Castle series stamps

The Castle series or Castle High Value series are two definitive stamp series issued in the United Kingdom during Queen Elizabeth II's reign.

The first series, designed by Lynton Lamb was issued in September 1955. The second one was created from pictures taken by Prince Andrew, Duke of York, the Queen's second son.

The stamps bore the highest denominations completing the Wilding and Machin definitive series. Each Castle series was replaced by Machin stamps, respectively in 1969 and 1999.

The common aspects of the two series are the four chosen castles, one for each country of the United Kingdom.

The 1955 Castle series replaced another four stamp series of high value issued in 1951. They featured the profile of King George VI and were illustrated by two pictures (HMS Victory, Lord Nelson's ship, on the 2 shillings and 6 pence, and the white cliffs of Dover on the 5 shillings) and two symbols (Saint George and the Dragon on the 10 shillings and the Royal Coat of arms on the one pound sterling stamp). The King's death, on 6 February 1952, provoked the preparation for a new series with Elizabeth II's effigy.

Because comments in the philatelic press were negative about the two pictorial stamps, the Postal Services Department proposed to replace the pictures with two new allegorical images. But its director decided the artists invited by the Council of Industrial Design must be free in the proposal they had to submit at the beginning of 1953.

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