meter news issue 85 (nov 2007)

Editor: Alastair Nixon, 7 Bramblegate, Edgcumbe Park, Crowthorne, Berks, RG45 6JA. Tel: +44 (0) 1344 775378Email: [email protected] Web site: http://www.meterfranking.co.uk.Meter of the MonthJim Ashby kindly sends this interesting item from 1986. It is a Neopost Specimen die with the serial number blocked out. The frame on the value die has been cut away on the right to allow for the additional value digit. The full image is shown below:

The item is probably from a demonstration machine aimed at the Italian market as it bears an Italian slogan. Jim believes that Lima in Italy later marketed Neopost electronic machines.

Staying with demonstration machines, here is an illustration from a DM800 machine that was on show at the launch ceremony for the Pitney Bowes DM100i in Hong Kong on 2nd August - attended by Jim Ashby. Jim has very kindly made available some example covers of this demonstration frank to Meter News members.

EditorialThis month’s Royal Mail’s British Philatelic Bulletin (Vol. 45 No. 4, page 101) has a short write up by Glenn Morgan on my web site. My thanks go to Glenn for his very kind words. Also in this edition of the bulletin is an interesting article on ‘Parliament and the post’. The article depicts a meter frank, N1204080, from the House of Lords. If anyone wishes to read these articles and does not receive a copy of the bulletin, they should contact me.

AcknowledgementsMy thanks this month go to Jim Ashby, David Aspinwall, Ray Downing, John Fowler, Alan Godfrey, Richard Goring, Peter Mantell, John McCallum, Paul Reynolds and Peter Wood for their reports and communications.

Meter News Page 85-1 of 8 Nov 2007

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Latest NumbersBelow is the list of ‘Latest Numbers’ as at 30th November 2007 – with updates shown in red. I have included scans of all the latest number reports on my web site under Series Images. Please could I have next month’s reports by 29th December, thanks.

Frama (UK) EcoMail FSC 347116 28.09.07 See MN 83MailMax FSC 907504 25.10.07 Reported by DA

Francotyp-PostaliaOptimail T 402247 29.10.07 Reported by ANOptimail 30 F04110649 18.10.07 See MN84JetMail FJ0710974 21.11.07 Reported by RGMymail FM2116561 01.10.07 Reported by ANMymail FM2504785 27.04.07 See MN 79Ultimail 60 FU8002322 31.08.07 Reported by ANUltimail 90 FU9001119 25.09.07 Reported by AN

NeopostIJ25 Autostamp N1161948 02.11.07 Reported by DAIJ-40e? N1240173 27.09.07 Reported by ANIJ-50e? N1252826 12.10.07 See MN 84IJ-90e? N1290014 02.03.07 See MN 81IJ40 / IJ50 N1316948 02.07.07 See MN 84IJ-110e? N1359935 18.10.07 See MN 84IJ-70e? N1371424 23.11.07 Reported by PMIJ-80e? N1381874 07.11.07 Reported by DA

Pitney BowesParagon PBP84081 21.11.07 Reported by PMDM50, 55 PB018563 12.11.07 Reported by ANDP200? PB130079 27.11.07 AN – see belowDP400? PB143127 04.09.07 See MN 83Personal Post PB276764 10.09.07 See MN 84DM 200? PB311519 16.07.07 Reported by ANPersonal Post PB482979 30.10.07 AN – large jumpDM 550 etc PB523449 21.11.07 Reported by DADM 400C / 450 C PB610934 22.10.07 See MN 84Post Perfect PB763379 24.10.07 Reported by RGDM100i PB832666 29.11.07 Reported by AN

My thanks also go to Alan Godfrey for his report.

