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Post by elfstone99 on Sept 24, 2021 16:35:45 GMT
Just curious if anyone collects these sheets. Also how do you keep them? They are usually A4 size, so they are too long to fit in a Scott specialty album. I know the Royal Mail sells a binder and pages to keep them in, but to me that would set off my OCD and isn't really viable for me. I prefer to place everything in the Scott albums I have for Great Britain.
Also, does anyone break these sheets apart and mount the stamps in your album?
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renden
Member
Posts: 7,832
What I collect: World W collector with ++ interests in BNA (Canada etc) and USA
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Post by renden on Sept 24, 2021 16:51:25 GMT
Just curious if anyone collects these sheets. Also how do you keep them? They are usually A4 size, so they are too long to fit in a Scott specialty album. I know the Royal Mail sells a binder and pages to keep them in, but to me that would set off my OCD and isn't really viable for me. I prefer to place everything in the Scott albums I have for Great Britain. Also, does anyone break these sheets apart and mount the stamps in your album? Waiting for the pic of what you are referring to........a sheet can be many things......my souvenir sheets (S/S) fit well in Scott Albums and are also Mounted Thanks - René
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Post by elfstone99 on Sept 24, 2021 17:23:31 GMT
Just curious if anyone collects these sheets. Also how do you keep them? They are usually A4 size, so they are too long to fit in a Scott specialty album. I know the Royal Mail sells a binder and pages to keep them in, but to me that would set off my OCD and isn't really viable for me. I prefer to place everything in the Scott albums I have for Great Britain. Also, does anyone break these sheets apart and mount the stamps in your album? Waiting for the pic of what you are referring to........a sheet can be many things......my souvenir sheets (S/S) fit well in Scott Albums and are also Mounted Thanks - René 
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renden
Member
Posts: 7,832
What I collect: World W collector with ++ interests in BNA (Canada etc) and USA
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Post by renden on Sept 24, 2021 17:49:23 GMT
Thank you elfstone99 ! What is the size of this sheet ? Very Nice René
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator
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What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Sept 24, 2021 17:54:16 GMT
René ( renden): Unless I misunderstood, he stated in the first post that it is A4.
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Post by elfstone99 on Sept 24, 2021 17:55:47 GMT
Thank you elfstone99 ! What is the size of this sheet ? Very Nice René They are A4 size. That's what the problem is for me. The entire sheet won't fit on a Scott Specialty page. It's too tall. I have about 10 of these collector's sheets (Bond, Tomb Raider, DC Comics, etc).
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Londonbus1
Moderator
Cinderella Stamp Club Member 3059
Posts: 4,525
What I collect: Cinderellas and some Ephemera from Great Britain, France and Israel plus a few beautiful bits from elsewhere !! Topical interests include Flags & Judaica, the latter with an emphasis on the Jewish National Fund.
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Post by Londonbus1 on Sept 24, 2021 19:00:51 GMT
Just curious if anyone collects these sheets. Also how do you keep them? They are usually A4 size, so they are too long to fit in a Scott specialty album. I know the Royal Mail sells a binder and pages to keep them in, but to me that would set off my OCD and isn't really viable for me. I prefer to place everything in the Scott albums I have for Great Britain. Also, does anyone break these sheets apart and mount the stamps in your album? I use those RM pages. Most of my sheets are gone but I use the pages for other large items. They are very good and worth the price.
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hrdoktorx
Member
Posts: 5,796
What I collect: France (and French territories), Africa, Canada, USA, Germany, Guatemala, stamps about science, flags, maps, stamps on stamps...
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Post by hrdoktorx on Sept 24, 2021 19:37:43 GMT
I use Vario pages for such sheets. I have several binders, organized by country and/or continent. You can find pages that can fit A4 format and even a little bigger.
