Norvic Philatelics - GB New Stamps and Special Postmarks

Olympic & Paralympic Games 2012 - 27 July 2011

The London 2012 Games commences on 27 July and concludes on 12 August.  The Paralympic Games commences on 29 August and concludes on 9 September. Royal Mail will commemorate London’s hosting of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by issuing three sets of 10 x 1st Class stamps in the run up to the London 2012 Games in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

The concept is to issue 30 stamps to mark the 30th Olympiad and London 2012 Paralympic Games. Each of the sporting areas celebrated in these Games will have its own stamp.  And each of the 30 stamps will be created by a different contemporary artist, illustrator or designer.  The first set of 10 was issued in 2009, the second in 2010, with retail booklets in 2010 & this year.


Pre-olympic stamps showing wheelchair tennis, fencing, Gymnastics, Triathlon, handball.
Olympic & paralympic stamps - paralympic sailing, athletics field, beach volleyball, wheelchair rugby, wrestling.

Sheet 1: Wheelchair tennis, Fencing, Gymnastics, Triathlon, Handball;
Sheet 2: Paralympic sailing, Athletics field, Beach volleyball, Wheelchair rugby, Wrestling.
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Details

Sports from each of the Olympic disciplines were selected to illustrate the subject of each stamp.  The Olympic Games comprises 26 different sporting disciplines, such as Cycling. Cycling includes several different events where medals are won – including road racing, various time trials and velodrome races as well as mountain biking events and BMX. Many gold medals can be won in different events, and all will be symbolised by one Cycling stamp symbolising the sport of Cycling.

The Paralympic Games features 21 sports, such as Judo (which is also competed in the Olympic Games), as well as Paralympic specific events such as Goalball. 

In all, 29 different sports are played at the Olympics and Paralympics. There will be one stamp design for each sport with the exception of athletics which will be presented across two stamps as Athletics: Track and Athletics: Field, hence 30 sport stamps.

Royal Mail’s design team with David Hillman, from Studio David Hillman, set to work allocating each sport to one of the quality image makers who agreed to work on this three-year project. Royal Mail also consulted with the sports’ governing bodies and specialist clubs for each stamp. Each stamp has the London 2012 Olympic or Paralympic logo in the lower corner.

Retail Booklet No 5

The retail booklet contains 4 Machin 1st class definitives and the Wheelchair Rugby and Paralympic Sailing stamps.  The image shows an actual booklet, which has an obvious but slight colourshift affecting the caption on the Rugby stamp, but not that on the Sailing stamp.
A further booklet will be issued on 15 September.  

Olympic/Paralympic book 5 issued 27 July 2011 including wheelchair rugby and paralympic sailing stamps.

Commemorative and Composite Sheets

As in previous years Royal Mail is maximising income for the London Olympic Games Organisers by producing a premium-priced commemorative sheet.  In addition there is a Composite Sheet entitled 'The Sports of London 2012' containing all 30 Olympic and Paralympic Stamps issued in 2009-11.  No technical details have been provided but both sheets will be produced by Cartor.  
We have the Composite Sheet and initial examination shows some shade variation from the stamps issued in sheets, and the phosphor application may be different. 

Olympics 3 premium-priced Commemorative Sheet.  Olympics/Paralympics Composite Sheet containing all 30 special stamps.


Technical details:
The overall design task was by Studio David Hillman, and the 35mm square stamps are printed in litho by Cartor Security Printing, perf 14½ with all-over phosphor.  The stamps are printed in two sheets of 25 (5 each of 5 designs in vertical columns), enabling collectors to buy vertical strips of any single sport/discipline.

The Presentation Pack and FDC are designed by hat-trick design.  The pack, printed by Walsall Security Printers, has information about each of the sports by Ian Cole, former News Sports Editor of the Daily Mail, who also wrote the text on the FDC filler card.   The commemorative sheet is designed by True North and written by Richard Rae, the sheet features interviews with 2008 bronze-medal winning Olympic gymnast Louis Smith and Britain’s number-one female wheelchair tennis player Lucy Shuker.

Designers:
Sailing – Lara Harwood/Heart; Athletics: Field – Anthony Pike/The Art Market; Volleyball – Ben Dalling; Wheelchair Rugby – Matthew Hollings/Illustration Ltd; Wrestling – Daniel Stolle/Anna Goodson Management; Wheelchair Tennis – David McConochie/The Art Market; Fencing – Lyndon Hayes/Dutch Uncle Agency; Gymnastics – Kathy Wyatt; Triathlon – Adam Simpson/Heart; Handball – David Cutter/Folio.

This webpage is © 2011 Norvic Philatelics, the stamps and stamp products are © 2011 Royal Mail Ltd (reproduced with permission). The official Emblems of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd are © 2007 The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Limited. All rights reserved.


