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Welcome to Norvic Philatelics GB stamps pages - if you cannot see our logo either we have a problem, or your browser is not image enabled. The content of this site is mostly pictures of stamps and postmarks, so you will miss out if your browser is set to not show images.

Welcome to Norvic Philatelics

H e l l o !! great britain stamp.. 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 2012 stamp programme is dominated by the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.  Already we have had the 'diamond blue' Machin definitive (in 4 forms with more to come), and the Olympic Definitives.  Royal Mail have promised us special stamps for Olympic gold medal winners, and we expect some Faststamp developments in conjunction with both the Olympics and the Jubilee.

The first of the 2012-coded Security Machins has already appeared, so look out for these - and if you are looking for used examples of all the security stamps, it's never too soon to start putting them aside.

Don't forget that as it is much quicker to write a blog entry than to update a website, our very latest news will always be on our blog.

E-MAILing us: Most pages have clickable 'email' links which generate a subject line. If you write please use the SUBJECT line in your mail to indicate which stamp issue you are writing about.


COPYRIGHT These pages and all Norvic Philatelics FDCs are our copyright. These may not be used without our permission. All pictures of new stamps, postmarks, 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 2009.

Payment. We prefer cheques from UK customers or you can pay by internet bank transfer or over the counter to our bank account.
Eurozone countries: we accept payment by bank transfer.

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.  We've moved this from Geocities, and very slightly updated it, and you can now see it here.


Great Britain Postage due stamps 1994.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 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
Information on external sites is the responsibility of the respective site owners. We review 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. Thank you.


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Queen Elizabeth II by Annigoni stamp.

Updates 11 May:

New pages: Olympic Welcome, Paralympic Welcome, Olympic Gold Medals, Olympic Torch Relay postmarks

New images and postmarks: New tariff definitives, British Fashion, Flag Faststamp, Golden Jubilee, Charles Dickens, Olympic Generic Smiler Sheet.

The Dinosaurs issue scheduled for October has been moved to 2013, but Cartor reprints of the Scotland 1st & 2nd definitives will be issued in June. (See table below.)

Read more about the Large Letter Diamond Jubilee stamp, and the latest news on our blog.


2012 Machins - many new stamps

All the latest news here...........
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The preliminary 2013 programme will appear here by Autumn 2012.

Errors Update

King George V prestige stamp book.  The only recent error reported to us on PSBs is of one turning up without the Machin pane.  
Charles Darwin PSB stamp book error.  Two days after the date of issue and we have the first report of a duplicated pane error in the Charles Darwin PSB - see this here.
RAF & Regionals prestige stamp book errors!
During last summer a number Machin Anniversary PSBs were found with duplicated panes. Now we can report the Regionals Anniversary PSB with a duplicated pane 1 - see this and any others on this book here
See also the pictures of Machin PSB errors here
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)


Join us at these forums
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.
Stampboards logo - www.stampboards.com .
and
banner ad for The Virtual Stamp Club.
Click on either banners to read and join in.

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.  
Please read the welcome page.

Stampboards - please read the forum rules and, once registered, introduce yourself in the appropriate message thread. 


STAMP FAIRS

The next Norfolk & Norwich Philatelic Society STAMP & POSTCARD FAIR will be Saturday 4 August 2012 Details will be here

Regular Norwich Stamp Fair Sundays every other month from 15 January to 18th November 2012 Click here for details

Regular King's Lynn Stamp Fair Saturdays every other month from 11 February 2012 New venue Click here for details


SITE MAP

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

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Ian, Val & John Billings
Norvic Philatelics,
PO Box 119, Dereham,
NR20 3YN, Great Britain
Telephone: 08450 09 09 39*

*Only between 0900 and 1700 UK time please Monday - Friday. (Before calling, please check UK time shown at the top of the page!).  
Other times and weekends we may be available on Skype, and emails will always be dealt with as soon as we can

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If the display above shows "I'm not telling" it is a Skype error - we may be here, we may not! Try anyway but please check the time first!

