United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Union flag
which represents
England, Scotland
and Northern Ireland
England
Cross of St. George
Wales - Cymru
Welsh Dragon
Scotland
Cross of St. Andrew
(called saltire)
Northern Ireland
Tuaisceart Éireann
Norlin Airlann
Cross of St. Patrick
Northern Ireland
Ulster banner
Meirge Uladh
(unofficially)
Please click on flags to learn more ...

New GB stamp issues
at the Post Office
Latest news on GB stamps
from Norvic Philatelics
Postmark bulletins
from Royal Mail
GB Stamps 1840 to Date
from Ian Gill

Royal Mail
Prestige Stamp Books
Introduction and Index



The first Prestige Stamp Book (PSB) appeared in December 1969 with the »Stamps for Cooks« book, sponsored by the Milk Marketing Board. The PSBs contain text and illustrations on labels attached to the stamp panes and on interleaving pages. Initially they were just occasional issues - one or two a year - but now three or four issues seems to have become the norm to line the pockets of Royal Mail. For collectors the PSBs are often the source of new postage stamps not issued elsewhere. Some of the PSBs, especially from the 1980s, have a stamp exhibition overprint on the front cover of the booklet. Such scarced and high-priced variations are hard to find.
The earlier PSBs solely contained Machin and/or Regional definitive stamps. Starting in February 1992 (DX12) the PSBs contain a combination of definitive stamps and special stamps on the subject of the book. All PSBs were sold by Royal Mail at the total face value of the stamps contained in the book until 2011. Beginning with the issue of the »Morris & Co.« stamp book, Royal Mail introduced an additional cost, over and above the face value of the stamps contained within these booklets. The surcharge averages 95p. The booklets are seperately numbered in a new series, commencing DY1.
At the end of 2018 a complete collection of 79 PSBs (excluding ZP1a [stapled] and overprints, but including DX1 [good perfs] and DX50a [type 2 paper clips]) had an average market value of 1,436 £/1.652 €.

Prestige Stamp Books
Index

Please click navigation icon to display corresponding section
Summary
Show PSB Covers Quickfinder - PSB Covers overview
Show PSB Stamps Quickfinder - PSB Machin panes overview
Show Country definitives Quickfinder - PSB comprising pictorial Country definitives
Display Machin technical details Display and print PSB list
Display and print PSB-RB/MS list Display and print NVI postage rates

Please click navigation icons to display corresponding chapter
Stampbooks (1969, 1972, 1980 - 1989)
ZP1 Stamps for Cooks (PSB »prototype«)
December 01, 1969
DX1 The Story of Wedgwood (Volume I)
May 24, 1972
DX2 The Story Wedgwood (Volume II)
April 16, 1980
DX3 The Story of Stanley Gibbons
May 19, 1982
DX4 The Story of the Royal Mint
September 14, 1983
DX5 The Story of our Christian Heritage
September 04, 1984
DX6 The Story of »The Times«
January 08, 1985
DX7 The Story of British Rail
March 18, 1986
DX8 The Story of »P&O«
March 03, 1987
DX9 The Story of the »Financial Times«
February 09, 1988
DX10 The Scots Connection
March 21, 1989

Stampbooks (1990 - 1999)
DX11 London Life
»Stamp World London 90«
March 20, 1990
DX12 Alias Agatha Christie
March 19, 1991
DX13 Wales
February 25, 1992
DX14 Birth Centenary of J. R. R. Tolkien
October 27, 1992
DX15 The Story of Beatrix Potter
August 10, 1993
DX16 Northern Ireland
July 26, 1994
DX17 The National Trust
April 25, 1995
DX18 European Football Championship
May 14, 1996
DX19 Celebrating 75 Years of BBC
September 23, 1997
DX20 The Wilding Definitives
»London Stamp Show 2000« (Volume I)
March 10, 1998
DX21 Breaking Barriers
British Speed Record Holders
October 13, 1998
DX22 Profile on Print
»London Stamp Show 2000« (Volume II)
February 16, 1999
DX23 World Changers
September 21, 1999
 

