand new currency following increasing global pressure to go Decimal. In one of the biggest changes to our currency in 1000 years, we left behind the old Pounds (£), Shillings (/-) and Pence (d) system and introduced the decimalised coins that we know today.
Under the new system, the Pound was retained, but was divided into 100 new pence rather than 20 shillings (or 240 pence). And to help the public get used to this major change, new Decimal coins, training stamps and conversions charts were all made available to the public ahead of Decimal Day.
Do you still have any of the old pre-Decimal coins? Let us know in the comments
First Test Tube Baby
On 25th July 1978, a five-pound baby girl named Louise Joy Brown was born in Lancashire. As the first baby to be conceived through in vitro fertilisation (IVF), Louise’s birth made headlines and she became known around the world as the first “test tube baby”. A few years later, Louise’s younger sister Natalie was born, also via IVF. And in 1999, Natalie became the first mother born through IVF to give birth – without IVF.
Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy, the pioneering medical professionals who were involved in Louise’s birth were awarded a Nobel Prize in Medicine for their life-changing work. As of 2022, it has been estimated that over eight million babies worldwide have been conceived via IVF
The Home Computing Boom
1980s Britain saw a boom in home computing and a drastic change in public opinion towards the technology. Once seen as complex machinery used only by scientists and large organisations, computers were rare and most people would have never seen a computer in real life…
Fantastic machines like the Acorn Electron, Commodore 64 and Sinclair ZX Spectrum were developed to make computing user-friendly for the first time and to bring the wonders of information technology into homes, schools and workplaces.
Technology would continue to advance throughout the decade, as the home computing boom caused an unexpected growth in video gaming and by 1989 a British scientist, Tim Berners Lee, conceived and developed the World Wide Web.
The Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer
Described at the time as a “fairytale wedding”, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were married at St Paul’s Cathedral on 29th July 1981. The event was watched by a record-setting global television audience of 750 million, all eager to see Diana’s wedding dress which was one of the best kept secrets of the fashion industry at the time.
Were you one of the 750 million to watch?
The wedding broke royal protocols and created traditions that we still see during Royal Weddings today. Diana was the first Royal bride to omit the words “obey” from her vows and after forgetting to kiss after their vows, the couple shared a romantic kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Today, the ‘balcony kiss’ is one of the most iconic moments to take place during a Royal wedding.
The Raising of the Mary Rose
The Mary Rose was lost for over 400 years. She was one of Henry VIII’s warships and a huge team of divers, archaeologists and scientists were involved in her recovery and raising.
The search for the Mary Rose began in 1965, when Alexander McKee began investigating wrecks in the Solent and discovered a strange shape underneath the seabed via sonar scans. Teams of amateur and professional divers explored the area and on 5th May 1971, Percy Ackland found three of the port frames of the Mary Rose.
Nearly 11 years of excavation and careful planning followed and finally, on 11th October 1982, the world watched the raising of the historic Mary Rose…
If you’re interested…
The Land of Hope and Glory Collection celebrates Britain through the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. And today, you can start the Collection of a Lifetime. Click here to secure the Coronation Medal for FREE >>
Revisit the historic moments that have shaped Britain through the reign of Queen Elizabeth II with our Land of Hope and Glory blog series:
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is seeing demand for Commemorative coins hit an all-time high.
It’s been really quite staggering.
Just take all 5,000 UK Silver Proof £5 coins which completely SOLD OUT at the Mint in just 24 hours!
And in our latest video, I take a closer look at the brand new Platinum Jubilee Silver £5 Set, which is more than twice as limited as the UK coin that sold out in one day!
Could it be the next sell out? Watch our latest video below to find out more.
If you’re interested…
