NY2016 New Exhibition Sheet from Royal Mail

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1 Apr - Jun 2016 NY2016 New Exhibition Sheet from Royal Mail Royal Mail will be in attendance during the forthcoming World Stamp Show NY2016, to be held between 28 May and 4 June 2016 at the Javits Centre, New York and to mark the occasion they will be issuing a new generic Smilers sheet on the opening day comprising a 20 x DS "Hello" stamp and label format as seen previously with the ubiquitous Hello from Royal Mail strap line! The design was shared at the Trade briefing during STAMPEX week and we had been told was under press embargo by Royal Mail until the 9th April All Quiet on the Smilers Sheet Front! Earlier this week I received an e mail from Jon Gray, a keen Smilers sheet collector, who has consistently contributed to this column. Like some of us Jon had noted the apparent slow down in the issue of Business Customised stamp sheets over the past 12 months from the big names from the three B's Bradbury, Buckingham and Benham. In 2015 c. 30 sheets were produced from these sheet producers but so far in 2016 only 3 had emerged. Following the announcement from Adrian Bradbury that he was no longer planning to produce these collectible sheets Jon wrote to both Benham and Buckingham to ascertain their future plans. Their respective responses are interesting and informative. Buckingham replied: "We have been giving sheets some thought and though they will not be produced so often, we will still continue. The price of production has gone up and we need to make sure there are extra sales or uses to do one, so I would guess you will just see one or two a year from us from now on." 1

2 Benham replied: "We are committed to the production of Benham Customised Stamp Sheets and our most recent Sheet to be offered is World War 1 The War In the Air. This is featured in our Brochure No.105. We will produce a Sheet for future subjects when it is considered suitable." From these responses we can probably expect to see fewer issues in the future, not a bad thing of itself, and hopefully with broader appeal than some past issues Railway Bridges comes to mind! (26/06) 100th Muratti Vase Commemorative Sheet Jersey Post have released a new Commemorative Stamp Sheet commemorating the 100th Hepburns Insurance Muratti Vase football competition which is an annual competition played between Alderney, Guernsey and Jersey. The 100th tournament final took place on Saturday 14 May 2016 at Springfield Stadium in Jersey. The first Muratti final took place at Springfield on 27 April 1905, and since its inception, the competition has been interrupted only between and due to the First and Second World Wars. This sheet of 20 Local stamps has been issued with labels and a background celebrating inter insular football and the 100th Muratti Vase. (23/05) 2

3 First Glimpse of the Royal Mail promoted West Ham Business Sheet I first heard the "rumour" of a West Ham business sheet back in February this year in a casual conversation with a member of Royal Mail staff at Stampex in which I made the point that I didn't think it was a very good idea for Royal Mail to both act as producer and promoter of business sheets such as "Our Willie" or whatever the correct term is north of the border. All things considered, I am still of this view and believe that in the long run it would have a detrimental effect on the philatelic market that was already doing a great job in promoting the product on behalf of RM! The staff member from Royal Mail agreed that to be both gamekeeper and poacher complicated matters! Well despite many requests of Royal Mail since I see an image of the said West Ham sheet has emerged in the Summer Selection brochure issued this week by Royal Mail, by passing all key account holders, subscribers to the Philatelic Bulletin and the recipients of Royal Mail's monthly Key News update which summarises all the embargoed information as it happens! The sheet is sold in an illustrated folder and is available from Royal Mail on line, priced from Royal Mail at Tallants House (RM Stock code VA285). For those without an account at Royal Mail I can supply the sheet priced 25 incl. p+p worldwide. Please e mail me with your requirements. (25/05) 3

4 Tony Buckingham It is with regret that we have noted the sad news of Tony Buckingham s recent passing. He was the inspiration behind Benham and more recently Buckingham Covers and its many, many Smilers sheets, many of which helped Tony and his family raise so much for good causes. We send our condolences to Tony's family and all of Tony's staff at this sad time. (24/05) Royal Mail at NY2016 Royal Mail will be in attendance at NY2016 World Stamp Fair, to be held in New York, USA between 28th May and 4th June In addition to making available a new Generic Smilers sheet at the show, they will also be selling four personalised/themed Smilers sheets using the four Star Wars sheets with special show logo printed on the labels. 4

