December 2025

Contents to Volume 56, Number 7

A collection of the latest philatelic news from around the world.

More of the latest reports from the nation’s philatelic societies.

Forthcoming fairs and auctions.

News of recent auction results.

Richard West widens the focus of collecting beyond stamps, by showing how postal stationery, private posts and training labels can take philately well beyond stamps issues.

Guy Thomas examines the growing split between Royal Mail and the Post Office, exploring how their long partnership has unravelled and what it means for collectors and customers alike.

It’s all ‘Go’ for Royal Mail and its new issue commorating the 90th anniversary of Monopoly, and we look at the 2025 Christmas release which captures the Nativity story with distinctive paper cut artistry.

John Gray charts two decades of change in Royal Mail’s downstream access indicia, from the first ‘S block’ designs to the new Tudor Crown era, revealing how regulation and branding shaped modern UK mail.

John Deering unwraps Royal Mail’s 2025 Christmas stamps in detail, from festive booklets to miniature and generic sheets, and reports on the different backing variations found on 1st class King Charles III definitives so far.

The latest supplement to the Stanley Gibbons Great Britain Specialised Catalogue.

John Winchester recounts the baffling 1911 posting of a massive, 182-stamp Russian cover, a record-breaking postal mystery that captivated crowds, confounded experts and may have met its end in the Blitz!

Michael Kogan traces the extraordinary life of Charles Darwin through worldwide commemorative stamps, revealing how his theory of evolution reshaped science and left a legacy that continues to inspire and challenge to this day.

John Winchester revisits the extraordinary 1923 discovery of an aristocrat’s forgotten 1860s stamp hoard in a Mayfair mansion attic. This remarkable ‘Mayfair Find’ became one of philately’s most captivating stories.

Rahul Das spotlights the elusive echidna, nature’s spiny, egg-laying enigma, exploring its remarkable biology, behaviour and conservation status, and shows how stamps worldwide have captured the charm of this extraordinary monotreme.

Neil Donen FRPSL reveals how to spot genuine 1935 Morocco Agencies centimes–céntimos errors, detailing key flaws and printing characteristics that separate authentic rarities from clever but detectable forgeries.

Christer Brunström FRPSL unravels the controversial story of Faridkot’s 19th century issues, revealing how genuine postal stamps gave way to reprints and philatelic creations that blurred the line between authenticity and fabrication.

Bernard Brabin traces three centuries of European medical discovery and shows how the doctors who made them have been immortalised on stamps.

Marking 175 years since Prussia’s first postage stamps, Michael Burzan explores how these classic issues reflected a kingdom in transition, blending technological progress, political ambition and artistic craftsmanship at the dawn of modern Germany.

A summary of recent and forthcoming issues.

GSM investigates the stories behind some of the latest stamp issues from around the world.

We highlight the latest new issues from Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man.

Stamps to look out for from Barbados.

John Winchester traces the birth of Johore’s first definitive stamps, from royal design debates and printing trials to a remarkable overprint error that turned a coronation celebration into a collector’s delight.

GSM’s latest competition offers you the opportunity to win one of five SG catalogue titles.

Hugh Jefferies offers more thoughts from the Catalogue Editor’s chair.

The latest 17-page update to the Stanley Gibbons Catalogue.