These are the current basic rates, as of July 9, 2023:
| Product Letters (1 oz.) Additional ounces Letters (metered 1 oz.) Domestic Postcards International Postcards International Letter (1 oz.) Priority Mail Express Flat Rate Envelope Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope Large Envelopes (flats) (1 oz.) Ground Advantage, starts at |
Prices 66¢ 24¢ 63¢ 51¢ $1.50 $1.50 $28.75 $9.65 $1.35 $4.75 |
5745 (60¢) Love – Kitten and Heart
a. Imperforate
5746 (60¢) Love – Puppy and Heart
a. Imperforate
b. Horiz. or vert. pair, #5745-5746
c. Imperforate horiz. or vert. pair, #5745a-5746a
5747 (48¢) Two Sailboats, serpentine die cut 11¼x11
5748 (48¢) One Sailboat, serpentine die cut 11¼x11
a. Horiz. or vert. pair, #5747-5748
5749 (48¢) One Sailboat coil stamp, serpentine die cut 9½ vert.
5750 (48¢) Two Sailboats coil stamp, serpentine die cut 9½ vert.
a. Pair, #5749-5750
5751 $9.65 Florida Everglades
5752 $28.75 Great Smoky Mountains
5753 (63¢) Ernest J. Gaines
[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Royal Mail Marks Flying Scotsman’s Centenary with a Set of Special Stamps
The Final Set Of Special Stamps Featuring Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Silhouette
various locations across the UK:
Scotsman and London North Eastern Railway (LNER) poster artwork from the 1920s and 1930sRoyal Mail and the National Railway Museum are marking the 100th anniversary of steam locomotive Flying Scotsman with a set of 12 Special Stamps.
The images feature Flying Scotsman in various locations across the UK:
The ‘Christmas Dalesman’ steam special in the Yorkshire Dales National ParkA further four stamps presented in a miniature sheet feature images of Flying Scotsman and London North Eastern Railway (LNER) poster artwork from the 1920s and 1930s.
David Gold, Director of External Affairs & Policy, Royal Mail, said: “Flying Scotsman is a 
national treasure of engineering and design that conjures up the golden age of steam travel. This remarkable locomotive epitomises the romance of rail travel and is loved all by people over the world. We are honoured to mark this landmark milestone with a set of Special Stamps.”
Royal Mail worked closely with Bob Gwynne, Associate Curator at the National Railway Museum, (part of the Science Museum Group), to select the images featured on the stamps that were chosen from amongst hundreds of period photographs.
About Flying Scotsman:
The steam locomotive Flying Scotsman left the LNER’s Doncaster Works in February 1923.
It was named the following year after the principal express which ran between London and Edinburgh. In 1928, it hauled the first regular non-stop service from London to Edinburgh.
Built as an ‘A1’ class engine with a boiler pressure of 180psi (pounds per square inch), it was rebuilt in 1947 as an ‘A3’, with a higher boiler pressure of 220psi.
The engine ushered in an era of big locomotives, and its long history of operation has included several ‘firsts’, such as being the first steam locomotive to achieve a speed of 100mph (161kmh).
Over a 40-year career on British rails, Flying Scotsman travelled over two million miles (3.2 million km) and became the first steam locomotive to reach a speed of 100mph (161kmh).
After Flying Scotsman’s retirement from scheduled service in 1963, it was bought by businessman Alan Pegler and given a1920s LNER livery and the number 4472. Pegler was ambitious, and in 1969 he took his loco on a ‘Buy British’ tour of the United States. The journey attracted big crowds, and over several years the engine steamed from Texas to Canada and then over the Rockies to San Francisco, garnering publicity but losing Pegler his fortune.
The locomotive was rescued from an uncertain fate by British millionaire Sir William McAlpine, who returned it to the UK in 1973, determined that this national treasure would 
never again be threatened with exile. In 1988, Flying Scotsman went to Australia for the country’s bicentenary and visited Sydney, Melbourne, Alice Springs and Perth. The tour ‘down under’ was a triumph, with the return journey via Cape Horn ensuring another ‘first’: the locomotive had circumnavigated the globe.
