ATM Informer 13

It has been some time since I  last blogged. A number of things have happened whereby my thoughts have been elsewhere. I do two newsletters and they take significant time. I also have got involved in some online activities covering the independence of my homeland. 

 

If you are interested in the UK ATMsued scene and the stamps issued then contact me at pmechuk@gmail.com. Copies are sent as a .pdf file and are free.

999999 Puzzle

Some research has thrown up some questions regarding two Machin faststamps with this office code that appeared on e-bay during June 2013. One item had the session number 121 and the other 157. However the former had a rather curious service mark. It claimed to be 1st Class up to 20g which does not exist while the second is 1st Class up to 100g. Receipts for neither do not appear to exist.

The e-bay lisiting gave the later item's location before sale as Rhondda in Wales but the ident for the seller is listed by e-bay as being from Devon.

The suggestion was that the source of these items was the Birmingham Office but given that the session numbers are so low (121 and 157) and a report from 7 July 2013 puts the lowest session number for any of the kiosks as 12473, it is highly unlikely that these items originated from this office.

Why was it assumed that Birmingham was the source? The seller assumed that since the kiosk ident was 9 then it could only be from Birmingham. In 2012, the 000000 ident was genuinely reported at William IV Street/Trafalgar Square and at Archway post offices in London.

I would welcome more data on these items and if there are others like them.

999999 Ident

It has been some time since I last posted anything on this blog. It is surprising how much time doing two newsletters take up.

I a recent ATM informer, I included information on a "new" ident 999999 and kiosk 9 item which were reported as being from Birmingham. However, there is no receipt data on the two examples that have appeared for sale on e-bay. 

There are a number of worrying factors surrounding these two items. One example is first class up to 20g which is not an official value. The seller appears to be unsure of the source of his supply and, of course no receipts. Surely, if one had spotted this sort of error, one would have made sure of  a receipt!

Therefore, if readers know anything of these items and source please contact me at pmechuk@gmail.com.

Time

Time

They say that time is relative, that time flies, that time drags and so on. Some people think that they will have plenty of time to do things when they retire. 

DON'T YOU BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!!!

 

I had to give up working to become a carer. With looking after the "Boss", editing two newsletters as well as general day living, time just seems to vanish. Add to all this, my interests in other areas, I  seem to be busier than ever. 

I will try to keep adding material to the blogs when I can. Please be patient.

Issue 7 of the ATM Informer is now available from the website. 

Wincor Nixdorf and Hytech Scrapbook

I have just started working on another project based on these two kiosks varieties within Britain. To this end, I need lots more information. I need listings of what people have in their collections but in an unidentifiable form for security. What I require is office/date//kiosk/session number/issue data along with any other data on the receipt and office.

Could I have the data in the form:

Office location       ID code      Date      Kiosk   Session      Issue                      Notes

Trafalgar Square    015010     29/2/14      5       09876       Freshwater3           Address in lower case on

                                                                                                                         receipt. Font 1 on stamp

The more data I receive, the better the picture that can be put together on the usage of these kiosks and what they have produced. 

I can handle doc and xls files.

E-mail: pmechuk@gmail.com

I DO NOT ENDORSE ITEMS FOR SALE ON EBAY OR THROUGH ANY DEALER.

I have just noticed a reference to my blog on e-bay. I feel that I must clarify that I do not endorse any sale(s) of Wincor-Nixdorf and Hytech material on any site and, therefore the decision to purchase the item depends on whether you are happy with the description. Any data I place on my websites or blogs is based on the information that I have at the time of writing. It is NOT to endorse sales for dealers - professional or amateur. 

Therefore, I take serious exception to any mis-use of data or  information that I publish to make a sale.

My intention in publishing the information that I collect is to ensure that collectors have the best data available to build a representative collection of Wincor-Nixdorf and Hytech material NOT to make money for people. 

The reason that I started to produce the ATM Informer and published the first issue of Wincor-Nixdorf and Hytech ATM Listing is to try to get the best information out to individuals. Both publications are starting to pay dividends and is fostering discussion within this area of collecting.

I do not give advice on what to buy. I do not deal in stamps or any other collectible. I do not endorse others sales. I do not like the mis-use of terms such as "scarce" and similar.

The only real advice that I do give is as follows:

Consider carefully what is on offer and check with other sites/dealers before committing. 

