Norvic Philatelics - GB New Stamps and Special Postmarks

Christmas:  8 November 2016

Royal Mail’s Christmas stamps feature secular and religious imagery in alternate years.  This year’s set celebrates some of the key traditions of a UK Christmas - decorating the Christmas tree, making a snowman, hanging out a stocking, eating a Christmas pudding and lighting a Christmas lantern. It also includes a robin redbreast, which is synonymous with our Christmas and has a strong association with sending and receiving cards and messages, its appearance on cards having been inspired by the red coats worn by postmen in Victorian times.

Madonna and Child stamps from 2013 at the 1st and 2nd class rate will also be available.

As usual the stamps are in standard and large letter definitive size and self adhesive.
 

There is also conventionally-gummed miniature sheet containing all stamps, and booklets of 12 x 1st and 12 x 2nd stamps.

The Smilers Generic sheet with 8 each of the 2nd and 1st class, and one each of the other stamps. This means that once again there will be only one set litho-printed stamps in each sheet. 
This year Christmas stamps are available for personalisation in the Smilers Service.


Low value 2016 Christmas stamps.
High value 2016 Christmas stamps.

Large Letter 2016 Christmas stamps.
 

2016 Christmas stamps, miniature sheet.
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Stamp designs:

2nd class & Large - snowman
1st class & Large - Robin
£1.05 - Christmas Tree
£1.33 Lantern
£1.52 Christmas stocking
£2.25 Christmas Pudding

The designs were meticulously crafted by the artist Helen Musselwhite using paper cut-outs and then photographed by Jonathan Beer.

The standard Generic Smilers Sheet has no text on the labels, only a winter's scene all in white/grey.
It contains 8 of each of the 2nd class and 1st class values, and 1 of each of the airmail values.
Generic Christmas sheet 2016.


A second Generic Smilers sheet marks 50 Years of Royal Mail Christmas stamps. 
Previous years' stamps illustrate the border, and Christmas greetings are on the stamp labels.
Christmas 2016 Generic Smilers sheet.


Technical details:

The stamps were designed by The Chase using illustrations crafted designs by Helen Musselwhite.  The self-adhesive stamps are 24 x 28mm, perf 14.5 x 15 in sheets of 25/50 with phosphor bands as appropriate, and are printed by De La Rue Security Print, Gateshead in gravure.   The gummed miniature sheet is printed by De La Rue in gravure.  The booklets are printed by International Security Printers in gravure.  The generic sheets are printed by International Security Printers in litho. 

Products issued, available from Royal Mail: 

Set of 8 stamps, miniature sheet, 2 x generic Smilers sheets, booklet of 12 x 1st, booklet of 12 x 2nd
First day covers (set or MS) -- Presentation pack -- Stamp cards (set of 9)



Special Postmarks

Special postmarks available for the day of issue  were shown in Royal Mail's Postmark Bulletins (download here)


This page created 17 November 2016

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