PHQ card
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PHQ Cards are postcards depicting the design of a commemorative stamp issued by the British Post Office.
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[edit] What are PHQ Cards?
The 'PHQ' stands for Postal Headquarters, all items published by the Post Office are given a number which is prefixed by letters. The first card issued, was the 3p W.G. Grace stamp from the set of stamps commemorating County Cricket, issued on 16th May 1973, this card was numbered PHQ 1, the numbering sequence has continued to the present day.
There is, however, one gap in the sequence. The number PHQ24 was originally set aside for the 9p Silver Jubilee card {this card was issued after the rest of the set}, when it was issued the card was numbered PHQ22E. The set of Wildlife cards, issued 5th October 1977, had already been allocated the number PHQ25, so the number PHQ24 was never used.
[edit] History
Although the Cricket stamps were issued in May, the card was not released until mid-July, subsequent cards have been issued about two weeks prior to the release of the stamps, this enables collectors to obtain the cards before the issue of the stamps so that they can attach the relevent stamp and obtain First Day of Issue postmarks.
When they were first issued, PHQ Cards were intended to be just an occasional picture postcard for sale to the public at Post Offices and Philatelic Counters. However, right from the first card issued, some enterprising Stamp Dealers realised that there was a potential new Stamp collecting area, and stamps were fixed either to the face of the card, or the back, and postmarks for various cricket matches played between July and September 1973 were obtained.
In August 1973 a second card was issued for one of the stamps in the set to mark the 400th anniversary of the birth of Inigo Jones, architect and designer. Over the next three years several more single cards, and a few sets were issued, from July 1976 onwards there has been a set of cards issued for every new set of commemorative stamps that has been issued.
The first two cards issued, 1973 Cricket and 1973 Inigo Jones, are larger than the current cards, measuring 120mm x 172mm in size, while all cards issued from PHQ 3 onward are 104mm x 148mm in size. This can be confusing for new collectors coming across the first two issues for the first time, if they are not aware of the size difference, they tend to think they are worthless copies.
[edit] Collecting PHQ Cards
There are three main collecting areas, many collectors like to collect only the unused cards. Other collectors like to obtain First day of issue postmarks or special handstamps that have some connection the the stamp subject matter. Some collectors will put the stamp on the back of the card, but a very popular area is for the stamp to be applied to the face of the card, so that the postcard picture, stamp and postmark are all vissible on the same face.
[edit] Postmarks & Handstamps
The first card was not put on sale until two months after the issue date of the stamps, so would not have been eligible for a First day of issue postmark. However the card is known to exist with 16th May 1973, Birmingham FDI cancellation (back-dated by favour), but it is much more collectable with the July and September pictorial cricket postmarks. The cricket postmarks to look out for are 21st July, Benson & Hedges, and 1st September Gillette Cup.
[edit] The early issues
Below are the issue dates of all the early cards, issued up until July 1976, after this time a full set of cards has been issued for every commemorative set, and some of the definitive issues. (#cards = number of cards in the issue)
| Stamp issue date | Stamp set | #cards | Card set ref | Qty. Issued |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16th May 1973 | County Cricket, 1873-1973 | one | PHQ 1 | 20,000 |
| 15th August 1973 | 400th Anniversary, birth of Inigo Jones | one | PHQ 2 | 20,000 |
| 12th September 1973 | 19th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference | one | PHQ 3 | 15,200 |
| 14th November 1973 | Royal Wedding {Princess Anne} | one | PHQ 4 | 290,000 |
| 27th February 1974 | British Trees | one | PHQ 5 | 16,750 |
| 24th April 1974 | Fire Service Anniversary | one | PHQ 6 | 30,000 |
| 10th July 1974 | Medieval Warriors | four | PHQ 7 | 31,750 |
| 9th October 1974 | Winston Churchill Centenary | one | PHQ 8 | 114,430 |
| 19th February 1975 | Bicentenary, birth J.M.W.Turner | one | PHQ 9 | 46,250 |
| 23rd April 1975 | European Architectural Year | three | PHQ 10 | 51,000 |
| 11th June 1975 | Sailing | one | PHQ 11 | 41,350 |
| 13th August 1975 | 150th Anniversary of Public Railways | four | PHQ 12 | 47,500 |
| 22nd October 1975 | Jane Austen Bicentenary | four | PHQ 13 | 27,330 |
| 28th April 1976 | Social Reformers | one | PHQ 14 | 38,350 |
| 2nd June 1976 | American Bicentenary | one | PHQ 15 | 60,950 |
| 30th June 1976 | Roses | four | PHQ 16 | 34,250 |
All subsequent issues of British Commemorative Stamps had a set of PHQ Cards issued.