Since 2004, Flying Scotsman has been part of the collection of the National Railway Museum in York, following a global public campaign to save the engine for the nation. As the oldest operating steam locomotive on the main line, it remains a potent symbol of the steam age and an inspiration to many.
Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s silhouette:
Flying Scotsman’s stamp issue will be the last to feature the silhouette of Her Late Majesty 
Queen Elizabeth.
The silhouette has been in constant use on Special Stamps since 1968 (55 years).
The first version of Queen Elizabeth’s silhouette to appear on Special Stamps was adapted from a 1953 design by sculptor and medallist, Mary Gillick, used on coinage from 1953 to 1967. It was first used on the Landscapes stamp issue in May 1966.
Stamp illustrator, David Gentleman, re-worked the Gillick Head silhouette. The updated design was first used on the British Bridges issue in 1968 and has remained in use until today.
The only occasion on which the silhouette has not featured on a Special Stamp is when an actual image of The Queen was used in the design of the stamp.
Future Special Stamps will feature a silhouette of His Majesty King Charles III.
The stamps are available to pre-order now at www.royalmail.com/flyingscotsman and by telephone on 03457 641 641. A Presentation Pack including all 12 stamps in the set is available on general sale from 16 February and priced at £17.70.
VSC adds:
There are 32 philatelic products available for this issue, including three different first day covers, each available with one of two postmarks (Doncaster and Tallents House). 
The third cover above is a “Prestige FDC.” There is also a set of postcards:
[press release]
ATA Offers Thematic Exhibiting Creativity Workshop, March 4 and 11
The American Topical Association will offer a two-session workshop titled Thematic Exhibiting: Connecting Through Creativity on consecutive Saturdays, March 4 and 11, 
beginning at 4 p.m. Eastern Time via Zoom.
This how-to workshop on developing the thematic exhibiting storyline through creativity is taught by exhibiting multi-award winner Dr. Jean Wang.
In the first workshop session, Wang will show examples from her Blood: A Modern Medicine exhibit to demonstrate how thematic exhibitors can use creativity and draw on all branches of philately to illustrate a non-philatelic story. After the first session, participants may send a scan of a potential exhibit item for her review and comment. Participants also have the option to outline a point they want to make in their non-philatelic story to garner Wang’s advice on exhibit items to seek.
Session number two provides discussion, sharing and brainstorming opportunities for participants based on details from the first session. This high-engagement workshop will maximize participants’ planning options by capitalizing on live interaction with Wang.
Dr. Jean Wang is a hematologist and leukemia researcher in Toronto, Canada. She has received 19 awards and myriad accolades for her thematic exhibiting, including Grand Awards for her Blood exhibit in CANPEX 2019 and ORAPEX 2022. Wang’s philatelic expertise includes receiving Royal Philatelic Society of Canada’s Long-time Contribution Award. She is a member of the Canada Post Stamp Advisory Committee.
The workshop series costs $25 for ATA members and $45 for non-members. If non-member participants choose to join ATA at the time they register for the workshop, the cost for both the workshop and annual membership is $60 for US residents and $70 for international residents, which are discounted rates. Registration is quick and easy on the ATA website. For more information and to register for the workshop, go to the ATA website [direct link].
[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
GW Bicententennial FDCs Zoom Talk on February 26
The next American First Day Cover Society educational Zoom presentation will be held on Sunday February 26, 2023 at 8PM EST/7PM CST/6PM MST/5PM PST. Tricia Richmond will provide a presentation on first day covers and event covers of the 1932 US George Washington Bicentennial issue.
The presentation is free to all. AFDCS membership is not required.
Here is the Zoom information for the presentation:
Click here for the link
Meeting ID: 856 4348 9109
Passcode: 215959
Tricia Richmond produces McIntosh Cachets along with her daughter Darcy. Tricia is a member of the Fred C. Sawyer North Texas Chapter and the Art Cover Exchange.
[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
GASS ’23 Pre-Show Learning Event – All About Cancellations
The APS is again hosting a pre-show learning event prior to the Great American Stamp Show ’23 in Cleveland, Ohio: “All About Cancellations”
Date: Wednesday, August 9th, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (lunch on own)
Instructor: Gary Wayne Loew
Location: Westin Downtown Cleveland, OH
Cost: $50 APS member / $100 non-members
Registration Deadline: July 21, 2023
Whether you are a postal historian or a marcophilist, postal cancellations are central to the understanding of the postal artifacts that we collect. This course is designed to provide you with a very thorough background about cancellations. Collectors of every country and every specialization will want to attend this in-depth course.
