10th
Anniversary
Year
1998-2008

Welcome to Norvic Philatelics.

.. the web's number 1 resource for up-to-date news about new stamps of Great Britain, as well as all the new postmarks, many of them pictorial and of interest to thematic or topical collectors.

The 2008 programme has stuttered to an end with the late addition of Smilers For Kids, and the third premium-priced Commemorative Sheet, for the 60th Birthday of Prince Charles. So far so good with the commemorative sheets, no new stamps have been used, but the Smilers For Kids produced three new stamps, not previously issued as smilers. Fortunately Royal Mail produced sheets which did not have the high premium that the packs had.

And so to 2009, with a programme which includes more 1st class stamps than previously - at least three blocks of 10 first class (Design Classics, Endangered Plants, Best of British and possibly the Olympic issue of which we know nothing at this stage). However, looking at the overall cost for the year February brings new definitives - not just the low value NVIs with security slits but also the high value stamps which are not even available at post offices - that's £138 for one of each stamp, booklet, business sheet, not counting the coils (which are a must - we hope the stamps from these are available individually).

The best designs of the year so far must be the Industrial Revolution stamps, which combine several elements but maintain a common appearance for the set.

E-MAILing us: Most pages have clickable 'mailto' links which generate a subject line. If you write without using one of these links, please use the SUBJECT line in your mail to indicate which stamp issue you are writing about. Any message with a blank SUBJECT or with common spam subject lines, such as: hello, order, a question for you, hi, etc, will probably be rejected by our spam filter. Mail us from here or from our online shop (see below), and the message will get through.

COPYRIGHT These pages and all Norvic Philatelics FDCs are our copyright. These may not be used without our permission. All pictures of new stamps, presentation packs, prestige books and Royal Mail first day covers are copyrighted by Royal Mail and are reproduced here with their kind permission. Webmasters, publishers, students and schools may copy Royal Mail images from our site, but the use of these images must be cleared with Royal Mail Intellectual Property office by clicking on this link. We may be also able to provide higher-resolution images; if not Royal Mail may provide them.
Please do not 'hotlink' to our images; if you want to use them, copy them (right click) and host them on your own space. Thank you!

If you need anything for your collection which isn't shown here - please ask, we may have it. Our new online store has stamps, fdcs, postal stationery, world postal history, and picture postcards: click here to see all our limited edition Great Britain first day covers from 2003 to date.

Payment. We prefer cheques from UK customers or you can pay by internet bank transfer or over the counter to our bank account.
These are other methods that we know of: Canada pay by Canadian Postal Money Order in pounds sterling; Eurozone countries: payment by bank transfer is possible.
International Money Orders and cheques/checks are also accepted; cash in US$/GBP/€uro at the sender's risk. Credit card payments are accepted via PayPal only: if you don't have a PayPal account we can send you an e-invoice. Postage and packing is extra.

Our other site is devoted to the stamps and postal history of the countries of the Former Soviet Union in the 1990s. This is a fascinating area of modern postal history and we hope to find time away from GB new issues to develop this site to show material from Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Lithuania etc, as well as Belarus which is already shown. Please visit www.geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/3337

WANTED!
1994 Postage Due/To Pay stamps

For a personal collection we are interested in buying examples of the 1994 issue 'To Pay' stamps properly used, preferably on cover or parcel piece.
The values issued are 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 25p, £1, £1.20 & £5, all in the same design.
Please email.

External links
The information on external sites is the responsibility of the respective site owners. We review these links periodically to ensure that they are still valid and apologise for any 'broken' links that there may be. If you find any links which are broken or which are no longer relevant, please email Broken link and we will investigate and make corrections where we can. Many thanks.

Join us at the where you can take part in discussions on a wide-range of philatelic subjects, learn from the expertise of others, and maybe help somebody new.
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(The VSC message board is hosted by Delphi and the first page you see may be a full-screen advertisement. It is possible to skip this without entering any personal information.)

SITE MAP

Click here for links to our online shop, listing stamps, first day covers, postal history, and postcards

Update 9 December
Website: Individual pages have now been set up for the first few issues for 2009, with the first batch of special postmarks shown on the Design Classics page.

