Deegam on the web

Douglas Myall, author and publisher of the Deegam publications for Machin collectors, has established a web site at http://www.deegam.com.

Myall has been providing information for Machin collectors for over 40 years, and in the 1980s he started publishing under the Deegam name. His pièce de résistance is The Complete Deegam Machin Handbook, the best reference guide to the Machin definitives. His other publications include the Deegam Reports, periodic updates to the Handbook, and Deegam Profiles, an aid to writing up a Machin collection.

The Deegam web site provides information about all of the publications, including how to get them. It also serves as a distribution point for the Deegam Reports, which are free to owners of the Handbook.

I have always recommended Myall’s publications as the best ones for serious Machin collectors. It’s wonderful to have a web site that supports them. (Posted April 6, 2008.) top

New Machins and Regionals for rate increase

The April 7 rate increase requires several new definitive stamps, though fewer than in the past few years. The new stamps will be issued April 1 and are described below.

I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to keep track of the make-up rate stamps. These are stamps that pay the difference between two common rates, so they can be used by customers who may need to pay different rates from time to time. For example, if you occasionally mail large letters, you can keep a supply of 16p stamps to add to the 36p stamps that pay for regular letters. Keeping a supply of 16p stamps is more economical than keeping a supply of 52p stamps that you might never use.

This wouldn’t seem to be a very big need, but Royal Mail always has these make-up rate stamps available, so there must be a demand. Since Pricing in Proportion has divided mail into two groups, letters and large letters, there is a need for several make-up rate stamps, as shown in this table.

Regarding the reprinted 9p, we will have to wait and see if the stamp is visibly different from the previous printing and what number De La Rue will give this cylinder. Last year De La Rue gave the new 46p cylinder the number D1, even though that number was used for the original printing.

While we’re on the subject of Machins, I should mention that Royal Mail has certain denominations that are always available to pay any postage rate. These are 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p and £1. At any given time, there are three groups of Machins available: Machins that pay a specific postal rate, Machins that make-up the difference between two rates, and permanent denominations that are always available. (Remember that the high values are no longer generally available.) (Posted February 20, 2008.) top

Up Again! Postal rates to increase on April 7

Royal Mail’s annual increase is scheduled for April 7. The old and new rates are shown in the tables below.

Note: The zone 1 rate for 40g letters was £1.12 and the zone 2 rate was £1.24.

The domestic rate increases are uneven. The basic first-class rate for standard letters increases 2p to 34p, an increase of 5.8%. However, the basic second-class rate jumps higher, 3p to 27p, an increase of 12.5%. The reverse is true for large letters. First-class rates increase 9.2% for the first weight step and 11.4% for the second step. Conversely, second-class rates rise 5.0% for the first step and 10.0% for the second step.

International rate increases are not as steep as last year. For example, the airmail rate for worldwide letters weighing between 10 and 20 grams increases 3.9% this year compared to 8.3% last year.

This year, Royal Mail makes a change in the structure of international rates for destinations outside Europe. In recent years, there have been two different air mail zones for letters above 20g. Starting April 7, there will be only one rate for worldwide letters. In fact, the new rates are a slight decrease from the old zone 2 rates, as noted above. Rates to the two zones since 2000 are shown in the chart on the GBCC site.

The structure of international rates has undergone many changes over the years. The following brief summary is taken from Great Britain: Domestic and International Postal Rates and Fees, 1871-1999 by Anthony S. Wawrukiewicz (available here.)

• The first standardized airmail rates, effective in January, 1947, divided the world into three zones, called A, B and C.
• In 1950, the European all-up rate was added. This mail went to Europe in the most expeditious manner, whether by surface mail or airmail. The three worldwide zones remained.
• In 1986, a special reduced rate was established for letters weighing under 20g sent to European Economic Community (Common Market) countries.
• In 1991, zones A, B and C were replaced with two zones, zone 1 and 2.
• Sometime in the late 1990s, the two European rates were combined into a single rate for all of Europe.
• In 2008, zones 1 and 2 were abolished in favor of a single rate for all destinations outside Europe.

(Posted January 30, 2008.) top

Last update: April 6, 2008
Copyright © 2008 by Larry Rosenblum