A Question For Ww Collectors Re Machins

I was wondering how 'deep' you go with GB Machins?

Do you just aim for 1 of each value/colour, or do you try for the different phos bands, printing methods etc etc as well?

I like to have just 1 of each.

Steve

I collect all types as per the SG Concise catalogue, both Mint and Used and up to 2009 only.
I stopped collecting then after Royal Mail blamed shady ebay sellers as the reason for their necessity in bringing in supposedly 'unsoakable' issues. [Security slits,different gum etc].

Searching for used copies of some values is a real challenge.

Londonbus1

'Just' one of each is still over 450 single items
I'll be happy (for a short while) when I complete the basic collection.

So opinion is divided hehe

I guess as with all aspects of stamp collecting, it's up to the individual to decide how to go about it.




I am happy to see this, as I was leaning in this direction myself, (trying to collect one of each SG cat number, plus some extras such as 'Ea' suffix where the phos band is in a different postion, although I have a self-imposed cutoff of 2010 for my whole WW collection..), so at least I know it's not an insane objective for a WW collector.

At least in the latest SG concise, all the Machins are in a section of their own, which helps, and I'm in the middle of putting together a 'checksheet' on excel to keep track of everything and being able to 'sort' the sheet by value, colour, perf type etc should come in handy :)

Hi Maiden:

We've had several Machin discussions here lately -- use the SEARCH button at the top of this page to find them.

Also, if you haven't, be sure to check out Robin Harris' page http://www.adminware.ca/machin.htm

He has a free PDF booklet called "Simplifying Machins" and downloadable album pages for beginners.

I've just started Machins myself, so I'm definitely in the "basic" set.

KirkS

Yes that is an invaluable site that I've been using a lot while sorting my Machins.

I've been using that site and the free basic machin album pages to build up a basic collection. As mentioned earlier, still 450+ stamps! I have no compulsion to go deeper.

I specialise in machins if you need any help in identifying certain issues. I also have several thousand machins in my stockbooks which I regularly sell on ebay.co.uk or via email to help subsidise my own collection. My ebay username is burgess-family.
I started collecting machins many years ago and as an avid UK collector I try and stick to the SG Concise which caters for most 'everyday' machins. The values in the SG Concise are now in the process of being scrutinised and updated as many examples are becoming more and more hard to get.
In the last year I have designed a 'Machin Checklist' which has 44 pages and covers all machins from the pre-decimal, X Series, Y Series, NVI's and the latest security issues. I have kept it simple with description/tick box columns etc. This checklist however, doesn't include fluer/gum/paper and inset band variations as these are too numerous (confusing to the person that wants the basics).
Thanks to all this hard work I am now the proud owner of two pairs of stronger glasses!

Those album pages are sweet. Great stuff on that site.

Hello Vikingman do you still have that check list available, I'm a brand new collector for Machins.
so the list would help a lot.

I always thought that collecting Machins was not for me they looked plain and boring but
after some reading and checking out the sites, it has peaked my interest. there are a couple of albums
for Machins on the albumeasy site http://www.thestampweb.com/albums.html
which im going to try, I'll use the denomination one for duplicates.

Where and how would the best place to get a bag full of Machins cheap to start with.

Quote: Where and how would the best place to get a bag full of Machins cheap to start with.

If you have none to speak of yet, and are starting a collection, you could do worse than buying some unsorted Great Britain kiloware on ebay. Obviously, you'd need to select well. Some sellers will have off-paper, which might be better if the shipping is UK to South Africa. Also, the more recent security Machins are much harder to find, and the bulk of most kiloware will be pre-security issues (as it happens, 90 percent of the issues anyway) - and try do deduce how many 1st and 2nds the lot is likely to include because these become very repetitive - useful for hunting down the various imperf edges though.

I've recently drawn up my own lists for collecting these, and re-organised my collection. I've never had any interest in phosphor bands, gum types, print methods, and so on, which to me are just practical features rather than design features. I have separated out into sections as follows, the great advantage of which is that nearly all sections are closed, and can be completed - only the current categories are ongoing (ie, sections 9, 11 and 15).

1. Pre-decimal
2. (Decimal) Wide Value Types (1971-83)
3. Re-Issues of (2) With Narrow Values
4. Narrow Values Series (1983-91)
5. Back Prints (stamps with symbols printed on backs - hard to find used!)
6. Imperforate Sides
7. Re-Issues of (4) With Elliptical Perforations
8. Elliptical Perforations Series (1993-2010)
9. Security Features (2009 Onwards)
10. Regionals: Isle Of Man / Northern Ireland / Scotland / Wales
11. NVI - 1st Class / 2nd Class / Service-Inscribed
12. NVI with Imperforate Sides
13. Penny Black Anniversary (1990, 2000)
14. Anniversary Stamps With Imperforate Sides
15. Large-Format Booklet Issues and Oddities

Thank you Ringo for the help good to have a clear starting point, and its a great help seems quite daunting at first, where and how to start.