The latest Royal Mail greetings booklet contains the 6 most popular greetings stamps previously issued in two separate booklets in 2005 and 2006.
Royal Mail do not regard this as a new issue, so there will not be an official first day cover or First Day of Issue postmarks. But the stamps are very different. The basic and most obvious difference is that the earlier stamps had conventional perforations all round, but the latest booklet has stamps with an elliptical elongated perforation on the long side, similar to the Machin definitives. In the US the Scott catalogue refers to these as syncopated perforations.
In some ways it is unfortunate that the perforations are different, because there is still scope in these stamps for philatelic study, as can be seen in the enlarged images below.
The three stamps on row 2 are the same as on row 2 of the second booklet, and are basically unchanged from the
previous printing:
This page created 22 February 2008 - return to the main page for this booklet using the link below.
January 8 Ian Fleming's James Bond 15 Definitive LOVE booklet 15 New Smilers stamps |
February 5 Working Dogs 28 Kings and Queens I 28 Greetings retail booklet |
March 11Celebrating Northern Ireland MS and Glorious Northern Ireland Smiler Sheet 13 Mayday - Rescue at Sea |
April 1 Rate change Machin & Country stamps 1 Territorial Army commemorative sheet 15 Endangered Species - Insects |
May 13 Cathedrals 13 Retail booklet - summer | June 10 Classic Films |
July 17 Air Displays, powered flight 24 Olympics commemorative sheet |
August 22 Olympics handover Joint issue |
September 18 British Military Uniforms (II - Royal Air Force) 29 50th Anniv. regional stamps MS 29 Glorious UK Smilers sheet |
October 14Women of Distinction |
November 4 Christmas (Pantomime) 6 Lest We Forget |
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