Isle of Man – Queen Elizabeth II regional definitives – Decimal currency – 1971

First day cover details
FDC image
FDC reverse image	N/A
Country	Isle of Man
Country code	IM
Issue title	Queen Elizabeth II regional definitives – Decimal currency
Date of issue	7 July 1971
Withdrawal or invalidation date	5 July 1973 (invalidated in the Isle of Man, subject to transitional acceptance); 7 July 1973 (withdrawn locally); 4 July 1974 (withdrawn from British Philatelic Counters)
Stamp type	Definitive
Stamp subtype	Regional definitive
Theme or subject	Queen Elizabeth II; Isle of Man regional definitives; decimal currency
Text credit
Designer or artist	Jeffery Matthews (stamps); portrait after a plaster cast by Arnold Machin; Hulme Chadwick (cover)
Printer	Harrison and Sons
Printing process	Photogravure
Colours	Bright magenta; ultramarine; reddish violet; chestnut
Paper and gum	Chalk-surfaced paper; originally cream paper; gum not specified
Perforation	15 × 14
Stamp dimensions
Issue format	Sheets of 200 (10 × 20)
Number of stamps	4
Cover type	Official first day cover
Cover producer	Post Office
Cover reference
Limited edition	No
Edition limit	N/A
Copy number	N/A
Cachet or cover design	Three Legs of Man within a circular motto, drawn in purple on a turquoise panel; black “ISLE OF MAN”, “Regional Decimal Definitive Issue” and “Post Office First Day Cover” lettering. Cover design by Hulme Chadwick.
Addressed	Yes
Postmark type	Special handstamp
Postmark location	Douglas, Isle of Man
Postmark date	7 July 1971
Postmark inscription	FIRST DAY OF ISSUE; 7 JULY 1971; DOUGLAS ISLE OF MAN
Postmark notes	Pictorial first day handstamp combining the Three Legs of Man with circular lettering. The cancellation extends across all four stamps.
Postmark image
Signed	No
Signed by	N/A
Signature details	N/A
Information sheet included	Yes
Information materials	Printed Post Office information card.
Information sheet title	Isle of Man — Regional Decimal Definitive Issue
Information sheet image
Information sheet reverse image	No reverse image uploaded
Information sheet notes	Headed “7th July 1971”. Credits Jeffery Matthews with the stamp designs and Hulme Chadwick with the cover design. Includes background about the Three Legs of Man, presentation packs and Philatelic Bureau services.
Certificate of authenticity included	No
Certificate of authenticity image	N/A
Certificate of authenticity reverse image	N/A
FDC owned	Yes
Condition	Some edge creasing and surface marks.
Collection Comment	Owned with its printed information card. The recipient’s name and address are concealed in the published image for privacy. The original cover is addressed.

Image notice: Images on these pages may depict copyrighted stamp designs, cover artwork, text or photographs. Unless otherwise stated, they are scans of physical items in the collection of PhantomSteve. Rights in the depicted material remain with their respective rightsholders. See Copyrights.

This owned first day cover is for the four decimal-currency Isle of Man regional definitives issued on 7 July 1971. The catalogue lists the cover with the 2½p, 3p, 5p and 7½p stamps, numbered SG 8–11.^[1]

The Post Office cover was designed by Hulme Chadwick, as credited on the accompanying information card.^[2] Its cachet shows the Three Legs of Man within the motto “QUOCUNQUE JECERIS STABIT” on a turquoise panel, beneath the issue title.

The owned specimen has a typed address and a pictorial Douglas first day handstamp dated 7 July 1971. The handstamp combines the Three Legs of Man with circular lettering and extends across the four stamps. The recipient’s name and address are concealed in the published scan for privacy.^[3]

The information card names the stamp designer as Jeffery Matthews, expanding the catalogue’s credit to J Matthews.^[2] The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II is after a plaster cast by Arnold Machin. Harrison and Sons printed the stamps by photogravure on chalk-surfaced paper, perforated 15 × 14, in sheets of 200 (10 × 20). The 2½p stamp has one centre phosphor band, while the other three values have two bands.^[1]

All four values were initially issued on cream paper. The 2½p and 3p later appeared on white fluorescent paper; the supplied catalogue entry does not give dates for those later appearances. Phosphor-omitted errors are listed separately as SG 8y and SG 10y. They are not included in the standard four-stamp cover listing.^[1]

The catalogue records invalidation of SG 8–11 for use in the Isle of Man from 5 July 1973, with transitional acceptance for the prepayment of postage on letters from the island until 5 August 1973. It separately records withdrawal from local sale on 7 July 1973 and from British Philatelic Counters on 4 July 1974. The regional stamps remained valid for use in the rest of the United Kingdom at that time.^[1]

Information card

The card is headed “ISLE OF MAN”, “Regional Decimal Definitive Issue” and “7th July 1971”. It identifies the stamp and cover designers, describes the printing process, and discusses the Three Legs of Man. It also gives contemporary information about presentation packs and Post Office Philatelic Bureau services.^[2]

Stamps on this cover

Identifier	Face value	Subject	Format	Notes
IM-SG-8	2½p	Queen Elizabeth II; Isle of Man regional definitive design	Stamp	Bright magenta; one centre phosphor band. The image shows the stamp on this cover.
IM-SG-9	3p	Queen Elizabeth II; Isle of Man regional definitive design	Stamp	Ultramarine; two phosphor bands. The image shows the stamp on this cover.
IM-SG-10	5p	Queen Elizabeth II; Isle of Man regional definitive design	Stamp	Reddish violet; two phosphor bands. The image shows the stamp on this cover.
IM-SG-11	7½p	Queen Elizabeth II; Isle of Man regional definitive design	Stamp	Chestnut; two phosphor bands. The image shows the stamp on this cover.

Related first day covers

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Stanley Gibbons.Channel Islands and Isle of Man 2022 Edition Stamp Catalogue(31st combined edition).Stanley Gibbons.2022.Section: Isle of Man — Regional issues.p. 197.Catalogue system: Stanley Gibbons.Catalogue number(s): 8–11.ISBN: 978-1-911304-89-0.Place of publication: Ringwood.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Isle of Man — Regional Decimal Definitive Issue(Information card).Post Office.Reference: Scanned information card.Card headed “7th July 1971”, held with the owned cover.
↑ Isle of Man regional decimal definitive first day cover(First day cover).Post Office.Reference: Front scan.Owned specimen in the collection.

[SG2022-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Stanley Gibbons.Channel Islands and Isle of Man 2022 Edition Stamp Catalogue(31st combined edition).Stanley Gibbons.2022.Section: Isle of Man — Regional issues.p. 197.Catalogue system: Stanley Gibbons.Catalogue number(s): 8–11.ISBN: 978-1-911304-89-0.Place of publication: Ringwood.

[PO1971-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Isle of Man — Regional Decimal Definitive Issue(Information card).Post Office.Reference: Scanned information card.Card headed “7th July 1971”, held with the owned cover.

[OwnedCover-3] Isle of Man regional decimal definitive first day cover(First day cover).Post Office.Reference: Front scan.Owned specimen in the collection.

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