Exclusive First Day Covers & Stamp Sheets

Stamp sheets are new on the collectables scene but their popularity is already huge. They're proving addictive to collectors of all ages and interests. Many people also believe they have strong investment potential.

But most collectors love them because of their striking designs and their strong visual appeal. Traditional collectors treasure their sheets in an album but many collectors new to philately think they are just too beautiful to hide away and frame them for the wall.

Stamp sheets have other names too. Customised sheets, mint sheets, generic sheets and Smilers - they are all the same thing. These large, usually A4 sized sheets contain genuine postage stamps, attached to a pictorial label, much like a cinderella stamp. If that is a new term for you, you can find the meaning in our (jargon buster). They are officially printed by Royal Mail (so the quality is assured) but the designs are owned, created and sponsored by separate companies, or "sheet producers". Buckingham Covers is one of them.

Types of Stamp Sheets

There are 3 types of stamp sheets available;

• Official sheets

These are sheets produced for a business or organisation, such as British Airways, Eurostar, Air Singapore etc. This is often in partnership with a sheet producer such as Buckingham Covers, so the organisation benefits from leading designers creating the sheet.

• Charity sheets

These are either released by or on behalf of a charity to raise funds. Charity sheets have been created for ChildLine, RNLI etc. Usually, the sheet is designed and created by a sheet producer, such as Buckingham Covers, so the charity draws upon their expertise.

• Standard customised sheets

This is any sheet designed by a sheet producer such as Buckingham Covers, Bradbury, Benham etc.