As a sequel to the articles on Wilding usages, this month we move on to their replacements – the set of small-format, pre-decimal Machins, issued at intervals during 1967–69. As before, this will focus mostly on the solo usages; one difference from the Wildings worth noting is that here the two lowest values of ½d and 1d didn’t have any solo uses on cover, since by this time there weren’t any postage rates as low as a penny left.
The rates
As before, here’s a quick reference to the main rates in this period. Other rates will be covered as they come up. For inland mail, the major change was in 1968, when the long-standing method of charging by the type of mail (letters, postcards or printed papers) was replaced by the ‘two-tier’ post. There was now only ‘first class’ and ‘second class’, the idea being that charges were based on how quickly the sender