Purchase what interests you.

Always purchase within your budget.

I also recommend the website postagelabelsuk.com. It is very reputable and worth consulting. It does NOT endorse products but gives quality information in this area.

Thank You

I have had some feed back from those who have received copies of the Wincor-Nixdorf and Hytech book. It has been very positive. 

However, I feel humble at the generosity of you. Some neurological charities have already received donations. There is not much that I can say but

THANK YOU!

Typical, Blooming Typical!!!

I know that I have been threatening to publish a catalogue/listing of Wincor-Nixdorf and Hytech material for the last year but it is so typical that as soon as I finish the word file to a pdf and send out the converted file that I get the news of a new Wincor installation in Derby. 

I haven't read all the details of this office yet but I will have more information in the ATM Informer issue 6 around the end of the month.

Anyway, the Wincor-Nixdorf and Hytech listing is now available free of charge from pmechuk@gmail.com. If you like the contents and wish to contribute something back, there are a listing of four charities just inside the cover page. A donation to any of them would be most welcome.

ATM Informer Issue 5 is Now Available.

The fifth issue is now available for down loading from my pmechuk website or the ATM Informer website. Either way, the newsletter is FREE. You can even e-mail me for a copy.

I still require data on session numbers, dates and what was available at Wincor-Nixdorf equipped offices within the UK. I know that the information is available given the number of views on the Stamp Magazine Forum thread and the large number of items for sale on e-bay. As may be seen in the Informer, a picture can be painted of the usage of the kiosks and when events have occurred such as resetting the session counter. 

I would appreciate the data in the format:

Office                  ID               Date             Kiosk     Session Number  Variety

Trafalgar Sq  015010     29 Feb 2014            1             012345            Pondlife 4

I can accept the data in .xls  or .doc format.

e-mail address is   pmechuk@gmail.com

Faststamp and Post and Go Catalogue

Since the last posting, I have had some feedback which has suggested some modifications and additions. These are being worked on.

As regards publishing, the most probable format will be as a .pdf file. I am considering making it freely available to all but requesting a donation to Neurological charities such as the MS Society, Parkinson's or INS. I hope to have the final version complete in the next month or so.

Faststamp and Post and Go Catalogue

About a year ago, I decided to do something about listing what material was available from the Wincor-Nixdorf ad Hytech kiosks in the UK. For the last month, I have been circulating draft versions for comment.

Initially, I thought that the whole thing would be about a dozen A4 pages in length but, as time went on, this was a severe underestimate in size. So many developments have happened and just had to be included even if it is as a warning to the unwary.

This last year has seen Pop-up post offices, "private" overprints and fakes. These are all covered in the draft. Other side lines had to be included such as the meaning of the datastrings, leaflets, receipts and so on. The result is a draft of around 70 pages.

Once I have a definitive draft, I have then to solve the problem as to how best to distribute it. I am investigating a few possibilities but I am open to other suggestions.

Publish ... if you can.

It is said that we all have at least one book in us. Some even put pen to paper and write it. It then remains in a box or the back of a drawer because one doesn't know how to proceed. 

Last night, I started a new thread on the Stamp Magazine forum asking about how best to convert an idea for a book into something that that could be held. Already suggestions and experiences have appeared in reply. To my mind, the responses could open doors to you (and me) for that study of carnivorous plants on stamps to catalogues of what may be collected in fashion stamps.

If you have experience in publishing or in the process of writing a philatelic work then, please, add your comments and experiences to the forum.

So, I Have a Draft Publication, Where to Now?

For the last year plus, I have been trying to put together a catalogue covering the Wincor-Nixdorf and Hytech produced to date and the associated material. I have got to the stage where I have a draft with most, if not all, of the issues listed along with a section on subsidiary material. 

My problem now is how to proceed. As a carer, I don't have the resources to print off a copy and then photocopy and bind a load of copies with the hope of selling them. I could always go down the route of e-publishing but the problem I have is no pay-pal account and I don't like using the internet for financial transactions. 

I would welcome advice and suggestions as to how best to proceed in publishing this 60 page booklet.

Is Royal Mail Getting Too Greedy?

I have been following posts in the on-line Stamp Magazine Forums. One recurring theme is that new issues from the Royal Mail are becoming excessive with respect to quantity, price and all of the "must have! add ons.

