Machin Head Stamps Part II:�Advanced Varieties�

Greater Richmond Stamp Club

October 12, 2021

Douglas Hadley, M.D.

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©2021 Douglas Hadley

All Stamps Scanned from My Collection:�Arnold Machin Miniature Sheet

Why Collect Machins?

• All WW Collectors should have at least one classic definitive series in their collection
• Classic definitive stamps help collectors to develop philatelic and observational skills
• Helps to learn the basic tools of philately:
• Perforation gauge
• Watermark tray
• Magnifying glass
• UV light

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Classic Definitive Stamps Series

• Great Britain Penny Blacks, Penny Reds, Two pence Blues
• United States Banknotes/Bureau series
• Washington-Franklin series
• Norway Posthorn series
• Great Britain Machin Head series

Penny Red Plating Study

Classic Definitive Stamps Series

Machin Head Design

• Based upon a sculpted bas-relief profile of QE II, resembling Wedgwood potteries
• Queen always looks to the left
• Usually with a denomination
• Usually in one color
• Estimated that 320 billion have been issued
• Most commonly reproduced art work in the world

Key Design Elements of the �Machin Series

Miniature Sheet 2017: �50^th Anniversary Machins

Prestige Booklet 2017

Initial Machin Sorting Criteria (Part I)�No Philatelic Tools Required!*

• Country
• Currency
• Anniversary
• Service Inscribed (NVI)
• Size
• Security Features
• Denomination
• Color
• Perforation style

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*Method of Robin Harris (adminware.ca/machin)

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Advanced Sorting Criteria for �Machin Stamps*

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• Symbol types
• Value size
• Revised font
• Revised portrait
• Phosphor band
• Printing method
• Perforation

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*Method of Robin Harris (adminware.ca/machin)

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• Self adhesive vs. wag
• Printer
• Source
• Value setting
• Head type
• Paper
• Screen values
• Back Prints (mint only)
• Gum (mint only)
• Security backing paper (mint only)

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Philatelic Tools Needed for More Advanced Sorting and Varieties

• 10x magnifying glass
• Perforation gauge with millimeter ruler
• UV light
• A reference catalog, web based resource or representative specimens

Reference Sources for Organizing �Your Machin Collection

• Scott’s Catalog – about 800 major varieties
• Stanley Gibbons Great Britain QE II Catalog
• Deegam Machin Handbook, fifth edition - considered the “bible” for Machin specialist collectors lists 15,000 Machin profiles
• Best web resource is Robin Harris’ Machin website which identifies 2,300 Machin varieties
• https://adminware.ca/machin.htm

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Robin Harris’ Great Britain’s Machin “Adminware” Website

• Many useful pictures, images and diagrams
• Album pages available for download
• Basic album: 28 pages for 500 varieties (free)
• Novice album: 96 pages for 1,100 varieties ($30 C)
• Intermediate album: 358 pages for 1,400 varieties ($45 C)
• Specialized album: 528 pages for 2,300 varieties ($60 C)

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Machin Regional Stamps

Symbol Types �Scotland

Scotland Type I Symbol

• Eye open and no line connecting to background
• Thin tongue
• Three feathers of left of tail are widely separated
• Legs and body are thick

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Scotland Type II Symbol

• Eye connected to background
• Thick tongue where it enters mouth
• Three features on left of tail are close together
• Legs are body are thin

Scotland Symbols Type I vs. II

Wales Symbol types I & II�

Wales Type I Symbol

• Eye is complete with white dot in center
• Wing tips, tail and tongue are thin

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Wales Type II Symbol

• Eye is joined to nose by a solid line
• Wing tips, tail and tongue are thick

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Wales Symbol Types I vs. II

Machin 75p Decimal Varieties�Color: Black (SG Charcoal Gray)

Separating the 75 p values

• Scott lists four major varieties of the 75 p value
• MH161 75p black, litho, perf 13 x 14, type a
• MH162 75p black, litho, type a
• MH163 75p black, litho, type b
• MH164 75p black, type b
• Type a is “Wide numerals”
• Type b is “Narrow numerals”

