Post & Go stamps

Last updated

Post & Go stamps, also called Faststamps, are variable rate postage stamps printed on self-adhesive labels and sold by stamp vending machines by Royal Mail in the United Kingdom, as well as by Jersey Post, Guernsey Post, the Royal Gibraltar Post Office and Q-Post (Qatar).

First trials of a system called Weigh and Vend were run by Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd in April 2004 in three selected Post Offices. While the machines catered for a range of different mail categories, the apparent complexity and relative slowness deterred customers. Post and Go machines from three suppliers (IBM, Fujitsu, and Pitney-Bowes) trialled in 2007 in nine locations, and in 2008 these machines were replaced by Nixdorf machines, and 700 machines were rolled-out nationwide. [1]

The first Nixdorf Post & Go machines were installed in The Galleries, Bristol, on 8 October 2008, followed by those in Sunderland and South Shields post offices on 10 October 2008. [2]

There are two main groups of Post & Go stamps:

Pictorial designs of Post & Go stamps of the United Kingdom include until now (2015) the Union Flag, various animals and flowers, sea travel, and heraldic beasts.

Post & Go stamps have also been issued in Jersey since 2014, and in Guernsey, Gibraltar and Qatar since 2015. Jersey has issued stamps showing the country's flag as well as a set showing protected animals, [3] [4] while all stamps of Guernsey and Gibraltar show their flag. [5] [6] The stamps of Qatar show the country's coat of arms. [7]

Post & Go stamps with extra inscriptions have been issued on occasion of various philatelic events, and also for selected institutions. [8]

The large number of possible combinations of service types, designs, and additional inscriptions pose challenges to collectors.

An overprint code in the lower left corner of the stamps allows to trace their origin, since the first six figures in the code correspond to the vending machine from which the stamps were sold. [9]

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamp</span> Small piece of paper that is displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment for postage

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage. Then the stamp is affixed to the face or address-side of any item of mail—an envelope or other postal cover —which they wish to send. The item is then processed by the postal system, where a postmark or cancellation mark—in modern usage indicating date and point of origin of mailing—is applied to the stamp and its left and right sides to prevent its reuse. Next the item is delivered to its addressee.

A first day of issue cover or first day cover (FDC) is a postage stamp on a cover, postal card or stamped envelope franked on the first day the issue is authorized for use within the country or territory of the stamp-issuing authority. Sometimes the issue is made from a temporary or permanent foreign or overseas office. Covers that are postmarked at sea or their next port of call will carry a Paquebot postmark. There will usually be a first day of issue postmark, frequently a pictorial cancellation, indicating the city and date where the item was first issued, and "first day of issue" is often used to refer to this postmark. Depending on the policy of the nation issuing the stamp, official first day postmarks may sometimes be applied to covers weeks or months after the date indicated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Machin</span> British sculptor, coin designer and stamp designer (1911–1999)

Arnold Machin OBE RA FRSS was a British artist, sculptor, and coin and postage stamp designer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of India</span> Postage stamps and postal history of India

Indian postal systems for efficient military and governmental communications had developed long before the arrival of Europeans. When the Portuguese, Dutch, French, Danish and British conquered the Marathas who had already defeated the Mughals, their postal systems existed alongside those of many somewhat independent states. The British East India Company gradually annexed the other powers on the sub-continent and brought into existence a British administrative system over most of modern-day India, with a need to establish and maintain both official and commercial mail systems.

This is a list of philatelic topics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Great Britain</span> History of British post

Postage stamps and postal history of Great Britain surveys postal history from the United Kingdom and the postage stamps issued by that country and its various historical territories until the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hongkong Post</span>

Hongkong Post is a government department of Hong Kong responsible for postal services, though operated as a trading fund. Founded in 1841, it was known as Postal Department or Post Office before the handover of Hong Kong in 1997. It has been a sub-member of the Universal Postal Union since 1877, and is a separate entity from China Post.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machin series</span> Stamp series

The Machin series of postage stamps is the main definitive stamp series in the United Kingdom, used since 5 June 1967. It is the second series to figure the image of Elizabeth II, replacing the Wilding series. The last issue was on 4 April 2022, four months before her death on 8 September.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guernsey Post</span> Postal service for Guernsey, Channel Islands

Guernsey Post is the postal service for the island of Guernsey, Channel Islands. It includes a Philatelic bureau, and regularly issues both definitive and commemorative stamps. It also provides postal services for Sark.

Country definitives, formerly known as regional postage stamps of Great Britain are the postage stamps issued for regions of the United Kingdom, reflecting the regional identity of the various countries and islands of the British isles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Malta</span> Stamps and postal history of Malta

The postal history of Malta began in the early modern period, when pre-adhesive mail was delivered to foreign destinations by privately owned ships for a fee. The earliest known letter from Malta, sent during the rule of the Order of St John, is dated 1532. The first formal postal service on the islands was established by the Order in 1708, with the post office being located at the Casa del Commun Tesoro in Valletta. The first postal markings on mail appeared later on in the 18th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variable value stamp</span>

A variable value stamp, is a gummed or self-adhesive postage stamp of a common design, issued by a machine similar to an automatic teller machine (ATM), with a value of the user's choice printed at the time the stamp is dispensed. The value may be variable or from a fixed selection of postal rates. The stamps and machines are typically for use in retail or post office environments. As only the postal value varies from stamp to stamp, these stamps have been described as key type stamps. They are also closely related to meter stamps from postage meters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Israel</span>

The postage stamps and postal history of Israel is a survey of the postage stamps issued by the state of Israel, and its postal history, since independence was proclaimed on May 14, 1948. The first postage stamps were issued two days later on May 16, 1948. Pre-1948 postal history is discussed in postage stamps and postal history of Palestine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Gibraltar</span>

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Gibraltar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Greenland</span>

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Greenland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Jersey</span>

The first postage stamps marked Jersey were issued during the occupation of the island by the Germans during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Guernsey</span>

The first postal service took place using mail sent with captains of packet ships, using agents in the England and in the islands for the end delivery. The cost was normally 3d. The first pillar boxes in Britain were introduced in the Channel Islands as an experiment in 1852, to collect mail for the Royal Mail packet boats. The oldest pillar box in use in the British Isles is in Guernsey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horizon label</span>

A Horizon label is an adhesive postage label that is a type of variable value stamp. The labels were introduced in the United Kingdom in 2002 as part of the computerisation of the counter services of the post office network of Royal Mail using the Horizon System.

References

  1. ↑ Norvic Philatelics. "Post and Go Machine Replacements, Autumn 2008" . Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  2. ↑ "Post & Go Installation and Go-Live Schedule~Initial[sic] Phase" . Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  3. ↑ Leigh, S. (2015). "Jersey Post & Go Faststamps - Jersey & Union Flags - FS1JE" (PDF). postandgochecklist.yolasite.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-03. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Leigh, S. (2015). "Jersey Post & Go Faststamps - Protected Species - FS2JE" (PDF). postandgochecklist.yolasite.com. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Leigh, S. (2015). "Guernsey Post & Go Faststamps" (PDF). postandgochecklist.yolasite.com. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  6. ↑ Leigh, S. (2015). "Gibraltar Post & Go Faststamps" (PDF). postandgochecklist.yolasite.com. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Qatar Posts And Goes". commonwealthstampsopinion.blogspot.com. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  8. ↑ The British Postal Museum & Archive. "Post & Go machine" . Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  9. ↑ "GB Post & Go stamps. Trace Post and Go Stamp Machine Locations" . Retrieved 2015-11-02.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.