amsd

Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads
17 Oct 2014
11:04:34am

re: machin coils

it's Charlie.... he knows all, tells all

there may be others, and Tom Harley, when he was alive, probably knew a lot about the coils

David

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sheepshanks

17 Oct 2014
01:12:51pm

re: machin coils

You might find some detail via this link,

http://www.machin-and-wilding-stamps.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d339.html

but Deegam catalogue would probably be more complete.
Stanley Gibbons Monthly would have them covered and the archive of all issues is available on disc but no idea of cost.

Vic


(Modified by Moderator on 2014-10-17 14:15:43)

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TuskenRaider

17 Oct 2014
07:27:13pm

re: machin coils

Hi Everyone;

I didn't know Royal Post issued Machin coils. I have tons of them but don't think I have any coils. Boy do I feel dumb or what?

TuskenRaider

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cdj1122

re: machin coils

About 1970 Royal Mail produced strips of coil stamps for their then ubiquitous vending machines. The strips repeated a series of four and later five stamps that regardless of where the machine cut off the strip of stamps they would total to the correct postage.
Over time the postage rates increased and the make-up of the combination of the four stamps changed. Eventually they went to a five stamp strip that could be affixed across the envelope to pay for the mail. There are about twenty interesting combinations, ignoring the minor variations that excite Machin specialists.

It has long been known among people who make their living by mass mail solicitations that junk mail is discarded virtually as fast as the recipient determines it is in the mailbox.
People quickly scan the incoming mail and mostly ignore junk mail.
People also know that mail with printed discount indica are likely to be junk mail and thus quickly discarded.
It follows that covers that arrive with a stamp paying the postage is possibly real mail with a message. That means that as the customer scans mail his attention will usually linger for a measurably miniscule segment of time as the decision is made as to keep or discard the item, long enough for the customer to become conscious of the advertising and possibly become interested in the offer. using real postage stamps increases that recognition time.
Mass mail, even to pre-selected customers that has a return rate of 1% to 2% is considered a successful mass mailing. Mail that carries a stamp drives that return rate to and sometimes over that 2% response rate.
In the UK the clever devils that send the Readers Digest annual solicitation to new subscribers know these calculations. The RD sends out a fantastically large mass mailing and an increase in response from near or below 1% to close to 2% means a very large added response in new subscribers.
So the RD approached the Royal Mail folks and requested that a large quantity of coil stamps be produced with each four stamps amounting to the then current postage rates and they would not just buy the very large rolls for their mass mail stamp sticker on'er machine they would pay any added expense.
Thus we have strips where regardless of where you start any four se-tenant stamps the machine puts on an envelope would provide the correct postage and the RD people used these strips for their mass mailings.
They must have been pleased with the result since for several years the RD continued the practice as rates changed which means the combinations of low value stamps changed, even when it became better to use five stamp strips. Also such strips could be included on the response cards so they could provide return postage, including a new subscriber's name at no cost to the customer.
Since the arrangement of stamps making up the postage used could start anywhere, each rate combination can exist with the particular stamps in four or later five sequences.
Mounting the coil strip showing the color/values marching their way along the strip from one position to another can create an interesting album page.
There is more, but it gets into the fine details that are usually only described in the Complete Deegam Machin Handbook.
Eventually RM began to use vending machines that dispensed small four and six stamp booklets and the coil dispensers were replaced.

 
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