Update 28 November
Website: as we enter the quiet period the only major changes are to the 2009 programme - images of the Kings and Queens stamps are now shown. The date of issue of the Industrial Revolution stamps has been brought forward 1 week to 10 March. The high value definitives (£1.50, £2, £3, £5) have been added to those which will have security features: two presentation packs will be issued.
First Day Covers: most orders for 2008 have now been sent to customers; we are tidying up the last of them very shortly, but there have been some delays due the sheer volume of issues in the last 2 months.

Update 31 October
.... Images of the Smilers for Kids packs, and Generic Sheets of 20 have been added today.

Update 15 October
Now that the actuals are available we have updated the Post and Go system page, with news about these new Machin head phosphor-banded labels.

Update 18 August
Postmarks: We are pleased to say that a new permanent postmark featuring Parliament's Big Ben Clock Tower* will be in use from 24 August (see below). (*Big Ben is actually the name of the Bell).

Programme 2009
Updated 9 December Illustrations here and on individual pages
Royal Mail has announced the preliminary stamp programme for 2009 as follows: latest update in red

Errors Update

RAF & Regionals prestige stamp book errors! During last summer a number Machin Anniversary PSBs were found with duplicated panes. Today we can report the Regionals Anniversary PSB with a duplicated pane 1 - see this and any others on this book here.
We can also report that the RAF Uniforms PSB has been found with a number of missing or duplicated page errors. The best we have seen is missing the last two panes of stamps with the intervening page of text also missing!
See also the pictures of Machin PSB errors here. No errors were reported (as far as we know) from the James Bond prestige stamp book but a collector recently reported the British Army Uniforms PSB with a duplicate back cover.
We have also been shown the 2nd class Business Sheet (PIP) totally imperforate with matrix complete! (We do not have any of these for sale)

Army Uniforms
The joint Royal Mail/BFPO Army Uniforms FDC was paraded at Autumn Stampex in London - see the pictures here.

Collectors of Spitzbergen, Norway, Scandinavia
see foot of page for new book.

STAMP FAIRS

Regular Norwich Stamp Fair Sundays 20 January, 16 March, 18 May, 20 July, 21 September, & 16 November 2008 - 2009 dates will be added as soon as we have them. Click here for details

Norfolk & Norwich Philatelic Society STAMP & POSTCARD FAIR is Saturday 25 April 2009 Details here nearer the time.

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Ian, Val & John Billings
Norvic Philatelics,
PO Box 119, Dereham,
NR20 3YN, Great Britain
Telephone: 08450 09 09 39
Use Skype: Pending resolution of problems with the latest version of Skype (3.8) we are unable to take or make calls using this system. More details on Skype Forums

APS # 207617
Visit the American Philatelic Society
Website at www.stamps.org

If you collect Great Britain First Day Covers,
join the Association of GB FDC Collectors - click the logo.

Buying from outside the United Kingdom? Pay us securely with your Visa, MasterCard, or American Express card ONLYthrough PayPal! Ask for details! (Within the UK we prefer cheques or bank transfer!)

Great Britain Stamps - issue programme for 2008

Links to stamp issues for
2_0_0_3
2_0_0_4
2_0_0_5
2_0_0_6
2_0_0_7

8 January

James Bond Centenary of Birth of Ian Fleming

15 January

LOVE retail booklet Mixed Machin and Love Greetings booklet

15 January

Smilers Sheets with circular labels New format available for 3 stamps.

5 February

Working Dogs Centenary of first police dogs in UK; 1st class is Europa stamp

28 February

The Houses of Lancaster and York Commencing a new series: ‘Kings & Queens’ (set of 6 plus MS)

28 February

Greetings booklet Containing the 6 most popular stamps from the previous two Greetings booklets. These stamps have elliptical perforations on the long side so are different to the ones in previous booklets.

11 March

Celebrating Northern Ireland and Glorious Smilers sheet Continuing the series The Four Countries of the UK

13 March

S.O.S – Rescue at Sea Centenary of the adoption of SOS as the signal for distress at sea (set of 6)

1 April

New Machin definitive & Country stamps for rate change

1 April

The Territorial Army Centenary Commemorative Sheet

15 April

Insects 'Action for Species' 2 - 10 x 1st class

13 May

Cathedrals 300th anniversary of completion of St Paul’s Cathedral: set of 6 + min sheet

13 May

Retail booklet - summer holidays.

