07 January 2020
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Royal Mail have revealed the subjects to be celebrated on British stamps during 2020, with Star Trek, James Bond and Coronation Street amongst the highlights.
Royal Mail's stamp schedule for the coming year has been revealed, though only the title of each stamp set has been detailed.
The schedule is as follows (lick on the links below to see the stamps and find out more about each set):
- 21 January - Video Games
- 11 February - Visions of the Universe
- 17 March - James Bond
- 7 April - The Romantic Poets
- 8 May - End of the Second World War
- 28 May - Coronation Street
- 18 June - Roman Britain
- 9 July - Queen
- 30 July - The Palace of Westminster
- 18 August - Sherlock
- 3 September - Rupert Bear
- 1 October - Brilliant Bugs
- 3 November - Christmas
- 13 November - Star Trek
The schedule features a large number of what could be viewed as more commercial subjects, with at least two film franchises (James Bond and Star Trek), two television programmes (soap opera Coronation Street and, potentially the TV adaptation Sherlock, though this set may simply refer to the character Sherlock Holmes) and a rock group (Queen who celebrate fifty years since they were founded in 2020) set to be featured on stamps.
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More traditional subjects include the Romantic Poets, which may feature literary figures such as William Wordsworth and Lord Byron; Roman Britain; and The Palace of Westminster.
Rupert Bear, the children's character made famous in the stories that featured in the Daily Express newspaper, celebrates his 100th birthday this year and will appear on stamps in September.
Perhaps the most predictable, and poignant, subject is the VE Day set planned for 8 May, which is a special Friday bank holiday in the UK. The end of the Second World War is a common theme in many stamp schedules for 2020.
Seen it before?
Some may feel that certain subjects have already had their time in the philatelic limelight.
- Rupert Bear has appeared on two British 'Greetings' stamps in the past, issued in February 1993 and February 1994, respectively.
- In 2008, a James Bond set featured six stamps each showing four book covers from Ian Fleming's famous spy novels.
- Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen appeared on a stamp in 1999 (you can just see drummer Roger Taylor on the stamp too).
- A set of five 'Sherlock Holmes' stamps were issued in 1993, featuring scenes from the books
- ITV programmes, including soap opera Emmerdale were celebrated on a '50th Anniversary of Independent Television' set in 2005, though there was no room for Corrie.
At least Star Trek is new to British stamps, though news of the set will leave collectors struggling to unearth the film and TV franchise's British connections.
Find out more
Keep up to date with the latest new stamps in our NEW STAMPS pages.
See our dedicated stamp guides for more 2020 stamp schedules…
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