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renden
Member
Posts: 7,832
What I collect: World W collector with ++ interests in BNA (Canada etc) and USA
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Post by renden on Sept 24, 2021 19:53:53 GMT
Sorry for the repetitive question - A4 does not represent anything for me - I did measure 2 half sheets from Royal mail for Games of Throne (8.5" X 7" each) Total is easy by adding the 2. They fit are supposed to fit (  ??) in a special full sheet album my late dad had with all my US and CANADA full sheets (of stamps)....as half sheets !! not full sheets (the 2 together) These sheets are not Souvenir sheets, btw. My album (from H.E. Harris) measures 12 inches X 11 - so the 2 half sheets would never fit LOL !! Good luck finding the proper album as mine adapts the other full sheets from France, Canada and USA. I still have to go check the measurements of A4 ! René A4 A4 210 x 297 mm 8.3 x 11.7 inches - this would fit in my album so the half sheets (2) from Royal Mail are over these measurements - So Royal mail does not really care about their (maybe) sheet size - but I would not bet on that, yet !!
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vikingeck
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Posts: 2,799
What I collect: Samoa, Tobacco theme, Mail in Wartime, anything odd and unusual!
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Post by vikingeck on Sept 24, 2021 22:50:47 GMT
The A series of paper sizes are standard internationally accepted over here …...Except in USA of course which does its own thing,! Hence the problem. Use an American album and A4 does not fit The most common sizes used are A3 , A4 and A5. Each is exactly half of the previous. For renden ‘s information GB smiler sheets have first class stamps + a selected illustration label which is appropriate to the stamp series but has no extra postal value. Royal Mail produced these often in association with a major stamp show. The first two caught collectors by surprise and went astronomic . Issued at the time Royal Mail was privatised and for a short time adopted the silly and unrecognisable name “CONSIGNIA” . Later ones were gimmicks simply added to collector purchasing costs (if they wanted complete ness) and breaking down to individual stamp+ label defeats the purpose , wasteful destruction. The actual stamps on the sheet are available for less as mini sheet or block of 10 anyway . trying to fit items like that in a conventional album is why I design my own , use sleeve protectors , and store all my stuff in box files. simples!
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Post by elfstone99 on Sept 24, 2021 23:31:37 GMT
I might give the binder and pages from Royal Mail a try and see how it works. Just really wanted to keep everything in my Scott binders, but it won't work due to the size of the collector's sheets.
I have noticed that some people break the sheets apart and mount the stamps individually in their albums. Not sure if that is the right thing to do or not.
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khj
Member
Posts: 1,246
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Post by khj on Sept 24, 2021 23:56:56 GMT
I'm actually a little curious where the term "smilers" originated for these sheets. For me, that's the first time I've heard that term in philately.
EDIT: OK, I see that is the term that Royal Mail uses on their website. One more new thing I learned today. Likely to forget by next week...
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vikingeck
Member
Posts: 2,799
What I collect: Samoa, Tobacco theme, Mail in Wartime, anything odd and unusual!
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Post by vikingeck on Sept 25, 2021 9:07:17 GMT
I'm actually a little curious where the term "smilers" originated for these sheets. For me, that's the first time I've heard that term in philately. EDIT: OK, I see that is the term that Royal Mail uses on their website. One more new thing I learned today. Likely to forget by next week... If I remember correctly the very first “smilers” were labels of a jolly Santa with holly at Christmas. They were really intended as personal greetings … with a Smile rather than just a dull conventional Machin and though the label images have changed the name has stuck.
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Post by michael on Sept 25, 2021 9:25:10 GMT
My one and only Smiler sheet, LS1 is I believe the first one issued. 10 1st class stamps, current face value £7.60 but can be obtained on Ebay for between £9 and £39. One of the reasons I stopped buying machins from 2000. Of course the next few issued are worth a lot of money !!
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angore
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Posts: 4,502
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Sept 25, 2021 10:43:50 GMT
I put all my US mini-sheets in protective sleeves and there was only one US issue that did not fit in a US letter size sleeve. I insert a black paper insert to provide a nice two side appearance. I abandoned 1 pocket Varios as too expensive and heavy.
