Great Britain's New Celebrating Wales Mini-Sheet
Great Britain's Royal Mail recently released a minisheet that celebrates Wales, one the countries of the United Kingdom. Wales is a very picturesque place with mountains, rugged seashores, ancient castles and colorful history and local culture. It's located on the far western side of Britain's main island, south and west of England. The new souvenir sheet is actually the fourth and final sheet in a series that honors different countries of the United Kingdom. Previous minisheets of the series honored Scotland, England and Northern Ireland.
The minisheet includes four stamps: the current regional definitive for use in Wales, the Welsh flag, St. David (the patron saint of Wales), and the Welsh National Assembly in Cardiff. Famed Harlech Castle in Snowdonia makes up the background of the sheet. Called "Celebrating Wales," this beautiful new minisheet would make a lovely addition for the Great Britain stamp collector.
Showing posts with label Great Britain stamps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great Britain stamps. Show all posts
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Monday, November 03, 2008
Stamp Trivia Question:
Question: What is the world's most reproduced work of art in history?
Answer: Arnold Machin's sculpture of the head of Queen Elizabeth II, an image of which is featured on British definitive stamps, with a smaller image being on most other British stamps.
According to an article by Richard Alleyne, only a handful of casts of the bust were ever made by renowned sculptor Arnold Machin. Three of them are kept by Royal Mail but a fourth has been discovered in the closet of the artist's former studio and is to be auctioned off.
Alleyne goes on to say,"The 1966 design is said to be so well-liked by the Queen that she has declined to have it updated and changed over the years, unlike her effigy on coinage. It is still seen on almost every British stamp today and some 320 billion copies have been made over the last 40 years, making it the most reproduced work of art in history."
Question: What is the world's most reproduced work of art in history?
Answer: Arnold Machin's sculpture of the head of Queen Elizabeth II, an image of which is featured on British definitive stamps, with a smaller image being on most other British stamps.
According to an article by Richard Alleyne, only a handful of casts of the bust were ever made by renowned sculptor Arnold Machin. Three of them are kept by Royal Mail but a fourth has been discovered in the closet of the artist's former studio and is to be auctioned off.
Alleyne goes on to say,"The 1966 design is said to be so well-liked by the Queen that she has declined to have it updated and changed over the years, unlike her effigy on coinage. It is still seen on almost every British stamp today and some 320 billion copies have been made over the last 40 years, making it the most reproduced work of art in history."
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The Wild World of British Machin Stamps
The "Machin" set of Great Britain definitive stamps began in 1967 and new stamps in the series are still being printed and used. They feature the head of Queen Elizabeth II. Early stamps in the series are pre-decimal; the later issues are of course decimal stamps.
The stamps are fondly referred to as "Machins" or "Machin head stamps" because the sculptor of the bust of Queen Elizabeth II that's used in the design of all of the stamps was a gentleman named Arnold Machin.
According to some experts, there are well over 1,000 different varieties of stamps in this long-running series. They can be collected on many different levels - the philatelist can collect just the major denomination and color types, or he or she can go far beyond that. Printing methods, phosphor tagging, perforation changes, and changes in the size of the denomination numeral are all additional variables in collecting Machins. Other varieties include larger size Machin stamps, which generally are high denomination stamps.
In addition to stamps that solely show the Queen's head, there are regional issues - Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man - that feature the Queen's head and a small country symbol in the top lefthand corner. For example, the Welsh regional Machin stamp has a small Welsh dragon in the corner.
Another variation on the Machin stamps was the Anniversary Issue of 1990. These stamps feature portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Victoria.
As I mentioned earlier, a stamp collector can make his Machin collection as simple - or as complicated - as he or she likes. The most detailed, specialized Machin stamp catalog is the Complete Deegam Machin Handbook, published in two volumes. Much more than a mere "handbook," this massive work is the definitive authority on these stamps and, as such, is a must-have for any serious Machin collector.
Because of their colorful nature, but moreso because of all the different and sometimes intricate varieties, Machins can be a wild series of stamps to collect.
The "Machin" set of Great Britain definitive stamps began in 1967 and new stamps in the series are still being printed and used. They feature the head of Queen Elizabeth II. Early stamps in the series are pre-decimal; the later issues are of course decimal stamps.
The stamps are fondly referred to as "Machins" or "Machin head stamps" because the sculptor of the bust of Queen Elizabeth II that's used in the design of all of the stamps was a gentleman named Arnold Machin.
According to some experts, there are well over 1,000 different varieties of stamps in this long-running series. They can be collected on many different levels - the philatelist can collect just the major denomination and color types, or he or she can go far beyond that. Printing methods, phosphor tagging, perforation changes, and changes in the size of the denomination numeral are all additional variables in collecting Machins. Other varieties include larger size Machin stamps, which generally are high denomination stamps.
In addition to stamps that solely show the Queen's head, there are regional issues - Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man - that feature the Queen's head and a small country symbol in the top lefthand corner. For example, the Welsh regional Machin stamp has a small Welsh dragon in the corner.
Another variation on the Machin stamps was the Anniversary Issue of 1990. These stamps feature portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Victoria.
As I mentioned earlier, a stamp collector can make his Machin collection as simple - or as complicated - as he or she likes. The most detailed, specialized Machin stamp catalog is the Complete Deegam Machin Handbook, published in two volumes. Much more than a mere "handbook," this massive work is the definitive authority on these stamps and, as such, is a must-have for any serious Machin collector.
Because of their colorful nature, but moreso because of all the different and sometimes intricate varieties, Machins can be a wild series of stamps to collect.
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