The latest issue features a classic BBC TV science fiction show - Dr Who. There have been 11 (or 12) different actors who have played the lead character. The set of stamps illustrates 11 "cannon" Dr Whos missing out Peter Cushing who played the Doctor in 2 films in the 1960s. He will be appearing in a "Great Britons" set later in the year giving a link to the TV series. In addition, there is a miniature sheet and a prestige booklet with about a £3 premium. 

Looking over the last few years if releases, three things stand out - the increasing number of issues, the increasing number of stamps per issue and the increasing number of miniature sheets each year. Add to this the increase in postal rates, the cost of each new issue starts to get extortionate. How many of you remember the gold medal stamps from last year where only a limited number of offices had the stamps initially and it wasn't too clear whether they could sell individual stamps from the mini-sheets of 6 or not. Most went for the buy the six option.

Now dealers, RM and others always tell collectors to buy what one can afford and that is excellent advice but when it comes to selling, dealers always come up with excuses that one should have bought x instead of  what one did buy as there is no market for that. However, if one is buying a similar item, then the market is strong hence the premium price.

The Forum has had many collectors complaining about the excessive issue policy and the ever rising costs. Royal Mail claim that they have reduced the number of issues in 2013 but they seem intent in making up for the fewer issues by increasing the number of stamps per issue.

How about limiting issues to 10 per year including the Faststamp/Post and Go stamps? Stop the "special overprints" that can only be purchased at the show/fair or via chancers selling a extortionate prices? How about limiting set size to 4 stamps per issue OR a miniature sheet? How about doing what many other countries do and issue just second or first class rates?

Why not encourage people to post more by making the "specials" more available at the post office? On the first day of an issue, my closest post office runs out of the new issue by mid afternoon. If he received more, then more people would see the stamps and maybe there would be more collectors to buy issues! 

Surely it would be better to sell lots of basic rate stamps that attract people to buy than to issue lots of expensive issues than just upset people to the extent that they decide NOT to buy and collect your stamps?

Or maybe that is too "simples" for these highly paid marketing executives to grasp!

ATM Informer

The  fourth issue of my Newsletter on the UK Wincor-Nixdorf and Hytech machines has just been uploaded to my ATM Informer Newsletter site and pmechuk site. Copies may be downloaded from either site or e-mailing me at pmechuk@gmail.com.

Included in this issue:

Salisbury Overprint

Forthcoming stamp shows, fairs, expos

Manchester Wincor Offices

Wincor-Nixdorf receipts part 1

Over 20 pages of information for free.

All contributions of data welcome!

Salisbury Overprints on Second Class Machins

Some of you may be aware of the existence of overprints on second class Hytech Machins from the Salisbury Stamp Fair. No official overprint was sanctioned and this fact was well publicised.

However, Rushstamps decided to produce a souvenir for their customers and purchased 6000 of these stamps and overprinted using a 100 year old printing press. These were then used on mailings to customers. Apparently there are no remaining mint examples and Rushstamps do not intend selling examples.

This sort of activity is to be frowned upon. It sets a precedence which could result in other organisations believing that they, too, could purchase bulk examples of these stamps and print adverts or other messages. Some dealer then might come up with the idea that these were rarities and start to sell them at premium prices. Instead they should be looked on as common stamps defaced by a biro - worthless and only fit for the bin.

I should also point out that by defacing the stamps in this manner, one is essentially invalidating the stamp (cf biro cancels) making it worthless for the prepayment of postage. Therefore, knowingly using such an item to pre-pay postage may be seen by Royal Mail Revenue Protection as a fraud and therefore liable to recovery of postage and even prosecution.

Spring Stampex 2013 - Aftermath

Well, Stampex is over  for another six months. I've had a bit of time to sort out my purchases - two "collections" of Poland covering up to about 1970 and my usual material from the Hytech machines.

There were the usual amount of dealers there with the expected stock. However, there seemed to be so little for the junior collector - at least on the two days that I visited. I suppose that this is to be expected since most of the people visiting were over 40. 

How do we encourage the younger collector to come to these events? Stampex does have a "junior" stall at the weekends but is that enough. There were many stands which had significant material for the more "mature" collector. Penny blacks galore were available from £95. Covers of all descriptions from around the world were there by the box load. But what about packets and equipment for the junior collector?