5 We have a small number of sets of four sheets available on a first come first served basis priced 100 for the four sheets incl. p+p. If interested please drop me an e mail to reserve your set. (23/05) Another new Glorious Wales Themed Reprint! Hot on the heels of the Anglesey Smilers sheet (see below), comes news about another Glorious Wales sheet sporting the new elliptical perf. stamps and re printed sheets courtesy of the folks behind the Festiniog Railway. I think this must be the first of the Ffestiniog Smilers sheets printed with dual images, and like the Anglesey sheet, has been produced utilising the new printing of the Glorious Wales Smilers sheet. As a result there are two commemorative covers produced from this sheet and as soon as receive my order I will share these with you. My thanks to Keith Wraight for bringing this sheet to my attention. If you are interested in buying this sheet or the covers please contact Robert Smallman on Tel: (23/05) New Glorious Wales Reprint! If you scroll down to the foot of this web page you will see news of a new Themed Smilers sheet from Martin Husband and the Anglesey Philatelic Bureau. Notice anything different? Well for a starter I can confirm that this is a new printing of the sheet with square edged perforations so a new variety of the Welsh Dragon stamps has been identified and we have Jon Gray to thank for pointing this out. 5

6 Notice anything else a bit different? How about the complete absence of the white, customer reference box in the lower left hand corner? I completely missed it myself on first glance. (20/05) Post Script: Ian Billings has pointed out another interesting fact surrounding this re print : it is the only source of this stamp with elliptical perforations and no doubt this will prove of interest to a much broader section of the collecting community. (23/05) Autumn STAMPEX th Anniversary The Philatelic Traders Society has announced the issue of another in its Business Customised Stamp Sheets marking the Autumn STAMPEX event to be held at the Business Design Centre, Islington, London between the 14th and 17th September

7 This stunning sheet will be available to visitors at the show priced or if you cannot get down to the show, we can supply at each incl. p+p. Pre orders taken now, please e mail (graham@smilers info.com) me your requirements and I will invoice you after the show. (17/05) BFPS Themed Smilers Sheets and Commemorative Covers The British Forces Philatelic Service has announced two new Themed Smilers sheets for issue in May

8 The first sheet/cover commemorates the 300th Anniversary of the Sappers The Royal Engineers. In 1716 by Warrant of King George I, the Engineers and the Artillery were placed on separate establishments and so the Corps of Engineers was born. The following 300 years has seen the talents the Royal Engineers successfully cover an incredibly broad spectrum of disciplines. Sapper 300 commemorates this tercentenary anniversary. To celebrate this historic moment in time, BFPS has produced a limited edition commemorative Themed Smilers sheet and cover. The second sheet/cover commemorates the centenary of the historic Battle of Jutland. The Battle of Jutland took place between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet on the 31st May 1916 in the North Sea, off the mainland of Denmark. Involving some 250 ships and 100,000 men, this battle was the only major naval surface engagement of World War I. Both sides claimed victory in this indecisive battle, though Britain retained control of the North Sea. To commemorate the centenary of this historic battle British 8

9 Forces Philatelic Service has produced a Smilers sheet and commemorative cover, which will be published on the 31st May Both sheets and covers are available for the BFPS website priced 38 per Smilers sheet of 20 stamps/labels and 7.50 for each cover. (17/05) Forthcoming Royal Mail Smilers Sheets I was recently contacted by DC who was interested in seeing a list of forthcoming Royal Mail Smilers sheets. It occured to me that others might also benefit from a consolidated update... The World Stamp Show NY2016 generic sheet is due to be issued on 28th May 2016 West Ham FC Business Sheet (delayed date to be announced) Battle of Hastings 950 Years commemorative sheet is due on 14th October 2016 The Christmas generic sheet is due out on 8 November 2016, and The Lunar New Year sheet (Year of the Rooster) is due on 15th November 2016 If anyone has any other interesting snippets of information to share now would be a great time to contact me and I can guarantee that space will be available at this blog. (02/05) The Sound of Silence Well I have to admit, it's been a very quiet April with very little to report. The Benham 90th Birthday sheet appeared as expected and the ANZAC commemorative sheet (stocks now available). Apart from that it's eerily quiet. I spotted the following article in the Key News Bulletin from Royal Mail which may be connected... "Smilers and BCS Review of Stamp Range We are currently reviewing the range of stamps available through the Smilers and Business Customised Sheet service and have identified the following stamps for potential withdrawal following a review actual demand over the last 12 months. Before these are withdrawn from sale feedback is sought from Key Accounts on whether there is merit in retaining any of these designs. Feedback is welcome by Friday 6th May 2016." Personally, any move to reduce choice is a backward step for me, and I am pretty sure that removing the Scottish Rampant Lion and Northern Ireland Fields definitive sized Smilers 9

10 stamps would be a mistake. If you haven't got your personalised versions of these sheets you had better hurry! (02/05) Latest Isle of Anglesey Themed Sheet Martin Husband has written in and advised of a new themed Smilers sheet featuring the Isle of Llanddwyn. The sheet uses the Glorious Wales personalised sheet as a backdrop and the label design is based on one of the images from Martin's latest set of local stamps. Martin advises that the edition is limited to no more than 20 sheets and copies are available directly from Martin Husband priced 40 +pp. Those interested in purchasing a copy should contact Martin at angleseystamps@gmail.com in the first instance. (16/04) 10