The course is limited to ONLY 30 PARTICIPANTS so register now!
The course will include three major topics:
The presentation materials will be profusely illustrated with cover examples of each topic.
While primary emphasis will be on U.S. and British Empire materials, worldwide examples will broaden your understanding of philately from every continent. You will return home with a robust package of course materials to give you a firm foundation for additional personal research.
About the Instructor
Gary Wayne Loew is a philatelic researcher and postal historian. He is the retired APS Director of Expertizing and Editor-in-Chief of The American Philatelist and the Philatelic Literature Review. He is also the author of over 80 philatelic articles and book reviews. His two-volume book, Fundamentals of Postal History, is scheduled for publication in early 2026. Gary has lectured widely on many topics about postal history. His proudest philatelic accomplishments include the numerous roles he has played in digitizing journals for the USPCS, USSS, and the complete run of the U.S. Postal Bulletin. An APS life member, he is a member of over thirty philatelic societies and clubs.
A few updates on Great American Stamp Show 2023, which will include the American First Day Cover Society’s Americover 2023:
The show hotel block is 72% booked. A sellout appears likely; don’t dawdle! At $139 a night (show rate), you’re not likely to do much better in downtown Cleveland.More information on the show: here
The Stamp Collecting Report
A radio feature by Lloyd de Vries
Download or listen to this report as an MP3 sound file.
Too good to be true.
The Stamp Collecting Report, I’m Lloyd de Vries.
You may have seen the ads on Facebook: One hundred Forever flag stamps for half the 55 dollars you’d pay at the post office. If you click on the link, you’ll go to a website with the 
Postal Service name at the top.
The red flags should go up right away. First, a hundred stamps now will cost you 63 dollars, not 55. The actual web address isn’t U-S-P-S-dot-com. And the Postal Service never sells its stamps to ANYONE at a discount.
If you get anything at all for your money, they will be counterfeits — fake stamps. They’re missing certain markers and the printing is bad. In the past, the Postal Service would return your mail to you because it didn’t have enough postage. Now, the agency wants permission to just throw away mail with counterfeit stamps. You won’t know your bill payment wasn’t delivered until you get the shutoff notice.
And that’s NOT stamp collecting. I’m Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club.
The Stamp Collecting Report began in 1997 as a 60-second weekly feature distributed to CBS Radio Network stations by CBS News as part of its Weekend Feature Package. Eventually, longer versions were recorded for this website and a Christian evangelical shortwave service. The Report ended its CBS run in 2017 with only six repeats in some 1,040 weeks. It is now produced solely for The Virtual Stamp Club on an occasional basis.
Go to Report Index • Return to Virtual Stamp Club Home Page
[from the PostNL press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Experience Nature – Skrok and Skrins
Date of issue: 13 February 2023
Appearance: sheet of ten stamps in ten different designs
Item number: 430261
Design: Frank Janse, Gouda
Photography: Buiten-Beeld
On 13 February 2023, PostNL will publish the Experience Nature – Skrok and Skrins* issue: a sheet of ten stamps in ten different designs. The denomination on these stamps is ‘1’, the denomination for items weighing up to 20g destined for the Netherlands. A sheet of ten stamps costs €10.10.
The Skrok and Skrins stamp sheet is part of the Experience nature 2021-2023 perennial series. In the series, four stamp sheets are issued every year, each comprising ten different 
stamps. The stamps feature images of plants and animals in unique Dutch nature reserves across the country. In 2023, it is the turn of the provinces of Flevoland, Friesland, Overijssel and Noord-Brabant.
This sheet focuses on the grasslands of the Skrok and Skrins nature reserves, located in the province of Friesland. The stamp sheet issued earlier this year (2 January 2023) featured Marker Wadden in Flevoland. Stamp sheets featuring the Wieden in Overijssel (12 June 2023) and the Oisterwijkse Bossen en Vennen in North Brabant (24 August 2023) will be published later this year.
