Classic combinations

Starting at the beginning

One attraction of stamp collecting is that it can take us down all sorts of interesting and unexpected paths. Like me, you may have started as a general collector and gradually specialised. You may have stuck strictly to stamps or ventured into collecting covers that appealed to you. One thing I know is that, whatever we collect, we all enjoy finding stamps or covers at bargain prices because we know more about them than the bloke selling them. Well, welcome to the world of mixed frankings.

You might not be familiar with that term. Even so, you will certainly have seen mixed frankings at stamp fairs or on eBay.

You may be surprised to learn that there are mixed franking bargains to be found even amongst the Victorian stamps of Great Britain which I collect. And if there are treasures there, you can be absolutely certain that there are plenty to be found on covers posted any time in the 120 years since Queen Victoria died. Enough by way of introduction. Let’s open the cover album.

Line engraved stamps 1840-1880

Practically everybody interested in stamp collecting knows about the famous 1d Black. You probably also know something about the 1d Red stamps that followed. These were produced for nearly forty years. Without exaggeration, they exist in their billions. Individual stamps can be bought for pennies while