[edit] Differences & Errors
Like the stamps they depict, because of the printing processes involved, errors and differences will occur in the printings. Some of these errors and differences are sought after by many collectors. Some of the notable differences and errors are listed here.
| Card set ref. | Issue date | Stamp set | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHQ 7 | 10th July 1974 | Medieval Warriors | 10p card known to exist with missing red. |
| PHQ 8 | 9th October 1974 | Winston Churchill | 5½p card known to exist with missing gold. |
| PHQ 9 | 19th February 1975 | Turner Bicentenary | 5½p card known to exist with missing black |
| PHQ 11 | 11th June 1975 | Sailing | 8p card known to exist with missing red. |
| PHQ 13 | 22nd October 1975 | Jane Austen bicentenary | 10p card gold head & border, upward shift of 5mm 13p card, black and yellow shifted upwards. |
| PHQ 16 | 30th June 1976 | Rose Society Centenary | 8½p upward shift of yellow by 2mm |
| PHQ 18 | 29th September 1976 | 500th anniversary of British Printing | 10p card upwards shift of olive & dark green by 5mm |
| PHQ 21 | 2nd March 1977 | Centenary, Royal Institute of Chemistry | 8½p card with picture printed on matt {reverse} side 8½p card with upward shift of yellow & blue by 1mm 10p card, missing red & black |
| PHQ 22 | 11th May 1977 | Silver Jubilee | 8½p card with missing pale blue 8½p card with pale blue shift to right by 2mm 8½p card with grey shifted to left |
| PHQ 25 | 5th October 1977 | British Wildlife | Badger card missing brown value and description Hare card missing brown value and description Otter card with bistre frame shifted upwards |
| PHQ 29 | 31st May 1978 | Anniversary of Coronation | 13p card with doubling of gold & purple |
| PHQ 30 | 5th July 1978 | Shire Horses | 13p card with missing brown |
| PHQ 33 | 7th February 1979 | British Dogs | 10½p card printed on matt {reverse} side 10½p card, blue & yellow shifted 12mm to right 13p card printed on matt {reverse} side |
| PHQ 37 | 11th July 1979 | International Year of the Child | 9p card with downward shift of yellow, blue, silver & bistre by 6mm |
| PHQ 39 | 26th September 1979 | 150th Anniversary of Metropolitan Police |
10p card with red & black shifted down and to left by 1mm |
| PHQ 42 | 12th March 1980 | 150th Anniversary of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway |
Goods Train & Mail Coach card missing bistre border |
| PHQ 43 | 7th May 1980 | London Landmarks | 13½p card printed on the matt (reverse) side 13½p card with black print missing from reverse |
| PHQ 47 | 10th October 1980 | Sports Centenaries | 12p card with missing magenta, black, bistre & gold 17½p card printed on matt (reverse) side |
[edit] Other notable differences
The card for London 1980 (to commemorate the 1980 International Stamp Exhibition), issued 9th April 1980, and the set of five cards for London Landmarks, issued 7th May 1980, both had the reference number PHQ 43.
| Card set ref | Issue Date | Stamp issue | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHQ 18 | 29th September 1976 | British Printing | The caption on 8½p card incorrectly states the woodcut is of the Knight, when in fact it is a woodcut of the Squire. |
| PHQ 24 | N/A | NOT ISSUED | SEE NOTE IN FIRST PARAGRAPH |
| PHQ 25 | 5th October 1977 | British Wildlife | there were two printings of this issue, with slight colour variations |
| PHQ 31 | 2nd August 1978 | Cycling Centenaries | The 11p card also exists with a completely different back about the Cycling Proficiency Test. |
| PHQ 38 | 22nd August 1979 | Rowland Hill Centenary | The 10p card also exists with a completely different reverse, which states "With the Compliments of the British Post Office", in both English & French. This card was produced for the 1979 UPU Conference in Brazil. |
| PHQ 47 | 10th October 1980 | Sports Centenaries | The Post Office's National Postal Museum overprinted a small number of the 12p card for their Exhibitrion of Elizabethan Sports Stamps, and sold these cards with the 12p Sports stamp affixed to the reverse. |
[edit] Acknowledgements
Stanley Gibbons Concise Stamp Catalogue.
Collect Post Office Cards (Published by Rosendale Stamps)
Gibbons Stamp Monthly
Royal Mail Stamp Guide
Royal Mail British Philatelic Bulletin
--ColinBoylett 09:13, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
