The British Post office soon realised that it would be a good business move to allow the general public to purchase stamps in places other than post offices. There were many objections to other outlets selling stamps, mainly involving the threat of fraud and the need to issue a commission to the merchants. It was finally decided that an automated system was needed and designs were put forward for dispensing machinery.

This is an area of interest to a lot of collectors, and happens when the stamp sheets fail to make it through the entire printing process. The sheets might be passed through seven different inking plates and if one has “run dry” or simply stopped working, then this results in incomplete stamps.

The Channel Islands lie off the coast of Northern France near to Cherbourg. They were the only part of the United Kingdom officially occupied by Germany during the Second World War.

During the second world war, both Britain and Germany employed many propaganda stunts. Britain “unofficially” produced bogus German stamps, showing a portrait of Himmler instead of Hitler. These were dropped in supply crates by allied aircrafts over Germany in around 1943. Most were destroyed by the Nazi regime and didn’t reach the general public.

The Bank of England issued a new £20 note on 13 March 2007. The note features a portrait of Adam Smith, who is described as one of the fathers of modern economics. It is the same size and colour as the old-style £20 note that features Sir Edward Elgar.

Smilers is the common name for the Royal Mail scheme for issuing personalised sheets of stamps. The sheets are available with 10 or 20 first class stamps and each stamp is supported by a graphic or photograph.

The smiler sheets issued by the Royal Mail cover a whole range of commemorative issues. Recent popular sheets incorporated the theme of Harry Potter, designed to appeal to fans.