I would like to see the USPS (and other postal groups) get smarter and limit sizes to something that fill fit on a page (A4 for Metric, US Letter for US) a target collector would use. They would just need to reduce excess selvage. It would be a lot more collector friendly.
In the US, you can get "page size" protectors that are just larger than a page so these integrate better into an album page.
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Londonbus1
Moderator
Cinderella Stamp Club Member 3059
Posts: 4,525
What I collect: Cinderellas and some Ephemera from Great Britain, France and Israel plus a few beautiful bits from elsewhere !! Topical interests include Flags & Judaica, the latter with an emphasis on the Jewish National Fund.
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Post by Londonbus1 on Sept 25, 2021 15:31:49 GMT
I'm actually a little curious where the term "smilers" originated for these sheets. For me, that's the first time I've heard that term in philately. EDIT: OK, I see that is the term that Royal Mail uses on their website. One more new thing I learned today. Likely to forget by next week... The 'Smiles' and 'Smilers' obsession on the GB Philatelic scene started back in 1990 when Royal Mail issued the first in a series of 'Greetings' Booklets (1990-98) which showed 10 smiling faces, those that are shown in the sheet shown by michael. The first booklet had values of 20 (p) and was reproduced as the third Greetings Series Booklet in 1991 with a '1st' value. For the 'StampShow 2000' at Earls Court in London a service was made available for the first time in the UK whereby one could have their stamps personalized in a sheet of 10 stamps with their own labels attached. Royal Mail also issued a generic Sheet (the one shown above). The stamps chosen were the same stamps used in that 1991 'Smiles' Booklet so the term 'Smilers' was lovingly used by many or most even though subsequent sheets had no connection to our facial expressions !! It is an endearing term for such a series. From 2006, RM issued a series of Booklets which contained the Teddy Bear design from that series but in a definitive format and these too became known as 'Smilers' but with the Booklet addition !! Complicated isn't it ? Well, not really but a huge money spinner at the time. Today, most of the sheets can be found quite cheaply with a little searching and buying at below face is not difficult. So, are we all smiling ?
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Post by daniel on Dec 14, 2021 23:21:03 GMT
Here's a Royal Mail brochure from 2009 for Smilers. The service to use personal photographs with Smiler sheets ceased in 2018.  
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stainlessb
Member
qaStaHvIS yIn 'ej chep
Posts: 4,097
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Dec 14, 2021 23:38:27 GMT
Just checkled E-Bay and they have an array of A4 ring binders, sheet prtotectors and pages.... granted in quantities of 100 may be a life time supply...
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brightonpete
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Post by brightonpete on Dec 15, 2021 11:21:56 GMT
Unless I had a bunch of letters to mail, I’d ignore those sheets! To me, that’s just a rip off for the collector. I like souvenir sheets where there is one stamp, or a set. But I’d definitely pass on those Smiler sheets.
Just my opinion…
Peter
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drblade
Member
Posts: 518
What I collect: GB Unmounted mint & Machin definitives Q.E.II Used commemoratives
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Post by drblade on Jan 8, 2022 11:18:25 GMT
Just curious if anyone collects these sheets. Also how do you keep them? They are usually A4 size, so they are too long to fit in a Scott specialty album. I know the Royal Mail sells a binder and pages to keep them in, but to me that would set off my OCD and isn't really viable for me. I prefer to place everything in the Scott albums I have for Great Britain. Also, does anyone break these sheets apart and mount the stamps in your album? I keep mine in a large tin, inside the original protectors from R.M. which came with the sheets (in issue order). Also in the tin are a couple of sachets of silica gel. I need just over 30 sheets to complete the run since the first issue. O.K. its not the same as displaying them in an album or folder, but you still have to open albums/folders to view the items & at least they are kept flat.
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