Stampbooks (2000 - 2009)
DX24 Special by Design
»London Stamp Show 2000«
(Volume III)
February 15, 2000
DX25 The Queen Mother's 100th Birthday
August 04, 2000
DX26 A Treasury of Trees
September 18, 2000
DX27 Unseen and Unheard - Centenary of
Royal Navy Submarine Service
October 21, 2001
DX28 A Gracious Accession
Golden Jubilee of QE II (Volume I)
February 06, 2002
DX29 Across the Universe
A Guide to Outer Space
September 24, 2002
DX30 Microcosmos
A Guide to Inner Space
February 25, 2003
DX31 A Perfect Coronation
Golden Jubilee of QE II (Volume II)
June 02, 2003
DX32 Letters by Night
A Tribute to the Travelling PO
March 16, 2004
DX33 The Glory of the Garden
Bicentennial of Royal Horticultural Society
May 25, 2004
DX34 The Brontë Sisters
150th Anniversary of the Death of
Charlotte Brontë's
February 24, 2005
DX35 Bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar and the Death of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson
October 18, 2005
DX36 Birth Centenary of Isambard Brunel
February 23, 2006
DX37 150th Anniversary of the Victoria Cross
February 24, 2006
DX38 World of Invention
March 01, 2007
DX39 The Making of a Masterpiece
The Machin Definitives
»London Stamp Show 2010« (Volume I)
June 05, 2007
DX40 British Army Uniforms
September 20, 2007
DX41 James Bond
Birth Centenary of Ian Lancaster Fleming
January 08, 2008
DX42 Royal Air Force (RAF) Uniforms
September 18, 2008
DX43 50th Anniversary of Regional Definitives
»London Stamp Show 2010« (Volume II)
September 29, 2008
DX44 Design Classics
January 13, 2009
DX45 Birth Bicentenary of Charles Darwin
February 12, 2009
DX46 Treasures of the Archive - Postboxes
»London Stamp Show 2010« (Volume III)
August 18, 2009
DX47 Royal Navy Uniforms
September 17, 2009

Stampbooks (2010 - 2019)
DX48 Classic Album Covers
January 07, 2010
DX49 The Royal Society
January 07, 2010
DX50 King George V - The King's Stamps
»London Stamp Show 2010« (Volume III)
May 08, 2010
DX51 Britain Alone - World War II
May 13, 2010
DX52 WWF - For a Living Planet
Mar 22, 2011
DY1 Morris & Co.
A Definitive Claim to Beauty
May 05, 2011
DY2 Centennial of First UK Aerial Post
September 09, 2011
DY3 Roald Dahl
January 10, 2012
DY4 The Queen's Diamond Jubilee
May 31, 2012
DY5 Keeping the Flame Alive
British Achievment of the
Olympic and Paralympic Games
July 27, 2012
DY6 Classic TV - 50 Years of Doctor Who
March 26, 2013
DY7 Football Hereos
May 09, 2013
DY8 Merchant Navy
September 19, 2013
DY9 Classic Locomotives of the UK
February 20, 2014
DY10 The Buckingham Palace
April 15, 2014
DY11 The Great War - 1914 (World War I)
(First in a series of five)
July 28, 2014
DY12 Inventive Britain
February 19, 2015
DY13 The Great War - 1915 (World War I)
(Second in a series of five)
May 14, 2015
DY14 Bicentennial of the Battle of Waterloo
June 18, 2015
DY15 Star Wars (Volume I of II)
December 17, 2015
DY16 500 Years of Royal Mail
February 18, 2016
DY17 HM The Queen's 90th Birthday[*]
April 21, 2016
DY18 The Great War - 1916 (World War I)
(Third in a series of five)
June 21, 2016
DY19 Beatrix Potter[*]
July 28, 2016
DY20 Windsor Castle
February 15, 2017
DY21 The Machin Definitives -
50th Anniversary[*]
June 05, 2017
DY22 The Great War - 1917 (World War I)
(Fourth in a series of five)
July 31, 2017
DY23 Star Wars (Volume II of II)[*]
December 14, 2017
DY24 Game of Thrones[*]
January 23, 2018
DY25 R.A.F. Centenary[*]
March 20, 2018
DY26 The Great War - 1918 (World War I)
(Fifth in a series of five)
September 13, 2018
DY27 Harry Potter[*]
December 04, 2018
DY28 Leonardo da Vinci
February 13, 2019
DY29 Marvel comics[*]
March 14, 2019
DY30 Queen Victoria Bicentennary
May 24, 2019
DY31 Star Wars (Volume III of III)[*]
November 26, 2019
 

