Postage rates for postcards sent within the UK

British Stamps

     ©

 1952 to 2000s

Below are examples of all the different Queen Elizabeth stamps that I have been able to find on postcards posted in the UK.  I have excluded the larger commemorative stamps. 

Please click here to see examples of the Scottish stamps that I have found on postcards during this period.

British stamps:   1890s to 1952                Scottish stamps:   1952 to 2000s

'Old Money'

(to 1971)

    1 penny = 1d
  12 pennies = 1 shilling.
240 pennies  = £1

'New Money'

(from 1971)

    1 penny = 1p
100 pennies  = £1

Queen Elizabeth II

Reign: From 6 February 1952

Stamps before the introduction of 1st and 2nd Class Post

1952 - 55

2d

 ©

1955 - 57

2d

 ©

1957 - 65

2½d

 ©

1965 - 67

3d

   ©

1967 - 68

3d

 ©

From 1 Oct 1957:     Letter Rate 3d,   Postcard Rate 2½d

From 17 May 1965:  Letter Rate 4d,      Postcard Rate 3d

From 16 Sep 1968:  1st Class and 2nd Class post introduced.
                               Letter Rate  = Postcard Rate.  See table below.

The shade of the 2d stamp changed twice.
 It was 'brown (1952-55) then red-brown or light red-brown (1955-57)

Queen Elizabeth II

2nd Class Post

16 Sep 1968

4d

 ©

OR

new colour

6 Jan 1969

 ©

5d

 ©

15 Feb 1971

2½p

 ©

3p

 ©

10 Sep 1973

3p

 ©

3½p

 ©

24 Jun 1974

3½p

 ©

4½p

 ©

17 Mar 1975

5½p

 ©

7p

 ©

29 Sep 1975

6½p

 ©

8½p

 ©

13 Jun 1977

7p

 ©

9p

 ©

20 Aug 1979

8p

 ©

10p

4 Feb 1980

10p

 ©

12p

 ©

26 Jan 1981

11½p

 ©

14p

 ©

1 Feb 1982

12½p

 ©

15½p

 ©

5 Apr 1983

12½p

 ©

16p

 ©

3 Sep 1984

13p

 ©

17p

4 Nov 1985

12p

 ©

17p

 ©

20 Oct 1986

13p

 ©

18p

 ©

5 Sep 1988

14p

 ©

19p

 ©

2 Oct 1989

15p

 ©

OR

150th  Anniversary

 of Penny Black

 ©

20p

OR

150th  Anniversary

 of Penny Black

 ©

17 Nov 1990

17p

 ©

22p

 ©

16 Sep 1991

18p

 ©

24p

 ©

1 Nov 1993

19p

 ©

25p

 ©

8 Jul 1996

20p

 ©

26p

 ©

OR

 ©

27 Apr 1999

19p

 ©

26p

27 Apr 2000

19p

 ©

27p

8 May 2003

20p

28p

1 Apr 2004

21p

28p

7 Apr 2005

21p

30p

I have found that in recent years, very few postcards have used stamps with the higher values above.  Instead, they have used one of the stamps below.

Queen Elizabeth II

Since 1989, increasing use has been made of stamps without any price marked on them -  just the classification, '1st Class' or '2nd Class' post.

2nd Class Post

from 28 Aug 1989

 and

from 7 Sep 1993

 ©

from 7 Aug 1990

 ©

from  when?

 ©

from 7 Aug 1989

 ©

from  when?

 ©

from  6 Jan 2000

 ©

from 15 Feb 2000

Queen Victoria
and
Queen Elizabeth II

from 10 Oct 1993

 ©

©   British stamps on this page are reproduced by kind permission of Royal Mail Group PLC.  All rights reserved.

British stamps:   1890s to 1952

NOTES

1.  The illustrations of stamps on this page have been taken from postcards in my collection and other collections.  To find background information and the dates when the various postage rates applied, I have consulted:

(a)  Stanley Gibbons' Specialised Stamp Catalogues

(b)  British Postal Rates 1937 to 2000 [Robert Johnson and Gordon Peet]

(c)  Tilehurst, Reading UK Directory [and Internet archive 'Wayback Machine']

2.  I have illustrated this page almost entirely with definitive stamps.  To have included the many commemorative issues that have been issued, particularly during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, would have complicated the page.

Thank you to Frank Walton for advising me of the resource in (c) above

 Postcard Views

PUBLISHERS:  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  XYZ  ?

  ©

THUMBNAILS:  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  XYZ  ?

Index

FULL INDEX:   Portraits,  History,  Stamps,  Messages on Postcards,  Postcards of Scotland,  etc.