10 June

Classic Films - "Carry on" and " Hammer" Films anniversaries (set of 6 and retail book 'Carry on Collecting'.)

17 July

Air Displays - Centenary of first powered flight in UK, Farnborough; incl Smilers Sheet with Red Arrows stamp.

24 July

London 1908 Olympics Commemorative Sheet

5 August

Beijing Expo Smilers Sheet (Expo runs 8-18 August)

22 August

Olympics - 2008 Beijing Olympics Handover (This is a joint issue with China Post stamps issued on 24th.)

18 September

RAF Uniforms - Set of 6 + Prestige Stamp Book

29 September

Country Definitives - 50th anniversary. Miniature sheet of 9 stamps and Prestige Stamp Book

29 September

Glorious UK Smilers sheet

14 October

Women of Distinction

28 October

Smilers for Kids - retail packs with sheets of 10 Smilers stamps;
these stamps and labels are also available to collectors in sheets of 20 with a different background.

4 November

Christmas - Pantomime Set of 6, MS, Smilers.

6 November

Lest We Forget - 90th anniversary of end of the First World War

14 November

60th Birthday of the Prince of Wales Commemorative Sheet

ARTICLES

Advertisements in definitive booklets

The March 2005 publicity leaflet for the Magic Circle stamps included a footnote about a new booklet of 6 x 1st class stamps which included, on the previously blank inside front cover, an advertisement for Royal Mail's Smilers service. The stamps were available in supermarkets and other retail outlets (but not necessarily from post offices) from early January. This booklet was, according to the Philatelic Bureau's official announcement, scheduled to have its philatelic release on 15 March. We now understand that, contrary to the published information, they made the booklets available from 27 January; three sponsored postmarks were available for this revised first date of philatelic availability*. As actual availability may have been 2-3 weeks before that date and due to the confusion over the actual release date we did not produce any first day covers for these booklets either with 27 January date, or 15 March. There is no change to the stamps, only the booklet cover. *These postmarks can be seen here.

UPDATE: A new Advertising booklet was issued on 26 July 2005. This promotes the (large) 'LOVE' stamp on the inside cover.
The third such booklet was the one containing definitive-sized greeting stamps issued on 4 October 2005.

Three special postmarks were available for FDCs of this booklet or stamps from it. NEW BOOKLET 2 October 2006.
This new booklet of 6 x 1st class stamps is described by Royal Mail as a 'stamp media book'. It is identical with any other 1st class book and contains PIP definitives, but with an advertisement promoting stamp collecting. It is sold through the Post Office network but also through other retail outlets, notably major supermarkets. We have no first day cover of this booklet in stock.

Smartstamps launched - 15 January 2004

Royal Mail launched the 'Smartstamp' - a stamp which can be printed from personal computers in homes and businesses throughout the country. Read more about the system and see examples here.

Fee-free online postage launched 19 September 2006

Royal Mail launched a new online postage facility today which, unlike Smartstamps, has no monthly or annual facility fee and, unlike Smartstamps, is not restricted to people who use Internet Explorer as their browser. It even runs on Apple Mac systems, and with Mozilla Firefox.
The 'stamp' impression is the same as for the latest Smartstamps version. Behind the address the service is printed in microprint. We'll write this up in a fuller explanation later, but meanwhile you can see a sample cover here - click Back to get back to this page.

Christmas postal delivery by Scouts

Although Royal Mail has had a monopoly on the delivery of mail, since 1981 charity groups, principally Scouts, Guides and Church Groups have been permitted to arrange the collection and distribution of greetings cards each year for a limited period before Christmas.
See a selection of Scout Christmas Post Stamps here.

Royal Mail Postage Labels
Click here to read more about this new phase of modern postal history. Updated 22 September 2003 with labels in new typeface and layout.

From the Scandinavia Philatelic Society in the United Kingdom:

Spitzbergen Cruise Mail: 1890-1914 - newly published, 60 A4 pages

For full details and sample images click here.