Stampbooks (2020 - 2023)
DY32 Visions of the Universe
Royal Astronomical Society Bicentennial
February 11, 2020
DY33 James Bond Films[*]
March 17, 2020
DY34 End of Second World War -
75th Anniversary
May 08, 2020
DY35 Queen (Music Giants IV)
July 09, 2020
DY36 Star Trek (Starship USS Enterprise)[*]
November 13, 2020
 
DY37 »Only Fools and Horses« -
40th Anniversary
February 16, 2021
DY38 Paul Mc Cartney[*] (Music Giants V)
May 28, 2021
DY39 Industrial Revolutions
August 12, 2021
DY40 DC Collection[*]
(Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman)
September 17, 2021
DY41 Rolling Stones[*] (Music Giants VI)
January 22, 2022
DY42 HMQ Elizabeth II. Platinum Jubilee[*]
February 04, 2022
DY43 Unsung Hereos: Women of World War II
May 22, 2022
DY44 Transformer TV Series[*]
September 01, 2022
DY45 Tutankhamun - Finding a Pharaoh
December 12, 2022
DY46 X-MEN - Celebrating 60 years[*]
February 16, 2023
DY47 The Flying Scotsman Locomotive -
Celebrating its 100th anniversary
March 09, 2023
DY47 is the final Prestige Stamp Book including Machin definitive stamps and featureing the silhouette of HM Queen Elizabeth II. on commemorative stamps. The Queen died on 8 September 2022, at the age of 96,
at Balmoral Castle , Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

[*] In addition to the regular PSBs, Royal Mail has published high-priced limited editions. There is absolutely no postal or philatelic necessity for such issues. The only purpose for such a line of action is, that Royal Mail wants to squeeze money out of the stamp collectors as much as possible on an outrageous way!
British press and private comments on the same topic:
Press:
There is a once-notable aspect of our culture that has reached a dead end, apparently for reasons of naked cynicism.
I refer to the subjects of what are now called by Royal Mail, without humour, our special stamp issues. This absurd programme presents second-rate designs highlighting populist trash in the interests of relieving children of their pocket money, all while devaluing philately as an art form. It shreds an opportunity to put intelligence, beauty and history in the hands of anyone who sticks stamps on a letter.
Private:
It draws attention to the inappropriateness of many of the subjects, the generally poor designs and expresses amusement that Shirley Bassey should be thought worthy of philatelic commemoration when the 150th anniversary of the death of Vaughan Williams, last year, was not.
And he notes that the BBC centenary was overlooked and states, "But then Royal Mail now churns out Mickey Mouse stamps as if it is the postal service of some banana republic, not of a supposedly serious country." He concludes that he hopes the new king "will put a stop to this nonsense once and for all"
.

Prestige Stamp Books
Abbreviations

Explanation of Abbreviations:
RM Royal Mail Group Ltd. TH Tallents House, Edinburgh
SG# Stanley Gibbons catalogue number AMV Average Market Value
FV Face Value FDC First Day Cover
PSB Prestige Stamp Book FDI First Day of Issue
MD Machin Definitives MAD Machin Anniversary Definitives (Double Head)
MRD Machin Regional Definitives CD Country Definitives
WD Wilding Definitives SD Special Definitives
SS Special Stamps NVI Non Value Indicator
PO Post Office E W S N England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
POP Post Office Sales Pprice ++ Display PSB's back cover


       

gbphil
// Elmar R. Göller // All rights reserved // Contact // Publishing Information
modified