New in our shop:

1st class Faststamp - early type.
Full range of Machin and Pictorial Faststamps
from Post & Go Machines


Click on the image to buy!

If you collect Great Britain First Day Covers,
join the Association of GB FDC Collectors - click the logo.
Association of GB FDC collectors http://www.gbfdc.co.uk

Buying from outside the United Kingdom? 
Pay us with your Visa, MasterCard, or American Express card
through PayPal! 

Within the UK pay quickly by bank transfer! Ask for details! 

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Pages for GB Stamp Issues.

Great Britain Stamps - issue programme for 2012

In addition to the items listed below, there may be even more retail booklets and generic Smilers Sheets, 
and maybe further Commemorative Sheets.  Details will be added as announced.

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
2_0_0_8
2_0_0_9
2_0_1_0
2_0_1_1

   Oxford pig faststamp (detail).  Part of Faststamp showing union flag.  1st class stamp showing Her Majesty the Queen. 1st class stamp showing Dickens Mr Pickwick.

5 January  

Olympic & Paralympic Games Definitive Stamps

10 January  Roald Dahl (author)
20 January
Year of the Dragon generic smilers sheet
2 February
The House of Windsor (Kings and Queens 6) Set and MS
6 February
HM The Queen's Diamond Jubilee MS & definitive  
22 February
Diamond Jubilee Faststamps (at Stampex only) 
23 February
Britons of Distinction 
24 February Pictorial Faststamps - sheep 
8 March Classic Locomotives of Scotland MS
20 March 
World of Comics - Children's, not Comedians  
10 April A-Z of the UK, part 2 (14 stamps) 
10 April Commemorative sheet: RMS Titanic 
24 April 
Pictorial Faststamps - pigs 

25 April
HM The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Large Letter definitives
New Tariff Machin and Country definitives 
1 May
Commemorative Sheet: James Bond 50th Anniversary
15 May Design Classics, Great British Fashion 
21 May Union Flag Faststamp
31 May HM The Queen's Diamond Jubilee
18 June
Exhibition Generic Sheet  
19 June Charles Dickens 
27 June
Olympics Smiler Sheet New icon.
27 June
Scotland 1st & 2nd definitives by Cartor in Litho. New icon.
27 July Olympic Games (Welcome)  incl PSB New icon.
July-August GB Gold medal winners - as they happen!  New icon.
27 August
Retail booklet - Scottish locomotives 
27 August Paralympic Games (Welcome) New icon.
27 September Olympic and Paralympic Games (Memories) [Stampex] 
28 September
Pictorial Faststamps - Cattle 
1 October
Retail booklet - Diamond Jubilee 6 x 1st
5 October
Commemorative Sheet New icon.
16 October World of Dinosaurs - postponed to 2013
16 October Space Science 
8 November Christmas 2012 

Norwich postmark for Olympic Torch relay.postmark showing athete and Union flag.Great Britain Special Pictorial Postmarks not associated with new stamp issues


Permanent special and pictorial postmarks
11 May 2012

Other special postmarks
11 May 2012 


ARTICLES

Advertisements in definitive booklets

booklet of 6 1st class definitive stamps with advertisement inside front coverThe 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.
advertisement on inside cover of stamp booklet issued 2 October 2006.The third such booklet was the one containing definitive-sized greeting stamps issued on 4 October 2005.

postmark depicting Windsor Castle.postmark depicting Sandringham House.postmark depicting Buckingham Palace.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

1st class Smartstamp in EnglishRoyal 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

1982 Sheffield Scout Stamp showing BPAlthough Royal Mail 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.

Special Delivery postage paid labelRoyal 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.  

In 2009, labels with the Machin head were used for Special Delivery items at just one post office in London. See Machin Horizon Label page.

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.

News about Great Britain new stamps and postmarks with links to this site will be announced on our blog, on the Virtual Stamp Club, and on Stampboards forum.

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This site started 1998; latest update 11 May 2012
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Click here for links to our online shop, listing stamps, first day covers, postal history, and postcards

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