Norvic Philatelics - GB New Stamps and Special Postmarks

Pictorial Faststamps: Cattle - 28 September 2012

Royal Mail is going down on the farm in 2012 with its new series of Post and Go stamps. British Farm Animals is the first in a series of three issues that will explore some of the many traditional breeds of sheep, cattle and pigs to be found on farms in the UK.   Post & Go terminals allow customers to weigh their letters and packets, pay for and print postage labels and stamps without the need to visit the counter. The first Post & Go machine was trialled in The Galleries Post Office® in Bristol in 2008.

The labels can be obtained with 6 different service indicators: 1st class up to 100g & 1st class Large up to 100g, Europe up to 20g, Worldwide up to 10g and 20g, and the new Worldwide 40g.  The stamps are dispensed singly or in strips of up to 5 of the same value or various values. Thus there are 36 different value/design combinations in total.   

Set of 6 Faststamps showing breeds of cattle.
Row 1: Irish Moiled, Welsh Black, Highland
Row 2: White Park, Aberdeen Angus, Red Poll
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The stamps in detail

Irish Moiled
The Irish Moiled is one of the most recognised breeds in Ireland. The breed originated in County Leitrim, County Sligo and County Donegal, but is now found throughout Northern Ireland. The breed is endangered and up until 1970 the decline was substantial.  They are polled cows (hornless) and are generally red with a white line on the back and stomach. They usually have a flecked face and are dual producers, used for beef and dairy.

The name Irish Moiled cow originated from the term ‘Maol’. This term is Gaelic and refers to the dome, or distinctive mound shape of the head.

Welsh Black
The Welsh Black is a dual-purpose breed of cattle native to Wales. As the name suggests, the cattle are naturally black. They generally have white horns with black tips, but these may be removed and there are also naturally hornless (polled) strains.

Red individuals occur occasionally – red and other colours were more common in the past. Its hardy nature coupled with its habit of browsing as well as grazing makes it ideal for rough pasture such as heathland and moorland, and for conservation grazing. Traditionally bred for both milk and beef, commercially it is now usually used only for beef.

Highland
Highlands are known as a hardy breed due to the rugged nature of their native Scottish Highlands, with high rainfall and strong winds. Highland cattle have been successfully established in many countries where winters are substantially colder than Scotland’s, such as central Europe and Canada.
Cattle Faststamps  presentation pack.

Their hair provides protection during the cold winters and their skill in browsing for food enables them to survive in steep mountain areas. They graze, browse and eat plants that many other cattle avoid. The meat tends to be leaner than most beef because Highlands get most of their insulation from their thick shaggy hair rather than from subcutaneous fat.

White Park
White Park cattle are a very old breed of beef cattle, kept in Britain for more than 2,000 years, but now rare. They are closely descended from Britain’s original wild white cattle that were enclosed in parks by the nobility during the middle ages. By the end of the 19th century, such parks had largely gone out of fashion and the breed struggled to survive till 1973 when the Rare Breeds Survival Trust was formed and chose the White Park as its logo. From around 60 animals left in the breed at that time, the numbers have grown so that there are now more than 450 adult breeding cows.

The breed is distinguished in looks – large white animals with black points – that is muzzle, ears, eye-rims and feet. The elegant wide-spreading horns are usually black-tipped. Excellent foraging ability and longevity are also notable.

Aberdeen Angus
Angus cattle (Aberdeen Angus) is a breed commonly used in beef production. They were developed from cattle native to the counties of Aberdeenshire and Angus in Scotland, and are known as Aberdeen Angus in most parts of the world. They are naturally polled and solid black or red, although the udder may be white. There have always been both red and black individuals in the population, and in the USA they are regarded as two separate breeds – Red Angus and Black Angus. Black Angus is the most popular beef breed of cattle in the United States, with 324,266 animals registered in 2005.

Red Poll
The Red Poll originated as a cross between Norfolk Red beef-type cattle and Suffolk Dun dairy cattle (both of these breeds are now extinct). The parent Suffolk breed was also polled – Norfolk cattle had horns but the gene for horns was bred out in the Red Poll breed. The original name for the breed, adopted in 1863, was Norfolk and Suffolk Red Polled cattle, and the first standard description was agreed in 1873, with the first herd book compiled in 1874. The breed became the Red Polled in 1883, and then Red Poll in 1888, when the Red Poll Cattle Society was formed.