Wide (a) vs. Narrow (b) Numerals 75 p

Wide vs. Narrow Numeral

• It was felt that the larger denomination “crowded” the queen’s shoulder. Hence, the need for more narrow numerals
• The wide numerals (type “a”) are approximately 5 ½ mm wide
• The narrow numerals (type “b”) are approximately 4 ½ mm wide

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• Machins with both wide & narrow varieties:
• 2p green
• 3p shocking pink
• 4p turquoise
• 10p orange
• 26p post office red
• 75p black

Machin 75p Decimal Varieties:�L-R: MH162 (p. 15 x 14), MH161 (p. 13 ½ x 14) �?MH163 litho vs. ?MH164 photo

Printing Methods used in the �Machin Series

• Photogravure
• Lithography
• Engraving
• Embossing

Photo vs. Litho�MH25 vs. MH30

Photo vs. Litho

Photo vs. Litho

Image From Robin Harris’ Website

Photo or Litho?�MH163 or MH164?

Litho vs. Photo Super Detail�MH162 vs. MH164

MH164 Photo – super detail

Machin 75p Decimal Varieties�L-R: MH162, MH161 & �MH164 (photo!)

Phosphor Bands

• Phosphor tagging are used to speed sorting of the mail
• Bands on some stamps can be seen in daylight by tilting the stamps
• For most detail use a UV light in a darkened room
• No bands, single bands, double bands – 28 different combinations of phosphor tagging
• Phosphor-coated paper (PCP) – covers the entire stamp
• Omission of tagging in the printing process creates errors
• Phosphor varieties are not listed in Scotts but are briefly mentioned
• Use Stanley Gibbons, Deegam Handbook or the Robin Harris’ website for a reference source for the phosphor varieties

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Phosphor Bands

• Center band

• Double Side bands

Machin £1 Varieties in Scott Catalog

• MH21 (1969), bluish black
• MH168 (1972), bluish black
• MH169 (1977), olive green & yellow
• MH237 (1995), violet
• MH279 (1996), violet
• MH373 (2007), cerise
• MH386 (2009), cerise
• MH427 (2013), brown

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Machin £1 Varieties

MH21 vs MH168 Bluish Black, Perf 12,�27 mm x 31mm

• MH21: Loop in £

• MH168: No loop in £

MH169 £1

• MH169: 27 mm x 38 mm, olive green & yellow, perf 14 X 15

MH373 vs. MH386

• MH373, cerise, syncopated perf 14 ¾ x 15
• MH386, cerise, die cut syncopated perf 14 ¾ x 15, 2 die cut slits, iridescent overprint “Royal Mail”

MH427 £1

• MH427: brown, redrawn Queen, die cut syncopated perf 14 ¾ x 14, two oval slits, iridescent overprint of “Royal Mail” in wavy line

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MH 237 vs. MH 279

• MH237, violet, syncopated perf 15 x 14
• MH279, violet, perf 15 x 14, syncopated, Queen portrait redrawn

Original Image of Queen

• Used from 1970 for the first issue of decimal Machins through 1995
• Upper lip not defined by sharp line
• Nostril is incomplete
• Hairlines not sharply defined
• Upper corners of cross formeé in the crown are widely separated

“Redrawn Queen”

• Beginning 1996, the image of the Queen was redrawn from original image of 1970
• Upper lip sharply outlined
• Nostril is complete and defined by two lines
• Hairlines are sharply defined
• Upper corners of cross formeé are close together so they nearly complete a square
• Often called “EME” = electro-mechanically engraved images

MH 237 Original Queen Portrait

MH 279 Revised Portrait

MH 237 & MH 280 Detail

MH237 vs. MH 279

• MH237, violet, syncopated perf 15 x 14
• MH279, violet, perf 15 x 14, syncopated, Queen portrait redrawn

Overwhelmed by Machins?

• Take “baby steps” using the Scott’s Catalog as your guidepost:
• Pre-decimals (Sterling)
• Decimals
• Syncopated (elliptical) perforations
• Revised Queen (“EME”) printing
• Security features
• Regionals

Later Machin Areas to Explore

• Phosphor banding varieties
• Security varieties
• Booklets
• Miniature and Prestige sheets
• Covers
• Town Cancels

My Favorite Machin!

In Summary

• Collecting and organizing Machin stamps are:
• Fun
• Inexpensive
• Colorful
• Fascinating
• Challenging
• Addictive

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