XANTHE'S
STAMP MAGAZINE

I collect all kinds of stamps but I am especially interested in butterflies. Recently I bought a small collection of butterfly stamps that included these. I thought they were very attractive and they're very nicely done. I like the fact they are triangles and the background is plain so the beautiful butterflies really stand out. These are unusual butterflies and I have not seen most of them before. The one on the top left is definitely a Ulysses butterfly and the one on the

I was at a stamp fair in Liverpool a few weeks ago. I was looking for something a bit different and I came across these old stamps. I hadn't seen anything like them before and I thought it would be good to buy them and do some research on them later. The first question is: what is a revenue stamp? They are stamps that were not used for postage. Instead, they were issued by "a government to certify that a tax, fee, or duty has been paid on goods or documents". So basically th

As you will know, I love stamps. I know that sounds a bit unusual for someone my age, but I have said many times that I think stamps are tiny pieces of history you can hold in your hand. Some stamps celebrate big national events or important people. But I have recently discovered stamps that were designed and approved but then never issued at all. Why not? Well, because the events they were supposed to be celebrating never happened! This year is a World Cup year and it feels

Today Royal Mail has released its second new issue of 2026 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Concorde's first commercial flight on 21st January 1976. Before I review this new issue, I will briefly take a look at the history of Concorde. Obviously I am not an expert in engineering and Concorde was before my time. I know that there are a lot of people who admire Concorde especially people who lived through the 1970s and 1980s when Concorde really was the ultimate flying

Royal Mail has been issuing stamps for 185 years and in that time there have been some classic stamp designs. Everyone has their favourite Royal Mail designs. Maybe it is the Penny Black? The Wembley 1924 stamp? Perhaps it is the Seahorses, or maybe something more modern like Machins, the David Gentleman designs (the 1966 World Cup, the Battle of Hastings, Concorde, Churchill, Darwin or Swans) or perhaps some of the Christmas issues down the years? But I was thinking that in

I have been looking through my collection and I came across this letter written to Alex Robertson in 1854. I bought it originally because...

On Saturday I was at a stamp fair in Liverpool where I picked up three covers and a postcard with censor stamps. Three of these are from...

This week Royal Mail will be releasing a set of stamps featuring British ducks. They're very nice and I will be reviewing them in a few...

Earlier this year a stamp dealer called Robert Laidler , who sent me approvals, told me about these stamps issued by Greenland and...

I was in a National Trust bookshop last week. I always enjoy looking for books and found some that interested me. My dad found a couple...

A "Sieger cover" Did you know that some stamps have actually travelled to the Moon and back? It sounds incredible, but it's true! Back...