The iconic and official imagery of Her Majesty the Queen is brought together in six new stamps to mark the 60th anniversary of the accession.
A Miniature Sheet brings together six portraits of the Queen taken from
stamps, coinage and banknotes issued during her reign, including a brand
new 1st Class diamond blue Definitive which will replace
the gold Definitive in Post Offices during Jubilee Year, and will also be
available in counter sheets, stamp books and business sheets. 1st
class Large versions will be issued in March or April when the new tariff
stamps are issued.
The Diamond Jubilee ‘Machin’ features Arnold Machin’s iconic image on a blue background that highlights the words ‘Diamond Jubilee’ in iridescent ink. Since it first appeared in 1967 this timeless image has been reproduced on more than 220 billion British Definitive stamps. As well as the Machin image, the sheet also features a special Diamond Jubilee edition of the first stamp of Her Majesty’s reign, featuring the iconic photograph by Dorothy Wildling, first used in 1952.
The Diamond Jubilee Miniature Sheet also creates another philatelic
first: bringing together the most iconic portraits of the Queen as she
appears on coins and banknotes, as well as stamps. Since the Penny black,
Royal Mail Definitive stamps have featured an image of the monarch facing
to our left. Royal Mint has a different convention as succeeding monarch’s
alternate the direction in which they face. Her Majesty the Queen faces to
our right on coins. This is why the two Definitive stamps featuring the
coin imagery will be the only Definitive stamps where the monarch faces
this direction. It's probably also the only occasion when two different
Machin portraits have appeared in the same miniature sheet.
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Gummed Miniature sheet 1st class stamps with designs taken from: |
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Jubilee
Definitive
1st class self-adhesive book of 12. Scan of actual used stamp, showing text MOND behind the head. See more detail on the blog. |
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Close-up images of the variations: 1. Counter sheets - MOND 2. Business sheets - MBND 3. Retail book of 12 - MTND All original stamp and postmark images are copyright 2011/2, Royal Mail. Enlargement images (by various contributors) copyright 2012 Norvic Philatelics. |
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Retail booklet of 6 x 1st (code MSND) was issued 1 October.
Distribution to Bureau customers was delayed, and post offices and
other outlets will be supplied as they replenish after exhausting
or returning 6 x 1st Olympic booklets. |
No special postmarks were announced for the 1 October booklet. The booklet is printed by Walsall, with cylinder numbers W1 blue, phosphor, and iridescent in that order. The source code is MSND to the right of the Queen's head. The edge strip reads The Diamond Jubilee 2012
The inscription on the label reads: I shall always work
to advance the happiness and prosperity of my peoples
Queen Ekizabeth II 8 February 1952 All original stamp and postmark images are copyright 2011/2, Royal Mail. Enlargement images (by various contributors) copyright 2012 Norvic Philatelics. |
Technical details:
Designed by Sedley Place with coin photography by David Burton, the 146 x
74mm miniature sheet is printed by Walsall Security Printing in gravure
"with special techniques".
The counter sheet stamps are printed in gravure by De La Rue in sheets of
50. Initial supplies of the Business Sheet were printed by De La Rue
but Walsall have also printed both the standard and Large Letter stamps in
this form. Booklets are printed by Walsall Security Print.
There are several ways of distinguishing printings but the easiest is by
the FSC certificate code as
reported in our blog.
From 6 February 2012 this new Diamond Jubilee Definitive 12 x 1st Class book will be available and remain so throughout the Queen’s jubilee year thereby replacing the gold Definitive. There are rumours that flame or PO red stamp will replace the Jubilee stamps.
The Large Letter stamp saga.
As we originally wrote here: On 27
March the 4 x 1st Large book, 1st Large Counter sheet and the 50 x 1st
Large Business sheets will be issued. At
the same time the colour of the 50p stamp will change from pale grey to
rust. The change to rust
has been postponed until at least 2013. No explanation has been
given either for the new colour nor the postponement.
The date of 27 March was always intended by Royal Mail to be the date
when the Machin and Country definitives for new postage rates were
issued. But delays in approving the increase meant the postponement
of the official issue date of the Tariff Change stamps (FDC &
Presentation Packs) to 25 April. However, a breakdown in
communication between Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd resulted in some PO
branches selling the Large
Letter counter sheet stamp as early as 8 March. The Walsall-printed
Business Sheet was available from 16 March, By 22nd March the
booklet had appeared.
From left to right: counter sheet (code LEE), business sheet (code LBE), and booklet (code LFE) behind head of The Queen. Images copyright Norvic Philatelics. Note that when these were added to the page Royal Mail had not supplied our stock of these stamps: these pictures came from people who have bought the stamps at Post Offices.
Adding to the confusion, at about the same time that Royal Mail Edinburgh told us that the early release of the stamps was unofficial and unauthorised, Post Office Ltd confirmed that they would be sold from all branches on 27 March. The next day branches were instructed not to sell the stamps, and if they didn't have any gold ones, to make the rate up another way - even if the customer wanted a Business Sheet of 50!
The official FDC will be dated 25 April 2012:
Note that the Large Letter stamp is in it's numerically future position
of 90p, rather than before the 87p at its selling price on the day of 75p.
Products available - we are supplying the miniature sheet,
the stamps from that and the stamps from other sources. Also (after
6 Feb) first day covers of the Jubilee Machin definitive.
Miniature sheet
Press Sheet of 12 uncut miniature sheets
First Day Cover
Set of 7 Stamp Cards - only sold as a set
Presentation Pack
Jubilee definitives: counter
sheet of 50, retail booklet of 12, business sheet of 100. The stamp will
also appear in a mixed retail booklet and prestige stamp book on 31
May 2012, and a booklet of 6 x 1st later in the year.
Large Letter Jubilee: counter
sheet of 50, retail booklet of 4, business sheet of 50.
Special Postmarks available on the day of this issue are be shown here. These postmarks cannot be obtained after the date of issue. These images are not be to scale.
Additional images for 25 April are shown on the
tariff change page for anybody who wants to create FDCs - I
suggest only the Tariff change stamps as the
Large Jubilee was clearly issued a month earlier.
Ref FD1207 Official Bureau postmark |
Ref FD1208 London SW1 official first day of issue postmark |
Ref FD104NP Happy Valley, Malvern, non-pictorial official first day of issue postmark |
Ref L12396 -Windsor | Ref L12399 Queen Elizabeth Street, London SE1 |
Ref L12397 Sandringham, Norfolk |
Ref L12398 Jubilee Place, London SW3 |
Ref M12402 Jubilee Road, Rednal, Birmingham | Ref L4666 Buckingham Palace, London SW |
Ref L4680 Windsor Castle |
Ref L12117 London SW1 (multi-date
postmark - date added below design) |
Ref L12408 The Queen's Diamond
Jubilee 2012 London SW |
Ref L12407 Diamond Jubilee EIIR
London SW1 |
Ref L12409 The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Windsor | Ref L12410 Diamond Jubilee of the
Accession, Sandringham, Norfolk |
<<<<< Ref L12411 London EC |
<<<<< Ref L12412 Official Diamond Jubilee Logo, London |
See also 'Jubilee Britain' postmarks on the permanent postmarks page |
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If you have any questions about these stamps or wish to purchase
any, please email
us.
This page updated 19 October 2012