It is probably an odd thing for an American Southerner to be a self-avowed Royalist but I have had a fascination with the British monarchy since I was eleven or twelve old. While living in West Texas a few years before, my sister’s and my best friends from the neighborhood moved to Lincolnshire in England. We corresponded some but during the summer holidays circa 1977-1978 they arrived at our then-home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, for an extended visit bringing lots of souvenirs. Amongst the gifts were colorful books with pictures from the Queen’s Silver Jubilee as well as plenty of stamps. A couple of years later, I stayed up all night to watch the Royal Wedding of then-Prince Charles and his bride, Diana, and collected many of the stamps issued to mark that event.
Commonwealth stamps have since been a big part of my various collections over the years although I haven’t purchased many in recent years. It took me a while to warm up to the Machin definitives — the long-running series bearing the image of The Queen by artist Arnold Machin. In fact, for perhaps half of my collecting life I despised such “common” stamps, all with the same design but in different colors. That included such general issue series as the 1938 U.S. Presidentials (“Prexies!”), Australia’s “Roo’s”, and Germany’s “Germania” stamps — all of which I learned to love and seek out. The Machins first appeared in June 1967, less than a month after my little sister was born, and I always enjoy adding more to my collection.
And now we have the start to a new definitive series which I have already begun calling the “Jennings”. The image of King Charles III was adapted from a portrait by British sculptor Martin Jennings, created for The Royal Mint to use on the new British coins, some of which are already in circulation. The new stamps for Great Britain were unveiled with great ceremony (and media coverage) just today, 8 February 2023, by Royal Mail at London’s Postal Museum. The design was approved by King Charles himself.
At the time that the coinage design was announced in late September, Jennings said,
“It is a privilege to sculpt the first official effigy of His Majesty and to receive his personal approval for the design. The portrait was sculpted from a photograph of The King, and was inspired by the iconic effigies that have graced Britain’s coins over the centuries. It is the smallest work I have created, but it is humbling to know it will be seen and held by people around the world for centuries to come.”
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Struck at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Wales, in early December an estimated 4.9 million of the new 50p coins — about half of the total number earmarked for circulation — were distributed to post offices around the nation so that postal customers would be the first to receive them in their change.
The left-facing portrait continues the tradition began with the first stamps ever issued, the Penny Black, released in May 1840 bearing the image of Queen Victoria. In the early days of her reign in February 1952, Queen Elizabeth II made remarks stressing the importance of continuity and I believe the new stamps deliver on that legacy. As with the Machins, the only elements of the design are the portrait and the denomination (or, what we call an NVI — no-value indicator for various services such as 1st or 2nd Class mail). I suppose we can count the barcode as a design element too but I am doing my best to ignore them whenever encountered. Continuing the tradition began with the Penny Black, the stamps do not include the country’s name.
The new definitives will begin to be issued on 4 April but, according to Royal Mail, “existing stocks of definitive stamps that feature Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be distributed and issued as planned and will remain valid for use in line with our recent transition to barcodes on definitive stamps.” This is to minimize the environmental impact and financial strain of the change in monarchy.
Online images seen today depict the 1st Class stamp in sheet form as well as booklets plus a large color trial that includes a £5.00 denomination. The colors for the first four values scheduled to be released on 4 April are retained from the Machin stamps,
- 1st Class – Plum Purple
- 2nd Class – Holly Green
- 1st Class Large – Marine Turquoise
- 2nd Class Large – Dark Pine Green
The stamps will be available for pre-order beginning on 3 March along with “a range of collectibles with all four new King Charles III stamps including a Presentation Pack and First Day Cover”. Further details will be available prior to then and I hope to have a full “Stamps of 2023” article detailing Britain’s April stamps (also including 13 April’s The Legend of Robin Hood set) in a timely manner. Look for an article on the January & February stamps (Iron Maiden and X-Men) coming soon.
I am extremely pleased with the amount of mainstream media coverage given to the announcement of these stamps. Stamp unveilings do not usually generate much, if any, media attention at all. Considering the ceremony occurred mid-week at midnight makes it even more remarkable. I hope that interest in the new monarch’s stamps (and coins) translates into a new generation of collectors seeking them out and spurs us old-timers into adding a new definitive series into our already bulging albums.
Philatelic Pursuits 
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