I have been to philatelic societies around the country and found that I was frequently the youngest person present.So what can we do? We cannot send collectors into schools because they would require a CRB check which costs at least £36 a time but can remain valid for up to 3 years. But who would organise the CRB? Schools won't because you are not permanent staff and supply agencies wouldn't be interested. I think that the Philatelic Trust organises visits and school clubs.

What sort of school should be targeted - primary or secondary? Primary would give the best feedback and give a positive boost to collecting but as soon as the pupils hit secondary school the stamp collection would find its way to the back of the cupboard at best. 

Using stamps and postal history material in association with class work would be beneficial. The BPMA has some material which is downloadable for key stage 2 on the Victorians, WW1 and even on aspects of design covering the Festival of Britain.

Year 5 and 6 do work on ancient Egypt, why can't something be put together using the wide variety of stamps illustrating pharaohs, gods and artifacts.

 

All those Shakespeare stamps could be used to illustrate stage and costume design associated with the plays that secondary pupils have to study. Art is so richly covered but why do so few teachers illustrate the works of the great masters through stamps. Look at the quality of artwork associated in producing some of the stamps - there have been some great engravers.

It would just take a bit of time and research to associate the appropriate stamps and material with the course of study.

Back to Stampex... I did spot a talk on Jane Austen and the new stamps on the Friday close to the Royal Mail Stand but surely it could be an advantage to all to have such talks throughout each day with the Saturday talks targeted at junior and new collectors.

And the "Aftermath" for me... Well I filled in some large gaps in my Polish collection (around 700 covering 1919 to 1965). I also found a single 1919 bogus stamp and a charity "stamp" for a Warsaw based charity for the blind. All this gives me some areas to research and learn about.

I was tempted to buy a bundle of 100 covers for £15 because of the top cover showing the 1970 Declaration of Arbroath stamp. There were a number of other covers of interest for cancels.

I have also scanned the Hytech material and have produced the third issue of the ATM Informer. so  just look at the earlier entries for the links.

Stampex 20 February 2013

Spring Stampex 2013 was held between the 20-23 February at the Design Centre in Islington, London, NW10.

Royal Mail, once more, had a presence. They had two stands – a main stand allowing collectors to catch up on issues at the back of the hall and another at the front for the Hytech kiosks.

There were three Hytech kiosks - A3, A4 an A2 from left to right. In addition there was a stand alone colour printer for Smiler’s sheets.  As in the last three shows, kiosks B1 and B2 were reportedly round the back to fill dealers’ orders.

The initial menu has three columns. The first column refers to the services available for stamps on reel A, the middle column for reel B and the third column for Collector Strips. The fifth button down in the third column allows the purchase of Smiler Sheets. These are NOT printed by the Hytech but by a separate process. One pays for the service on these kiosks then a staff member takes your photograph on a special App on an i-pad which is then transmitted to the printer. The process takes about a minute to complete.

 

Receipts produced were in the same format as the previous Stampex shows. Each Collector’s strip received its own receipt. In addition, a card receipt was also produced for the purchase.

Two values – second class up to 100g and second class large up to 100g. Background print is in blue with one phosphor bar. First day was 20 February 2013 at the Spring Stampex Exhibition at The Business Design Centre, London on 20 February 2013.

It is expected that the second class stamps will appear at offices with more than one Wincor-Nixdorf machine but not immediately. The suggestion is that this will occur over the summer of 2013. Both stamps are 56mm x 25mm in size and printed by Walsall Security Printer. The background print is a turquoise colour. This means that the only examples of these stamps, initially, will be from Tallent’s House or the kiosks at Stampex (and other stamp fairs). Presentation packs were available from the first day. They contained both of the new values.

The datastring used on these was A2GB13 C2-051840-10 or 11. This coding suggests that C2 is now located in Britain. The cattle packs from 2012 used the code A2NL12 and kiosk ident C2 suggesting that the printer was located in the Netherlands. Transaction number for the second class stamp is 10 and for the second large this number is 11. Stock from C1 was used to produce stock for the stamps used on first day covers from Tallents House. C1 prints stock from a roll while C2 prints sheets for presentation packs.

If one takes the time to compare the presentation pack stamps with the kiosk Hytechs at Stampex one can see that there are slight differences in the font size. In addition the second line of text is indented by 1-2mm.

