Description

We recently acquired an example of the hard-to-find sheetlet of privately produced Chipping Sodbury “Commemorative Stamps” – created by local jeweller Bruce Besant in 1985, and more recently featured on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow – which unfortunately got damaged in the post to us.

Given that most of the creasing was to the margins, we have opted to separate the sheet into its individual, all-different stamps (discarding the damaged ones), so that more of our customers have chance to own part of this historic issue, without having to purchase the full sheet.

Hence, what you are buying is a single stamp from the sheetlet – the value and design of which is chosen at random – similar to the one illustrated in the picture.

U/M / Unmounted Mint / MNH / Mint Never Hinged.

About the 1985 Chipping Sodbury issue

The sheetlet created by Bruce Besant in 1985 comprised 16 different stamps, each one featuring a lovely drawing of local buildings by Alan Roberts, and with a Queen-like silhouette modelled on Mr Besant’s ten-year-old daughter, Elizabeth. Each sheetlet was individually numbered.

The sheets were available to purchase from Mr Besant’s shop, with some stamps also used by him on actual post – as an April Fool – on 1 April 1985. This prompted the Post Office to “look into the infringement”, at the same time as generating plentiful local and national press coverage for the endeavour and, as intended, helping to “put Chipping Sodbury on the map”.