The Skrok and Skrins nature reserves are located in the Greidhoek. This region in Friesland is known for its vast meadow landscape scattered with grasslands and terps. The meadows in these nature reserves are a favourite habitat for meadow birds such as golden plover, black-tailed godwit, lapwing, pied avocet and common redshank. Skrok and Skrins 
are bird reserves owned by Natuurmonumenten and are each about 100 hectares in size. Visitors can observe the meadow birds and migratory birds from the bird hide at the Swyns pond. The hut is accessible from an old mass path from the hamlet of Skrok. Natuurmonumenten keeps Skrok and Skrins wet, making them ideal feeding and resting areas for many bird species. Skrins, which is a similar nature reserve to Skrok, lies in an old estuary that was reclaimed during the Middle Ages. The area consists of wet ditches and convex fields. In some places, salt water still reaches the surface, causing unusual plants such as seaside arrowgrass and brass button to grow there. From January to May, Natuurmonumenten floods a large part of Skrins, which attracts large numbers of geese and thousands of golden plovers, which also benefit. The Skrins bird hide is situated between Hinnaard and the hamlet of Skrins.
Ranger Simon de Winter is around Skrok and Skrins very single day, as he manages the 
meadow bird reserves on behalf of Natuurmonumenten. ‘
“They are both special areas – old farmland that has been farmed for hundreds of years, says ranger Simon de Winter, who is around Skrok and Skrins very single day, as he manages the meadow bird reserves on behalf of Natuurmonumenten.
The preserve is much as it always was, de Winter added, and “each season there is always something going on. Of course, the best time to come is in the spring, when it’s teeming with black-tailed godwits, Northern shovelers, pied avocets, common redshanks and many more species of meadow birds.”
The ten residents of this nature reserve featured on the Experience Nature – Skrok and Skrins stamps are the
The stamp sheet also features many more images of typical flora and fauna from this area. The following are shown as monochrome images in a separate graphic layer: water horsetail (top right), flowering rush (top centre), lapwing (just above centre left), brass button (just above centre right), golden plover (centre left), hare (bottom left) and sea milkwort (bottom centre and right).
The Experience nature – Skrok and Skrins stamp sheet was designed by graphic designer Frank Janse from Gouda. On the sheet, the ten plants and animals are depicted in their natural environment, each on their own stamp. In some cases, the image or background colour continues onto the adjacent stamp and onto the sheet edge. All photos are incorporated in a graphic layer of different-sized overlapping circles, which break through the boundaries of the 
perforations. The circle pattern returns as small droplets on the sheet edge and the tabs. There is another graphic layer on top of the circles featuring monochrome images of animals and plants from this area. These images are almost abstract as they cross the perforations and connect the stamps to each other.
In Friesland, nature is diverse, with vast meadows, large lakes, the Wadden Sea and small landscapes featuring forests, wooded banks and heaths. Both the mainland and the islands are important stopover 
sites during bird migration. There are large national parks, including the Drents-Friese Wold National Park, the Lauwersmeer National Park, the Alde Feanen National Park and the Schiermonnikoog National Park. The entire Wadden Sea area has also been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The stamps in the Experience nature – Skrok and Skrins series are available while stocks last at all PostNL sales outlets, the post office counter in Bruna shops and at www.postnl.nl/bijzondere-postzegels [in Dutch].
Technical Details:
Stamp size: 40 x 30mm:
Sheet size: 122 x 170mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Glue: self-adhesive
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black
Print run: 285,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of 10 stamps in 10 different designs
Design: Frank Janse, Gouda
Photography: Buiten-Beeld
Printing company: Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number: 430261
* PostNL media relations says “skroks” and “skins” are the names of nature preserves and also hamlets in the region, and the words don’t translate by themselves.
[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions] [most recent items are at the bottom]
Royal Mail Reveals Image of the New King Charles III Definitive Stamp
Date of Issue: 4 April
[addition at the end, 10 February]
new monarch facing to the leftRoyal Mail has revealed the image of new definitive stamp featuring the image of King Charles III. A definitive stamp is a stamp that consists solely of the monarchs’ head and value of the stamp on a plain coloured background.The image of HM The King is an adapted version of the portrait created by Martin Jennings for The Royal Mint for the obverse of the new UK coinage and shows the new monarch facing to the left.