Therefore all of the earliest second class stamps will be Hytech versions. I would welcome reports of Wincor versions appearing throughout the country.

ATM Informer

The third issue of my Newsletter should be available shortly after Spring Stampex. Featured offices will be Aldwych and Cambridge along with Stampex News, more on the 000000 ident and a lot more. 

Copies may be obtained by e-mailing me, going on to the Newsletter page of the PMECHUK website, or by going on to the ATM Informer Newsletter site.

 

Spring Stampex 2013

Spring Stampex will run between 20-23 February 2013 at the Business Design Centre in Islington. I hope to attend this fair and upload details on to my pmechuk website: sites.google.com/site/pmechuk/

Royal Mail will have their usual stand which is expected to have 2 backroom Hytech kiosks and at least 2 publicly accessible kiosks. On the first day, the new second class Machins are expected and will consist of two values - second class up to 100g and second class large. These two will only be available from presentation packs, Tallents House FDCs and from the Hytech kiosks at this shoe - at least initially. Roll out of these is expected over the summer and will probably occur at offices with more than one Wincor-Nixdorf Kiosk. I would welcome reports of introduction dates.

On the Friday, the new freshwater life - Ponds will be introduced. There will be the usual six stamps which on this occasion depicts: the Three-spined Stickleback, Emperor Dragonfly, Smooth Newt, Lesser Silver Water Beetle, Fairy Shrimp and Glutinous Snail. These should be available as Hytech versions from these kiosks while normal Wincor-Nixdorf versions should be found in the Wincor equipped post offices.

There should be an overprint available for the 60th anniversary of the coronation at Westminster.

I would also welcome reports of session numbers, dates and times from all four days of Stampex and any irregularities which may appear.

Newsletter

At the beginning of January 2013, I produced the first edition of a newsletter covering the postal ATMs in the UK. The second issue will be ready soon for distribution. Copies may be obtained by e-mailing me at pmechuk@gmail.com. The February issue will give the story of the first home made faststamps along with defining the terms in use covering this filed of study in the UK. Pulled stamps, office idents, fonts and news of issues. Hopefully, the March issue will include information on Spring Stampex 2013 and the first of three freshwater life issues.

I would welcome contributions of material fro this publication whether it is just session number data from one office to a multi-page article. 

Pulled Faststamps

The Norphil blog entry for 8 January makes it clear that it is unfortunate that a few people trying to make a few pounds because they have found a weakness in a system. I questioned the legitimacy of the extended strips that appeared at Autumn Stampex 2012 and rightly so. At the previous Autumn Stampex, a  flaw in the Hytech kiosks allowed a few people pull on the strip of stamps to generate blank and partially printed stamps. This problem was fixed by Spring Stampex 2012 with the addition of a cover making it impossible to reach the strip.

I must point out that a letter to Stamp Magazine at the time of Spring Stampex warned of this mis-use of the machine and rightly so as these "errors" were made available on ebay the same day as they were produced at a heavy premium.

With the new design of Hytech kiosk that appeared at Autumn Stampex 2012, it looked as though the problem could recur and, I mentioned it to others while waiting in the queue to purchase examples form the kiosk on the first day of the show in the presence of the engineer. When this error subsequently appeared, and again quickly appeared on ebay led one to suspect a repeat. 

I subsequently asked for information supporting the genuineness of these new errors via the Stamp Magazine forum, Norphil and other sources. This prompted a reply that these were genuine and that a video had been made of the strips being produced. This video is now on You-tube and it clearly illustrates that these particular examples are genuine errors.

I agree with Ian at Norphil that it is ridiculous that some one such as myself has to question the authenticity of some stamps. I apologise if this has upset anyone but surely it is better for this new area of UK collecting that we question the irregularities and stop any abuse before it turns people away from this field of interest.

Once more, I stress that I am not a dealer. I am a stamp collector who has collected since I was 5 (in 1961).  I do not have the temperament to be a dealer. My background is science and I have published a number of papers in learned journals. When I see a wrong result, I check it and re-check it to see what the problem was. That was my training and profession.

Therefore if I see something out of place with the Hytechs and Wincors  or indeed any other field should I keep quiet and let it go or ask for clarification? I want to hear from other collectors in this area. I want data on usage, dates of use, session numbers, what stamps were used where, faults, receipt varieties, etc. My email address is pmechuk@gmail.com.