X-Men went to ...
You know you are getting old when you interpret the latest Royal Mail
mega media bundle as a rather large mowing party! In fact Royal
Mail's next stamp issue features another marvel from the Marvel
Comics stable - X-Men! According to Royal Mail, their pop-culture
themed stamps and collectibles continue to be very popular with a broad
range of pop-culture fans. I guess that makes me not a fan of
pop-culture stamp issues!!
The Marvel Universe is the inspiration for Royal Mail's latest stamp
issue, due out on 16th February 2023. The X-Men franchise celebrates
its 60th anniversary in 2023 with their first comic book appearance in The
X-Men #1 in 1963.
A set of 12 stamps celebrating some of the X-Men superheroes to have
featured in the comic book franchise since 1963.
An additional set of 5 stamps are included on the Miniature Sheet,
featuring five of the mutant enemies faced by the X-Men. All 17 stamps in
the X-Men collection are original illustrations created exclusively for
Royal Mail by renowned British comic book artists: Mike McKone (stamp set)
and Lee Garbett (minisheet).
Plus, each of the 12 stamps in the main set has a unique Augmented
Reality animation which shows the artwork being created from pencil
sketches through to the finished colourised stamps. This can be activated
by downloading the Royal Mail App and scanning the stamp with a smart
phone or tablet.
In addition to the 12 stamp set and mini-sheet, this issue from
Royal Mail includes the following additional collectibles.
- Presentation Pack
- First Day Covers (3)
- Set of Stamp Cards (17)
- Prestige Stamp Book
- Limited Edition Prestige Stamp Book
- Fan Sheets (2)
- Silver Plated Ingot - Professor X
- Silver Plated Ingot - Wolverine
- Silver Plated Medal Cover - Professor X
- Silver Plated Medal Cover - Magneto
- X-Men branded stamp packs (4)
- Uncut Press Sheet c/w 12 X-Men Miniature Sheets
- Framed X-Men stamps and mini-sheet
- Framed X-Men Fan Sheet
and last, but not least (fanfare), a new Collector/Generic Stamp Sheet!
GS-151
The X-Men collectors sheet is a celebration of the comic book artwork
of the famous mutant superheroes. It Includes all twelve X-Men Superhero
stamps featuring original illustrations exclusive to Royal Mail.
Each character is paired with a comic book clipping as an attached label
alongside the stamp. The Sheet is printed in Litho by Cartor
Security Printer on self-adhesive backed paper which is different from the
stamps in the set (Litho/PVA Gum).
We will be stocking the sheet and a limited number of First Day Covers
of the Collector Sheet stamps/labels. Please click on the above
image to pre-order a copy of the above Collector Sheet from our eBay
store. (11/02)
Gong Hei Fat Choy!
Chinese New Year is upon us and we have now entered the Year of the
Rabbit! The Westminster
Collection have produced another in their delightful annual PNC cover
collection celebrating Chinese New Year.
Bearing a Smilers stamp/label from the recent Royal Mail
Lunar New Year stamp sheet and a sponsored special hand-stamp dated 22nd
January 2023, the cover includes a UK 2023 Year of the Rabbit £5
coin. It's disappointing that Westminster choose to use a Royal Mail
stamp/label this year as opposed to their own personalised version and
this move has not helped keep prices down! Westminster have
increased the cost of this cover from £25 last year to £35 +pp, a 40%
increase. (21/01)
Music Giants VII - Iron Maiden
To mark the 40th anniversary of their studio album Piece of Mind, Royal Mail
has issued a set of eight special stamps which focus on some of the band’s
renowned and iconic live performances. They range from the 1980s until
more recent years and feature all 6 current band members..
An extensive range of officially licensed Iron Maiden collectibles is
also available with this issue including a Minisheet, FDC,
Presentation Pack, Postcards, Frames, Collector Sheet x 2, Fan
Sheet x 2, uncut press sheet, gold stamps set, etc., etc..
As noted above and of perhaps special interest to Stamp sheet collectors
will be the Collector and Fan sheets illustrated below.
GS-149
GS-150
Both of the above stamp sheets are currently available to purchase from
our eBay store. In
addition we have sets of the Smilers stamps/labels on Royal Mail
First Day covers - sets of 2 covers per sheet (4 in total) priced at
£35.00 for the set of 4. Please e-mail
me if any of the above are of interest. (21/01)
Royal Mail Stamp Programme 2023
Royal Mail have announced details of their proposed 2023 stamp issue
programme as follows.
| Stamp Issue |
Date of Issue |
| Music Giants VII: Iron Maiden |
12-Jan-2023 |
| X-Men |
16-Feb-2023 |
| Flying Scotsman |
09-Mar-2023 |
| Flowers |
23-Mar-2023 |
| The Legend of Robin Hood |
13-Apr-2023 |
| HM King Charles III: A New Reign |
06-May-2023 |
| Blackadder |
17-May-2023 |
| Warhammer |
08-Jun-2023 |
| Windrush: 75 Years |
22-Jun-2023 |
| River Wildlife |
13-Jul-2023 |
| Terry Pratchett's Discworld |
10-Aug-2023 |
| TBC - Mega Media issue possibly |
05-Sep-2023 |
| Music Giants VIII : Dame Shirley
Bassey |
21-Sep-2023 |
| Harry Potter |
19-Oct-2023 |
| Christmas |
02-Nov-2023 |
The issues highlighted in red are those with potential interest for
Smilers Sheet Collectors. No
further details exist so we shall all have to wait and see what 2023
brings! (21/01)
2022 News Archive
I have now archived the 2022 Smilers News and
you may now download this in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format by clicking on the
above link. Keep Smiling in 2023!
I have also updated details of all generic, collector, themed and
business customised stamp sheets issued during 2022 and hopefully have not
made too many mistakes! You can find these updated listed under the New
Issues menu item at top left. (21/01)