The new coin effigy was carefully adjusted and digitally re-lit to make it suitable for use on definitive stamps, with the aim of creating a worthy successor to Arnold Machin’s classic image of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
The King’s effigy appears alongside a barcode printed in matching colour alongside the main body of the stamp, separated by a simulated perforation line. The colours for all four values are retained from the Machin stamps:
To minimise the environmental and financial impact of the change of monarch, existing stocks of definitive stamps that feature Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth will be distributed and issued as planned and will remain valid for use in line with our recent transition to barcodes on definitive stamps.
Retailers will continue to sell their existing stocks of definitive stamps featuring Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth and be supplied with the new stamps when existing stocks at 
Royal Mail have been exhausted.
The use of the coin image is continuation of a long tradition stretching back to the creation of the Penny Black in 1840 [right].
Since the release of the world’s first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, in 1840, there has been a close association between British coins and Definitive stamps. The portrait of Queen Victoria on the Penny Black was based on that designed by William Wyon, chief engraver at The Royal Mint, for the ‘City’ medal of 1838, which commemorated Queen Victoria’s first visit to the City of London the year before.
During successive reigns, many artists worked on both coins and stamps or had their designs for the former adapted for use on the latter. In the 1960s, Arnold Machin created an effigy of The Queen for decimal coinage and then designed new definitive stamps, which became an iconic symbol of the United Kingdom around the world, reproduced billions of times.
King Charles III becomes the seventh monarch to appear on a Definitive stamp. The first was Queen Victoria who appeared on the Penny Black in 1840, followed by Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, George VI, Queen Elizabeth II and now King Charles III.
Simon Thompson, CEO, Royal Mail said: “Ever since the Penny Black was issued in the reign of Queen Victoria, British stamps have carried the image of the reigning monarch. The Definitive stamp has become a recognisable symbol of each reign. Uniquely, British stamps do not have the country of origin printed on them as the image of the monarch is sufficient. So today is a hugely important milestone for Royal Mail and the country as we reveal the image of the new King Charles Definitive.”
Customers can register their interest now at www.royalmail.com/hmkingcharlesregister
The stamps will go on general sale from 4 April 2023.
The Postal Museum Exhibition:
The new 1st Class stamp forms part of an exhibition of Great Britain’s definitive stamps at the Postal Museum, London. Called ‘The King’s Stamp’, the exhibition coincides with the 
release of the new King Charles III 1st Class definitive stamp. and runs until 3 September 2023.
The display will celebrate the newest stamp design with a unique chance to see a sheet of King Charles III 1st Class definitive before they are in public circulation.
The exhibition tells the story of definitive stamps from the very first design, the famous Penny Black featuring Queen Victoria, to today. Visitors will see rare stamps from the reigns of seven monarchs, including King Edward VII’s Tyrian Plum, which was never released, and Queen Victoria’s Two Penny Blue. It will culminate in the newest design for the reign of King Charles III.
Visitors can explore how stamps have been designed and produced with works from Edmund Dulac, Bertram Park and Dorothy Wilding. They can also discover how past 
monarchs have influenced the design process, shaping their royal identity through these ubiquitous objects.
The exhibition is included with entry to The Postal Museum and is perfect for all ages. For tickets, visit postalmuseum.org
Added 10 February:
From the Royal Mail register-your-interest page, “A range of collectibles with all four new King Charles III stamps including a Presentation Pack and First Day Cover will be available to pre-order from 3 March. The stamps will go on general sale from 4 April.”
Added 4 March:
Royal Mail sent out a promotional email:
The very first definitive stamps to feature the new portrait of His Majesty King Charles III are now available to pre-order.
This is a defining moment in philately that you’ll not want to miss.
The stamps feature a portrait of King Charles III, created by Martin Jennings for the UK’s coinage and adapted for use on postage stamps, continuing a tradition dating back to the creation of the Penny Black in 1840. Don’t miss your chance to order from this issue.
Under that are illustrations and links to four of the products Royal Mail is offering:
The “Shop Now” links don’t work in the above illustration, but you can see these and more collectibles on the Royal Mail site’s page for this issue.
