Trick at Ludgate Circus: hop not here, hop it there

The attentive readers of Timbres magazine #100 (April 2009, pages 90-92) and of this blog (here is the memory fountain) know that Royal Mail finally launched an automatic stamp and label delivery system, despite the epic defiance of its employees. Since 8 October 2008, at Bristol, and little by little in some cities, Nixdorf's ProPostal 2000 machines have been delivering Post and Go labels for weighted items and Faststamps figuring the eternal Machin effigy.


Brian Sinnott continues to follow the machines' advance and the collection of this stamps. Follow carefully, you, futur philatelic tourists to London!

At the Ludgate Circus post office (code 024003 on stamp), 16-18 New Bridge Street, in London center, facing Blackfriars station, the machine ceased its function. It sold labels and stamps from 15 October 2008 au 22 April 2009. Cause : the office closed despite petitions from people and firms of this business district. The City of London provided a list of three surviving offices.

To partially replace this office, turn at the corner into Tudor Street. A anonym door will open you a space of complete autonomy, no postal clerck in sight, but four machines in function as soon as 20 April with the 242007 code.


Obviously, collectors quickly understood the value of Ludgate Circus machine stamps: a little bit more than six months of existence for its code... £$€...

But, be careful, the inaugural case of Bristol created perfide desire. Having bought stamps in Bristol and having at disposal a datestamp, some malignant people are trying to sell first day covers bearing machine stamp older then the 8 October and a cancellation distant from Bristol.


To avoid deception, you have to understand the stamp code printed at the bottom, very useful when collectionite struck you in time of speculation, watch here:
- number of the office,
- number of the machine inside the office,
- number of the machine's session,
- number of the transaction during this session.
Same thing on the Post and Go labels.


Merry is the subject
of Elisabeth
for not he knows
French pallor.