Product range

Mint Stamps        Presentation Pack     First Day Cover     Set of 10 Stamp Cards     Retail booklet    Commemorative Sheet        Composite Sheet

Stamp and Postcard Sets - Two sets of five specially designed postcards featuring the images of the Sailing and Gymnastics stamps packaged together with the relevant stamps (retail price £7.50). 

Olympic Countdown Coin Cover - The cover looks at the Olympic and Paralympic Games venues. Design is by Neon. The brilliant, uncirculated £5 coin features the sport of cycling on the reverse side.


Special Postmarks

Special postmarks available for the day of issue will be shown here (not to scale), more may be added later.

Olympic first day postmark showing an athlete. Olympic first day postmark showing a stopwatch. Non pictorial Rugby first day postmark. Stratford Countdown postmark for Olympic and Paralympic stamps. postmark showing Union Flag.
Ref FD1127
Official Philatelic Bureau FD postmark
Ref FD1128
Official Rugby FD postmark
Ref FD1128NP  Official Rugby non-pictorial FD postmark  Ref L12195
Countdown to London 2012, Stratford E16. Games of the XXX Olympiad
Ref L12191 Chris Boardman, London E20

postmark showing Union Flag. postmark showing tennis player. postmark showing sailing. postmark showing Union Flag. postmark showing Union Flag.
Ref L12192 Duncan Goodhew, London E20 Ref M12205 Sporting Disciplines, Raleigh Close, Birmingham Ref M12206 Sporting Disciplines Stamp Book
Weymouth Drive, Sutton Coldfield
Ref L12193 Eric Liddell, London E20 Ref L12194 Charlotte Cooper, London E20
Postmark showing Wembley Stadium. Postmark showing Wheelchair basketball player. Postmark showing winners' podium. Postmark showing triahtlon events. Postmark showing high jumper.
Ref L12203 Sporting Disciplines, London E20 (in use 27/7/11-26/7/12) Ref L12197
Sporting Disciplines, London E20
Ref L12196
Sporting Disciplines, London
Ref L12198
Sporting Disciplines, London SW1
Ref L12199
Sporting Disciplines, London E20
Postmark showing medal on ribbon. Postmark showing Union flag. Postmark showing medal. Postmark showing sailing event. Postmark showing Liverpool yacht club pennant.
Ref L11557
Stratford, London, E15
Ref L11570 Sporting Disciplines Retail Booklet London W2. Ref L12200 Sporting Disciplnes, London Ref L12201 London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, London Ref N12209 Liverpool Yacht Club, Coburg Wharf, Liverpool
Postmark showing Handball player. Postmark showing wrestlers. Postmark showing downhill skeleton. Postmark. Postmark showing cyclist.
Ref N12207 Handball, Liverpool Ref N12208 Wrestling, Salford Ref W12210 Tribute to Amy Williams, Winter Olympic Chamption 2010, Bath, Avon* (incorrect inscription) Ref W12225 Tribute to Amy Williams, Winter Olympic Chamption 2010, Bath, Somerset. (Corrected inscription) Ref W12211 Tribute to Geraint Thomas, World & Olympic Champion, Cardiff
Postmark showing athlete. <<<<

Ref L12213 - Games, Wembley
Postmark showing Olympic flame. <<<<<

Ref L12214 Sporting Disciplines, London


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This page updated 27 July 2011.

2009 - 2010
 2011 issues 
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January
11 Classic Children's Television: Gerry Anderson
11 Thunderbirds retail booklet
24 Pictorial Faststamps 2 - Garden Birds 2
February
1 Classic Railway Locomotives: England
12 Indipex Stamp Exhibition Generic Smilers Sheet
24
West End Stage Musicals
24 British Heart Foundation Retail Booklet
March
8 Magical Realms
8 Low-value Machins
22 Worldwide Fund for Nature
29 Machin & Country Definitives
30 50th Ann Jaguar E-type Com.Sheet
April
12 The Royal Shakespeare Company
21 The Royal Wedding
May
5 Morris & Company
19 Pictorial Faststamps 3: Water Birds
June
14 Rev Wm Awdry: Thomas the Tank Engine
July
27 Olympics & Paralympics III
& Olympic Games retail book

28 Exhibition Generic Smilers Sheet for Phila'nippon 11, Japan
August
23 The Crown Jewels
23 Classic Locomotives of England booklet
September
9 World's First Scheduled Airmail
14 Arnold Machin Centenary MS
15
Kings & Queens: House of Hanover
15 Postmark 350th Ann Generic Sheet
16
Pictorial Faststamps 4: Sea Birds
October
13 A-Z of the United Kingdom (1)
November
8 Christmas - 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible

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