New Sub-SeriesYour editor has recently noticed the appearance of the PB130 sub-series - with the security block as two vertical columns, similar to the PB136 sub-series. The lowest recorded number is PB130059 dated 08.06.07 from Peter Mantell. This new sub-series may well have taken over from the PB136 sub-series that was recently relegated to the Dead Series. It is also possible that the PB130 sub-series is a continuation of the PB129 series, but I think this is less likely, as the highest recorded number is PB129388, which has the security block in the old format with the three horizontal rows.


Recent Interesting ItemsYour editor has found this interesting test print from a Secap DP200 machine. I far as I can remember, this has not been reported before in Meter News. The test print (with a series of double letters AA through RR and corresponding dashed vertical bars), looks as though it has been applied twice prior to the application of a normal frank.

Here is an unusual Neopost item with an ‘AIR MAIL / PAR AVION’ message appearing both as a pre-loaded slogan and as a mail cliché:

Here is a Neopost ‘PRIORITY MAIL’ mail cliché, thought to be previously unrecorded:

Your editor has noticed this town die of ‘STRATFORD-UPON-AVON’ with a smaller font size. A normal example is shown alongside for comparison.


Recent Interesting Items ContinuedHere is an unusual one with a lower-case (or small) ‘wc’ in the London townmark. It is from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, who have used a pre-printed envelope with their logo positioned in the meter space.

Further to pages 3-1, 43-4 and 65-5, your editor has come across another lower-case ‘4ne’ prefix. This example is from The Pines Hotel, Chorley and brings the total to four recorded examples, namely: 4ne 10222, 4ne 10262, 4ne 17676 and 4ne 20730.

Your editor is unable to explain what has happened on the items below. The first illustration appears to show PB503200 with some small slippage (e.g. different sized numbers in the serial number and wide numbers in the item count). The second example shows the same meter with a huge slippage but it has not occurred uniformly across the frank.


Blue Ink Users

Below are two examples of user slogans with an Advanced Mail block, the first is from Richard Goring and the second is from John Fowler. As stated last month, the complete table of all recorded blue-ink users is now being maintained on my web site. At the moment this can be found under ‘Series Images’, but I have plans to change things around at some stage.

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Richard Goring sends this blue ink meter from the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. Although blue ink Francotyp-Postalia franks have been illustrated before, I believe this is the first recorded use in conjunction with the Advanced Mail service.

Your editor has spotted this ‘unchallenged’ zero-value Advanced Mail item. Assuming that all the mail items were similarly franked with a zero-value on that day, I wonder whether the user successfully claimed back a 12% discount on 1000+ second class items? If so, it would mean that the user would have actually had a net financial gain for that mail posting!


Blue Ink Users ContinuedIn contrast to the previous example, the following items appear to show that the user has missed out on at least some of the refund. The first illustration shows PB521459 with an item count of 394270 and used in conjunction with the Advanced Mail service. The second illustration shows the same machine used on the same day with an item count of 395904 – some 1634 items on – but without the Advanced Mail block printed (and hence not eligible for the 12% discount).

On page 82-4, I illustrated a Francotyp-Postalia blue ink example from the manufacturer’s office in Dartford. Here is a similar example from Reading, but inscribed ‘FP SOUTHERN’:

Smart StampsHere is a nice colourful Smart Stamp, advertising Gold Panning at Wanlockhead.


Meter ThematicsHere is an attractive meter from your editor. It is from the Shakespeare Hospice in Stratford-Upon-Avon:

Meanwhile, Peter Mantell has found the first seasonal slogan for 2007 on the same meter as the one illustrated above. It is an exceptionally early date for a Christmas slogan - 8 th November, which beats last year’s record by one day!

The rest of this month’s offerings are from your editor. The first advertises the World of Beatrix Potter:

and Peter Pan is always a favourite at this time of year:


Meter Thematics Continued

Here are three Scouts and Guides meters – probably one of the most popular thematic topics amongst collectors.

And finally, for those of you who have read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, here is the answer to the ultimate question of Life, the Universe and Everything!

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Meter News 5-8 of 8 Nov 2007

meter news issue 85 (nov 2007)

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