The Queen Elizabeth II Machin stamps are the longest running series of stamps ever. Because of this, there are hundreds of varieties of just colors and denominations alone. Some collectors love this series and others think it’s the absolute worst. It can seem excessively complicated to collect. At the most detailed level, it can be difficult, with literally thousands of potential varieties, many of which need a magnifier to tell apart. But at the most basic level of colors and denominations, this series is easy to collect and quite enjoyable.
Ken Collects Stamps take increasingly deeper dives into how to identify and collect these Machin stamps. At the 101 level, we look at the various design types and show how to collect according to color and denomination. At the 201 level, we look at the level of detail that the Stanley Gibbons Concise Catalog goes into. Next, at the 301 level, we summarize some of the commonly collected variants that go beyond those varieties listed in the catalog. At the 401 level, we take a look at the level of detail that some of the most obsessive collectors of these stamps might look for.
Many images in this video are used with kind permission from Robin Harris who runs the Adminware site.