They are considered to be part of the ‘Suffolk Trinity’ with the Suffolk sheep and the Suffolk Punch heavy horse.

Technical details:

Designed by Kate Stephens and illustrated by Robert Gillmor the six 56mm x 25mm stamps are printed in gravure by Walsall Security Printers, with two phosphor bars.  The stamps in the pack will have the service indicator and other detail printed in gravure.   All images are by kind permission of Royal Mail, Copyright 2011/2. This website is copyright Norvic Philatelics 2011.


Products issued

The labels will be used in Post & Go machines at Post Offices around the country, and from the Hytech machines at Autumn Stampex.
A mint set of 6 x 1st will also be available from Royal Mail's Tallents House Bureau in a pack similar to a presentation pack. All values in the pack are 1st Class with a philatelic branch code of 002012.

Although Post & Go machines are a Post Office Ltd product, Royal Mail will again produce a First Day Cover and official First Day Postmarks for these.

Update: on the date of issue not all Post and Go PO's had stock (or if they did, they weren't in the machines).  Similarly blank FDCs were available at Stampex, but arrived at some POs late in the day on 28th or later. 
We are still waiting for blank FDCs to be delivered from Royal Mail over a week after the issue date.  Which is useful as two more postmarks have been added today!

Special Postmarks
Postmarks available for the day of issue will be shown here These are not to scale. These postmarks cannot be obtained after the date of issue.

Official first day of issue postmark for cattle faststamps.
Official Cowes Isle of Wight postmark for Cattle Faststamps.
Non-pictorial FD postmark.
Stampex postmark for Cattle Faststamps.
Ref FD1240
Philatelic Bureau Official Postmark illustrated with a map of the British Isles
Ref FD1241
Cowes Isle of Wight official postmark illustrated with a cow (The postmark will not have the frame lines)
Ref FD1241NP
Cowes, Isle of Wight official non-pictorial postmark.
Ref L12708
Autumn Stampex Post & Go Farm Animals III London N1
Postmakr showing a bull.
Postmark showing a cow. Postmark showing cow, possibly Red Poll.
Postmark showing White Park cow.
Ref L12709 Bull's Green, Norwich, Norfolk. 
This is incorrect as the correct address for Bull's Green is 'Toft Monks, Beccles, Suffolk".  The postmark may be changed.

Ref M12714
Bull Ring, Birmingham
Ref L12727 Wickham Market, Woodbridge (Suffolk) ( Home of Red Poll Cattle Society.)
Ref M12728 Lighthorne, Warwickshire (Location of White Park Cattle Society)


This page updated 8 October 2012

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2012 stamp issues
Visit our online shop!
January
5 Olympic & Paralympic Definitives
10 Roald Dahl (author)
20 Year of the Dragon Smilers
February
2 House of Windsor & Saxe-Coburg
6 Diamond Jubilee MS & definitive
23 Britons of Distinction
24 Pictorial Faststamps - Sheep
March
8 Classic Locomotives of Scotland MS
20 World of Comics
April
10 A-Z of the United Kingdom part 2, M-Z
10 RMS Titanic Commemorative Sheet
24 Pictorial Faststamps - Pigs
25 Machin & Country Defins
25 Diamond Jubilee Defins 2
May
1 James Bond Commem sheet
15 Design Classics, Great British Fashion
24 Union Flag Pictorial Faststamp
31 HM The Queen Diamond Jubilee
June
18 Exhibition Generic Sheet
19 Charles Dickens
27 Olympic Games Generic Smiler
27 Scotland 1st & 2nd reprint
July
27 Welcome to the London 2012 Olympic Games
From 27 Olympic Gold Medals
August
29 Welcome to the London 2012 Paralympic Games
31 Paralympic Gold Medal stamps
September

27 Memories of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
27 Railways of Scotland booklet
28 Pictorial Faststamps - Cattle
October
Retail booklet 6 x 1st Definitives
The Last Goon Show Commemorative Sheet
 -- World of Dinosaurs ->2013
16 Space Science
November
8 Notts County FC Commemorative Sheet
11 Christmas

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