2017-01-31 Tue

Complete panes of three 1997 trial-colour prints of Great Britain’s Machin definitive stamp were discovered after 20 years and are offered at the Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions in Danbury, Conn. The famous Arnold Machin’s plaster bust of Queen Elizabeth II on British definitive postage stamps was first introduced in 1967.

The Machin definitives were initially made using lithography in 1980. Standard definitives were gravure-printed from mid-1990s but the House of Questa, South London, did not have this facility. Helio Courvoisier SA of Switzerland was approached for gravure printing. On October 20th 1997, trials took place. Sheets of 200 were trimmed into panes of 100 with the Courvoisier imprint.

They exist in three colours, deep green, light grey and flame. A set of the panes is being donated to the Postal Museum in London. The stamps will be showcased from 15th to 18th Feb at Spring Stampex 2017, Business Design Centre, 52 Upper St., Islington, London.