Charles Dickens £2 Coin Cover Collection
The Westminster Collection have released their latest Smilers PNC Cover
collection in the guise of commemorating the 150th anniversary of the
death of Charles Dickens. The Charles Dickens Complete £2 Coin
Cover Collection combines all five official Charles Dickens £2 coins
issued by Jersey covering the great man himself and some of his most
famous novels: Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and A
Christmas Carol together with specially commissioned Royal Mail Charles
Dickens Smilers stamps/labels.
Priced at £95 per set of five covers, the collection is
not cheap but they do appear to sell well and if this is of interest to
you then an early purchase from the Westminster
Collection will avoid disappointment. (22/02)
Quelle Surprise! Only Fools and Horses
Oh mon dieu! Another mega media bundle on the horizon from
Royal Mail - due out in two weeks! Lovely Jubbly I can hear some
say - others may not be so keen. Whatever your feelings are about
Royal Mail's recent "nice little earners" stamp issues you cannot help but love their
latest subject - Only Fools and
Horses is truly a British icon and this year it celebrates its 40th anniversary.
To mark the occasion Royal Mail will be releasing a variety of stamps and
collectibles to tempt us from our furlough payments - this time
next year they'll be millionaires!
Due out on 16th February 2021, Royal Mail's code-name for
this issue was "Project Dave" which is worthy of the
subject and brought a smile to my lips when I first heard about
it.
Trigger is just one of the many characters appearing in
this issue of eight new stamps and a mini sheet, as above. Also
included are a presentation pack, various first day covers, retail,
prestige and limited edition prestige booklets, coin covers, framed
collectibles, and a stack of knocked-off brief cases apparently. And
of course, no such issue would be complete without a Smilers event ....
GS-133
Featuring two of the four new stamps from the above mini
sheet, this latest collector/Smilers sheet from Royal Mail comprises 10 x
1st class stamps and labels and in my view captures the essence of the
show perfectly. I am sure it will prove to be popular with both
stamp sheet collectors and OFAH fans alike.
We have managed to get hold of few "cushty"
stamp sheets and you can buy them now on-line from our eBay store for
delivery from 16th February by clicking on the above sheet image. They are
priced at £14.95 + pp - you know it makes sense!
Finally an apology to all the non-Brits reading this
missive, the innuendos and catch phrases will, I am sure, be totally lost
on most of you, some of which are captured in the stamp artwork - what a
"plonker" Rodney!! (02/02)
Soroptimist International Centenary
A little known organisation celebrates its centenary this year - Soroptimist
International - an international charity organisation with a UK base
in Stockport. It is a worldwide volunteer service organisation for women
who work for peace, and in particular to improve the lives of women and
girls.
Two themed Smilers sheets have been produced recently to mark this
event, together with two souvenir Smilers covers bearing the
Smiler stamps and what appears to be a special event hand-stamp dated 1st
January 2021.
TS-587
TS-587-COV
TS-588
TS-588-COV
The hand-stamp does not appear in the Royal Mail January Postmarks bulletin
nor does it appear on the Royal Mail postmarks website
so it is questionable whether this is an official hand stamp of a laser
printed facsimile.
The stamp sheets and covers have been produced my Anne
Rogers, who is John Chapman's partner (John Chapman ex: Bletchley Park
Post Office). Anne, who supports the Charity, contacted me recently and
confirmed that with John's help and his talented designer Simon, Anne had
produced the stamp sheets and envelopes to commemorate the occasion.
We will not be holding stocks of these sheets but if you would like to
order any of the above collectibles then may I suggest you contact Anne
Rogers directly on the e-mail link provided above.
A great start to the New Year and helping us to keep smiling into
2021! (07/01)
Royal Mail Stamp Programme 2021
Royal Mail have announced details of their proposed 2021 stamp issue
programme as follows.
- National Parks - 14/01/21
- United Kingdom: A Celebration - 26/01/21
- Only Fools and Horses - 16/02/21
- The Legend of King Arthur - 16/03/21
- Classic Science Fiction - 15/04/21
- The Wars of the Roses - 04/05/21
- Musical Giants - Paul McCartney 26/05/21
- Dennis and Gnasher - 01/07/21
- Wild Coasts - 22/07/21
- Industrial Revolutions - 12/08/21
- British Army Vehicles - 02/09/21
- To Be Announced - 17/09/21
- Rugby Union - 19/10/21
- Christmas - 02/11/21
- Lunar New Year Generic Sheet - Year of the Tiger (not officially acknowledged
at time of writing but likely in my view)
Other 2021 Smilers sheets may include a London 2021 generic
sheet, if the planned event goes ahead. Also, the European Cup and Olympics
are scheduled to be held in 2021 (Covid-19 willing) so these may also
generate additional issues.
The issues highlighted in bold are those with possible interest for
Smilers Collectors - my guess and not an official confirmation. No
further details exist so we shall all have to wait and see what 2021
brings! (07/01)
2020 News Archive
I have now archived the 2020 Smilers News and
you may now download this in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format by clicking on the
above link. Keep Smiling in 2021!
I have also updated details of all generic, collector, themed and
business customised stamp sheets issued during 2020 and hopefully have not
made too many mistakes! You can find these updated listed under the New
Issues menu item at top left. (07/01)
