There is little distinctive now about Royal Mail's stamp issues to make them stand out from those of any other country - save that they have a tiny profile of the monarch's head on - and they aren't unique in that respect.
Wildlife, comic-book heroes, film and tv franchises - not quite as prolific as Australia but many of these subjects have appeared from other stamp-issuing territories around the world.
That's the only explanation for this escaping the attention of Revenue Protection officers.
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| Antigua & Barbuda $2 Star Trek stamp depicting Lt Sulu used at Sheffield Mail Centre 31/10/2025 |
Yes, it's StarTrek, marked 5 years ago by Royal Mail and covering the whole franchise which explains the omission of Lt Sulu from the set.
But Sheffield Mail Centre happily passed this one through as if it was, what? 2nd class? £2? The British stamps didn't even have the name of the show on them, the only caption being to identify the characters.
(Lest anyone thinks that inclusion of 'Great Britain' in the address means that it originated outside the UK, my correspondent assures me that it came from Grimsby.)
But it's not the first, and won't be the last. Last year (as shown on the other blog) Royal Mail - and possibly Post Office Ltd - accepted this set of WWF stamps - from Tristan da Cunha!
And we have previously been able to report this one from 2015 with a couple of stamp-on-stamps from St Helena, a pair of kestrels from the Falkland Is, and one Jersey stamp making the £1.41 rate - and cancelled at a post office branch in Rochdale.
With millions of mail items being processed daily of course some will slip through - that's how 60/70 years ago it was possible to have letters delivered bearing national insurance stamps, green shield trading stamps, and other non-postage stamps.
But there aren't so many now and the equipment is more sophisticated. But really, one thematically illustrated postage stamp looks much like another. 70 years ago it wasn't worth charging postage due when it was only 6d and it cost more to collect it. With 'Unpaid' charges now being astronomically higher, that argument doesn't apply.
But they are all fun to collect - let us know if you have any more,
